Teacher behaviors such as providing frequent opportunities to respond and feedback are known to promote student engagement. In addition, contextual variables such as grade-level and instructional grouping may affect engagement. However, less is known about teacher behavior in these instructional contexts. This study aimed to examine active…

This study examined student and program characteristics that are related to English proficiency and content area achievement for English language learner (ELL) students in one urban district in Connecticut. The study found that ELL students in special education had English proficiency scores significantly lower than the mean for all ELL students…

This "Stated Briefly" report is a companion piece that summarizes the results of another report of the same name. The study examined student and program characteristics that are related to English proficiency and content area achievement for English language learner (ELL) students in one urban district in Connecticut. Study authors found…

This paper presents a method for allowing calculus taught by mathematics faculty to be augmented with real-world engineering problems. The method relies on modules to deliver the problems and required background information. Students complete the modules outside of class and discuss them in mentor-led sessions. To encourage participation, students…

This article describes a practical methodology for assigning students to groups where the goal is to create diversity within the groups while taking into consideration the preferences of the students. A motivating application of this work is the assignment of students to first-year seminars. In this common scenario, students select and rank a…

The pace of globalization coupled with growing institutional pursuit of online education means that online classes are increasingly composed of a multi-national, multi-ethnic, and multi-cultural student body. Teaching presence, which is the ability to structure the class, create the social environment, give instruction, and assess student work, is…

Scottish educational policy advocates the benefits of collaborative learning as a way of developing critical life skills, across the primary curriculum. In this paper, the rationale for collaborative learning, and specifically the Critical Skills (CS) approach, is considered along with an account of the perspectives of primary teachers…

When students can self-select their group members, a common assumption is that students prefer to select friends from similar cultural backgrounds. However, when teachers randomize students in groups from different cultural backgrounds, students are "forced" to work together. The prime goal of this study is to understand the impact of…

Using richly detailed data on fourth- and fifth-grade students in the North Carolina public school system, I find evidence that students are assigned to classrooms in a non-random manner based on observable characteristics for a substantial portion of classrooms. Moreover, I find that this non-random assignment is statistically related to class…

Schools are becoming increasingly diversified; however, training and professional development related to working with English language learners (ELs), especially in the area of English reading, is limited. In this article, we identify three "Big Ideas" of effective and collaborative practices that promote English reading achievement for…

Looking back on a course they had designed, the authors recognized that the catalyst to success was the commitment to incorporating five course components: (1) substantial instructional minutes; (2) authentic academic reading material; (3) various instructional groupings; (4) instruction on vocabulary; and (5) background knowledge, and modeling of…

This article describes the findings of a constructivist qualitative research study focused on students' perceptions of the learning experience and student communication in two cohorts of doctoral students. We also capture student perceptions of taking a merged course--that is, two previously closed cohorts taking a course together for the…

Findings from research studies suggest that school leadership accounts for fully one quarter of total school effects on pupils, making it second only to classroom instruction among school-based factors affecting student achievement (Leithwood, Louis, Anderson & Wahlstrom, 2004). While a considerable body of research has analyzed effective…

This study analyses and evaluates the impact of two recent (2001 and 2010) education reforms on Ukrainian secondary schools, and, in particular, on science subjects (physics, chemistry, biology and Earth science), in terms of the structural, quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the reformed disciplines. It also examines societal…

Effective instruction is a critical predictor of student achievement. As students with exceptionalities such as emotional and behavioral disorders and learning disabilities, who typically struggle with academic achievement, spend increasing amounts of general education settings, the need for precise instructional behaviors becomes more imperative.…