This book presents the findings of two case studies in the 'Making Connections' two-year project funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Education. It shows how science literacy was improved in a state coeducational school with Pacific Island students from diverse linguistic backgrounds. This book details ideas and strategies relevant to schools…

With the changes in the educational landscape, holding students' attention has become an even more crucial point. Educators are having to find creative ways and means to engage students and make learning 'fun'. There have been numerous research studies to show that gamification can be used to drive student engagement, achievement, and reinforce…

This qualitative Metasynthesis sought to identify and critique how the application of culturally responsive pedagogy/teaching methods and practices transform the opportunities of learning experiences in K-12 urban school classrooms. The critical race theory, culturally responsive pedagogy/teaching and constructivist learning theory were use as the…

While formative assessments (FAs) can facilitate learning within undergraduate STEM courses, their impact likely depends on many factors, including how instructors implement them, whether students buy-in to them, and how students utilize them. FAs have many different implementation characteristics, including what kinds of questions are asked,…

This qualitative case study sought to understand how final round candidates for the honor of "Teacher of the Year" in a Midwestern region of the United States described and exhibited the use of affective behaviors and performance techniques to engage students in learning. Seventeen secondary-level educators who possessed teaching…

After watching his fifth-grade son perform in "The Taming of the Shrew," Ben Lathrop realized that having learned the play through performance, his son found the experience enjoyable. Moreover, his acting decisions (movements, gestures, vocal inflections) demonstrated that he had at least some understanding of his lines, suggesting that…

To combat high dropout rates and low motivation for online courses, we gamified a history of science course. To do so, we used an online educational program called 3DGameLab to convert what had been a well-liked face-to-face lecture and discussion course to an online format, for the purposes of long-distance teaching and learning. Within…

Teaching effectiveness in higher education has been studied for a long time. The widely used student evaluation of teachers has limitations on measuring teaching effectiveness by directly assessing teacher-centered practices. Additionally, there is little evidence to support the usefulness of student evaluation data to improve and shape the…

In the pursuit of continuous improvement in education and closing the achievement gap, educators are experimenting with different environments that will assist students in increasing academic achievement. The media bombards Americans with news about the failing educational system that is being outperformed by counterparts around the world. In this…

Research continues to find discussions in history classrooms to be rather short in length and simplistic in nature, despite the higher aims of historical and critical thinking. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the phenomenon of historical thinking and dialogic discussions in the secondary history classroom. Its goal was to…

Agentic engagement, or attempts to proactively influence instruction, predicts positive classroom climate and students' motivation. As such, it is a potentially effective target for intervention, though causal evidence is limited. This investigation explored whether an agentic orientation could be cultivated through a brief, online intervention…

With the blended learning widespread in higher education, the research on the factors which can influence the students' engagement and their working mechanism has become more and more valuable. In this study, college students' perception on three aspects, i.e. their cognitive engagement and emotional engagement in two different activities, the…

This article proposes the application of the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a framework for promoting inclusion in outdoor learning in primary school settings. The authors conceptualise outdoor learning, highlighting the potential for more child-initiated experiential learning. Yet this paper is not concerned only with…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the process of developing an alternative physical education program using restorative justice practices as a transformative approach to social--emotional learning. Method: This study utilizes qualitative case study methods to examine the implementation process and short-term outcomes. Data sources…

Reinhart's (2000) article "Never Say Anything a Kid Can Say!" shared the lessons he learned as he journeyed from a teacher-centered model of instruction to one that puts students at the center of the teaching and learning process. Within his narrative, he itemized the strategies he used and learned from, balanced recommendations with…