Policy-makers are frequently interested in understanding how effective a particular intervention may be for a specific (and often broad) population. In many fields, particularly education and social welfare, the ideal form of these evaluations is a large-scale randomized experiment. Recent research has highlighted that sites in these large-scale…

This paper compares the counting and whole number knowledge and skills of primary school children in Australia and Germany at the end of Grade 1 and Grade 2. Children's learning was assessed using the Early Numeracy Interview and associated Growth Point Framework. The findings highlight substantial differences between the two groups that vary for…

This multiple-case study discusses Connecticut public preschool teacher's mathematics instruction practice and preparation across socioeconomic settings and divergent District Reference Groups. Through the use of qualitative methods of classroom observations, interviews, and document review this multiple-case study explored the mathematics…

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the importance of growth in math fact skills within the context of overall math proficiency. Data for 1,493 elementary and middle school students were included for analysis. Regression models were fit to examine the relative value of math fact fluency growth, prior state test performance, and a fall…

Mental abacus (MA) is a technique of performing fast, accurate arithmetic using a mental image of an abacus; experts exhibit astonishing calculation abilities. Over 3 years, 204 elementary school students (age range at outset: 5-7 years old) participated in a randomized, controlled trial to test whether MA expertise (a) can be acquired in standard…

Although high-quality early educational environments are thought to be related to the growth of children's skills in mathematics, relatively little is known about specific aspects of classroom instruction that may promote these abilities. Data from a longitudinal investigation were used to investigate associations between teachers' language while…

Introduction: This study explored the variables of executive functioning (EF) that permitted the evaluation of EF both at home and at school. The objective was to compare the results of the evaluations of these functions in children aged 5 to 6 years, and see to what extent these variables predicted mathematics performance best. Method: Sixty-six…

This report provides a description of the development process, field testing, and psychometric properties of a student mathematics test designed to assess grades 1 and 2 student abilities. The test was administered to 2,373 participating grade 1 and 2 students in 22 schools located in 2 public school districts in Florida during fall 2013. Focused…

Behavioral investigations of the acquisition of "some" have shown that children favor its logical interpretation ("some and possibly all"). Adults, however, use the pragmatic interpretation ("some but not all") derived by a scalar implicature. Certain experimental manipulations increase children's rates of adult-like…

The advantages of Gaussian-type orbitals (GTO) over Slater-type orbitals (STO) in quantum chemistry calculations are clarified here by means of a holistic approach. The popular Microsoft Office Excel program was used to create an interactive application with which students are able to explore the features of GTO, including automatic calculations…

The proliferation of digital information technologies and related infrastructure has given rise to novel ways of capturing, storing and analyzing data. In this paper, we describe the research and development of an information system called Interactive Knowledge Networks for Engineering Education Research (iKNEER). This system utilizes a framework…

Debt is a ubiquitous component of households' financial portfolios. Yet we have scant understanding of how household debt constrains spending on needed health care. Diverse types of debt have different financial properties and recent work has shown that they may have varying implications for spending on needed health care. In this article, we…

Background: A high prevalence of prenatal alcohol exposure has been reported among children in care and thus, the risk of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in this population is high. Objective: The purpose of the current study was to estimate the number of children (0-18 years) in care with FASD and to determine the associated cost by age…

A set of exercises for use in a typical physical chemistry laboratory course are described, modeling the unimolecular dissociation of the ethyl radical to form ethylene and atomic hydrogen. Students analyze the computational results both qualitatively and quantitatively. Qualitative structural changes are compared to approximate predicted values…

Phase changes in water are experienced in everyday life but students often struggle to understand mechanisms that regulate them. Human thermal comfort is closely related to humidity, evaporative heat loss and heat transfer. The purpose of the present study is to assist students in the evaluation of human thermal comfort. Such a goal is achievable…