The goal of this study was to examine IXL usage among high school students in California and its relation to academic performance in math and ELA, as measured by the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment (SBA). At the high school level in California, the SBA is taken only by 11th- grade students each year. We analyzed students' math and ELA SBA…

This report addresses a renewed interest in individualized instruction, driven in part by advances in technology and assessment as well as a persistent desire to increase the access, efficiency, and cost effectiveness of training and education. Using computer-based instruction we delivered extremely efficient instruction targeted to low knowledge…

College textbook publishers increasingly bundle sophisticated technology-based study tools with their texts. These tools appear promising, but empirical work on their efficacy is needed. We examined whether LearnSmart, a study tool bundled with McGraw-Hill's textbook "Chemistry" (Chang & Goldsby, 2013), improved learning in an…

Can novel 3D models help students develop a deeper understanding of core concepts in molecular biology? We adapted 3D molecular models, developed by scientists, for use in high school science classrooms. The models accurately represent the structural and functional properties of complex DNA and Virus molecules, and provide visual and haptic…

Student academic achievement is of prime concern in the American education system because academic success (i.e. achievement) has been shown to be a predictor of success in later life and is crystallized in the United States Department of Education's mission statement "...to promote student achievement and preparation for global…

A visual aid teaching tool, the DanceChemistry video series, has been developed to teach fundamental chemistry concepts through dance. These educational videos portray chemical interactions at the molecular level using dancers to represent chemical species. Students reported that the DanceChemistry videos helped them visualize chemistry ideas in a…

TechXcite is an engineering-focused, discovery-based after-school science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) program. The free curriculum is downloadable from http://techxcite.pratt.duke.edu/ and is comprised of eight Modules, each with four to five 45-minute activities that exercise the science and math learned in school by using…

This study examined the effect of course delivery mode on academic help-seeking beliefs and behaviors, academic self-efficacy, and the levels of individual interest in biology of students in an entry-level General Education biology course. This intersection of online education, science courses, and academic success factors merits attention because…

Open educational resources (OERs) provide a potential alternative to costly textbooks and can allow content to be edited and adapted to a variety of classroom environments. At the University of California, Davis, the OER "ChemWiki" project, as part of the greater STEMWiki Hyperlibrary, was developed to supplant traditional post-secondary…

As multimedia and technological savvy continue to expand existing notions of contemporary literacy, the need to prepare teachers to use a variety of classroom technologies has never been greater (Author1 & Author2, 2008a; Author1 & Author2, 2009). In order for teachers to be prepared to use such technologies, the structure of teacher…

Flipped classrooms have the potential to improve student learning and metacognitive skills as a result of increased time for active learning and group work and student control over pacing, when compared with traditional lecture-based courses. We are currently running a 4-year controlled study to examine the impact of flipping an Introductory…

Efficient lesson planning with universal design for learning (UDL) enables teachers to more effectively meet students' individual needs. In this study, a comparison of lesson plans by teacher candidates in a teacher preparation program before and after UDL training is presented. After training, teachers (n = 45) incorporated more differentiated…

The purpose of this study was to determine how to integrate technology into mathematics classes using clickers in the high school setting. The ability to integrate technology into instruction is a current requirement for mathematics teachers in the United States; however, students have been traditionally taught to solve equations using pencils and…

The outcome of American students' performances during international comparisons consistently scoring inadequately in mathematics exposes the crisis of deficient mathematics achievement thus causing deep concerns. Learners who acquire a strong theoretical foundation in mathematics at the primary level thrived later in more advanced level…

Teachers are increasingly integrating mobile digital technology into the classroom. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of incorporating iPads in a secondary-level geometry course on academic achievement, student engagement, self-efficacy, and meta-cognitive self-regulation. Students in the iPad-using classroom experienced lower…