One of the key trends in learning technology in recent years has been the growing interest in simulations and serious games. Much of the research into simulations and serious games has tended to focus on aspects of fun and engagement rather than on what is happening in the process to cause transferable learning. Much of it has been based on small…

There is increased emphasis on using experimental and quasi-experimental methods to evaluate educational programs; however, educational evaluators and school leaders are often faced with challenges when implementing such designs in educational settings. Use of a historical cohort control group design provides a viable option for conducting…

Improving academic, behavioural, and social outcomes of students through empirical research has been a firm commitment among researchers, policy-makers, and other professionals in education across Europe and the United States (U.S.). To assist in building scientific evidences, executive bodies such as the European Commission and the Institute for…

The recently reported i3 Scale-Up of Reading Recovery (May et al., 2015) found an effect size of +0.69 in favor of Reading Recovery compared to the control group. We discuss four issues: (a) many of the lowest achieving students were excluded from participation in Reading Recovery; (b) the control group received a range of different experiences;…

We evaluated the effects of white noise played through headphones on off-task behavior, percentage of items completed, and percentage of items completed correctly for 3 students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Headphones plus white noise were associated with decreases in off-task behavior relative to baseline and…

Mathematics related affect turn from positive to negative during comprehensive school years worldwide. There is a clear need to find solutions to the problem. However, some gaps and problems appear in the methodologies and the common approaches used in the field. This article discusses five studies addressing affective development, challenges some…

We evaluated the effects of operant discrimination training (ODT) on the vocalizations of 3 boys with autism. We compared ODT to a stimulus-stimulus pairing (SSP) condition and a control condition in an adapted alternating-treatments design. ODT increased the target vocalizations of all participants compared to the control condition, and its…

Representational competence is a primary contributor to student learning in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines and an optimal target for instruction at all educational levels. We describe the design and implementation of a learning activity that uses concrete models to improve students' representational competence and…

Experimental evaluations that involve the educational system usually involve a hierarchical structure (students are nested within classrooms that are nested within schools, etc.). Concerns about contamination, where research subjects receive certain features of an intervention intended for subjects in a different experimental group, have often led…

This paper outlines the experience of a university professor who implemented flipped learning in two sections of college algebra courses for two semesters. It details how the courses were flipped, what technology was used, advantages, challenges, and results. It explains what students do outside of class, what they do inside class, and discusses…

Preferential attention to biological motion can be seen in typically developing infants in the first few days of life and is thought to be an important precursor in the development of social communication. We examined whether children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) aged 3-7 years preferentially attend to point-light displays depicting…

"Odyssey® Math" is a web-based program developed by Compass Learning® for mathematics instruction in grades K-8. The online program includes a mathematics curriculum and formative assessments designed to support differentiated and data-driven instruction. Based on assessment results, the program generates an individualized sequence of…

In this article, Joellen Killion highlights the methodology, analysis, findings, and limitations of Jacob, R., Goddard, R., Kim, M., Miller, R., & Goddard, Y. (2015, September). "Exploring the causal impact of the McREL Balanced Leadership program on leadership, principal efficacy, instructional climate, educator turnover, and student…

The "New Teacher Center (NTC) Induction Model" is a systemic approach to support beginning teachers (i.e., teachers new to the profession). Based on the research, the "NTC Induction Model" was found to have no discernible effects on teacher retention in the school district, teacher retention in the profession, or teacher…

This article describes the ICAP framework that defines cognitive engagement activities on the basis of students' overt behaviors and proposes that engagement behaviors can be categorized and differentiated into one of four modes: "Interactive," "Constructive," "Active," and "Passive." The ICAP hypothesis…