Facilitating Preschool Children’s Mathematics Development in China, Japan, and the United States: Is the Classroom Library Considered?

The two studies examined in this paper compare the different mathematical opportunities provided in preschool classrooms in China, Japan, and the United States, with an emphasis on mathematical-themed books in classroom libraries. Study one presents the results of an online survey to examining the content of preschool classroom libraries in China (N = 134), Japan (N = 168), and the United States (N = 291). Study two presents data obtained from semi-structured interviews of teachers in China (N = 8), Japan (N = 8), and the United States (N = 8). The interviews examined teacher perceptions of how they teach mathematics, the importance of teaching mathematics, and the use of the classroom library as a venue for mathematics. Study one results indicated that teachers from all three countries encourage classroom library use; however, teachers from China reported more mathematics storybooks than their Japanese or United States counterparts. Study two results indicated that teachers from all three countries viewed mathematics as important and provided various mathematics learning opportunities to children throughout the school day. Chinese teachers reported providing the most mathematics learning opportunities using whole group instruction, mathematics centers, and free play. Japanese teachers reported few whole group forms of instruction other than circle time but reported providing opportunities for using mathematics during free play and other embedded activities. United States teachers indicated that mathematics learning occurred using whole group instruction and mathematics centers.

Teacher embodiment of culturally responsive pedagogies in a fifth grade classroom

Schools need better roadmaps for accomplishing culturally responsive pedagogy and intercultural education. In this article, I feature the culturally responsive practices of a Black teacher situated in an elementary classroom in the U.S. Her practices contribute to a roadmap for enacting culturally responsive pedagogy that incorporates small group instruction and cooperative learning. I also contend that queries investigating pedagogies affirming minoritized students must consider the primary actors charged to implement such work. In addition to her pedagogical practices, I include data that elucidate how the teacher’s racial biography is explicitly tied to the culturally responsive work she engages in the classroom. I conclude with considerations for how this case study might offer educators, researchers, and policymakers’ ideas for deep integration of intercultural education.

The Effects of Progressive Time Delay to Teach Social Problem-Solving to Preschoolers

A multiple probe design across participants was used to evaluate the effectiveness of progressive time delay (PTD) during small group instruction to teach social problem-solving to preschoolers and to assess generalization to novel contexts. PTD was used to teach children to both name and use a variety of problem-solving solutions. Target participants, all of whom exhibited challenging behavior or were at risk for social skill deficits, were paired with a typically developing peer for small group instructional sessions. During sessions, children were presented with scenarios involving simple social problems and were asked, “What could you do?” After naming an appropriate solution, participants were prompted to use the solution. Results indicate the use of PTD during small group instruction was effective for teaching social problem-solving to preschoolers, generalized to novel contexts and maintained following the withdrawal of the intervention. Limitations, areas for future research, and implications for practice are discussed.

Everybody Still Plays: Virtual Engagement without Webcams On

When learning is virtual and students’ webcams are turned off, the ways that we interacted in an in-person classroom fall short. These six strategies for hearing from all students during whole-group instruction and small-group work honor students’ need to keep their webcams off.

Co-Teaching in Uncertain Times: Using Technology to Improve Student Learning and Manage Today’s Complex Educational Landscape

As co-teachers tackle the unique challenges of instructing in remote, hybrid, and socially distanced brick-and-mortar settings they can increase their success by incorporating technology solutions into their shared classrooms. Technology can facilitate co-teachers’ implementation of small-group instruction, increase options for student engagement and participation, and establish instructional consistency through clear communication. The result can be enhanced student learning and more efficient and effective delivery of the specially designed instruction that students with disabilities must receive.

Differentiated Instruction further Realized through Teacher-Agent Teaming

Teacher-agent teams have the potential to increase instructional effectiveness in diverse classrooms. The agent can be trained on previous student assessment data to create a model for assessing student performance and provide instructional recommendations. We propose a conceptual model that outlines how assessment agents can be trained for and used in classrooms to create effective teacher-agent teams. Furthermore, we show how teacher-agent teams can assist in the implementation of differentiated instruction, a strategy which allows teachers to effectively instruct students of diverse backgrounds and understandings. Differentiated instruction is further realized by having an assessment agent focus on grading student work, providing feedback to students, categorizing students, and giving recommendations for instruction so that teachers can focus on providing individualized or small group instruction to diverse learners. This model maximizes the strengths of teachers, while minimizing the tedious tasks that teachers routinely perform.

Middle School Teachers’ Perceptions of and Use of Classroom Management Strategies and Associations With Student Behavior

Disruptive student behavior in middle school is associated with negative outcomes including poor grades, low achievement scores, dropout, lost teaching time, teacher burnout, and societal expenditures. Classroom Behavior Management (CBM) strategies are effective at reducing disruptive behavior, decreasing teacher stress, and increasing achievement with elementary students, but less is known regarding these strategies for middle school students. The purpose of the current study was to assess (a) the rates of disruptive and on-task student behaviors in middle school classrooms, overall and by academic context including individual seatwork, group/partner work, small group instruction, and whole group instruction; (b) the rates of observed (appropriate and inappropriate commands, labeled and unlabeled praise, opportunities to respond; appropriate response to rule violations) and self-reported (appropriate commands, reprimands for inappropriate behavior, strategic ignoring, if/then contingencies, and send to principal’s office) CBM strategies; and (c) relationships between observed teacher strategy use and rates of disruptive and on-task behaviors. The results indicated that there was wide variability in teachers’ use of CBM strategies, their perceptions of the effectiveness of CBM strategies, and the frequency of disruptive student behavior. In addition, overall, teachers demonstrated low rates of appropriate responses to disruptive behavior. Notably, appropriate responses to disruptive behavior had the strongest association with total rates of disruptive and on-task behaviors. The implications of these findings for teacher training are discussed.