This article presents an independent large-scale experimental evaluation of two online goal-setting interventions. Both interventions are based on promising findings from the field of social psychology. Approximately 1,400 first-year undergraduate students at a large Canadian university were randomly assigned to complete one of two online…

The Good Behaviour Game (GBG) is a universal behaviour management intervention that aims to to improve pupil behaviour with the following core elements: classroom rules, team membership, monitoring of behaviour, and positive reinforcement (rewards). While it is primarily used with children in primary schools, it can also be implemented in early…

This report presents the findings from an efficacy trial and process evaluation of the Parent Engagement Programme (PEP). The PEP was a school-level intervention designed to improve pupil outcomes by engaging parents in their children's learning. The programme was developed collaboratively by research teams from the University of Bristol and…

This report describes a cluster randomized control trial (RCT) intervention study of the effectiveness of the ABRACADABRA (ABRA) Web-based literacy system using a classroom-level RCT intervention with 1,067 children in 74 kindergarten and Grade 1 or Grade 1/2 classrooms across Canada. The authors closely followed the CONSORT criteria for executing…

Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an integrated phoneme awareness/speech intervention in comparison to an alternating speech/morphosyntax intervention for specific areas targeted by the different interventions, as well as the extent of indirect gains in nontargeted areas. Method: A total of 30 children with co-occurring…

High school students from disadvantaged high schools in Toronto were invited to take two surveys, about three weeks apart. Half of the students taking the first survey were also shown a 3 minute video about the benefits of post secondary education (PSE) and invited to try out a financial-aid calculator. Most students' perceived returns to PSE were…

The present research involved gauging preschoolers' learning potential for a key arithmetic concept, the addition-subtraction inverse principle (e.g., 2+1-1=2). Sixty 4- and 5-year-old Taiwanese children from two public preschools serving low- and middle-income families participated in the training experiment. Half were randomly assigned to an…

In this paper the augmentation of worked examples with animations for teaching problem-solving skills in mathematics is advocated as an effective instructional method. First, in a cognitive task analysis different knowledge prerequisites are identified for solving mathematical word problems. Second, it is argued that so called hybrid animations…

With regard to transfer, is it better to provide pupils with ready-made representations or is it more effective to scaffold pupils' thinking in the process of generating their own representations with the help of peers and under the guidance of a teacher in a process of guided co-construction? The sample comprises 10 classes and 239 Grade 5…

This study reports a randomized controlled trial evaluation of a computer-based balanced literacy intervention, ABRACADABRA (http://grover.concordia.ca/abra/version1/abracadabra.html). Children (N = 144) in Grade 1 were exposed either to computer activities for word analysis, text comprehension, and fluency, alongside shared stories (experimental…

Investigates the effects of group personalization of instruction on the mathematics achievement and attitudes of 72 fifth-grade Taiwanese students. Personalization was accomplished by incorporating personal information and preferences provided by students into their mathematics word problems. Students were blocked by ability level, then randomly…

Examines teaching rime analogy or letter recoding reading strategies to prereaders. Results reveal that experience with rime analogy increased letter recoding ability, but teaching in letter recoding did not enhance rime analogy. Children learned to read with a rime analogy or letter recoding reading strategy, and many developed new reading…

A study examined whether a beneficial effect on children's literacy development accrues from the use of the Little Books with kindergarten children, and identified differential effects on kindergarten achievement according to treatment type, community status, and school type. From a sample of 40 Newfoundland schools, schools were grouped into…

Describes an applied training study investigating the differential effect of two instructional methods on the reading performance of British primary school children with reading difficulties. Explains that children ages 7 to 10 (n=65) were separated into two groups: (1) based on different types of phonological awareness instruction, and (2) a…

Investigates the effects of personalized instruction on achievement and attitudes of Taiwanese elementary students on two-step mathematics and word problems. Students initially completed a survey on which they choice their favorite foods, sports, stores, classmates, and other selections. The most popular items were then used to create personalized…