This narrative case study examined the way in which integrating technology into secondary ELA classrooms impacted levels of student engagement. This qualitative study investigated how student engagement and technology integration were perceived by students and classroom teachers. The study employed a case study approach of data collecting. The…

Few interventions reduce inequality in reading achievement, let alone higher-order thinking skills, among adolescents. We study policy debate--an extracurricular activity focused on improving middle and high schoolers' critical thinking, argumentation, and policy analysis skills--in Boston schools serving large concentrations of economically…

Researchers draw on the American Instructional Resources Survey (AIRS) and interviews with 45 English language arts (ELA) and math teachers to examine the prevalence of different types of benchmark assessments and explore educators' perceptions about the extent to which benchmark assessments align with other components of their schools'…

Purpose: This paper aims to present findings from a three-year qualitative study that used a model of teacher learning referred to as teaching as inquiry (Manfra, 2019). Teaching as inquiry centers the teacher as a learner in a prolonged and "systematic process of data collection and analysis focused on changing teaching" (p. 167).…

This action research described how a middle school teacher integrated five discussion protocols including structured controversy, pair communication, triad protocol, personal experience panel, and Socratic seminar into her sixth-grade Language Arts classes. Collected data from three different sources indicated an overall improvement of both…

This article describes design-based research undertaken by two teacher educators to support elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) in integrating culturally responsive teaching practices with reading methods. The study described was motivated by calls for teacher preparation programs to be more intentional about supporting PSTs in synthesizing…

There is a growing body of literature around digital research, specifically regarding data collection and how to pivot research designs to be more conducive to online and virtual research, but little in the way of how to analyze data remotely. In this article, we share firsthand experiences from a qualitative study utilizing Google apps, Zoom, and…

When trying to promote empathy, it is not sufficient to merely learn about other people and cultures if we seek to understand them better (Case, 1993). As a language arts teacher and researcher, the author sought to explore the potential for multicultural literature to expand adolescent learners' worldviews and shape their perceptions as global…

The interactive whiteboard is an innovative technological tool that is becoming increasingly popular in educational settings. Using two different methods of instruction--traditional and interactive--this study aims to investigate the effects of the interactive whiteboard on classroom interaction, student achievement, and student attitudes. Drawing…

This 2-year longitudinal study examined relations between enjoyment of learning in Chinese and mathematics, two major subjects in Chinese schools, and indexes of school performance. The participants included 1041 students (501 boys) initially in third, fifth, and seventh grades (mean age = 10.49 years) in China. Data on enjoyment of Chinese and…

Current research suggests that students who struggle with grammar, spelling, mechanics and other "problems of ability," as well as students who suffer from "problems of engagement," as well as those students who see reading and writing as a chore, can benefit from creative writing assignments and learn to enjoy reading and…

This report presents results from a survey of 64 elementary mathematics and reading language arts teacher educators providing feedback on a new type of short performance task. The performance tasks each present a brief teaching scenario and then require a short performance as if teaching actual students. Teacher educators participating in the…

Aim/Purpose: This study aimed to develop a model for using social media content to promote 3D thinking of sustainability among students in integrated Mathematics, Language, Arts, and Technology (MLAT) classrooms. Background: Social media is one of the most relevant platforms among students of the 21st century to the extent that connecting it to…

The recent Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires states to identify and turn around their lowest performing schools, but it breaks somewhat from prior policies by granting states significant autonomy over how they identify and turn around these schools. This mixed-methods study, which draws on administrative, qualitative, and survey data,…

Although disabled people encounter discrimination in almost every facet of life -- such as employment, housing, education, healthcare, and transportation -- disability is often missing from conversations regarding social justice. Disability-related discussion (DRD) in English Language Arts (ELA) offers an inroad to having students view disability…