This article describes a modeling project the author did with his algebra, geometry, and applications students in grades 9, 10, and 11 as an enrichment and exploration of an extremely relevant real-world phenomenon and introduction to the adult profession of epidemiologist. With discussion and exploration, this project consumed two periods of 88…

Background: This case study examined the consequences of a literacy initiative designed to improve writing instruction for a high school under pressure to increase standardised test scores or face government oversight. Realities of underperforming schools, such as interruptions to instructional time, a focus on formulaic essay writing and…

In the socioscientific issues (SSI) classroom, students need to cross the border between the subcultures of science (i.e., school science vs. everyday science). Traditional school contexts tend to present science as positivistic knowledge and unshakable truth unaffected by sociocultural factors. In contrast, everyday science, including SSI, is…

Is it structure or the selection of knowledge that makes writing historical narrative so difficult? Where does a conceptual focus on change, or causation, come in? James Ellis set out to explore the challenges his Year 9 pupils faced in writing historical narratives about change. Inspired by the work of Orlando Figes, he put together a scheme of…

This qualitative study explored the level of implementation of the policy of inclusion within selected high schools. The policy of inclusion is one of the key policies enacted by the Department of Education in South Africa since the demise of apartheid. The implementation of the inclusive approach is reported to be facing multiple challenges. In…

Several in-depth and experimental research have been carried out on the positive results of extensive reading (ER) over the past several years in the areas of ESL/EFL. However, several of the studies include limitations that raise doubts about the claimed positive outcomes. The current study adds to the small amount of well-regulated research by…

Situational engagement is a key element in promoting students' maintained interest and focused attention in learning. Most research on students engagement has been variable-centered, and only few studies have examined situational patterns of student engagement. The present study used person-oriented approach (e.g., latent profile analysis with…

Emerging multilingual students can develop the dimensions of Academic Literacy in Mathematics (ALM) in classroom discussions. But, there is a need for empirically-validated principles for fostering such discussions. This research used ALM as a framework to create a unit of instruction on linear rates of change for ninth grade mathematics in which…

We studied the emotions experienced by students during the last two years of compulsory secondary education (15 and 16 years old) when learning physics and chemistry. The objective of this piece of research was to establish different relationship between emotions felt by students and variables like the didactic methodology or the kind of science…

Background: South Africa's "Language-in-Education Policy" (LiEP) provides for bi/multilingual education, but schools are only supported to choose monolingual English language policies from Grade 4 and ignore the learners' home language or languages as resources for learning. Many teachers translanguage orally, using the learners' home…

'Intercultural understanding' (ICU) and its core concept 'interculturality', was introduced in the new national curriculum, implemented across Australia from 2013 (Australian Curriculum, ACARA. [2013]. Australian curriculum V.60. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/copyright). This paper draws on a study conducted in Victoria,…

Although small-group guided reading is traditionally an elementary school instructional practice, this study details how high school English teachers perceived its implementation in high school classrooms. As part of a larger, multiyear research project, this 2-year study examined a dual-level coaching professional learning program that included…

This study explores the effect of video-based instruction on the safety rules in the chemistry laboratory on student achievement. The sample for the study comprised 61 ninth grade students enrolled in two different classes at a public high school. The students in the class designated as the experimental group (N = 32) were given video-based…

The study examined the factor structure, reliability and validity of a Chinese version of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (C-CLES), an instrument for assessing students' perceptions of the extent of constructivist approaches prevalent in classrooms. A convenience sample of 967 students in Secondary Three (Grade 9) in Hong Kong…

The science teacher in the modern high school acts as the designer and driver of the in-class practice. In this role, the teacher must broadly assess the effect of the practice on the student. This would rely on accurate self-knowledge of how they act in class and impact their students. In this study we explore these issues by comparing the…