The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to explore how the implementation of physical movement brain breaks impacts engagement and academic achievement for middle school students. This study is grounded in brain-based learning theory which explains how we can use brain science to inform instructional decisions in the…

Across the United States, there is an increased interest in improving school climate, reflecting a deepening understanding of the foundational role that school climate can play in supporting students' well-being, learning, and development. School climate is constructed from norms, expectations, and interpersonal relationships that come together to…

Student teams' achievement divisions (STAD) is a learning method that can provide active responses to students so that learning is maximized, but this method is still very rarely used by social studies teachers, thus making social studies learning less than optimal. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of the question students…

Educators in the United States have become increasingly concerned about students who are suspended out of school because they miss classroom instruction and are then less likely to graduate. The problem addressed in this study was that school administrators continued to use exclusionary practices for discipline negating more culturally responsive…

Drawing on three decades of research, this study explores the attitudes of middle school social studies teachers toward professional development in Western Tennessee. Social studies educators frequently navigate the repercussions of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, which has led to misguided incentives for states and districts to prioritize…

Global climate change is one of the most significant challenges of the twenty first century, requiring its integration into K-12 science education curricula to foster informed and climate-literate citizens. However, challenges remain in effectively teaching climate change, including a lack of instructional materials and a reliance on traditional…

Providing independent reading opportunities is a critical learning practice often overlooked in many classrooms. This study utilizes expectancy-value theory to explore the motivational beliefs of eight 4th to 8th-grade teachers regarding providing in-class independent reading opportunities. Through semi-structured interviews, data reveal that…

This study identified the experiences of middle school teachers in the Southeastern Louisiana participating in professional learning communities, using the social constructivism theory. The study uncovers the various factors that are present that influence instructional practices and student learning outcomes. Ten middle school teachers engage in…

This study explores how and under what boundary conditions school leadership influences teachers' instructional practices in Turkey. Using survey data from a sample of 928 teachers in 87 middle and high schools, the present study tested a moderated mediation model of school leadership's effects on teacher instructional practices, with teacher…

Finding successful ways to motivate middle school students who suffer from amotivation is one of the biggest challenges educators face today. When students lack the internal drive to do their best in school, the responsibility falls on those who care enough to find ways to light the necessary fire for academic success. This study aimed to explore…

This paper presents a multi-informant study on school climate with the aim of (a) comparing students', teachers', and parents' perceptions of several school climate dimensions and (b) examining the associations between dimensions pertaining to classroom practices and school atmosphere in both students and teachers. Participants comprised 105…

Scholars have called for considering professional learning (PL) through the lens of complexity. One lens for operating amidst complexity is design. Designers thrive in complexity because of the responsive nature of their work; a designer develops their practice in response to a particular situation, adapting as it changes. Thus, a design lens is…

This descriptive phenomenology study investigated middle school mathematics teachers' formative assessment practices in the Dominican Republic. The study explored three research questions about the types of formative assessment strategies teachers implemented, how they used formative assessment data to make instructional decisions, and the…

The proposed paper utilizes teacher and student data from the 2014 U.S. National Assessment for Education Progress 8th grade Civics test (NAEP-Civics8) to explore the relationship between teacher pedagogical practices and other factors (i.e., teacher credentials, teacher professional characteristics, individual traits, and teachers' education…

This quantitative research study investigates the relationship between teachers' evaluation rating and their classroom-based assessment practices using a survey approach. Four middle schools consisting of 39 (grades six through eight) teachers in the Southwestern U.S. participated in the study. Research has shown that when teachers regularly use a…