"Representational transformation diagrams" are used to compare and contrast standard textbook presentations of vector line integrals in undergraduate courses in both mathematics and physics. These presentations are taken as the lower anchor in a learning trajectory. Two principal approaches in the lower division are identified, roughly…

This article describes a dataset on pop songs that charted on the Billboard Top 40 and/or at one or more of five radio stations, three in Chicago, Illinois, and two in Grand Rapids, Michigan, from the early 1960s through 1970. The dataset includes 5746 observations and 26 variables. In the body of the paper article, we describe how the cleaned…

This article explores the efficacy of specifications grading in undergraduate political science classes. Specifications grading organizes instruction around a set of learning objectives and evaluates student success based on the achievement of carefully articulated specifications for each assessment. Assessments are considered satisfactory or…

This first draft of the "Comparison of Virginia's 2009 Mathematics Standards of Learning (SOL) with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for Mathematics" provides a side-by-side overview demonstrating how the 2009 Mathematics SOL are aligned to the CCSS. The comparison was made using Virginia's complete standards program for supporting…

This article discusses a sociocultural approach to processes of identity that has implications for how we understand learning and identity formation in education. Focusing on the socially constructed and culturally figured nature of language, tools, and interactions in learning contexts, this approach assists in the appreciation of how students…

Mastering techniques of self- and peer revision is a valuable tool for all writers, especially US-educated Generation 1.5 students, whose near fluency enables them to dialogue successfully about their writing. Using action research, 2 academic writing instructors systematically trained students to more responsibly and effectively revise their…

Data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction archive are used to assess the joint effect of race and gender on advanced academic (advanced placement and honors) course enrollment within a school district with an open enrollment policy. Using student SAT scores; the authors compare expected levels of advanced course enrollment for…

Prerequisite courses are essential tools in many university curricula, but some educators have suggested that they may be detrimental if applied too stringently to exclude students from courses. A measure of the value of prerequisites is whether or not they promote student success. The strongest way to test the value of prerequisites is to compare…

Several schools that eschewed the middle school model and remained K-8 discovered anecdotally that their students showed fewer behavioral problems and higher academic achievement than many students enrolled in middle schools. On the basis of studies that verified these observations, school district leaders in Milwaukee, Baltimore, and Philadelphia…