This developmental research aims to: (1) examine the developmental processes of the application called MagicSpells, a haptically-enhanced, digital, vocabulary acquisition application design for learners with dyslexia, (2) investigate the structure and design of the application, and (3) analyze the results of the reviews and usability tests…

The focus on improving children's readiness for kindergarten has intensified globally. While most studies examine this issue prior to children entering kindergarten, little is known about how education stakeholders make sense of readiness once children enter kindergarten. This article addresses this gap by examining how a range of stakeholders…

This commentary highlights convergent themes from four articles in the March 2009 issue of "Educational Researcher" on measuring classroom instruction. Classroom instruction is a complex enterprise that occurs at the intersection of teachers, students, and texts within the surrounding classroom, school, and community environments. Progress in…

This article critiques the articles by Connor et al., Croninger and Valli, Pianta and Hamre, and Rowan and Correnti, which appeared in the March 2009 issue of "Educational Researcher," by taking a cultural-historical perspective on reading and reading instruction. In this paradigm a number of those authors' assumptions are seen as questionable,…

This paper provides practical guidance for researchers who are designing and analyzing studies that randomize schools--which comprise three levels of clustering (students in classrooms in schools)--to measure intervention effects on student academic outcomes when information on the middle level (classrooms) is missing. This situation arises…

The use of manipulatives in the classroom has been advocated for decades. However, the theoretical and empirical support for this practice is mixed. Some researchers suggest that manipulatives facilitate learning by (a) providing an additional channel for conveying information, (b) activating real-world knowledge, and/or (c) improving memory…

This paper traces the evolving relationship of a teacher and a researcher who shared life in a kindergarten/first-grade classroom for an academic year. Their relationship became the basis for new ways of thinking about the social and academic competencies of children in the classroom, and for new ways of thinking about the aims and conduct of…