Using a nationally representative dataset of young children in the United States (the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort), the purpose of this study was to test the associations between teachers’ perceptions of preschoolers’ ( N = 3350) school readiness and actual academic readiness levels, as measured by math and reading assessments. The dimensions of readiness included social/emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and physical well-being. The findings suggest that teachers’ perceptions of various aspects of readiness may matter differently for math and reading achievement as well as for certain racial/ethnic groups. Teachers’ perceptions of all domains of readiness appear to be an important predictor of math achievement for Black children. Perceptions of behavior were negatively associated with academic readiness for Hispanic children, yet significantly and positively associated with math achievement for Black children. Teachers’ perceptions of cognitive readiness were only positively associated with academic readiness for Black children. Training, education, and support for establishing close teacher–child relationships may maximize preschoolers’ academic readiness by promoting social/emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and physical well-being.

In order to create an effective 21st century classroom that engages and meets the needs of students, teachers must be knowledgeable of what motivates students to learn and how technology plays a critical role in his/her instruction. Due to the limited exposure of computer science education in the mainstream P-16 curriculum, only a small portion of students from public schools go on to careers in technology. The purpose of this chapter was to examine how teacher preparation programs and districts can better prepare pre-service and inservice teachers with experiences and professional development opportunities to equip them with the tools to effectively and efficiently teach in P-16 classroom settings. As a result, not only school districts but colleges of education must begin to develop and plan for the uses of computer related technologies for its educators.

This chapter focuses on the suggestions and strategies of technology being utilized in classroom settings. An emphasis is placed on digital technology and literacy integration. The authors explore the effectiveness of digital technology and literacy integration and identify external and internal factors limiting technology integration commonly found within a typical PreK-12th grade classroom setting. In addition to the authors discussing factors that limit school's integration, the authors provide solutions and recommendations suggesting resources throughout the chapter to improve and model digital technology and literacy integration in the classroom.

Each day in schools throughout the United States, students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds go into schools pursuing their right to a free and equitable public-school education. Due to the flourishing diversification of the United States, and the expanding immigrant refugee populations, the need for an educational system that provides all students with equal access to success in school is imperative. In urban areas, primarily those with minority and low-socioeconomic status students, continue to fall far behind their suburban white non-low socioeconomic status counterparts in terms of academic achievement. Students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds, primarily minority, within urban K12 school districts are struggling to meet the academic expectations in the United States. The authors seek to provide information that informs educators and policy makers on the history of the school system, educational policy and curriculum, and strategies and solutions that assist in closing the achievement gap for students of diverse backgrounds.

Teaching and learning practices in higher education are undergoing a number of changes that have significant implications for the nature of students' learning experiences in classroom settings. In the last several decades, various modes of active learning have been introduced in efforts to enhance student engagement and deepen student pedagogical knowledge. Active learning is considered to be the connection of what knowledge we already possess to the knowledge we desire to acquire. The ultimate goal in active learning is to balance personal motivation for self-fulfillment with group capacities so that we are able to make high impact contributions to the world. This chapter examines instructors' understanding of active learning strategies and the benefits of implementing these strategies in classroom settings. The information presented focuses on forms, methods, and models of the active learning process and is meant to raise interest and awareness on the importance of students' active participation in their learning process.