For the thirty-sixth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Response to Intervention: A New Approach to Reading Instruction Aims to Catch Struggling Readers Early (Nancy Walser); (2) Getting Advisory Right: Focus and…

Like many other culturally and linguistically diverse students, Native Hawaiians are over-represented among those in special education, score lower on standardized achievement tests, and are at greater risk for dropping-out. The Hawaiian Studies Program (HSP) was a culturally relevant academic program that incorporated learning about Hawaiian…

This book focuses on basic strategies you can integrate into everyday instruction in every subject area and across grade levels. It shows teachers how to motivate and engage students. The practical examples in this book make it easy for you to apply these strategies in your own classroom. It presents lively stories about how teachers help their…

This is the 12th annual report on conditions affecting the Racine Unified School District (RUSD). This year, the analysis again focuses on the long-term historical trends in RUSD. The analysis compares RUSD data to data of nine peer school districts as well as statewide data. The peer districts are defined as those Wisconsin districts with…

Student motivation is highly influenced by the general context in which the student lives, ranging from the norms and influences of the culture at large to the experiences within the family. For students who have high interest and passion on a selected task, motivation seems to be a very internal process. Without effort, the student persists in…

Contrary to conventional expectations, the reality of computing education in Taiwan's vocational schools is not so practically oriented, and thus reveals much room for improvement. In this context, we conducted a quasi-experiment to examine the effects of applying web-based problem-based learning (PBL), web-based self-regulated learning (SRL), and…

The influence of culture on learning and motivation has been the topic of much research in recent years. Educational and psychological researchers are now aware that the findings of their studies may not apply to other cultures, and that in this age of globalization and multiculturalism it is very important to examine the applicability of…

Computer games are no longer just for entertainment; they have also become a useful instructional strategy for acquiring knowledge. When games are used for purposes other than strict entertainment they become serious games. The goal of serious games is to enable the player to learn a task, master a strategy or develop a skill. Serious games can be…

This document presents the proceedings of the 17th Annual Research Forum held June 29, 2012, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Included herein are the following 25 action research papers: (1) "Reading and Writing": A Study Comparing the Strengths of Peer Review and Visible Author Writing Strategies (Elizabeth Behar); (2)…

This project, "Many Right Answers: Learning in mathematics through speaking and listening", was initiated to address two issues in the teaching of secondary mathematics: (1) speaking and listening and its relevance to engaging the disengaged; and (2) the use of speaking and listening by teachers of mathematics as part of their Continuous…

While problem-based learning (PBL) has a relatively long history of successful use in medical and pre-professional schools, it has yet to be widely adopted by K--12 teachers. This may be due, in part, to the numerous challenges teachers experience when implementing PBL. In this paper, we describe specific hurdles that teachers are likely to…

Critical questions in educational psychology research to be addressed in this paper concern the casual relationship between academic self-concept, academic motivation and its effect on academic achievement. Do changes in academic self-concept and academic motivation lead to changes in subsequent academic achievement? Various studies have attempted…

Tasmania is the southernmost state of Australia. Separated from mainland Australia by a 240 km stretch of water, Bass Strait, it has a population of almost 500,000 people. The state Department of Education provides compulsory education through the delivery of educational services to almost 70,000 students in 218 schools and colleges across the…

In this article I seek to explore the ways in which different forms of differentiation can promote the inclusion of gifted and talented students in the classroom. Macbeth, the text being studied by this particular class, was the set text for the Standard Attainment Tests (SATs). This article discusses briefly the inherent problems involved in…