We evaluated a curriculum that focused on bolstering grit and locus of control in seventh grade students at a school in upstate New York. The intervention included lessons aimed at building a growth mindset and determination, along with writing projects and collaborative work. A pre-post design was utilized such that surveys measuring grit and…

Student investment in learning is often stronger when learning incorporates student choice, "real-world" authenticity, and creativity. This action research study investigated the impact of a particular tool for emphasizing these elements in learning: a free-choice, or "Genius Time," project in which middle school students in an…

Teachers face obstacles when executing prepared curricular resources in diverse classrooms, trying to provide quality fair learning opportunities to all students. Examining ten teachers' insights and experiences with the EngageNY language arts modules differentiation allowed presenting the phenomenon's comprehensive overview. Teachers from schools…

Playground Physics is a supplemental middle school science program designed to support embodied learning by enabling students to connect physics concepts to their own playful activities. The purpose of this study was to examine a model for scaling up the Playground Physics program and to determine the program's impact on middle school students'…

Reading Apprenticeship is a model of academic literacy instruction designed by the Strategic Literacy Initiative (SLI) at WestEd to improve student literacy skills and academic achievement. Based on understandings of the close relationship between curricular reform and professional development, Reading Apprenticeship includes an instructional…

An action research case study was conducted to investigate the effects of incorporating LEGO robotics into a seventh-grade mathematics curriculum focused on the development of proportional reasoning through the lens of Social Constructivist Theory. This research, which was part of a larger study, reports the findings when LEGO EV3 robots were…

This study explored the effects of a middle school physical activity intervention for adolescent girls on the executive functioning involved in science learning. The girls, ages 11 to 14, were at risk for low self-esteem, sedentary lifestyle, and poor health outcomes. Executive function stems from interdependent cognitive control processes that…

There is ongoing debate in the United States about just how diverse, inclusive, and equitable the opt-out movement--and grassroots education activism more broadly--has been over the past decade. Today, a prevailing stereotype holds that the opt-out movement predominantly mobilizes white, middle-class, and suburban parents and is therefore a force…

Automatic assessment of the quality of classroom discourse can have a transformative effect on research and practice on improving teaching effectiveness. We improve on a previous automated method to measure teacher authentic questions -- open-ended questions without pre-scripted responses that predict student achievement growth -- using classroom…

This study examines differences in English language comprehension, reading fluency, and executive functions among Spanish-English bilinguals with reading difficulties. Reading difficulties examined included general reading difficulties, defined by low word reading and reading comprehension, and specific-reading comprehension difficulties, defined…

Analyzing the quality of classroom talk is central to educational research and improvement efforts. In particular, the presence of authentic teacher questions, where answers are not predetermined by the teacher, helps constitute and serves as a marker of productive classroom discourse. Further, authentic questions can be cultivated to improve…

This paper reports results from a six-state study of 62 USA social studies classrooms. We examined the extent to which intellectually challenging authentic pedagogy was present in study classrooms, the characteristics of classroom practice at different levels of authentic pedagogy, and how those characteristics may promote or inhibit high levels…

In order to investigate the effectiveness of using Student Response Systems (SRS) among grade 7 and 8 science students in New York, the How Do You Feel About This Class? (HDYFATC) questionnaire was administered to 1097 students (532 students did use SRS and 565 students who did not use SRS). Data analyses attested to the sound factorial validity…

This research explores the question, "Do students who were accelerated in grade eight complete high school mathematics courses at a similar rate to students who were not accelerated?" Data was examined for students who took the New York State (NYS) 2012 Integrated Algebra assessment and students who took the 2015 Common Core Algebra…

There are currently mixed findings on the social and academic benefits of youth participation in school sponsored sports, such as football. While some research suggests positive outcomes through increased sense of school belongingness, other studies link participation in football to increased delinquent behavior. Social control theory informed the…