ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Effective Constructivist Teaching Learning in the Classroom
Author: Shah, Rajendra Kumar
Date: 2019-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Constructivism (Learning),Instructional Effectiveness,Teaching Methods,Conventional Instruction,Student Centered Learning,Misconceptions

Constructivism has been a very powerful model for explaining how knowledge is produced in the world as well as how students learn. Moreover, constructivist teaching practices are becoming more prevalent in teacher education programs, while demonstrating significant success in promoting student learning. In this paper, the author takes a serious look at constructivist teaching practices highlighting both the promises and potential problems of these practices. The author argues that constructivist teaching has often been misinterpreted and misused, resulting in learning practices that neither challenge students nor address their needs. He outlines some of the ways in which constructivism has been misconstrued and analyzes several ways in which constructivist teaching has been misused. The author also presents two examples that illustrate the effective use of constructivist teaching and explains what makes them successful.
School Violence Prevention Demonstration Program: School Climate Study (2006-7), Ritter Elementary School, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Author: Sokolow, Jayme A.
Date: 2008-03-11
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Elementary Schools,Violence,Educational Environment,Demonstration Programs,Citizenship Education,Academic Achievement,Elementary School Students,Place Based Education,Minority Group Students,Low Income Students,Standardized Tests,Program Effectiveness,Teacher Attitudes,Student Attitudes,Parent Attitudes,Elementary School Teachers,Prevention,Reading Tests,Mathematics Tests

This is school climate study of the Center for Civic Education's School Violence Prevention Demonstration Program at Ritter Elementary School in Allentown, Pennsylvania for the academic year 2006-7. Ritter, like most of Allentown's schools, is a majority-minority school. Hispanic, African American, Middle Eastern, and immigrant students outnumber white students, and most students come from working class or poor families. There are significant academic achievement gaps between economically disadvantaged and non-economically disadvantaged students. But regardless of their backgrounds, all students are learning to be active citizens through the School Violence Prevention Demonstration Program, especially those in high implementation classrooms. Ritter understands that one of its major purposes is to develop the next generation of American citizens. The school operates on the assumption that students are more likely to succeed in life if they are civically engaged. Through Ritter's School Violence Prevention Demonstration Program, students are learning that they need to master knowledge, skills, and develop certain kinds of attitudes to address public problems and be active citizens. They also are learning that public institutions are likely to work better when citizens participate in public life. These are important and valuable lessons, and Ritter understands they are best learned when young. Throughout the Allentown School District and at Ritter Elementary School, there is a positive correlation between higher levels of classroom implementation of the School Violence Prevention Demonstration Program and higher achievement levels on Pennsylvania standardized tests. This is a significant conclusion. The program helps elementary school students master comprehension, reading, and analysis skills. The more involved students are in the program at all grade levels, the better they master these skills as measured on standardized tests. This report begins with a description of the methodology of the school climate study, the test results, teacher survey and questionnaire, and teacher, student, and parent focus groups. Aspects of the Ritter school climate (physical appearance, faculty relations, student relations, leadership, attitudes, the classroom, active citizenship, and power of place-based education) are then discussed.
Understanding the Relationships between Poverty, School Factors and Student Achievement
Author: Jackson, Cara
Date: 2018-07-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Poverty,Elementary School Students,Kindergarten,Public Schools,Academic Achievement,Correlation,Low Income Students,Achievement Gap,Elementary Schools,Attendance,Educational Environment,Beginning Teachers,Achievement Gains,Enrichment Activities,Acceleration (Education),Institutional Characteristics,Student Characteristics,Achievement Tests

