Middle- and high-school students' attitudes towards online peer-assessment were described and examined in this study. One hundred and eighty-four (184) students answered a 16-item questionnaire about their experiences with an online peer-assessment tool called peerScholar. Overall, students in Canada converged with those in other countries…

The purpose of this study was to examine changes in students' relational engagement across the transition to high school in three schools reformed to improve the quality of student-teacher relationships. In order to analyze this data we employed latent growth curve (LGC) modeling techniques (n = 637). We ran three LGC models on three…

This study examined a large, nationally-representative sample of eighth-grade students in the US to assess how the frequency of group learning activity in mathematics classrooms was associated with mathematics achievement and three measures of attitudes toward mathematics. Results showed that moderate amounts of group work in class had positive…

This study examined the relationship of 979 middle school students' perceptions of their mathematics classroom environment to their motivation and achievement. Structural equation modeling indicated that motivational variables (utility, personal achievement goals, efficacy) mediated the influence of perceived teacher expectations, teacher…

This study examined the quality of teacher-child interactions and exposure to mathematics instruction as predictors of 5th grade student's mathematics achievement. The sample was a subset of the children involved in the NICHD-SECC longitudinal study (N = 657). Results indicate that, even after controlling for student demographic…

Science educators have suggested that, for minority and low-income students, gaps between home and school science cultures necessitate "border crossing" for successful learning in science. Our analysis used National Assessment of Educational Progress 2000 and 2005 data to assess the impact of U.S. state-level policy regarding…

No previous research has employed learning environments criteria in evaluating the effectiveness of the system of teacher certification sponsored by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Because the litmus test of any professional development effort is the extent of the changes in teaching behaviours in participating teachers'…

This study examined emotional climate in relation to the teaching and learning of grade 7 science. A multi-method and multi-theoretic approach used sociocultural frameworks as a foundation for interpretive research, conversation analysis, prosody analysis, and studies of nonverbal conduct. Emotional climate varied continuously throughout a lesson.…

In this multi-stage mixed-analysis study, the views of 437 Hispanic college students enrolled at two Hispanic-Serving Institutions in the Southwest of the USA were obtained concerning characteristics of effective middle-school teachers. Through the method of constant comparison (qualitative phase), 38 themes were determined to be present in…

Using a sample of 867 students in Grades 5-12, the present study investigated whether students' perceptions toward the instructional environment in classrooms that employed Universal Design for Learning differed by school grade level and teacher gender. High-school students in the study showed higher perception scores than upper-elementary or…

The purpose of this study was to examine students' psychosocial perceptions of their science classroom learning environment in order to identify exemplary teachers. This mixed-method study used the valid and reliable What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire with over 3,000 middle school students in 150 classrooms in Australia.…

This article describes an initial attempt to find out students' perceptions of class visits to natural history museums, with regard to the museum's role as a place for intellectual and social experience. The study followed up approximately 500 Grades 6-8 students who visited four museums of different sizes, locations and foci. Data sources…

This study of middle-school students in California focused on the effectiveness of using innovative teaching strategies for enhancing the classroom environment, students' attitudes and conceptual development. A sample of 661 students from 22 classrooms in four inner city schools completed modified forms of the Constructivist Learning Environment…

The purpose of the study was to investigate the use of an existing instrument, the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES)(Taylor, Dawson & Fraser, 1995; Taylor, Fraser & Fisher, 1993, 1997), for providing insights into the classroom learning environments of beginning science teachers. In the first year of the study, the CLES was used…