The purpose of the present case study was to examine the instructional practices that influence the frequency and quality of dialogic opportunities in one fifth-grade classroom. The present study occurred during a 14-week period of time. Sociolinguistic theory and situated learning theory provided a framework for interpreting text-based…

Research indicates many children today spend little time outdoors exploring the natural world and a great deal of time inside viewing the television or playing video games (Jerald, 2009; Robinson, 2010) which can lead to poor social development, childhood obesity, and a lack of feeling connected to the environment. One instructional tool being…

As reports of bullying continue to make headlines, the push to understand the processes behind bullying behaviors continues to rise. While a great deal of research has been conducted to better understand the processes behind and the outcomes of bullying, the majority of these studies are quantitative in nature and very few involve qualitative…

Teaching science as inquiry has been at the forefront of many educational reforms related to teaching science in K-12 settings. However, educators' understandings of the term and practices related to science as inquiry vary. This study examined a group of middle school science teachers' perspectives and practices related to teaching science as…

In prior studies, we examined Collective Classroom Efficacy (CCE) through the role of teacher and through the voices of students in a diverse classroom developing CCE. One participant exhibited an element of hope that added to her learning experience. Through Lara's telling case, we illustrate how she accomplished her goals through interactions…