While many researchers have addressed the topic of academic resilience, studies on the individual protective factors in high-risk middle school students from urban settings are limited. In this qualitative interpretive study, we interviewed and obtained academic records from 20 eligible students in grades 7-8 to delve into the perceptions and…

This paper reports initial results from a usability study conducted in the formative and user-centered design phase of a larger project to translate an existing, science-focused educational technology for neurotypical middle school students into a new, social-reasoning-focused educational technology for students on the autism spectrum.…

This paper reports a study that explored 11 to 12-year-olds' conceptions of the terms 'volume', 'capacity' and 'interior volume'. Semi-structured interviews, supported by the use of measurement resources, were used to gain insight into their thinking. Video-recordings of the interviews allowed analysis of dialogue, actions with the materials and…

Feedback in educational technologies can teach and engage students in math, but questions remain on how to present failure feedback that supports positive learning behaviors. We explore how error- and reward-based feedback influenced students' choices to replay completed problems in "From Here to There!," a math game-based educational…

Reforms to support and increase personalized learning approaches are increasingly being introduced in middle schools around the country. Personalization as enacted in response to these reforms encourages teachers to implement many practices that have long been advocated for among middle grades reformers. However, middle grades teachers working…

This study documents the process of implementation of an adolescent reading intervention. Using data from observations of teachers (n=17) during the 2013-14 school year, I conducted a nuanced descriptive analysis of fidelity of implementation (FoI). I also analyzed weekly logs completed by literacy coaches (n=3) to examine variation in quantity…

Middle school serves as a key milestone for pre-algebra mastery, enabling students to be successful in high school algebra. Yet, at the point when students should be transitioning from learning arithmetic to learning mathematics, many are unprepared in fundamental mathematics concepts that strongly predict algebra achievement. Because mastering…

The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between academic boredom with academic self-efficacy and mathematics anxiety of 280 middle school students. Both the descriptive and correlational survey models were used in line with the sub-problems of the study. In this study, Level of Boredom Scale, Sources of Middle School Mathematics…

When designing an instructional tool and using it in pedagogical activities, it is essential that designers and users understand what pedagogical affordances and constraints the tool provides to support its successful integration into targeted pedagogical activities. Toward this end, we developed "Pedagogical Affordance Analysis (PAA)."…

Multiplication and division are vital topics in upper level elementary school. A teacher's pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) influences both instruction and students' learning. However, there is currently little research examining teachers' PCK within this domain, particularly regarding professional education of future teachers. To help address…

Providing high-level support to students on NGSS inquiry practices can be challenging; however, teacher dashboards can help teachers provide just-in-time instruction to students, both in-person and online. Prior work has shown some success with a dashboard that alerts teachers in real time on students' science inquiry difficulties, but teachers…

In this study, the authors propose a set of design principles based on the framework of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK or TPACK) through the subject matter of music focusing on the affective domain, and identify interrelations among musical content, emotions, and technology. The design guidelines were tested in an empirical…

It is well accepted and understood amongst the mathematics education community that numeracy is the responsibility of all teachers, across all levels of schooling. However, the way numeracy is understood and actioned across the Early Childhood, Primary and Secondary contexts is different. This paper reports on a case study of secondary school…

Within the last decade, different educational data mining techniques, particularly quantitative methods such as clustering, and regression analysis are widely used to analyze the data from educational games. In this research, we implemented a quantitative data mining technique (clustering) to further investigate students' feedback. Students played…

Generalization is a critical component of mathematics learning, but it can be challenging to foster generalization in classroom settings. Teachers need access to better tools and resources to teach for generalization, including an understanding of what tasks and pedagogical moves are most effective. This study identifies the types of instruction,…