An online system leveraging self-explanation was developed. The theoretical basis and design principles guiding the development of the system were explicated. Four evaluation studies were conducted to assess the student-generated explanations component accompanying student-generated questions (SQG) and the embedded designs. The analyzed data…

The efficiency of the distance education process can be evaluated from various aspects. One of the most important indicators in revealing the effectiveness of the distance education process is the satisfaction level of the learners. This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable satisfaction with distance education scale for secondary and high…

Restorative justice pedagogies, such as dialogue or peacemaking circles, allow students to learn how to share and listen with peers, set boundaries for moral dialogue, and engage constructively with each other's perspectives. This study is part of a larger project focused on teachers' professional development and circle implementation. The focus…

Little is known about character education and social skills within a transformative curriculum framework in the L2 classroom. This action research study stems from identifying peer rejection in 7th grade English language classrooms as a social issue hampering English language practices for some students. Four L2 storytelling workshops were…

Manipulating algebraic expressions is guided by students' structure sense and the individual process of relating subexpressions to each other. This paper presents a framework for identifying the underlying cognitive processes of manipulating algebraic expressions, based on 'basic structures' and 'giving relevance'. A design-research case study…

Through a case study of a seventh-grade ELA teacher, this article examines New Literacies pedagogy and more specifically a digital video project amid high-stakes testing pressures that often place limitations on teaching and learning.

This paper reports on the findings of a case study that investigated the interaction of the agendas and practices of students, teachers, and zoo educators during a class field trip to a zoo. The study reports on findings of the analysis of two case classes of students and their perceptions of their learning experiences during the field trip. The…

In this study we investigated the relation of rigorous instructional practices and teachers' efforts to create a respectful, collaborative learning environment to students' positive behavior toward one another and to the rate and quality of students' participation in classroom discussions. Full class period (i.e., 50-minute) observations of…

We report on the construction and application of an instrument entitled the "Science Achievement Influences Survey" to assess combined effects of student attitudes about science, peer interaction, and home support, and the frequency of student-centred and teacher-centred instructional practices on student achievement. Controlling for pre-test…

For a successful transition to adulthood, young people need opportunities to be responsible, caring, participating members of society. A study was designed to test the effectiveness of peer discipline control in seventh grade classrooms. The context was a language arts class in which the students were learning parliamentary procedures. A class…

Weak increases in classroom cohesion for three seventh-grade classes instructed by a mastery learning technique compared to three conventionally instructed classes are demonstrated using block analysis of variance, triadic census (balance theory), and block modelling (role theory) analytic techniques on repeated-measures sociometric rating data.…

Cooperative learning, as it was constructed in three seventh-grade classrooms in a multi-ethnic middle school, was examined as part of a dissertation study that focused on cooperative learning as embedded in its sociocultural context. Data were gathered using ethnographic methods, including participant and nonparticipant observations, document…

Change over time in the cross-achievement level regard of seventh-grade students for teammates in small heterogeneous cooperative learning groups was studied for 184 middle school students (55 percent Hispanic Americans, 27 percent Whites, 14 percent Blacks, and 3 percent Asian Americans) in Los Angeles County (California). Student perceptions…

To determine the relative contribution of team competition and peer group practice sessions to the effectiveness of a classroom instructional technique, Teams-Games-Tournament (TGT), 299 seventh grade mathematics students participated in an experiment varying reward system (team vs. individual competition) with practice mode (group vs.…

Two instructional techniques, Teams-Games-Tournament (TGT), and Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD), contain a team component and a comparison-among-equals component. To separate the effects of these two components on academic performance, mutual attraction, and student attitudes, a 2 x 2 factorial design was used, varying reward structure…