The author studied a public junior high school identified as successfully implementing authentic instruction. Such instruction emphasizes higher order thinking, deep knowledge, substantive conversation, and value beyond school. To determine in what ways higher order thinking was fostered both for students with and without disabilities, the author…

This study investigated the relationships between when a test is administered and the amount of test-taking effort exhibited by examinees. Three time-related variables were investigated: the time of year the test was administered, the day of the week the test event occurred, and the time of day that the test event occurred. Mean effort did not…

Using National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS) data, researchers examined the reading growth rates of secondary students who had been retained between kindergarten and 8th grade and those of a matched comparison group of students who had never been retained (n = 878 in each group). Descriptive statistics and latent growth models revealed that…

The central ideas of postcalculus mathematics courses offered in college are difficult to introduce in middle and secondary schools, especially through the engineering and sciences examples traditionally used in algebra, geometry, and trigonometry textbooks. However, certain concepts in music theory can be used to expose students to interesting…

Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), which had been termed the best-held secret of education about 15 years ago, has had an exponential growth over the past three decades. Because it thematizes largely the structural aspects of activity systems, the theory only recently has been developed to include emotional, motivational, and…

Using data from the international Teacher Education and Development Study: Learning to Teach Mathematics (TEDS-M), the measurement equivalence of teachers' beliefs across countries is investigated for the case of "mathematics-as-a fixed-ability". Measurement equivalence is a crucial topic in all international large-scale assessments and…

Education is expanding to include a stronger focus on the practical application of classroom lessons in an effort to prepare the next generation of scholars for a changing world economy centered on collaborative and problem-solving skills for the digital age. "The Handbook of Research on Technology Tools for Real-World Skill Development"…

This article describes the pedagogical intervention developed in a public school as part of the research "Exploring Communications Practices through Facebook as a Mediatic Device", framed within the computer mediated communications field. Twelve ninth graders' communications practices were explored and addressed by means of multimodal…

Background: Adolescent tobacco use has been a serious public health issue, resulting in longer duration of tobacco use and higher nicotine dependence in adulthood. This study identified the current status of tobacco use among middle schools students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and the factors leading to tobacco use, to provide information on how to…

The paper examined expert literature teachers' coping with a novel textbook, integrating literature with visual arts, which is a particular interdisciplinary case of text-image relations in textbooks. Examination was performed within the framework of teachers' responses to curricular changes and of theory regarding strategies of interdisciplinary…

Classroom teachers draw upon a variety of discourses to understand and make decisions about the students they teach. This case study investigation explored the discourses at work in inclusion classrooms, with particular attention paid to the way in which discourses may impact the problem of overrepresentation in special education. Frameworks that…

Paula Worth was concerned that her low-attaining set were only going through the motions when tackling causal explanation. Identifying, prioritising and weighing causes seemed an empty routine rather than a fascinating puzzle engaging intellect and imagination. She was also concerned that her usual efforts to solve this problem had been misplaced.…

As a conceptual framework, professional learning communities (PLCs) have been described as a means to increase teacher effectiveness and satisfaction. One urban middle school implemented PLCs during the 2007-2008 school year. However, there had not been an investigation into the effectiveness of the PLCs. Using organizational learning theory, this…

Too often, the needs of English language learners are met with simplified curriculum and lowered expectations. What would happen if instead classrooms were organized to honor the promise of these students by increasing rather than decreasing the intellectual challenge of instruction, by increasing the support such challenge requires, and by…

Rural schools do not usually make people think of innovation or experimentation. In fact, many people view rural areas as being too traditional or complacent to blaze educational trails. But this author is fortunate to be principal of one rural school, Federal Hocking Middle and High School, that is not afraid to innovate. Federal Hocking is also…