In response to legislation from the federal government and the rising number of ELs in public schools many school districts are searching for ways to ensure ELs are making adequate progress on English proficiency. The problem is defining the best method for teaching ELs in the mainstream classroom is difficult. The current gap in educational…

This study explores volitional and affective responses to instructional activities aimed at developing geometric and spatial vocabulary of a neurodivergent student. Using teaching experiment methodology across 15 instructional sessions, we observed how the student responded to games, direct instruction, and vocabulary support embedded in spatial…

Statistical terms are used in everyday language and, at times, used in non-statistical ways. It is often assumed students understand statistical terms because of their common use; however, research into their understanding of specific statistical terms is scant. This report focuses on 58 Year 3 students' responses to the basic question, "What…

Pioneer Valley Books (PVB) contracted McREL International to investigate the effects of the third grade Literacy Footprints (LFP) guided reading system on English language arts (ELA) performance on state assessments. LFP is a research-based, comprehensive, small-group literacy tool that facilitates explicit and systematic guided reading…

Using cross-grade peer mentoring as an integral component to field trip experiences can help educators realize the learning potential of nature-based experiences. When young students are paired with older students, Socratic peer dialogue deepens interest, investment, and ultimately ownership of new learning. Using peer-supported inquiry…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs serving students from low socioeconomic areas are understudied in the literature. More research studies need to be conducted to make informed instructional decisions for students who may be at a disadvantage compared to their peers from higher socioeconomic areas. The purpose of…

In Problem-Based Learning (PBL), a problem is posed before students have learned how to solve it. Language and PBL pair well for effective learning environments. Informed by language-based theories of learning and strategically adding methods for working with English Language Learners (ELLs), we developed an approach called Problem-Based…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship of language proficiency (WIDA) on the performance of third, fourth, and fifth grade English language learners who were administered the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments during the 2017-2018 assessment year. The Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) reading and…

Administrators and teachers are concerned that English Language Learners (ELLs) in an urban elementary school in a southern part of the United States are not meeting required state standards in reading. Teachers have indicated that they do not always know how to differentiate instruction for ELLs. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to…

Much of the evidence provided in support of the argument that mathematical knowing is embodied/enacted is based on the analysis of gestures and bodily configurations, and, to a lesser extent, on certain vocal features (e.g., prosody). However, there are dimensions involved in the emergence of mathematical knowing and the production of mathematical…

The current study is a qualitative case study that investigated the writing development of seven Chinese-speaking English language learners (ELLs) from kindergarten and 3rd-grade ESL classes in an elementary school in the Midwest and intended to discover the factors that affect students' English writing development in a one-year period. Guided by…

Researchers have used various theories to explain deaf individuals' reading skills, including the dual route reading theory, the orthographic depth theory, and the early language access theory. This study tested 4 groups of children--hearing with dyslexia, hearing without dyslexia, deaf early signers, and deaf late signers (N = 857)--from 4…

The authors question the answer the national Common Core State Standards (CCSS, 2010) claims. The questions center on the validity of the new standardized tests based on the CCSS and teachers' evaluations being tied to student test scores on flawed tests. The proposed tests on the CCSS will position children as deficient, and will not recognize…

The introduction of the Internet and its hyperlinked content made easily accessible with portable digital devices like smart phones and tablets, posed challenges to the traditional linear and print-oriented notions of what it means to read and write. Now that these traditional notions of read and write literacy have been breached by these…

This article highlights the complexity of becoming a reader in public school classrooms, by describing the ways students' reading bodies constituted the sites and discursive means for the performance of diverse reader identities. Drawing on sociocultural literacy and post-structural performance theories to suggest the notion of embodied…