Data published on the official website of the NYC DOE indicated that slightly less than half (42%) of NYC students in grades three through eight are not proficient in ELA, and one quarter of them (25%) are not proficient in Math. School reform based on Hirsch's Cultural Literacy provided an additional dimension to exploring school reform and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of grade level and gender on elementary school students' motivation towards science learning. A total of 2231 sixth and eight grade students participated in the study. Data were collected through Students' Motivation towards Science Learning Questionnaire. Two-way Multivariate Analysis of…

In an effort to improve academic performance for students receiving special education services, a large urban school district in Tennessee has implemented Integrated Service Delivery Model. The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of students receiving instruction in self-contained classrooms to the performance of students…

This brief describes a quasi-experimental study of Word Generation, conducted in public middle schools in Boston. Word Generation is a robust vocabulary intervention that is implemented across key subject areas. The purpose of the program is to enhance students' vocabulary in support of improved reading comprehension. The brief outlines the…

The present study aimed at testing theoretical predictions of the fuzzy-trace theory about true and false recognition. The effects of semantic relatedness and study opportunity on true and false recognition of words from Deese, Roediger, McDermott lists (J. Deese, 1959; D. R. Read, 1996; H. L. Roediger & K. B. McDermott, 1995) were evaluated…

Prior research has identified ways in which parents and teachers contribute to learned helpless responses to failure, but little is known about the role that interactions with peers might play. In this study, the conversations of fourth- through sixth- grade children and their friends were observed after children experienced an achievement-related…

This case study addresses two major priorities of the Boston Foundation--health and education. Since the 2007 publication of the "Understanding Boston" report "The Boston Paradox: Lots of Health Care, Not Enough Health," the Boston Foundation has worked to draw attention to the epidemic of preventable chronic disease that not…

The purpose of this paper is to develop different guided writing strategies based on media richness theory and further evaluate the effects of these writing strategies on younger students' writing attitudes in terms of motivation, enjoyment and anxiety. A total of 66 sixth-grade elementary students with an average age of twelve were invited to…

A problem facing science educators is determining the most effective means of science instruction so that students will meet or exceed the new rigorous standards. The theoretical framework for this study was based on reform and research efforts that have informed science teachers that using constructivism is the best method of science instruction.…

Perceptions of instrumentality (PI) are the connections one sees between a current activity and a future goal. With high PI, one is motivated to persist with quality effort because the current activity, even when difficult, is perceived as aligned with, and progress toward, the goal. Conversely, with low PI, one is motivated to relinquish effort…

Despite initiatives to increase and broaden participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, women remain underrepresented in STEM. While U.S. girls and women perform as well as, if not better, than boys and men in math, research results indicate that there are significant declines in girls' math self-efficacy,…

High-stakes assessments have encouraged educators to ignore the needs of the top performers. Therefore, the Oakwood School District decided to implement a mathematics pilot enrichment program in order to meet the needs of the advanced mathematics students. As a result, this study used quantitative data to determine if there was a significant…

A 5-session curricular unit on the topic of face-to-face conflict mediation and on-screen media violence was administered to 85 sixth graders. Repeated measures analyses were employed to study the 57 students for whom matched questionnaires were available. Results show students became more likely to choose a non-aggressive approach to two of three…

In this study, students' perceptions of the classroom learning environment in Arab elementary schools were investigated. The sample included 261 students from Grades 5 and 6. The questionnaire was developed at an Arab college of teacher education by 16 fourth-year student teachers who were completing their studies toward a BEd degree. Articles on…

This study examined middle school students' motivation to read using an adapted version of the Motivation to Read Profile (MRP) Survey. The MRP is comprised of items assessing students' self-concepts as readers and their value of reading. In total, 1080 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students responded. Descriptive and inferential statistics…