This study examined the perceptions of Language Arts teachers, Mathematics teachers, and administrators in four high schools in a large urban New Jersey school district regarding a standards-based teacher evaluation system implemented in 2003 adapted and modeled on "Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching" (Danielson,…

This qualitative comparative case study identified factors that distinguish between high and low-performance on reading achievement in elementary rural Appalachian schools. This study determined the most effective instructional reading strategies, as well as other influential factors, implemented by school districts in the rural Appalachia area…

We conducted an evaluation study of the Middle School Algebra Readiness Initiative, a middle school mathematics intervention that was implemented in two West Virginia school districts during the 2011-2012 school year. In participating middle schools, the Carnegie Learning MATHia® software intervention and accompanying classroom curriculum were…

This manuscript addresses a problem teachers of computer software applications face today: What is an effective method for teaching new computer software? Technology and engineering teachers, specifically those with communications and other related courses that involve computer software applications, face this problem when teaching computer…

Recognition of students' facial expressions can be used to understand their level of attention. In a traditional classroom setting, teachers guide the classes and continuously monitor and engage the students to evaluate their understanding and progress. Given the current popularity of e-learning environments, it has become important to assess the…

Today's children spend less and less time in the outdoors, leading Richard Louv in 2008 to coin the term "nature deficit disorder." Louv pointed out that experiences with nature are essential to a child's physical and emotional development and that the lack of these types of experiences has led to an increase in child obesity, attention…

This paper examines the effectiveness of a professional learning model developed to support early years teachers in rural and remote communities in Queensland as they began to implement the Australian Curriculum in Mathematics. The data are drawn from 35 teachers at the initial stage of a large, four year longitudinal study RoleM (Representations,…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how students with workplace learning experience the process of the assessment of prior experiential learning (APEL) in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: This is an inductive and exploratory study drawing on methodology from the field of academic literacies. It addresses two questions:…

This paper presents the response of the technology teacher education programmes at the University of Limerick to the assessment challenge created by the shift in philosophy of the Irish national curriculum from a craft-based focus to design-driven education. This study observes two first year modules of the undergraduate programmes that focused on…

The term "assessment" sends shivers down academic spines. For faculty, it signals marching orders from external parties who may or may not appreciate the subtle and not always quantifiable value of faculty efforts. For administrators, it means the dual challenge of recalibrating internal measures to meet external mandates but also…

Background: School-based recreational opportunities for youth from low-income inner-city neighbourhoods are often lacking. School programs represent an ideal location for promoting youth development in low-income areas because they can provide safe, supervised, and structured activities. Such activities should include not only physical education…

The Family Backpack Project provided 249 low-income, prekindergarten children and their families with opportunities to read and listen to audio recordings of 3 sets of books in their homes. Families received English or dual-language texts (English plus Spanish, Arabic, Kurdish, or Somali) matched to their home languages. Children and their…

Despite increasing emphasis on preparing more and better teachers and despite the near universal presence of student teaching across teacher education programs (TEPs), numerous questions about what and how student teaching experiences contribute to preservice teachers' development remain unanswered. Indeed, much of the attention focused on student…

The research presented in this dissertation utilized both quantitative and qualitative strategies to examine the impact that teacher participation in a targeted home visitation program had on their attitudes, practices, and parent participation within their classrooms. One hundred elementary school teachers were randomly assigned to the treatment…

"Guitar Hero" is a video game where one or more players use a specially made game-style guitar to play along to popular and well-known songs. Players need to match the correct notes and timings of the sings. An on-screen guide shows players which notes to play, when. There are levels of difficulty in the game, as well as the choices to…