Middle school students' ability to think critically and comprehend complex text is often challenging. Students often need additional academic support in this area. Close reading text is an instructional strategy that involves analyzing and looking at a text critically. The purpose of the qualitative phenomenological study is to examine English…

Student learning is substantially impacted by the choice of curriculum, and a significant predictor of achievement gain is the level of implementation. The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to explore implementation experiences of primary and middle school teachers of English Language Arts (ELAR) curriculum at a rural school…

COVID-19, social distasting, and synchronous versus asynchronous learning have continued to widen gaps in students' knowledge. Teachers have largely been responsible for closing those gaps with little to no additional resources, except for what new state mandates have in place such as House Bill 4545 in Texas. Previous research has shown that new…

The sentiment that creativity is the most important skill needed to solve the problems that we face is repeated by different business and industry leaders around the world (Bronson & Merryman, 2010; NEA, n.d.; Nussbaum et al., 2005; Sammio, 2017). The call for creativity has been amplified in response to the problems and obstacles caused by…

The aims of this qualitative study were (1) to understand the experiences of two middle school English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) teachers as they planned and implemented critical literacy into a unit in their existing curriculum and (2) to understand the experiences of students as they engaged in a curriculum embedded with critical…

The implementation of computer-based simulations by teachers in the classroom can have a significant and varied impact on students' learning outcomes and engagement. In meta-analyses of the use of computer simulation in the classroom, several studies show a significant impact on students' learning and achievement outcomes. However, the…

The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) develops all mathematic standards and curricula in Louisiana. Once approved, these items become the officially mandated curricula that each school must teach. LDOE is also responsible for the flow down of the official curricula to each school system, plus providing the appropriate amount of training to…

This is a qualitative, descriptive, and multi-case study, in which the researcher investigated the perceptions of middle school teachers who were implementing three-dimensional learning aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) into their instructional practices. The participants were 10 middle school teachers who worked in three…

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…

After finding research confirming that the innovative approach of project-based learning (PBL) improves 21st century education for all students, the administrators of a large local diocesan Catholic school system (LDCSS) initiated PBL implementation in their schools. The problem was that after 6 years it was not known how the teachers were…

The problem addressed in this qualitative descriptive study was that despite the evidence illustrating the significance of STEAM curriculum in students' academic and career success, there was still a considerable degree of uncertainty regarding what challenges were faced by P-8 schoolteachers and what support may be required to facilitate the…

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of middle school principals regarding the implementation of the arts. Although the New York State Education Department (2015) has mandated arts curriculum into all grade levels within a middle school environment, not all schools comply. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study…

High-needs urban educators often evaluate students based on lower grade level standards and less rigorous curricula that result in a lack of student self-efficacy and engagement. The problem is that students in mathematics experience transformative feelings of negative self-efficacy that lead to a lack of student engagement and achievement. The…

The purpose of this self-study was to investigate the implementation of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) in the music classroom without a district-level music administrator. With two guiding research questions, the study involved using culturally responsive music education and a community of practice to implement DEIB music…

"Citizen science" popularly refers to a participatory approach in which lay persons voluntarily contribute data toward scientific enterprise. Although citizen science may provide unique opportunities for pre-college students to engage in data-intensive science practices, little is known about whether or how citizen science interacts with…