Many schools and out-of-school organizations use social-emotional learning (SEL) programs to boost students' skills. Yet research shows that these programs can be difficult to implement and don't always meet students' needs. In response, Rebecca Bailey, Laura Stickle, Gretchen Brion-Meisels, and Stephanie Jones propose a new approach to SEL…

As the world becomes more interconnected, educators are faced with opportunities to collaborate across cultures. Using the theory of educational cosmopolitanism (Wahlström, 2014) and the pedagogy of collaborative inquiry, this collective case study explores how Chinese and Americans teachers perceive the assets and challenges of conducting…

This article describes the development and validation of a newly designed instrument for measuring the spatial ability of middle school students (11-13 years old). The design of the Spatial Reasoning Instrument (SRI) is based on three constructs (mental rotation, spatial orientation, and spatial visualization) and is aligned to the type of spatial…

This qualitative case study examines how fifth graders and their teachers participated in critical literacy instruction grounded in systems thinking on the topic of slavery. Systems thinking seeks to discover relationships and patterns in diverse underlying systems; critical literacy examines everyday texts, focuses on social justice and change,…

Purpose: The goal to stimulate perspective taking and inference making on social phenomena, such as gender roles in society, has proven to be difficult to achieve in general and in particular for primary school students. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to develop creative models and concepts for learning that provide guidance addressing these…

Critical consciousness refers to the ways in which individuals come to understand and challenge oppressive social forces. Philosopher-educator Paulo Freire argued that critical curiosity--an eagerness to learn more about and develop a deep understanding of issues of social justice--serves as an important catalyst to critical consciousness…

While it's acknowledged that some children demonstrate giftedness in leadership and social domains, it's still one area often overlooked by educators and parents. Literature on leadership has been geared mostly toward adults, not children. What does exist for student leadership has been typically organized around situations that focus on adapting…

The task of writing arguments requires a linguistic and cognitive sophistication that eludes many adults, but students in the US are expected to produce texts that articulate and support a claim--simple written arguments--starting in the fourth grade. Students from language-minority homes likewise must learn to produce such writing, despite their…

This study investigates the Jewish history engagement for middle school students "playing" in the Jewish Court of All Time (JCAT), an online simulation of a current events court case with historical roots (http://jcat.icsmich.org). Through an online platform across several schools, students research and play historical and current…

Guided by the social emotional learning framework, this study examined whether early adolescents' social awareness (empathic concern, perspective taking) and self-management (effortful control) would uniquely contribute to early adolescents' subsequent forms of aggression, and whether perceptions of their school climate (friction, cohesion,…

In this article, Jennifer Jones describes how at Pine Street School in New York City, they have dispensed with the traditional industrial model of schooling and are looking ahead to the future. The entire school was designed with optional learning environments. Jones describes innovative elements from varied seating (floor cushions, modular…

Only a limited number of research studies have investigated how students design educational computer games and its impact on student learning. In addition, most studies on educational game design by students were conducted in the areas of mathematics and science. Using the qualitative case study approach, this study explored how seventh graders…

"Deep reading comprehension" refers to the process required to succeed at tasks defined by the Common Core State Literacy Standards, as well as to achieve proficiency on the more challenging reading tasks in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) framework. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that three…

Word Generation (WG) is a research-based vocabulary program for middle school students designed to teach words through language arts, math, science, and social studies classes. The program consists of weekly units that introduce 5 high-utility target words through brief passages designed to spark active examination and discussion of contemporary…

Existing reading comprehension assessments have been criticized by researchers, educators, and policy makers, especially regarding their coverage, utility, and authenticity. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate a new assessment of reading comprehension that was designed to broaden the construct of reading. In light of these issues, we…