Grouping for reading instruction: does one size fit all?

Twenty-nine third-grade teachers and selected students from their classes participated. Study 1 used teacher interviews and classroom observations to examine teachers' perceptions and practices for grouping for reading instruction; Study 2 examined the impact of these grouping practices on the academic progress, social progress, and attitudes about reading of students representing a range of achievement levels, including students with learning disabilities. Results indicated that, overall, teachers used whole class instruction for reading and the same materials for all students, including students with learning disabilities. Students with learning disabilities made little academic progress and their attitudes about reading did not improve over time.     

“Did you do your homework?” Mathematics teachers’ homework follow‐up practices at middle school level

Teachers’ homework follow‐up practices, the in‐class strategies teachers use to monitor their students’ homework assignments, have an impact on their students’ homework behaviors and academic achievement. The current study explored the perspectives of middle school mathematics teachers on the three domains of homework follow‐up: the practices used in class, the purposes of each practice, and the aspects that may influence this process. Data were collected from two data sources (i.e., focus groups and classroom observations) and were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings showed that teachers monitored homework either using a single strategy or a combination of strategies (e.g., checking homework completion and providing individual feedback) linked to a specific purpose (e.g., promote students’ involvement). The teachers also reported that they were under certain constraints when they delivered homework follow‐up practices (e.g., pressure to follow the curriculum), so their practices’ effectiveness sometimes can be compromised. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Using Technology for Accessible Chemistry Homework for High School Students with and without Learning Disabilities

High school students with and without learning disabilities in two chemistry classes accessed technologically‐enhanced worksheets, called Pencasts, when completing homework assignments. In this action research study, feedback from students was gathered via questionnaires and interviews. Students most frequently used Pencasts to figure out how to solve homework problems, and all students expressed satisfaction with using Pencasts. Students shared other ways they used Pencasts, such as studying for chemistry tests, and shared how they could benefit if Pencasts were available in other classes. According to the teacher, students with and without disabilities completed the majority of homework when Pencasts were available, and almost all students earned “A” grades on homework. Teacher reflections about Pencasts, implications for practice, and future research are described.     

Culturally Sustaining Practices in Content Area Instruction for CLD Students with Learning Disabilities

Culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students comprise a substantial population of students with learning disabilities, and are historically disproportionately represented in special education. To effectively teach CLD students with learning disabilities, teachers should integrate evidence‐based practices and culturally sustaining pedagogy in their practice. This article highlights several practical examples of culturally sustaining evidence‐based practices across the content areas of mathematics, reading, and writing. Suggestions for practice and future research are presented in the article.     

Beyond strategies: teacher beliefs and writing instruction in two primary inclusion classrooms

Links between teachers' pedagogical beliefs and teaching practices were investigated with respect to process writing instruction. Participants included 5 teachers, 44 general education students, and 23 special education students in 2 elementary multi-age inclusion classrooms. Findings suggested that, although the teachers shared similar views on inclusion and were convinced of the uniqueness of their respective instructional approaches, they nuanced their writing instruction to conform to their implicit theories about teaching, learning, and disability. One set of teachers believed that the writing "breakdowns" of students with disabilities required a structural approach-sequenced, individualized, phonics-based instruction targeting individual performance levels. Another set of teachers advocated a relational approach, wherein students with disabilities are "protected" and "empowered" in learning communities characterized by shared activities, student choice, and interpersonal communication.     

构建自主学习小学数学作业的实践与思考

作业是课堂学习的延伸与拓展,是所学知识的巩固与内化,也是引领学生自主学习、学会学习的路径与目标。设计自主学习小学数学作业,布置联系实际作业,增强生活性;布置生动有趣作业,增强趣味性;布置操作实践作业,增强探索性;布置不同层次作业,增强自主性;布置一题多解作业,增强独创性,让作业成为学生生命成长的重要历程与精彩展示。     

THE EFFECTS OF GROUP COACHING ON THE HOMEWORK PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED BY SECONDARY STUDENTS WITH AND WITHOUT DISABILITIES

Research on the effectiveness of homework provides ample evidence that homework has a positive effect on learning, particularly for secondary students. Unfortunately, the rate of consistent homework completion for students, with and without disabilities, is low. This study used a between‐groups design to examine the differential effectiveness of coaching, a self‐management intervention, compared with the local treatment‐as‐usual (homework center) on improving the homework completion of 50 middle school students (Grades 6 to 8) with and without disabilities who were having substantial difficulty with homework. Results indicated that both group coaching and homework center (treatment‐as‐usual) were effective in significantly decreasing homework problems, with no clear indication that one intervention was, overall, superior to the other. However, preliminary analyses suggest that these interventions might be differentially effective as a function of disability status.     

