Higher-level questioning is an instructional method often recommended to challenge cognitively gifted students. However, professional development is needed to help teachers improve their ability to ask higher-level questions. Therefore, we developed an intervention based on Bloom's taxonomy, consisting of a 2-h session in which teachers learn how…

Differentiated instruction, an inclusive teaching strategy incorporating essential skills while individualizing curriculum at current instructional levels, has little inquiry into its effect on standards-based grading system within the middle grades setting. This qualitative study was designed to better understand teacher perceptions of…

Friendships frequently dissolve in early adolescence, but youth may continue to encounter ex-friends in their daily lives. The current study aimed to examine how adolescents' reactions to friendship dissolutions were associated with continued exposure to the former friend both in school and online via social media. Participants were 354 middle…

Generative AI, particularly Language Models (LMs), has the potential to transform real-world domains with societal impact, particularly where access to experts is limited. For example, in education, training novice educators with expert guidance is important for effectiveness but expensive, creating significant barriers to improving education…

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Prime Factors Chart (PFC) as an alternative teaching material, which was developed for teaching the concepts within the "factors and multiples" unit in the middle school mathematics curriculum. Twelve middle school mathematics teachers used the PFC to teach concepts, such as prime…

How do students make sense of sources encountered during online inquiry, when the source types can be as varied as the topics themselves? This paper presents findings from a multiple-case study exploring how four 8th grade students evaluated source credibility while engaged in independent research during an inquiry-based information literacy…

The transition to online learning due to COVID-19 changed the nature of participation in class. Typically quiet middle grades girls who had struggled to participate in their in-person classes were provided many different avenues to contribute to class online. While prior research has examined the reasons students are quiet and the ways teachers…

This paper reports the findings of a quasi-experimental study that investigated the impacts of effective group work on Hong Kong science classrooms. One hundred and fifty-two Secondary 2 (or Grade 8) students from two schools participated in a teaching intervention (comprising 16 lessons) in which they studied the topic 'Making Use of Electricity'…

Background: There exist shared competencies between computational thinking (CT) and mathematics, and these two domains also mutually benefit from various teaching approaches. However, the linkages between mathematics and computational thinking lack robust empirical support, particularly from student-centered learning perspectives. Our study aimed…

Experienced middle school mathematics and science teachers were recruited for a pilot study. The teachers separately responded to a survey related to determining expected learning outcomes based on their traditional teaching, classroom experiences and observations, and self-brainstorming. The teachers then received training on how to design,…

In this paper, Harel and Sowder's proof schemes of taxonomy were applied for identifying eighth grade students' learning of proof and proofing. This study aimed to examine what kind of proof schemes are used in geometry and measurement learning areas and student's skills in giving proof and their opinions about proof. Qualitative methods were…

This paper re-validates middle school students' learning progression of the concept of buoyancy (Gao et al., 2020) by using two-time point data. The previous study developed a four-level learning progression based on data collected at a single time point using cross-sectional design. This single-time-point model of learning progression calls for a…

This paper describes the benefits of a psychometric analytic approach when studying students' ability to comprehend texts. A reading comprehension measure consisting of four text passages with 32 questions was developed, and analyses using a mean-based approach and linear logistic test (LLTM) method were performed. According to ANOVA, eighth-grade…

In the present research, the "DNA Model with Clothespins" activity was designed to teach the subjects of nucleotide, DNA, and DNA replication, which are abstract subjects of science. The aim of the research, which was carried out with 20 students in 8th grade, was to examine the effects of the activity on students' achievement on the…

Studies on Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) have been widespread globally for three decades. However, it has not been discussed in the context of Nepali schools' education. A positive sense of belongingness to schools among the students is essential to foster their good academic achievement as well as their mental health.…