The Office of Shared Accountability (OSA) in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) conducted a study to examine the impact of student poverty on student achievement. This is the first study in MCPS to examine student poverty longitudinally. Using longitudinal data, students enrolled in Free and Reduced-priced Meals System (FARMS) services every year between kindergarten and Grade 5 were defined as persistently impacted by poverty, while students who received FARMS services in some years but not every year between kindergarten and Grade 5 were considered transitorily impacted by poverty. The purpose of this quantitative descriptive study was to explore the relationship between poverty, school factors, and student achievement. Drawing on previous literature regarding student and school factors that influence student achievement gains, this work explores whether these factors explain variation in student achievement gains across schools in MCPS. Information included in this report can inform school and district leaders of areas that need increased attention to improve student performance and lead to equity of access for all. The following research questions were examined for the 2016-2017 cohort of Grade 5 students: (1) What is the nature of poverty-based achievement gaps among MCPS Grade 5 students? (How do gaps compare between students transitorily and persistently impacted by poverty? How do students persistently impacted by poverty compare to their peers who were less impacted by poverty?); (2) How do elementary schools serving high concentrations of students persistently impacted by poverty compare to MCPS schools with lower concentrations of students persistently impacted by poverty among key school factors, including student attendance, school climate, and the proportion of novice teachers?; and (3) Do school factors of poverty, attendance, school climate, and proportion of novice teachers explain differences between schools in student achievement gains?
Getting There: Are California Community Colleges Maximizing Student Completion of Transfer-Level Math and English? A Regional Progress Report on Implementation of AB 705
Author: Hern, Katie
Date: 2019-09-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Community Colleges,Two Year College Students,Educational Legislation,State Legislation,Student Placement,College Mathematics,College English,Access to Education,Educational Change,Program Implementation,Remedial Programs,Outcomes of Education,Grade Point Average,Student Rights

A new law, Assembly Bill 705 (Irwin), is driving dramatic changes in how California Community Colleges place students into English and math courses. Beginning in fall 2019, AB 705 requires the colleges to use students' high school grades as the primary means of placement; restricts colleges from denying students access to transferable, college-level courses; and gives students the right to begin in courses where they have the best chance of completing the English and math requirements for a bachelor's degree. This report analyzes early AB 705 implementation efforts at 47 community colleges in the Central Valley, the Inland Empire, and greater Los Angeles. We examine fall course schedules and websites to identify bright spots and problems in implementation, with particular focus on the extent to which college course offerings are aligned with the AB 705 standard of &quot;maximizing&quot; student completion of transfer-level math and English courses. [The Campaign for College Opportunity commissioned the California Acceleration Project (CAP) to conduct this analysis.]
A Multilevel Analysis of Racial Discipline Disproportionality: A Focus on Student Perceptions of Academic Engagement and Disciplinary Environment
Author: Larson, Kristine E.
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Discipline,Disproportionate Representation,African American Students,Learner Engagement,Racial Bias,Positive Behavior Supports,Student Attitudes,Educational Environment,Risk,Predictor Variables,Racial Differences,Gender Differences,School Psychologists,High School Students

Excessive use of exclusionary school discipline with Black students is a persistent, systemic problem in U.S. schools with potential to affect students' perceptions of their school. For example, students may notice racial differences in out-of-school suspensions, which may relate to how academically engaged they feel and the extent to which they view the school's disciplinary environment as positive. The current study investigated school-level racial discipline disproportionality and observed classroom-level, positive behavior supports in relation to student perceptions of academic engagement and school disciplinary environment by fitting a series of three-level models, which included data on students (N = 17,115), classrooms (J = 310), and schools (K = 53). Two metrics of discipline disproportionality were used (i.e., the risk ratio and the risk difference) and moderation was examined through cross-level interactions. Results indicated that, regardless of race, students perceived the disciplinary environment as significantly less favorable in schools with greater racial discipline disproportionality when measured by the risk ratio, but not when measured by the risk difference. Using different disproportionality metrics in education research has important implications for policies and practices to identify and address the issue. How discipline disparities relate to the way that students perceive the disciplinary environment will likely inform intervention efforts for school psychologists. [This article is published in &quot;Journal of School Psychology&quot; (2019).]
Connecting to Opportunity: Lessons on Adapting Interventions for Young People Experiencing Homelessness or Systems Involvement
Author: Treskon, Louisa
Date: 2019-09-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Program Implementation,Program Effectiveness,Grants,Costs,Homeless People,Intervention,Youth,Job Skills,Child Welfare,Juvenile Justice,Job Training,Dropouts,Agency Cooperation,Partnerships in Education,Barriers,Access to Education,Student Participation,College Readiness,Career Readiness,Postsecondary Education,Academic Persistence,Graduation,Student Recruitment,Enrollment,Student Characteristics,Racial Differences,Ethnicity,Gender Differences,Child Rearing

The Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP)™ initiative, a nationwide project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, aims to improve education and employment outcomes for young people ages 15 to 25 who have been involved in the child welfare and justice systems or who are experiencing homelessness. Young people eligible for LEAP are likely to be disconnected from school and work, and face added challenges that stem directly from their systems involvement or homelessness, including disrupted schooling, housing instability, limited family support, and trauma. LEAP seeks to reduce the inequalities in life chances and outcomes that affect this population, with the goal of helping these young people reach their full potential by connecting them to postsecondary and career pathways. LEAP operationalizes two education- and employment-focused program models to help young people at different stages along their educational and employment pathways. One program, Jobs for America's Graduates, or JAG, targets young people who have not completed high school. JAG's goal is to help these individuals obtain a high school credential and to equip them with the work and life skills they need to land quality jobs or acquire a postsecondary education. The second, JFF's Back on Track program, aims to help young people transition to postsecondary education and persist through their crucial first year of college or advanced training. Ten grantees in eight states are implementing LEAP, each in multiple locations. This report presents implementation, outcomes, and cost research findings from MDRC's evaluation of the grantees' LEAP programs, which focused on the early years of the initiative. Four appendices are included in the report. [Numerous organizations sponsored this work and the full list can be seen in the document.]
Let&apos;s Power Our Future: Integrating Science and Social and Emotional Learning Improves Collaborative Discourse and Science Understanding
Author: Rimm-Kaufman, Sara
Date: 2019-08-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Science Instruction,Skill Development,Interpersonal Competence,Emotional Development,Energy,Persuasive Discourse,Science Process Skills,Teaching Methods,Elementary School Students,Interpersonal Communication,Perspective Taking

This paper shares ideas with teachers about the integration of students' social and emotional skills with science instruction to fully implement the Next Generation Science Standards. In this article, we share a sequence of lessons that teachers thought were especially useful to produce effective science discourse and promote student understanding. The first lessons teach social and emotional skills. The later lessons teach about energy sources and systems, requiring students to apply their social and emotional skills to conversations about energy sources. Taken together, students learn about different energy sources, how these sources can be used to produce electricity, and the advantages and disadvantage of each source (ESS3.A and PS3). The lessons create the opportunity for students to Engage in Argument from Evidence (SEP 7) and Obtain, Evaluate, and Communicate Information (SEP 8). Here, we highlight a few main features of these lessons so science teachers can picture how they can work in their classrooms. The full lessons are available online (see NSTA Connection). [This paper was published in &quot;Science and Children&quot; v57 n1 p52-60 Aug 2019 (EJ1224682).]
The Relationship between Teachers&apos; Structural and Psychological Empowerment and Their Autonomy
Author: Yorulmaz, Yilmaz Ilker
Date: 2018-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Professional Autonomy,Elementary School Teachers,Secondary School Teachers,Teacher Empowerment,Foreign Countries,Work Environment,Participative Decision Making,Interpersonal Relationship,Gender Differences,Institutional Characteristics,Status,Teaching Experience

The purpose of this study was to find out the relationship between teachers' structural and psychological empowerment and their autonomy. This study was designed in the survey model. The research population consisted of teachers working at elementary, lower and upper secondary schools in the Mentese district of Mugla city, Turkey. The sample of the study consisted of 325 teachers selected by using disproportionate cluster sampling technique. The Teacher Structural Empowerment Scale, Psychological Empowerment Scale, and Teacher Autonomy Scale were used as the data collection instruments. Descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and hierarchical regression analysis were used to analyze the data. According to the results of the research, teachers' structural empowerment was above medium level. Teachers had a high level of psychological empowerment and of general autonomy. Structural empowerment explained 47% of teacher autonomy on its own. Including psychological empowerment, it provided a 6% contribution to the model. Autonomy-supportive environment, facilitative school environment, and participatory decision-making environment dimensions of structural empowerment, together with individual empowerment and relational empowerment of psychological empowerment were found to be the meaningful predictors of teacher autonomy.
Associations between Motivation to Learn, Basic Skills, and Adult Education and Training Participation among Older Adults in the USA
Author: Yamashita, Takashi
Date: 2019-09-19
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Learning Motivation,Basic Skills,Literacy,Numeracy,Adult Education,Older Adults,Participation,Lifelong Learning,Educational Attainment,Nonformal Education

