When conducting a postal survey, a traditional recommendation is to use paper postage stamps instead of an automated postage system, to make sure that invitations have a more personal and attractive appearance. In this research note, we investigate whether this traditional recommendation is still valid. In the autumn of 2020, a postal survey was…

This paper presents the main methodological issues met with during the research on adolescent everyday life information behavior in the context of making informed decisions, which was carried out in Croatia from 2018 to 2020. It does not focus on the research results, but rather on the methodological issues and concerns that had occurred stemming…

This paper presents a design-based research project undertaken to test and implement an interest-based engineering challenges framework for pre-college students. This work is motivated by the need for innovative engineering education practices in pre-college settings, and making engineering more inclusive for people from diverse backgrounds. The…

This article reports on the design and findings of the first iteration of a classroom-based design research project which endeavours to design a professional development intervention for teachers' mathematical problem-solving pedagogy. The major outcome of this study is the generation of design principles that can be used by other researchers…

Upward Bound (UB) was one of the original federal "Great Society" programs of the 1960s and remains, fifty years later, the single largest college access program in the country. Recently, Congress has reduced funding and considered eliminating the program because of federal budget pressures and because the first analysis of the only…

Recent federal legislation, such as the "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2001 and the "Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA)" of 2002, has insisted that educational evaluations use rigorous research designs with quantitative outcome measures. In particular, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) at the U.S. Department of…

To help researchers understand potential issues one can encounter when conducting propensity matching studies in complex settings, this paper describes methodological complications faced when studying schools using deeper learning practices to improve college and career readiness. The study uses data from high schools located in six districts…

The present study used a multiple-baseline, single-case experimental design to investigate effects of three sequential experimental conditions on frequency of correct word sequences (CWS) and construction of simple sentences per 1-minute. Sentence Instruction, Frequency Building to a Performance Criteria (FBPC), and Paragraph Instruction comprised…

Methods and procedures for successfully solving math word problems have been, and continue to be a mystery to many U.S. high school students. Previous studies suggest that the contextual and mathematical understanding of a word problem, along with the development of schemas and their related external representations, positively contribute to…

The 2005 Summit on High Schools led to redesigning schools and promoting 21st Century Skills. Consequently, this study assesses the implementation of supplemental online courses, offered through the Virtual High School (VHS), at one suburban New Jersey public high school. The following questions guided this research project: (1) How do the VHS…

This review examines a research study that compares high school graduation rates of students who used vouchers to attend private high schools in Milwaukee and students who attended public high schools in that same city. The study reports that for the most recent year of data, a sample of voucher students had estimated graduation rates 12…

This article reports on the experiences and perceptions of K-12 teachers as they engaged in a participatory action research (PAR) project, "Science Across the Curriculum." Although the experiences and professional learning of two of the project participants are highlighted, the challenges that all participants experienced as they conceptualized…

This study examined the impact of rater agreement on decisions concerning the alignment between the "Golden State Examination in High School Mathematics" (California Department of Education, 2001a) and the University of California (UC) "Statement on Competencies in Mathematics Expected of Entering College Students" (Academic…

This longitudinal case-study aimed at examining whether purposely teaching for the promotion of higher order thinking skills enhances students' critical thinking (CT), within the framework of science education. Within a pre-, post-, and post-post experimental design, high school students, were divided into three research groups. The experimental…

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of a student controlled computer program for high school mathematics based on instruction principles derived from Schoenfeld's theory of problem solving. The computer program allows students to choose problems and to make use of hints during different episodes of solving problems. Crucial episodes are:…