Temple University

In this project, researchers investigate whether an intervention that provides financial aid information, reminders, and advising to college students increases completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and compliance with the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements of the Pell grant program. The research team will convey information, reminders, and offers of additional assistance to students via text message. The intervention is expected to work by making s...

First-year biology college courses constitute a gateway for success in multiple STEM majors, yet many academically able students struggle to learn the concepts and fail to perceive them as relevant to their future career. To support biology instruction across diverse higher education settings, the researchers created a set of online instructional supports that 'wrap around' existing courses to enhance students' learning, motivation, and achievement in first-year college biology courses.

Secondary students with disabilities continue to receive science instruction in mainstream settings where the predominant mode of instruction involves students listening and taking notes. Despite increases in the number of students being included in regular education classes, most students with disabilities have difficulty in content areas such as science. Students with disabilities often lack the necessary note-taking skills (e.g., they typically record fewer total notes and fewer importan...

The purpose of this project is to develop Story Talk-Kindergarten (ST-K), a multifaceted intervention that will support teachers through training and coaching to use evidence-based book reading and extension activities to increase vocabulary knowledge in low-income kindergartners. Kindergarten is a critical year in children's learning to read. Many children in high-need schools require additional support in developing vocabulary, a significant predictor of reading. This project addresses a g...

In this project, researchers will iteratively develop and test GeometryByExample, an intervention that incorporates explanation of correct and incorrect examples of varied geometric content, to improve student learning of high school Geometry. GeometryByExample provides strategically designed, worked-example based assignments for students to complete in class in place of more typical practice assignments. Instead of solving all the practice problems themselves, students study correct or inco...

The purpose of this project is to develop Training Teachers to Teach Vocabulary (T3V), a professional development (PD) intervention to support early childhood classroom teachers in using evidence-based instructional practices to improve vocabulary knowledge among young children at risk for communication difficulties (CD). Vocabulary development is a key predictor of children's success in learning to read and in school more generally. Although research has identified effective teaching practi...