This article highlights a project that encourages students to connect reading and mathematics instruction by using a data analysis approach. Students analyze sonnets from statistical, literary, and historical points of view in an effort to uncover the true identity of William Shakespeare. (Contains 10 figures.)

Reading projects that integrate technology engage today's students and prepare them to be literate in the 21st century. In this article, we describe in detail successful podcasting and wiki projects conducted with NYSRA Charlotte Award nominated books. We also explore additional digital literacy projects that teachers can use in their literature…

Recitations and discussions are two types of interactions which have long been of interest to researchers who study classroom discourse in secondary English and Social Studies. According to research, teachers control the discourse during recitations through "inauthentic" questions requiring pre-specified answers. In contrast, discussions involve…

Efficacy is created early in a career and not easily influenced over time yet states and school districts loose tremendous amounts of money annually educating and training teachers who elect to leave the profession as a result of low self-efficacy. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived levels of self-efficacy of middle school…

The purpose of this study was to investigate four research questions concerning the impact of co-teaching on general education students educated within a classroom inclusion model. General education students who received instruction during their 10th-grade year in a co-taught language arts or mathematics class were compared with other 10th-grade…

Students who leave elementary school after fourth grade may not be receiving adequate literacy instruction. Although many recent studies have focused on a drop in test scores for middle school students, a gap exists in the literature with regard to explicit literacy instruction in elementary and non-elementary school settings. To inform educators…

This study examines how graduate teaching assistants of composition and peer and professional tutors of writing develop their identities as teacher and tutors in preparation programs. Research in teacher education programs indicates that when preparatory sessions highlight the concept of teacher identity in the preparation of K-12 teacher…

This paper reports on an investigation into how Marketing and Business Education Teachers utilize and integrate educational technology into curriculum through the use of photography. The ontology of this visual, technological, and language interface is explored with an eye toward visual literacy, digital literacy, and pedagogical praxis, focusing…

Comparative analysis examined responses on a descriptive questionnaire from 267 students in grades 6, 7, and 8. The study compared duration of and participation in music instruction, types of musical instruments learned, and experience in musical ensembles to scores from the state English language arts assessment. Analysis of results included…

This study of four national English language arts college readiness standards sets compares content alignment and level of alignment of the standards statements in three comparison sets to a benchmark set, the American Diploma Project (ADP), and analyzes the cognitive complexity of all four sets. Specifically, this report addresses two primary…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) A Common Understanding: Final K-12 Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics Released on June 2; (2) "Diplomas Count":…

While there is great deal of research that tracks self-regulatory academic beliefs and behaviors of students, relatively few efforts examine the specific self-beliefs of high achieving African American students. This study compared the intelligence-related beliefs, efficacy beliefs and academic goal orientations of 257 African American (N = 196)…

In specifying a minimum passing score on examinations that students must pass to obtain a high school diploma, states divide a continuous performance measure into dichotomous categories. Thus, students with scores near the cutoff either pass or fail despite having essentially equal skills. The authors evaluate the causal effects of barely passing…

The author, a high school language arts teacher, describes her move to a high-needs urban school after 13 years teaching in predominantly middle-class suburban schools. Unlike her former schools, in which a culture of compliance prevailed, her new school serves students who don't necessarily cooperate unless they see how the curriculum matters to…

This paper presents findings from a correlational study of the relationship between teachers' vocabulary instruction practices and pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children's vocabulary. We observed sixteen teachers during three 90-minute language arts blocks, and we assessed the performance of their 244 children on knowledge of target words and…