Although the idea of using a workshop to educate potential users about a set of materials or techniques is not new, the workshops described here go beyond simple dissemination and create ongoing communities of practice that support widespread and sustained improvement in the biochemistry classroom. The degree to which pedagogical innovations…

Effective performance-based instruction is making a sustained and noticeable impact on township schools in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. We document the performance improvement effort made over the past 7 years by Partnerships for Educational Excellence and Research International (P.E.E.R), a team of educators, instructional system designers,…

Use of research-based practices for improving content area literacy of English learners is important both because of their growing numbers and their overall poor academic performance. However, how do we ensure that teachers are implementing proven methods with fidelity? This study shows the direct relationship between teachers' level of…

It is increasingly popular to "teach" thinking skills in schools. A diverse variety of programmes exist to support practitioners in this task, and some research has been gathered on the effectiveness of individual approaches. However, the difficulties when assessing the development of thinking skills are widely documented. This study aimed to…

While many of the concepts and approaches that comprise student-centered learning have deep roots in learning theory, the cognitive sciences, and youth and child development, empirical research on student-centered learning's impact in K-12 classrooms remains limited. This report offers highlights from three studies commissioned by Nellie Mae,…

Although several school districts in a southern US state use a three-tiered Response to Intervention (RtI) model to supplemental core reading instruction and positively impact student achievement, the model appears to have had nominal impact. The theoretical foundation for this study is anchored in a constructivist approach to education. Three…

Exploiting a statewide cutoff point on the placement examination used to assign students to remedial courses in Tennessee, this study employs a regression discontinuity research design to provide causal estimates of the effects on student outcomes of recently redesigned remedial courses at three Tennessee colleges. Moreover, using data on student…

The fact that inner city schools have not been effective in educating culturally, linguistically and economically different (CLED) students has led to the creation of multicultural education courses in teacher education programs across the nation. These courses have been created with the hope that preservice teachers (PSTs) who take one or more of…

Multicultural Science has been a topic of research and discourse over the past several years. However, most of the literature concerning this topic (or paradigm) has centered on programs in tribal or Indigenous schools. Under the framework of instructional congruence, this case study explored how elementary and middle school students in a…

Many school districts are using research-based strategies to increase student achievement. The "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2001 was created and implemented to assist all students becoming proficient in reading and mathematics by 2014. One strategy many school districts implemented includes an after-school program. One school district…

This evaluation report presents implementation and impact findings to date regarding the Striving Readers grant as implemented by the Springfield and Chicopee Public School Districts. Any questions regarding this final report should be directed to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) at the U.S. Department of Education. There…

In this paper, we propose a grouping strategy to enhance the learning and testing results of students, called Pairing Strategy (PS). The proposed method stems from the need of interactivity and the desire of cooperation in cooperative learning. Based on the social networks of students, PS provides members of the groups to learn from or mimic…

The purpose of this article is to share information related to the emergence of mathematics renewal (i.e., enhancing teacher instruction) for struggling learners within an elementary PDS. Specifically, background related to the PDS and three phases of the renewal process are discussed (i.e., identification of needs, implementation of new…

This paper tackles two issues which are closely related: transition from pre-entry learning to studying at university and the role blended learning strategies might have in supporting this transition. It draws on the pilot delivery of two credit-bearing modules which were delivered in two pre-entry institutions. The modules followed two different…

In 2006, Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) launched a major initiative, the Top 25 Project, to embed inquiry-guided learning (IGL) into its largest-enrollment courses across the university. These are generally entry-level classes and thus affect many students: 75 percent of incoming students on its main campus in 2010 were in at least one Top 25…