Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine advanced coursework completion rates, Advanced Placement (AP)/International Baccalaureate (IB) testing rates, AP/IB exam passage rates, and the percentage of AP/IB exam scores at or above the criterion that may exist among Texas public high school students from 2001 to 2012 to ascertain (a) the…

In this case study of adult English as a Second Language (ESL) educators, the researcher facilitated a six-week professional development activity around the topic of early literacy instruction. The four participants in the study circle were all LESLLA (low-educated second language and literacy acquisition) teachers whose students are adult…

"The Power of Probability" is a new math program aligned with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and Common Core State Standards, which gives students opportunities to practice their skills and knowledge of the mathematics of probability. Developed by The Actuarial Foundation, the program's lessons and worksheets motivate…

This chapter investigates students' reported patterns of use and perceived outcomes of an online intercultural exchange. It is hoped that the study will inform our understanding of the students' language learning process on an online discussion forum and consequently will help us maximise the educational potential of computer-mediated…

Although textbooks routinely include exercises to improve critical thinking skills, the effectiveness of these exercises has not been closely examined. Additionally, the connection between critical thinking skills and formal operational thought is also relatively understudied. In the study reported here, college students completed measures of…

This study explored the relationship between reading for pleasure and creativity. University students (N = 225) completed measures of reading for pleasure and creativity (SCAB). The results indicated that reading for pleasure was significantly, positively correlated to creativity. Implications for the classroom are explored, including possible…

At the 2008 Association for Business Communication (ABC) annual convention in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, many attendees stood at the back of a crowded room to hear over a dozen teachers describe "My Favorite Assignment." As is customary in these lively sessions, the chair, Dan Dieterich, orchestrated a fast, efficient presentation pace; each…

This article reports on an activity in a first-year engineering mathematics class designed to strengthen students' personal identities as novice engineers. The literature on identity suggests that students are more likely to be retained in an engineering degree programme if they develop an identity as an engineer and that development of such an…

In this dissertation, I use qualitative research methods to study relationships between compositionists and faculty in other disciplines in the context of cross-curricular literacy (CCL) work. Drawing on a two-year CCL project in the biology department, for which I was a participant observer, I argue that compositionists need to attend more…

This ethnographic research investigates how adolescents use writing. Deborah M. Alvarez uncovers the hidden abuses and violence that adolescents bore with each school day. In two different research sites, the author follows adolescents through their academic and personal lives to discover how they use writing only to uncover the impact the public…

Each new school year brings high hopes, great expectations and challenges for both new and seasoned educators. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has developed a series called "Classroom Tips" to help educators start the year right and anticipate the year ahead. Over the past 40 years, most research studies on homework have found that…

Social scientists collect vital information that bears on issues of education policy. When the courts are faced with an opportunity to make a decision that shapes education, judges need access to high-quality research, but they must also be convinced that it can be useful in their decision making. This article approaches the question of how social…

It is known that introductory physics students rarely, if ever, read the textbook prior to coming to lecture. In this study, we report results from a curriculum intervention in a large enrollment introductory physics class that addresses this problem. In particular, we introduced web-based multimedia learning modules (MLMs) as a "prelecture…

Creative exercises (CEs) are a form of assessment in which students are given a prompt and asked to write down as many distinct, correct, and relevant facts about the prompt as they can. Students receive credit for each fact that they include that is related to the prompt and distinct from the other facts they list. With CEs, students have an…

Secondary schools use a variety of methods to assess students' learning. In particular, writing assignments are not only among the most widely utilized type of evaluation but also are one of the most important for future success in post-secondary school environments. The present analysis utilizes the McCallie School Caldwell Writing Center as a…