Throughout this action research project report, the teacher-researchers explored the problem of test anxiety among students. The purpose of this project was to alleviate test anxiety among students with various interventions in grades five through seven in the subject areas of social studies, science, and language arts. There were 66 student…

In this essay, the author argues that the current superficial reading practices in creative writing programs are serving not only to marginalize the discipline from the larger body of English studies, but also to stifle the creative, intellectual, and professional progress of its students. Reading for creative writers must be viewed as a critical…

The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental research study was to investigate the effect of a critical thinking program, Socratic seminars, in an effort to improve test scores of second grade students in language arts. Dependent and independent samples "t"-tests were used to compare mean pretest and posttest scores of second…

In this dissertation, I analyze teacher, literacy coach and researcher subjectivities in a five-year study of on-site professional development with middle-grade Language Arts teachers in a school designated by its district and state as severely underperforming. Interested in the role of research interviews as both research method and cultural…

This study proposed to determine the existence of a functional relation between therapeutic horseback riding and academic-engaged time. With a certified therapeutic riding instructor, riding is designed to address physical, mental, and/or social needs of riders with goal-specific activities. Claims of improvement in attention for those with…

Students' conceptualizations of academic writing are often based on their cultural and social expectations of what it means to be a student or an instructor in the academy. These expectations are as varied as any target population and continue to grow as multi-cultural heritages continue to expand. First-year student writers' performances are…

Through the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Initiative, states and territories have collaborated in the development of a common core of standards in English Language Arts and mathematics for grades kindergarten through twelve that are now being adopted by states. Designed not only for the purpose of providing strong, shared expectations, the…

"Perspective" is a monthly e-newsletter presenting news and views from Achieve. This month's issue commences with a report presenting the recommendations made by Achieve to the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) Committee for the improvement of the college and career readiness of all students. This issue also reports:…

English as taught in city schools does not always reflect the Englishes city students travel with. Their urban English landscape is enriched by a procession of many voices that march in various directions in, around, and through the monuments of the city. These languages--Englishes, in this case--which have been traded on through various public…

In this paper, I employ a study of 25 sixth grade teachers of "regular" and "honors" language arts classes in a large urban district as a vehicle for discussing ability grouping. Despite not being asked any questions about grouping or differentiation, differences in students and instruction among the two class levels was a major focus of the…

Wilhelm is a vocal advocate for the substantive integration of technology into language arts classes in ways that support the "critical" use of technologies and the learning of new concepts and procedures for reading and composing. He makes the case that no one can be considered fully literate without a familiarity with and appreciation for our…

Recent anti-immigration policies and practices in the Southeast of the United States have presented difficult challenges for newly arrived bilingual learners and their families. To validate student voices within this socio-political context, our school/university collaboration implemented an arts-based participatory approach to English Language…

Data literacy is recognized as a critically important skill in today's society, but thinking with and about data is often ignored in K-12 curricula. The Thinking With Data (TWD) project advocates that data literacy is a skill that should be addressed in an interdisciplinary manner. This article provides an overview of the TWD curriculum for middle…

Although reading is a vital component of academic, career, and social success, the majority of adolescents struggle to read proficiently. As a result, there has been increased attention on reading instruction for older adolescents and on what programs, methods, and tools are highly effective in improving their reading achievement. Since motivation…

The purpose of this study was to provide professional development in vocabulary instructional practices and analyze the impact on student achievement. This quasi-experimental study utilized the PLC to curriculum map English/Language Arts state academic vocabulary words in K-4 into each of the four nine-weeks. The first through fourth grade…