Learning to teach literacy through collaborative discussions of student work

Despite the high numbers of students with disabilities struggling with literacy, few teachers report feeling well prepared to address it. Most students with disabilities encounter challenges in reading and professional development can help teachers learn a range of ways to address those. In this article, we discuss a professional development project in which prospective teachers work collaboratively with practicing teachers throughout their university preparation. The professional development provided builds on the idea of ‘literacy artifacts’, which are samples of students’ and teachers’ work. Using guided discussions, teachers across the career continuum construct understandings and practices in which they learn how to infuse literacy instruction into all teaching and learning. By conjoining the literacy artifact with instructional resources teachers use, participants make visible the complexity of literacy instruction and how literacy could be embedded in teaching content for students with disabilities especially in general education classrooms.     

Primary homework in England: the beliefs and practices of teachers in primary schools

This study examines teachers’ views about and practices in homework in primary schools, based on questionnaire data from 235 primary teachers and 19 in-depth interviews. Findings suggest that teachers prioritise contradictory goals and act in ways that support only some of these. Reading with parents is a universal form of homework and other homework focuses either on English or mathematics or takes a project-led approach. Integration of homework into class learning is problematic. Teachers are concerned about the possible effects of homework on educational inequality and questions are raised about teachers’ perceptions of homework as a signifier of good parenting.     

The effects of daily homework assignments on the acquisition of basic skills by students with learning disabilities

Examined in this two-study investigation was the effectiveness of supplemental homework assignments on the acquisition of basic skills by students with diagnosed learning disabilities (LD). In Experiment 1, an adapted alternating treatments design was used to investigate the efficacy of unstructured homework assignments with 6 elementary school-aged students having basic math problems. Although the impact of the homework assignments differed across students, three factors maximized the effectiveness of the homework assignments: rate of homework completion, percentage correct on the homework assignments, and the rate of acquisition of the content being presented. Experiment 2, designed to formally test the effectiveness of homework assignments structured specifically to address these identified factors, confirmed that homework can be employed to increase the effectiveness of direct instruction sequences with students diagnosed as LD.     

Culturally sensitive instructional practices for African-American learners with disabilities.

This article discusses the cultural and educational needs of African-American learners with disabilities. Six theoretical assumptions establish some basic suppositions about culturally and linguistically diverse learners and effective instructional practices. A review of the literature describes African-American cultural practices, interests, and cognitive styles; highlights the attitudes, perceptions, and instructional practices of effective teachers of African-American students; and includes patterns of teacher-student and peer-group interactions that promote high academic achievement among African-American learners. Recommendations include organizing teaching, learning, and performance in ways that are compatible with the social structure of African-American students with disabilities.     

Students With Learning Disabilities: Homework Problems and Promising Practices

Students with learning disabilities are more likely than other students to have problems doing homework. In this article, we describe how deficits in language, attention, memory, and organizational skills as well as in reading, writing, and math affect homework performance. We describe family and school factors that may exacerbate-or ameliorate-their problems as well as the intervention research that has included students with learning disabilities. At this point, there appears to be a huge gap between the strategies successfully applied in intervention studies and teachers' preferences for interventions, a serious issue that spills over and has a negative influence on family life. Nonetheless, an emerging area of intervention research suggests that effective efforts to improve homework completion, accuracy, and test performance may require parental involvement, peer cooperation, self-monitoring and graphing, "real-life" assignments, teachercollaborative problem solving, or all.     

Special Education Teachers’ Self-Efficacy in Implementing Social–Emotional Learning to Support Students with Learning Disabilities

This study was designed to determine how special education teachers (SETs) in Saudi Arabia perceive their self-efficacy in implementing social–emotional learning (SEL) practices to support students with learning disabilities (LD). The data were collected by surveying 109 SETs of students with LD who teach at elementary and middle schools in Riyadh. The findings demonstrate that SETs had low to moderate self-efficacy in putting SEL into practice, and the participants highlighted the importance of receiving support that can enhance their self-efficacy in SEL. Moreover, the study's findings show some statistically significant variations in the responses of the teachers, as those who attended more professional development programs reported higher levels of self-efficacy. Additionally, middle school teachers and teachers with fewer years of experience showed a higher need for receiving support to enhance their implementation of SEL. Recommendations for future studies and practices are provided.     

