There exists a gap in the literature that discusses the issue of those who teach STEM degree courses who have not been given appropriate training to effectively integrate and implement analytical problem-solving skills (APSS) within their curriculum. At the center of this research is the need for effective training of implementing analytical…

For over a century, teacher-centered learning occurred as the most prominent method of teaching students (Medve, 2023). The student-centered classroom provides students the opportunity to focus their learning on curriculum which is interesting to them. "Problem-Based learning (PBL) is a type of student-centered learning heavily influenced by…

Creativity has been of research interest to psychologists dating back many decades, and is currently recognized as one of the essential skills needed to succeed in our complex, interconnected world. One medium that has affordances to assess and support creativity in young people is video games. In this paper, we briefly discuss the literature on…

Although the use of technology in the K12 classroom has been shown to have a positive impact, research on the use of open education resources (OER) is relatively limited, especially research focusing on low-achieving students. The present study examines the relationship between usage of Algebra Nation, a self-guided system that provided…

The present study explores how gender, ethnicity, and performance-based perceived competence impact students' learning, performance, and enjoyment from playing a digital STEM learning game. We had 199 9th-11th grade students play a 2D digital STEM learning game across six science classes. Based on the results of demographic surveys, matched…

This report examines one component of the current school accountability system--learning gains. We find that learning gain percentages are affected by a variety of factors including starting achievement level, socioeconomic status, and English language learner status when the current definition of learning gains is used. Hence, we propose a new…

City Year is a learning organization committed to the rigorous evaluation of its "Whole School Whole Child" model, which trains and deploys teams of AmeriCorps members to low-performing, urban schools to empower more students to reach their full potential. A third-party study by Policy Studies Associates (PSA) examined the impact of…

Teaching writing well poses several challenges in today's diverse classrooms. Despite a growing research base on teaching writing, outcomes for students with disabilities in secondary schools continue to be disappointing. Research in the naturalistic tradition that would help educators understand the knowledge and beliefs that influence teachers'…

This study examined the impact of Personalization for Academic and Social Emotional Learning (PASL), a school based social emotional reform implemented in the Broward County Florida Public Schools. Taking advantage of a phased roll out of PASL, we analyzed data collected during the first implementation year (2017-18) and compared 205 9th grade…

Academic discourse communities and learning circles are characterized by collaboration, sharing commonalities in terms of social interactions and language. The discourse of these communities is composed of jargon, common terminologies, and similarities in how they construe and communicate meaning. This study examines the extent to which discourse…

The study compares faculty and school demographics in selected high school science classrooms to expand the research on women with careers in science. The classrooms are either situated in "high need Local Education Agencies" or the classrooms are situated in "low-performing schools," as categorized by the Florida Department of…

How can teachers utilize video games in the classroom, harnessing a technology that is gaining "market share" in the lives of our students? This article will provide classroom teachers with a research-based rationale for using video games along with a viable, classroom-tested lesson to teach social studies content using a widely…

We study the usage of a self-guided online tutoring platform called Algebra Nation, which is widely by middle school and high school students who take the End-of-Course Algebra I exam at the end of the school year. This article aims to study how the platform contributes to increasing students' exam scores by examining users' logs over a three year…

Digital games are very popular in modern culture. The authors are examining ways to leverage these engaging environments to assess and support student competencies. The authors examine gameplay and learning using a physics game they developed called Newton's Playground. The sample consisted of 167 eighth- and ninth-grade students who played…

Providing ninth-graders with academic and social support can put more students on the graduation path, but it can be challenging for schools and school systems to implement that support routinely and effectively. This brief describes how Broward County Public Schools adopted a community of practice (CoP) approach to improve school-based teams'…