Inference ability is considered central to discourse processing and has been shown to be important across models of reading comprehension. To evaluate the impact of inference instruction, a meta-analysis of 25 inference studies in Grades K-12 was conducted. Results showed that inference instruction was effective for increasing students' general…

Student motivation is often an overlooked product of classroom instruction. Researchers have repeatedly called for broader measures to adequately assess and understand the effects of various instructional methods. This study sought to determine the effects of an experiential approach to learning on student motivation, as defined by Keller's (1987)…

Whether the use of more active teaching-learning methods has a positive impact on academic performance remains unanswered. This article seeks to contribute to the issue by conducting a study of an Operations Management course with almost 1000 students per year over three consecutive academic years. The study compares three scenarios with differing…

This article describes the effects of an analysis-of-practice professional development (PD) program on elementary school students' (Grades 4-6) science outcomes. The study design was a cluster-randomized trial with an analysis sample of 77 schools, 144 teachers and 2,823 students. Forty-two schools were randomly assigned to treatment, (88.5 hours)…

We identified child-level predictors of responsiveness to 2 types of mathematics intervention (calculation and word problem) among second-grade children with mathematics difficulty. Participants were 250 children in 107 classrooms in 23 schools pretested on mathematics and general cognitive measures and posttested on mathematics measures. We…

This study investigates whether adequate yearly progress (AYP) status, locale, and sector--common variables used to judge the quality of schools--accurately signal true differences in instructional practices in high school mathematics and science. Using data from the High School Longitudinal Study (HSLS), we find the school-to-school variation in…

Although research suggests that service learning (SL) is being incorporated into the college classroom at an increasing rate, faculty often report that they are not convinced of its educational values. There is a lack of research on, and awareness about, what SL is, how it can be incorporated into the curriculum, and the outcomes on student…

Sustained professional development can support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) reform. The authors describe a 3-year study of sustained professional development for 3 diverse urban schools across the salient factors of fidelity of implementation of project-based learning, development of professional learning communities,…

To successfully educate the public about agriculture, food, and natural resources, we must have effective educators in both formal and nonformal settings. Specifically, this study, which is a valuable part of a larger sequential mixed-method study addressing effective teaching in formal and nonformal agricultural education, provides direction for…

Since online educational technology can support a ubiquitous language learning environment, there are many ways to develop English learners' autonomy through self-access learning. This study investigates whether English as a second language (ESL) learners can improve their oral proficiency through independent study by using online self-study…

The authors investigated whether the amount of instructional guidance affects science learning and self-efficacy. Sixty 9- and 10-year-old children were randomly assigned to one of the following three instructional conditions: (a) guided instruction consisting of examples and student-generated explanations, (b) direct instruction consisting of a…

This research study is dedicated to the importance of teaching students with disabilities to comprehend text through effective instructional strategies. As a former special education teacher and current special education the researcher has observed firsthand how an individual's ability to comprehend texts impacts their success. The focus of…

As secondary students' interest in science is decreasing, schools are faced with the challenging task of providing adequate instruction to engage students--and more particularly the disadvantaged students--to learn science and improve their science inquiry skills. In this respect, the integration of Web-based collaborative inquiry can be seen as a…

Context: Immediate feedback has been shown to improve student learning more efficiently than delayed feedback in lower-level general education courses. No research exists examining the effects of immediate feedback on learning in higher-level athletic training coursework. Objective: To determine if using the Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique…

The Hampshire Hundreds project was a local authority-led intervention which brought together lead teachers from Hampshire primary schools to provide them with evidence and support for effective teaching strategies to decrease the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils (aged 9-11) and their peers. The intervention involved a facilitator…