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Eric.ed.gov – Infusing Evidence-Based Practices into the Special Education Preparation Curriculum

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This article describes how a math intervention was developed based on five standards needed to be an effective math teacher of students with disabilities and four validated practices shown to be effective with students with disabilities. Emphasis was placed on the importance of explicitly teaching these strategies in teacher education methods courses. Preliminary data indicated that when these standards and validated practices were used to teach first grade students at risk for math failure, achievement gains were seen and preservice teachers felt they gained knowledge about teaching students mathematics. Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – Comprehensive Private School Model for Low-Income Urban Children in Mexico. Policy Research Working Paper 8669

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In low-income countries, private schools are perceived as superior alternatives to the public sector, often improving achievement at a fraction of the cost. It is unclear whether private schools are as effective in middle-income countries where the public sector has relatively more resources. To address this gap, this paper takes advantage of lottery-based admissions in first grade for a Mexico City private school that targets and subsidizes attendance for low-income children. Over three years, selected students via lottery scored 0.21 standard deviation higher than those not selected in literacy tests, corresponding to a normalized gain of one-half of a grade level every two years. Lottery winners also statistically outperformed those not selected in math, but the gains were more modest. Relative to the control group, parents of… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Embodiment in Teaching and Learning Early Counting: Grounding Metaphors

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper contributes to the theory and evidence that mathematical cognition is embodied. Drawing on the practices of primary teachers in South Africa engaged in a longitudinal research and development project — Wits Maths Connect–Primary — we report on aspects of lessons aimed at developing number sense through whole-class teacher-learner interaction. Two episodes are analysed from an embodied cognition perspective. The episodes focus on helping Grade 1 (6-year-olds) learners become fluent in counting forward and back or ordering numbers. Analysis reveals different embodied metaphors underlie the teachers’ actions, the nature of which are likely to lead to different learning opportunities. We conclude that our analysis supports a theory of embodied cognition, and demonstrates its usefulness as an analytical tool. [For the complete proceedings, see ED597799.] Link til… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Using a Four-Point Scaled Writing Rubric: Improving the Quantity and the Quality of the Writing in a First Grade Specialized 8:1:1 Classroom

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Educators today are faced with learning to implement the Common Core Standards in Language Arts and Math. Administrators are requiring grade level general education teachers/special education teachers to meet in Private Learning Communities in order to discuss the best ways to implement the CCS as well as to discuss best practices for writing instruction through close analysis of student writing. Research suggests that students use both cognitive and social processes when composing a writing piece (MacArthur, Graham, & Fitzgerald, 2006). Therefore, this study evaluates the importance of first using the social cultural writing process in order to enhance the cognitive writing process of students before they responded to a writing prompt. The study involved administering a journal entry pre-test, post-test, and final test over a four-week time… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – First-Grade Retention: Effects on Children’s Actual and Perceived Performance throughout Elementary Education

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study investigates the effects of repeating first grade on children’s further academic growth, by tracking the actual performance and the teacher-rated performance of a cohort of Flemish first-graders until the end of elementary school. Two research questions are raised: (1) How do first-grade repeaters, at the cost of one extra year of education, develop in comparison to younger children with whom they will eventually finish elementary school (i.e., same-grade comparison), taking into account their propensity of repeating first grade?; and (2) How would first-grade retainees have developed, had they been promoted to second grade instead (i.e., same-age comparison)? This study is part of the large-scale longitudinal SiBO project, designed to investigate Flemish children’s development and school trajectory throughout elementary education (Maes, Ghesquiere, Onghena, & Van Damme,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – A Toolbox for Supporting Early Number Learning in Play: Moving beyond “How Many”?

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper explores the ways preschool teachers orchestrate instructional environments to promote mathematical play related to early number and, how they intervene during play to promote children’s engagement with early number. We highlight these practices to identify resources for the growing numbers of early childhood teachers. This is important as many prospective and practicing teachers do not have access to the knowledge of teaching that supports young children’s math learning because of the constraints of mathematics methods courses and the dearth of research on early childhood mathematics in mathematic education journals — particularly in-depth attention to early number and teaching mathematics in play. [For the complete proceedings, see ED583989.] Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings from First Graders in 39 Schools. NCEE 2009-4053. Executive Summary

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this large-scale, national study is to determine whether some early elementary school math curricula are more effective than others at improving student math achievement, thereby providing educators with information that may be useful for making adequate yearly progress (AYP). This report presents results from the first cohort of first grade in 39 schools participating in the evaluation during the 2006-2007 school year, with the goal of determining the relative effects of different early elementary math curricula on student math achievement in disadvantaged schools. The report also examines whether curriculum effects differ for student subgroups in different instructional settings. A competitive process was used to select four curricula Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; Math Expressions; Saxon Math; and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics) that represent… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Effect of Summer on Value-Added Assessments of Teacher and School Performance

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study examines the effects of including the summer period on value-added assessments (VAA) of teacher and school performance at the early grades. The results indicate that 40-62% of the variance in VAA estimates originates from the summer period, depending on the outcome (i.e., reading or math achievement gains). Furthermore, when summer is omitted from the VAA model, 51-61% of the teachers and 58-61% of the schools change performance quintiles, with many changing 2-3 quintiles. Extensive statistical controls for student background and classroom and school context reduce the summer effect, but 36-47% of the teachers and 42-49% of the schools are still in different quintiles. Furthermore, besides misclassifying teachers and schools, the results show that including summer tends to bias VAA estimates against schools with concentrated poverty.… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings for First and Second Graders. Executive Summary. NCEE 2011-4002

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: National achievement data show that elementary school students in the United States, particularly those from low socioeconomic backgrounds, have weak math skills (National Center for Education Statistics 2009). In fact, data show that, even before they enter elementary school, children from disadvantaged backgrounds are behind their more advantaged peers in basic competencies such as number-line ordering and magnitude comparison (Rathburn and West 2004). Furthermore, after a year of kindergarten, disadvantaged students still have less extensive knowledge of mathematics than their more affluent peers (Denton and West 2002). This study examines whether some early elementary school math curricula are more effective than others at improving student math achievement in disadvantaged schools. A small number of curricula, which are based on different approaches for developing student math skills, dominate… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Evaluation of the Florida Master Teacher Initiative: Final Evaluation Findings

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the Florida Master Teacher Initiative (FMTI)–an i3-funded early learning program aimed at improving the quality of teaching and student outcomes in grades PreK through third grade in high need schools. The FMTI schools participated in four program components: (1) a job-embedded graduate degree program with an early childhood specialization, (2) a Teacher Fellows program through which teachers engage in yearlong inquiry projects around their practice, (3) a Principal Fellows program during which principals work together to strengthen their facilitative leadership skills, and (4) Summer Leadership Institutes to review data and engage in action planning. The impact evaluation had two primary goals: (1) to assess the school-level impact of FMTI on teachers and students; and (2) to… Continue Reading