Three challenges in current secondary school science classrooms are (a) meaningful integration of technology, (b) integration of reading and writing in content courses, and (c) differentiation of instruction to meet individual student needs in courses. This is an exploratory study of an urban, high school marine science course in which a teacher added communication with her students via asynchronous online journals. This intervention was intended to enable the teacher to understand how students were constructing knowledge and their understanding of marine science topics. Data included journal postings from all students and the teacher throughout the semester, as well as the teacher's personal journal.

For many courses, mathematics included, there is an associated interactive e-learning system that provides assessment and tutoring. Some of these systems are classified as Intelligent Tutoring Systems. MyMathLab, Mathzone, and Assessment of LEarning in Knowledge Space (ALEKS) are just a few of the interactive e-learning systems in mathematics. In ALEKS, assessment and tutoring are based on the Knowledge Space Theory. Previous studies in a traditional learning environment have shown ALEKS users to perform equally or better in mathematics achievement than the group who did not use ALEKS. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of ALEKS on students’ achievement in mathematics in an online learning environment and to determine the cognitive complexity of mathematical tasks enacted by ALEKS’s initial (pretest) and final (posttest) assessments. The targeted population for this study was undergraduate students in College Mathematics I, in an online course at a private university in the southwestern United States. The study used a quasi-experimental One-Group non-randomized pretest and posttest design. Five methods of analysis and one model were used in analyzing data: t-test, correctional analysis, simple and multiple regression analysis, Cronbach’s Alpha reliability test and Webb’s depth of knowledge model. A t-test showed a difference between the pretest and posttest reports, meaning ALEKS had a significant effect on students’ mathematics achievement. The correlation analysis showed a significant positive linear relationship between the concept mastery reports and the formative and summative assessments reports meaning there is a direct relationship between the ALEKS concept mastery and the assessments. The regression equation showed a better model for predicting mathematics achievement with ALEKS when the time spent learning in ALEKS and the concept mastery scores are used as part of the model. According to Webb’s depth of knowledge model, the cognitive complexity of the pretest and posttest question items used by ALEKS were as follows: 50.5% required application of skills and concepts, 37.1% required recall of information, and 12.4% required strategic thinking: None of the questions items required extended thinking or complex reasoning, implying ALEKS is appropriate for skills and concepts building at this level of mathematics.

High cognitive demand (HCD) tasks can help students develop a deeper understanding of mathematics. Teachers need interventions that encourage students to engage in HCD activities. Small-group discourse provides HCD opportunities for students while solving mathematics problems. Discourse can take place after students solve problems individually (reflective) or in groups as students solve problems (exploratory). This study looks at the relationship between these two types of small-group discourse and student-enacted cognitive demand. This study looks at how students engage with tasks that were designed at four different cognitive demand levels using Webb’s depth of knowledge (DOK) framework. Ninety-seven grade 5 students from four different classrooms were grouped in small groups of two or three students to solve two sets of mathematics problems on operations with fractions and decimals. Each class engaged in Reflective Discourse after solving one set and engage in Exploratory Discourse while solving the other set. To help understand any order effects, half the classes used Reflective Discourse with Set 1 while the other half used Exploratory Discourse with Set 1. Then, they switched for Set 2, so that whoever used Reflective Discourse with Set 1 used Exploratory Discourse with Set 2 and vice versa. The researcher analyzed whether there were patterns in levels of cognitive demand and quality of the discussion when students engaged in each type of discourse for math problems at four different levels. First, the researcher looked at any numerical differences between the intended cognitive demand of the problems and how students engaged with the problems using frequency tables, heat maps, and statistical analyses. Next, the researcher looked at differences in student actions and the way they talked about the math problems. Findings showed that both Reflective and Exploratory Discourse can be used by teachers to promote high student-enacted levels of cognitive demand. Results also showed that a supportive environment, such as the environment created by Reflective Discourse, can help support typically struggling students. Finally, this research reinforced the importance of dissonance in prompting students to engage with the tasks at higher levels of cognitive demand.

The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive types and functions of questions orally posed by early childhood teachers in kindergarten through 3rd grade during a 90-minute literacy block. The cognitive types of questions were determined by the criteria established using Hess’ Cognitive Rigor Matrix (Hess, Jones, Carlock, & Walkup, 2009). The functions of the posed questions were determined by criteria based on the work of Costa (2001), Hughes (as cited in Fusco, 2012), and Lowery (as cited in Fusco, 2012). This study examined questioning strategies used by 12 early childhood teachers from a Northeast Tennessee School District. The 12 teachers orally posed questions were recorded, scripted, and coded by the researcher to determine each question’s type, frequency, and function and how these indicators serve to increase student engagement during the literacy block. Results from the study show that the majority of questions posed are low in cognitive level requiring students to perform primarily at the basic level of remembering and understanding. The primary function of the recorded posed questions called for students to verify their understanding and many closed questions were asked during the documented lessons. The time teachers gave students to answer a question was minimal and a single student generated response was the predominant vehicle used to glean an answer to a presented question. While the teachers in this study appeared to understand the importance of posing high level cognitive questions in order to increase Common Core Standards instruction, results from this study showed that there seems to be a disconnect between what teachers think they do and their actual practice in regard to posing effective questions as a strategy for active student engagement and learning.