We conducted a 14-week experimental study of 2 versions of a relatively comprehensive RC intervention that involved 50 classroom teachers, 15 tutors, and 116 children drawn in equal proportions from grades 3 and 5 in 13 schools in a large urban school district. Students were randomly assigned in equal numbers to the two tutoring conditions and a…

We conducted a 14-week experimental study of 2 versions of a relatively comprehensive RC intervention that involved 50 classroom teachers, 15 tutors, and 120 children drawn in equal proportions from grades 3 and 5 in 13 schools in a large urban school district. Students were randomly assigned in equal numbers to the 2 tutoring conditions and a…

Argumentative thinking requires not only the "skill" to apply argumentative strategies such as supporting theories with evidence but also the "will" to apply these strategies by considering argumentative thinking to be both reasonable and worthwhile. Focusing on direct instruction for the initial acquisition of both skill and…

Students training to become primary school teachers appear to have little awareness of the core concepts of geography (teaching). To ensure that future primary school teachers are able to develop their pupils' geographical awareness, a six weeks programme was developed. The characteristics of this programme -- named Consciously Teaching Geography…

Purpose: The past decade has seen considerable debate about how to best evaluate the efficacy of educational improvement initiatives, and members of the educational leadership research community have entered the debate with great energy. Throughout this debate, the use of randomized experiments has been a particularly contentious subject. This…

Project GOAL is a systematic dropout prevention model including individual and peer-mediated group interventions for at-risk students. This article provides an overview of the Project GOAL model and describes a 2-year experimental pilot study of Project GOAL with a cohort of eighth-and ninth-grade students in a low-income school district in the…

This study investigated the effectiveness of oral metalinguistic feedback and recasts as well as the effect of focused tasks (FT) in the development of implicit and explicit knowledge during video-conference interactions. This was accomplished by partial replication of a study performed in a classroom setting. Three groups of Brazilian EFL…

This paper presents the results of a rigorous experiment examining the impact of pay for performance on student achievement and instructional practice. This study, conducted by the National Center on Performance Incentives in partnership with the RAND Corporation examines an experimental pay for performance program administered via a randomized…

Adapting support contingently to student needs by first diagnosing their current understanding, that is, scaffolding, is considered a key aspect of excellent teaching. The use of classroom scaffolding is rare, however. We therefore investigated the benefits to teachers of a professional development program that was based upon a model of contingent…

Districts expend a considerable amount of time, effort, and resources providing student performance data to teachers to inform instruction, and examining those data for organizational decision-making. Yet rarely, if ever, are these outcome data connected to what goes on in classrooms. In this experimental study, the author reports on the…

This experimental study investigated whether computer-based video games facilitate children's cognitive learning. In comparison to traditional computer-assisted instruction (CAI), this study explored the impact of the varied types of instructional delivery strategies on children's learning achievement. One major research null hypothesis was…

Author describes an experimental unit, the Utopia Project, given in the College of Basic Studies at Boston University, and shows how it works with examples of actual projects undertaken by students. (DR)

A systems approach has been used to develop and validate instructional materials in medical education. Seven self-instructional units, currently in various stages of completion, form the basis of a basic curriculum in opthamology. Performance objectives for the units were derived from the results of a questionnaire responded to by 1,600…

Solution-focused counseling departs from problem-solving strategies by identifying what individuals are already doing well and building on those strengths. Presents the basic concepts of solution-focused counseling and their applications to groups, group session descriptions with case illustrations, and the preliminary results of a counselor…