Ninth grade is a pivotal year for students. Numerous studies find that academic performance in 9th grade often sets the student's trajectory throughout the high school years, as well as the probability of graduation. The Building Assets Reducing Risks (BARR) model is a comprehensive approach that addresses developmental, academic, and school…

This paper presents case studies of two teachers at Crescent Girl's School (an all-girls high school in Singapore) who implemented strategies learned through a teacher professional development program called 21st Century Learning Design (21CLD). Policymakers often state requirements for teachers to focus on 21st century (21C) competencies without…

In this paper we present the results of an evaluation study of a development project for the introduction and use of tablet computers (iPads) at the lower secondary level in Nordlinga school, a compulsory school in Reykjavík. In the study, we assess the impact of the use of tablet computers on instruction and students' learning in grades 9 to 10,…

In the era of mobile devices and services, researchers in the educational domain have been interested in how to support learning with mobile technology in both local and global contexts. Recent human-computer interaction (HCI) research in the educational domain has particularly focused on how to develop mobile learning services and how to evaluate…

"Guitar Hero" is a video game where one or more players use a specially made game-style guitar to play along to popular and well-known songs. Players need to match the correct notes and timings of the sings. An on-screen guide shows players which notes to play, when. There are levels of difficulty in the game, as well as the choices to…

The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether the data from the qualitative study fit Rasch model requirements for the definition of a measure, as well as to address concern in the extant literature regarding the appropriate number of items needed in analysis to assure unidimensionality. The self-report victimization scale was…

Recent research has suggested that differences between intelligent tutor lessons predict a large amount of the variance in the prevalence of gaming the system. Within this paper, we investigate whether such differences also predict how much students choose to go off-task, and if so, which differences predict how much off-task behavior will occur.…

This study documents the impact of placing graduation coaches as a GEAR UP intervention in urban high schools. The overall goal was improvement of students' academic performance, particularly for students not passing core courses. This longitudinal study began with data collection in feeder middle schools where results indicated improved student…

This study investigates the effect of materials developed based on conceptual change approach on 9th grade students'achievement in the subject of fractions. With this aim, a worksheet, conceptual change text and a two-stage performance test on the subject of fractions were developed. Quasi-experimental research model was used in the study.…

Over the last decade, New York City has been the site of a systemwide high school reform effort that is unprecedented in its scope and pace. Since 2002, the school district has closed more than 20 failing high schools, opened more than 200 new secondary schools, and implemented a centralized high school admission process in which approximately…

The examination of the development of students' epistemological beliefs is important. There is little empirical evidence for precisely how epistemological beliefs are altered. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of constructivist teaching on students' epistemological beliefs in physics. One-group pretest-posttest…

Despite the approbations for the use of portfolio assessment, there are limited number of studies that have looked at the portfolio assessment from the students' point of view. The purpose of this study was to find out students' perceptions about portfolio assessment. A multi-case study design was utilized for the research in order to focus on…

The main purpose of this study has been to compare the concept mapping with the traditional instruction method in consideration of student's achievements in English course. The students who took "English" class in 9th grade at Balakgazi High School in 2005-2006 attended this study. An experimental group and a control group consisting of 23 members…

The cognitive significance of the body has become one of the major topics in current psychology. However, it is our contention that claims about the embodied nature of thinking must come to terms with the problem of the relationship between the body as a locus for the constitution of students' subjective mathematical meanings and the historical…

Research in mathematical problem solving has produced significant results in trying to understand what people do to solve problems. An important part of the solution process is the presence of both cognitive and metacognitive strategies. This paper documents the extent to which 13 ninth grade students are able to recognize the basic structure of a…