The objective of this study is to examine the associations between the motivation to learn, basic skills (i.e., literacy and numeracy), and organized adult education and training (AET) participation among the middle-aged and older adults in the USA. Rapid technological advancement and globalization necessitate individuals to engage in lifelong learning to actively participate in society. However, little is known about the roles of motivation to learn and basic skills in the AET participation in the U.S. adult population. We obtained the data from the 2012/2014 Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies restricted-use file and adults aged 50 years and older (n = 2,580) are included. Structural equation models are used to examine (1) any AET, (2) formal AET and (3) non-formal AET participation as a function of the motivation to learn latent construct, literacy, numeracy, and other covariates. Results showed that the motivation to learn, literacy and numeracy are all positive predictors of non-formal AET participation. Only motivation to learn is associated with formal AET participation. Findings from this study may inform future interventions as well as policy changes to promote specific types of organized AET programs among older adult population in the USA. [This paper will be published in the &quot;International Journal of Lifelong Education.&quot;]
Evaluating a Unit Aimed at Helping Students Understand Matter and Energy for Growth and Activity
Author: Herrmann-Abell, Cari F.
Date: 2019-04-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: High School Students,Secondary School Science,Scientific Concepts,Physical Sciences,Biological Sciences,Science Process Skills,Units of Study,Program Evaluation,Instructional Effectiveness,Outcomes of Education

To support implementation of the &quot;Next Generation Science Standards,&quot; we designed a high school biology unit, &quot;Matter and Energy for Growth and Activity&quot; (MEGA), that engages students in explaining physical and life science phenomena using evidence, models, and science ideas about matter and energy changes within systems and transfers between systems. The unit's promise was evaluated using a randomized control trial (RCT) involving fifteen teachers from two schools. Teachers were randomly assigned to implement either the MEGA unit or district-developed activities that targeted the same learning goals. Pre- and post-tests were administered, and the data were analyzed using Rasch modeling and hierarchical linear modeling. Here we describe the unit and report on RCT results. Our data showed that, when controlling for pretest score, gender, language, and ethnicity, students in the treatment group performed better on the post-test than the students in the comparison group, indicating the MEGA unit has promise in improving students' understanding. We also discuss a number of challenges that arose when developing and evaluating the unit.
Implementing Cross-Sector Collaboration through the District-Charter Collaborative: A Case Study of Promising Practices
Author: New York City Department of Education
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: School Districts,Charter Schools,Partnerships in Education,Equal Education,Educational Cooperation,Communities of Practice,Faculty Development,Mathematics Instruction,English Language Learners,Students with Disabilities,Institutional Cooperation,Case Studies,Principals,Administrator Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Behavior Change,Educational Practices,Educational Improvement,Problem Solving,Outcomes of Education,Elementary Secondary Education

District-Charter Partnerships (DCP) is an initiative that is part of the Equity and Excellence for All agenda established by Mayor De Blasio. Its goal is to support meaningful collaboration between the district and charter sector in order to increase educator capacity and student learning in all New York City public schools. The District-Charter Collaborative (DCC) is one of the principal programs under the DCP umbrella. Spearheaded by the NYC Department of Education's (DOE) Office of School Design and Charter Partnerships and Office of Leadership, the program brings quads of schools (2 district and 2 charter) together to engage in structured collaboration through the creation of professional learning communities (PLCs). These PLCs aim to improve practice in one of the following Learning Focus Areas (LFAs): math instruction, supporting English Language Learners, restorative behavioral practices, and supporting students with disabilities. This case study highlights promising practices for one key element of DCC -- interschool collaboration. To better understand how schools implemented interschool collaboration in DCC, researchers in the DOE's Research and Policy Support Group engaged in a two-year qualitative investigation that involved observations of DCC activities; interviews with principals, teachers, and facilitators; and an analysis of artifacts from quads' work.
Washington&apos;s College Bound Scholarship Program and Its Effect on College Entry, Persistence, and Completion. Working Paper No. 221-0919
Author: Long, Mark C.
Date: 2019-09-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Scholarships,State Aid,Student Financial Aid,Academic Persistence,Enrollment,Graduation,Time to Degree,Bachelors Degrees,College Students,Program Effectiveness

Indiana, Oklahoma, and Washington have programs designed to address college enrollment and completion gaps by offering a promise of state-based college financial aid to low-income middle school students in exchange for making a pledge to do well in high school, be a good citizen, not be convicted of a felony, and apply for financial aid to college. Using a triple-difference specification, we find that Washington's College Bound Scholarship shifted enrollment from out-of-state to in-state colleges at which the scholarship could be used. While we find suggestive evidence that the program increased the likelihood of attending a postsecondary institution and attaining a bachelor's degree within five years of high school, we discuss why the program might be more successful if it did not require students to sign a pledge.