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"Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day…" - 5 new articles
Research Studies Of The Week Mohamed_hassan / Pixabay I often write about research studies from various fields and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature. You can see all my “Best” lists related to education research here. Here are some new useful studies (and related resources):
PERCEPTIONS OF ESL STUDENTS ON THE INTEGRATION OF AI-POWERED TECHNOLOGIES FOR ENHANCING ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY is a study worth checking out.
THE IMPACT OF TEACHER-STUDENT INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS ON LANGUAGE LEARNING ACHIEVEMENT is from ELTE Journal. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On The Importance Of Building Positive Relationships With Students.
Results from TALIS 2024 The State of Teaching      Here’s A List Of “Interactive Teaching Methods” A New Study Has Found Effective In Social Studies Classes
A new study (not behind a paywall) has come out: Effectiveness of Interactive Teaching Methods in Improving Student Engagement with History and Social Studies. It’s not a meta-analysis. Instead, it’s based on a “systematic literature review.” Don’t ask me what the difference is… The big issue is studies like this about interactive teaching or “active learning” is knowing how they define it. Here’s the summary of the study, via ChatGPT and doublechecked by me, along with a one-page handout created by ChatGPT: Based on a close review of the study Effectiveness of Interactive Teaching Methods in Improving Student Engagement with History and Social Studies (Lawal, 2025), here is a clean, study-grounded list of the interactive teaching methods it explicitly recommends and synthesizes evidence for. I’m grouping them the way the article itself does across the literature review, methods, and results sections. Interactive Teaching Methods Recommended in the Study 1. Role-Playing Students take on the roles of historical figures or groups and make decisions within historical contexts. Used to develop historical empathy, perspective-taking, and contextual understanding Strong effects on student engagement and discussion quality Particularly effective for disengaged and lower-achieving students
2. Simulations Structured reenactments of historical events or processes where students experience consequences of decisions. Often paired with role-playing Improves reasoning skills, participation, and understanding of causation Produces large gains in engagement when sustained over time
3. Structured Debates Students research historical positions and argue claims using evidence. Strong impact on critical thinking, argumentation, and historical writing One of the few interactive methods that also showed gains in subject knowledge Requires careful preparation and clear structure
4. Collaborative Learning / Group Work Students work in pairs or small groups to analyze content, solve problems, or construct arguments. Increases participation, especially for students anxious about whole-class discussion Particularly beneficial for English language learners and mixed-ability classrooms Effectiveness depends on task design and teacher guidance
5. Collaborative Argumentation Students jointly build, critique, and refine historical arguments. Promotes deeper conceptual understanding and reasoning Learning often continues beyond the lesson as students reflect independently Often paired with debate or inquiry activities
6. Inquiry-Based Learning Students investigate historical questions by examining evidence rather than receiving information directly. Emphasizes questioning, evidence evaluation, and interpretation Produces strong gains in historical thinking skills Moderate but consistent effects on engagement
7. Use of Primary Historical Sources Students analyze original documents, artifacts, images, or records. Improves source evaluation, contextualization, and critical analysis Most effective when embedded in inquiry-based lessons Helps students understand how historical knowledge is constructed
8. Project-Based Learning (PBL) Extended projects requiring research, collaboration, and presentation. Supports sustained engagement over longer periods Outcomes depend heavily on duration and teacher training Often combined with inquiry and collaborative work
9. Class Discussions (Structured & Whole-Class) Guided discussions that follow small-group or inquiry activities. Reinforces learning through reflection and synthesis Improves quality of student responses and historical reasoning Most effective after students have prepared ideas collaboratively
10. Problem-Based Learning Students work through historical or civic problems requiring analysis and decision-making. Encourages application of knowledge rather than memorization Supports autonomy and motivation Benefits increase when used consistently over time
Big Takeaway from the Study The review concludes that interactive teaching is most effective when: Used consistently for 8+ weeks Supported by teacher training and coaching Aligned with historical thinking goals, not just engagement  It’s World Penguin Day! Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources MemoryCatcher / Pixabay
Believe it or not, it’s World Penguin Day. You’ll find learning resources, including some great videos, at The Best Sites For Learning About Penguins.  April 29th Is The “Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare” – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay
The United Nations has declared April 29th to be the “Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare.” You might be interested in The Best Resources For Learning & Teaching About About The Dangers & History Of Chemical Weapons.  This Is Pretty Interesting: Meta-Analyses Ranking Instructional Math Strategies
In Teaching By Science, a post reviewed 44 meta-analyses on math instruction. You can see all of its results here. The image above shows the strategies it suggests showed a “very large effect.” I didn’t even understand what two of them were – use of heuristics and 7E Instructional Model NS. So I looked them up.
Here’s what I found about heuristics: At its most basic, a heuristic is “a short cut in problem solving; it is a rule for reducing the number of mental operations (or information-processing steps) taken to solve a problem” (Gray, 1994, p. 395). Sometimes heuristics are taught by teachers, sometimes students come across them on their own. It is important to note that heuristics are general strategies that a student can use on their own to help identify and solve a math problem (Gersten et al., 2009). Peer tutoring, a simplification of the problem by the teacher, or the use of math implements (such as a calculator or ruler) are not considered heuristics. Neither are algorithms – for example, the slope intercept equation (y = mx+b) is not considered a heuristic (Siew, Hedberg, & Lioe, 2005). A general heuristic might be something like (Gersten et al., 2009): Read the problem.
Here’s what I learned about the 7E Instructional Model NS: The 7 Es stand for the following. Elicit, Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Extend and Evaluate. The following explanation is my take on the 7Es that has been adapted from the BSCS 5E Engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate.
There are some concerns about the use of meta-analyses, but they can still be very useful. If I was a math instructor, I’d carefully review the entire list.  More Recent Articles
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