Does homework design matter? The role of homework's purpose in student mathematics achievement

This study used a randomized pretest–posttest clustered design to examine the effect of 3 homework purposes (i.e., practice, preparation, and extension) on 6th graders' mathematics achievement and how this relationship was modulated by the amount of completed homework. A total of 27 mathematics teachers and their 638 students participated in this study. Once a week for six weeks, the teachers assigned tasks that had a specific type of homework purpose according to their treatment condition. At the end of the six weeks, the students completed a non-standardized mathematics achievement test. The results of multilevel modeling showed that after controlling for student characteristics and class-level variables, extension homework positively impacted students' mathematics achievement, while practice and preparation homework did not. These findings were not related to the amount of homework that was completed by the students. The findings highlighted the importance of the teacher's role in the first phase of the homework process (i.e., designing homework with a specific purpose) and provide important data for teachers and school administrators to reflect upon when conducting actual homework practices.     

HOMEWORK AND MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT IN HONG KONG: EVIDENCE FROM THE TIMSS 2003

Though it is generally believed that doing homework promotes better learning, no consensus has been achieved concerning its importance and relevance to students’ achievement. The historical up-and-down status of public attitudes toward homework indicates that understanding about the role of homework in students’ learning is far from comprehensive and clear. The literature shows that much research effort has been devoted to the relationship between amount of homework and achievement, but little on quality of homework and how it has been used. Applying a 2-level hierarchical linear model on the TIMSS 2003 data, this study investigated the relationship between classroom practices on homework and 8th grade students’ mathematics achievement in Hong Kong in three dimensions: frequency and amount of homework, types of homework, and usage modes of homework. The results showed that while the time spent on daily mathematics homework had significantly positive effect on students’ TIMSS results, no effect was observed on the frequency of homework assigned. Out of three types of homework, only homework of the problem/question type demonstrated significant effect. The practice of having students start homework in class had negative influence on students’ learning outcome. Implications and suggestions for educational practice and future research were then discussed.     

数学作业的布置与批改探析

作业是数学教学中的关键环节,通过作业能够检验学生的课堂学习效果,但当前学生数学作业的完成效率不高。数学教师只有在作业中体现趣味性、层次性和差异性,与生活相结合,并在数学作业批改时坚持及时性、启发性原则,做到多种批改、分项评价、一题多改,采用多样化作业批改方式,才能引导学生在完成作业的过程中提高数学素养。     

在线作业的用户体验及其影响因素研究——兼论对在线作业推广应用的反思

伴随大数据、学习分析技术的发展,在线作业成为当前教育科技产品的重要形式,但是有关在线作业的用户体验研究并不多。文章采用技术接受模型来研究初中生和家长的在线作业用户体验及其影响因素,并结合相关研究中的教师用户体验进行比较分析,研究发现:易用性对学生和家长的在线作业使用无显著影响,对教师有影响;有用性是教师和家长更为关心的,而学生对此无感;社会影响和自我学习管理对学生和家长在线作业使用呈显著影响。基于此,文章对在线作业推广应用进行了反思,认为在线作业需避免成为强化应试的工具;教师要适应新的“把关人”角色;在线作业开发需更多地转向学生用户设计,以增强其学习体验。     

Expanding opportunities to learn to support inclusive education through drama‐enhanced literacy practices

This study examines how the Early Years Educators at Play (EYEPlay) professional development (PD) programme supported inclusive learning settings for all children, including English language learners and students with disabilities. The EYEPlay PD model is a year‐long programme that integrates drama strategies into literacy practices within real‐classroom contexts. Inclusive education refers to ensuring equal opportunities to access and participation in learning activities for all students. Cultural‐historical activity theory was used to understand and unpack the drama practices. Twelve semi‐structured focus group interviews were conducted with 19 preschool teachers. The data were analysed via constant‐comparative and interpretive methods. The study findings showed that EYEPlay PD practices enhanced inclusive learning settings for diverse groups of students by increasing access and expanding opportunities to learn, and supporting a positive learning environment.     

Locus of control of children with learning disabilities and perceived locus of control by significant others

The perceptions of parents and teachers of 24 children with learning disabilities regarding their children's or students' locus of control (LC) orientation were compared to the LC orientation held by the children themselves. While no significant differences were found between parents and children, teachers were found to perceive in their students with learning disabilities significantly more internally oriented success experiences than the students perceived in themselves. Significant differences in LC orientation were also found between the children with learning disabilities and a comparable group of nondisabled subjects. Implications for both preservice and inservice teacher education are presented.