Initiated for the 2013-14 school year, the Common Assignment Study (CAS) is a three-year effort being led by the Colorado Education Initiative (CEI) and The Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky (The Fund) with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Conceptually, CAS builds on previous efforts to improve instruction through…

This paper investigates how the participants in literacy coaching (teachers, literacy coaches, and principals) perceive the success of their literacy coaching programs. This qualitative study uses data from interviews and observations of literacy coaching from three schools in Ontario, Canada. Four perceived indicators of success were found:…

As more districts begin implementing the Common Core State Standards, text complexity is receiving a lot of discussion. It is important for educators to understand the numerous factors involved with text complexity and to have a wide range of strategies to support students with challenging text. This paper shares data from three elementary…

The concept and importance of curriculum integration in Science and Mathematics has come to the fore in the recent years (Czerniak, 2007). Ireland's Science and Mathematics performance is well documented and extensively reported in the media and elsewhere (e.g. Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, 2008; Task Force on the Physical Sciences, 2002).…

The purpose of this study is to study how race, gender, values, attitudes and power perceptions of leaders contribute to the recruitment, retention, and training of African American female superintendents. This study is focused on African American female superintendents and their experiences that led to the acquisition of the position. The…

This paper provides a descriptive narrative on some recent research processes and outcomes in general classrooms in Australia that include students with multiple and severe disability. A mentor-model approach to professional development for the teaching staff was employed and this paper outlines what happened, along with some of the specific needs…

This case-study, drawing on an unanticipated theme arising from a wider study of ability-grouping in primary mathematics, documents some of the consequences of educational triage in the final year of one primary school. The paper discusses how a process of educational triage, as a response to accountability pressures, is justified by teachers on…

The ability to address and solve problems in minimally familiar contexts is the core business of research mathematicians. Recent studies have identified key traits and techniques that individuals exhibit while problem solving, and revealed strategies and behaviours that are frequently invoked in the process. We studied advanced calculus students…

The present study wants to find out the reasons for choosing the current methods/techniques for teaching grammar and it also wants to investigate whether there is a relation between teachers' thinking and their actions in the class or not. For this reason, four language teachers were selected. The subjects were selected by non-random sampling.…

This paper depicts a study carried out in Rwanda concerning university students who participated in a contest to produce short documentary films. The purpose of this research is to conceptualize these kinds of technology-based learning projects (TBLPs) through a sociocultural perspective. The methodology included focus-group discussions and field…

The study of factors influencing undergraduate learners' participation and/or reticence in second/foreign language classrooms, a relatively recent line of research, can contribute to the betterment of language teaching and learning practices. In this work, we attempt to investigate the causes of a population of undergraduate English as a foreign…

This paper is an exploratory study of the benefits that institutions of higher education can gain when entering into partnerships of academic franchising, an international activity which has been increasing in popularity over the past few decades. The paper looks at the current literature on academic franchising and then goes on to study, through…

While nature journaling with elementary age children has recently increased in popularity, journaling with children of ages 2-6 is often overlooked. This article focuses specifically on why journaling is a valid practice in early childhood and the practitioner application of journaling techniques modified for the young child. Young children have…

This article reports on an innovative pedagogical approach devised to re-envigorate primary (elementary) teachers' practice in the United Kingdom for older children. Learning science in elementary schools for 8-11 year olds (Key Stage 2 in England) has been constrained for several decades while teachers prepared them for national tests. The recent…

The present investigation explored the question of whether walking onset is related to infant language development. Study 1 used a longitudinal design (N = 44) to assess infant locomotor and language development every 2 weeks from 10 to 13.5 months of age. The acquisition of walking was associated with a significant increase in both receptive and…