In this article the authors describe an Integrative Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Design-Based Learning (I-STEM ED DBL) activity that invites students to delve into the science, technology, and engineering related to the production of Ötzi's copper axe and to speculate about the circumstances surrounding his…

Education leaders in Virginia use early access to Algebra I as one method to provide students more time to take college preparatory courses in high school, thereby increasing students' likelihood of graduating prepared for college and careers. Yet, little data are available for these leaders to examine whether their approach is warranted. Members…

This document provides the two appendixes that accompany the full report, "Algebra I and College Preparatory Diploma Outcomes among Virginia Students Who Completed Algebra I in Grades 7-9." Appendix A, "Methods," details the data sources, study population, and analysis methods used in the study. Appendix B, "Supporting…

Education leaders in Virginia use early access to Algebra I as one method to increase students' likelihood of graduating from high school prepared for college and careers. This study used administrative data to calculate descriptive statistics on Algebra I outcomes and attainment of college preparatory diplomas among students by their grade 5 math…

Too many talented students who go to under-resourced schools do not achieve their full potential. Though they may perform very well relative to their classmates, these students do not receive the same kinds of academically challenging opportunities throughout their educational journey as do their counterparts in better-resourced public and private…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of using a motivation inventory with music students in upper-elementary, middle, and high school. We used the middle/high school version of the MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation Inventory to survey 93 students in the 5th to 12th grades in one school. Our analysis revealed…

Background: During the middle school years, students frequently show significant declines in motivation toward school in general and mathematics in particular. One way in which researchers have sought to spark students' interests and build their sense of competence in mathematics and in STEM more generally is through the use of technology. Yet…

Overweight children would not be the first thing a visitor to Grafton, West Virginia, would think of when seeing the small farms that cling to steep hillsides and cultivate the bottomland along the Tygart River as one drives into town. Like most of the state, the landscape around this village nods to pastoral enterprise, suggesting a place where…

This unit is one of a series that represents specific moments in history from which students focus on the meanings of landmark events. By studying a crucial turning point in history students become aware that choices had to be made by real human beings, that those decisions were the result of specific factors, and that they set in motion a series…