Several school districts in Georgia use two teacher-administered diagnostic assessments of student knowledge of mathematics as part of their multi-tiered system of support in grades K-8: the Global Strategy Stage (GloSS; New Zealand Ministry of Education, 2012) and the Individual Knowledge Assessment of Number (IKAN; New Zealand Ministry of…

This document are the appendixes for the report, "The Reliability and Consequential Validity of Two Teacher-Administered Student Mathematics Diagnostic Assessments." Rather than relying on occasional testimonials from the field, decisions about using diagnostic assessments across the state should be based on psychometric data from an…

The purpose of this article is to examine Kindergarten through 5th-grade teachers' understanding of differentiated instruction and perception of their ability to implement differentiated instruction in their classrooms. Differentiated instruction is a critical factor for children's success. Thirty-one K-5 teachers from the state of Georgia…

Positive school climate is associated with myriad positive student, staff, and school outcomes, including increased achievement and decreased problem behavior. Hence, universal evidence-based practices are necessary to increase school climate. One universal approach with evidence of effects on school climate is School-Wide Positive Behavior…

Flexible grouping aims to divide students into groups according to their strengths and abilities. This will allow teachers to tailor instruction to meet the needs of students, allowing them to thrive within their current environments. Quantitative research was used to investigate whether flexible grouping had a positive effect on student…

The purpose of this article, drawing on ethnographic data from several years of observation of Latinx children in schools throughout North Georgia, is to explore the racialization of Latinx EL children in a North Georgia classroom. Specifically, we explore the ways in which one teacher's physical presence, as well as her language use (and the…

Numbers of Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) programs are rapidly growing in the United States, especially in the New Latinx Diaspora in the South. With fast expansion comes a need for DLBE teachers, but there is a lack of programs in this region to prepare teachers with specialized knowledge for DLBE instruction. This phenomenological…

The current study was a retrospective mixed-methods quasi-experimental design (QED) study to determine the effects of Progress Learning on Grades 6-8 mathematics and ELA achievement by comparison growth on the Georgia Milestones Mathematics and ELA assessments of students who received Progress Learning services, in relation to students that did…

The purpose of this Delphi study was to determine perceptions of 16 stakeholders regarding what topics should be included in new elementary agricultural education curriculum for the state of Georgia. Participants consisted of elementary principals/teachers/counselors, middle school teachers, Ag in the classroom representatives, Agricultural…

Cooperative learning is a proven teaching strategy that teachers have been using for over 40 years. Teachers often group students heterogeneously so that students who are lower achieving are learning with and from higher achieving students. The purpose of this study was to test homogeneous and heterogeneous grouping while using cooperative…

The goal of this quasi-experimental study was to assess the effects of Dual-Coding Theory on domain-specific vocabulary and comprehension in a 5th grade social studies classroom. The pretest/posttest design research was conducted in a rural elementary school (N = 49). Twenty-three students participated in an intervention of dual-coding based…

Instructional time spent on elementary social studies is often marginalized due to the emphasis placed on other content areas. Therefore, social studies teachers must employ meaningful instructional strategies that will engage students while promoting content acquisition. This quasi-experimental study responds to this challenge by guiding a sample…

In this paper, the authors describe an investigation of Kennesaw State University's inaugural MOOC, a professional development opportunity designed to enhance educator skills in designing blended and online learning environments for their K-12 learners. Additionally, the authors discuss design aspects of the MOOC in regard to learning impact and…

Early childhood educator preparation program curricula contain limited course work and accompanying field experiences on chronic illness management and supporting young children with these conditions. The current study examines data from 319 kindergarten to third grade teachers from the southeastern United States and their perceptions of statewide…

Spatial-Temporal Math (ST Math) is game-based, instructional software for K-12 students created by the MIND Research Institute (MIND). ST Math is integrated into classroom instruction, but can also be used in a computer lab or at home. The ST Math software games begin without language and symbol abstractions by posing math programs as purely…