The classroom as laboratory: An exploration of teacher research

The field of education, including gifted education, suffers from a communication breakdown between classroom‐based practitioners and university‐based researchers. Research results often do not make it to the classroom where they can improve practice. This article reviews the literature regarding teacher‐performed research and argues that equipping teachers to perform their own research either individually or in collaboration with university researchers is one way to enrich teachers’ knowledge and improve classroom practice.     

The effects of technology‐enhanced formative evaluation on student performance on state accountability math tests

Technology‐enhanced formative evaluation (TEFE) could enhance student achievement while diminishing the burden of formative evaluation for educators. The current study examined data from 360 randomly selected schools that either used a TEFE program for 1 year to 4 years 11 months, for 5 or more years, or not at all. Analyses of covariance found a significant and moderate to large (d = .51 and .78) effect on percentage of students who scored proficient on state accountability tests in math. Moreover, among schools that used TEFE, those with a non‐White student population of at least 50% scored in the proficient range on state math tests at a rate equal to that of those with at least 50% White students. A significant and moderate to large (d = .71) effect was found, however, between these two groups of schools among schools that did not use a TEFE program. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Counting-on, trading and partitioning: effects of training and prior knowledge on performance on base-10 tasks

Factors affecting performance on base-10 tasks were investigated in a series of four studies with a total of 453 children aged 5-7 years. Training in counting-on was found to enhance child performance on base-10 tasks (Studies 2, 3, and 4), while prior knowledge of counting-on (Study 1), trading (Studies 1 and 3), and partitioning (Studies 1 and 4) were associated with enhanced base-10 performance. It emerged that procedural knowledge of counting-on, trading, and partitioning can lead to improvements in procedural knowledge of the base-10 system. The findings lend support to the model of iterative development of conceptual and procedural knowledge advanced by Rittle-Johnson et al. (2001).     

Enhancing diversity in science: is teaching science process skills the answer?

The Biology Fellows Program at the University of Washington aims to enhance diversity in science by helping students succeed in the rigorous introductory biology classes and motivating them to engage in undergraduate research. The composite Scholastic Achievement Test scores and high school grade point averages of the Biology Fellows are comparable to those of students who are not in the program; however, they earn, on average, higher grades in introductory biology classes than non-Biology Fellows. Underrepresented minorities and disadvantaged students in the program also earn higher grades in the introductory biology classes than do their non-Biology Fellows counterparts. Analysis of the performance of Biology Fellows shows that the program assists students who are not proficient in certain science process skills and that students who lack these skills are at risk for failing introductory biology. This evaluation provides insight for designing programs that aim to enhance the performance of beginning students of biology, particularly for underrepresented minorities, who want to obtain a life science degree.