Sample records for teach middle school

  1. Teaching Middle School Language Arts: Incorporating Twenty-First Century Literacies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Small Roseboro, Anna J.

    2010-01-01

    "Teaching Middle School Language Arts" is the first book on teaching middle school language arts for multiple intelligences and related twenty-first-century literacies in technologically and ethnically diverse communities. More than 670,000 middle school teachers (grades six through eight) are responsible for educating nearly 13 million students…

  2. Art Teaching: Elementary through Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Szekely, George; Bucknam, Julie Alsip

    2011-01-01

    "Art Teaching" speaks to a new generation of art teachers in a changing society and fresh art world. Comprehensive and up-to-date, it presents fundamental theories, principles, creative approaches, and resources for art teaching in elementary through middle-school. Key sections focus on how children make art, why they make art, the unique…

  3. The Complexity of Teaching Density in Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hashweh, Maher Z.

    2016-01-01

    Background: Density is difficult to learn and teach in middle schools. This study, hypothesizing that the density concept develops as part of a conceptual system, used a conceptual change approach to teaching density. The approach emphasized the use of multiple strategies to teach the density concept and the associated concepts in the conceptual…

  4. The Fate of Teaching Constitutional Principles to Middle School Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wolf, Alvin

    1990-01-01

    Advocates teaching constitutional history and principles to middle school students in accordance with the 1988 California History-Social Science Framework. Reports findings of a survey of 118 California middle school and high school teachers that revealed a need for improved teacher knowledge about the U.S. Constitution. Recommends steps to ensure…

  5. Teachers' Perception of Team Teaching Middle School Mathematics in Urban Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Serrano, Vanessa

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' perceptions of team teaching middle school mathematics in urban schools. The research questions focused on student academic performance and the impact that team teaching may have from the perspective of teachers. The theories of Piaget, Vygotsky, and Bruner formed the theoretical foundation…

  6. Cognitive Development Effects of Teaching Probabilistic Decision Making to Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mjelde, James W.; Litzenberg, Kerry K.; Lindner, James R.

    2011-01-01

    This study investigated the comprehension and effectiveness of teaching formal, probabilistic decision-making skills to middle school students. Two specific objectives were to determine (1) if middle school students can comprehend a probabilistic decision-making approach, and (2) if exposure to the modeling approaches improves middle school…

  7. Teaching in Middle School Technology Education: A Review of Recent Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sherman, Thomas M.; Sanders, Mark; Kwon, Hyuksoo

    2010-01-01

    We review articles published between 1995 and 2008 in four journals that are the primary scholarly resources for Technology Education middle school teaching. This descriptive study identified four main issues that scholars addressed: what should be taught in middle school, the structure and content of curriculum transformation, integrating…

  8. Using Panorama Theater To Teach Middle School Social Studies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chilcoat, George W.

    1995-01-01

    Describes how use of panorama theater to teach middle school social studies can aid in teaching the academic skills of defining a problem, locating and collecting data, organizing and designing tasks, drawing inferences, creating and building interpretations, revising and editing, and interpreting data. Presents a classroom example of a panorama…

  9. Interdisciplinary Team Teaching versus Departmentalization in Middle Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alspaugh, John W.; Harting, Roger D.

    1998-01-01

    Studied the effects of interdisciplinary teaming versus departmentalization on student achievement in middle schools. Found no significant differences for reading, math, science, and social studies achievement. Results suggest that team teaching merits further investigation as a potential strategy for mediating the student achievement loss…

  10. Exploring Middle School Students' and Parents' Conceptions of Excellent Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Junjun

    2016-01-01

    While there have been many western studies about what excellent teaching means, there are far fewer eastern studies. This study explored how students and parents perceived conceptions of excellent teaching in Chinese middle schools. The 77 students' and 67 parents' responses relating to a personal narrative of a time they had experienced excellent…

  11. "It's a Lot of Hectic in Middle School": Student-Teaching in an Urban Classroom.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meyer, Jim

    1999-01-01

    Relates the experience of a college professor who spent two months as a student teacher in an eighth-grade language arts classroom in an urban public school. Discusses middle school teaching verses college teaching, coming to know the students, discipline, student testing, accountability, teaching writing, the failure of teacher-training programs,…

  12. Middle School Advisement.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ball, Tricia

    Designed for those teaching an advisement program to middle school students, this book provides a year-long program with suggestions for many activities geared to middle school students. The text is divided into the traditional four-quarter school year but can be adapted to any school year configuration. The activities are designed so that the…

  13. The Use of Cartoons as a Teaching Tool in Middle School Mathematics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cho, Hoyun

    2012-01-01

    This dissertation focuses on examining the use of mathematical cartoons as a teaching tool in middle school mathematics classroom. A mixed methods research design was used to answer how the use of cartoon activities affects teacher and student perceptions of teaching and learning and student intrinsic motivation, interest, and mathematics anxiety…

  14. Teaching Algebraic Equations to Middle School Students with Intellectual Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baker, Joshua N.; Rivera, Christopher J.; Morgan, Joseph John; Reese, Noelle

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to replicate similar instructional techniques of Jimenez, Browder, and Courtade (2008) using a single-subject multiple-probe across participants design to investigate the effects of task analytic instruction coupled with semi-concrete representations to teach linear algebraic equations to middle school students with…

  15. A grounded theory study on the role of differentiated instruction in effective middle school science teaching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jones, Brian Kirby

    The purpose of this grounded theory study was to develop a model explaining the role of differentiated instruction (DI) in effective middle school science teaching. The study examined the best teaching practices and differentiated elements from eight general education middle school science teachers, all scoring at the highest level of a teaching effectiveness measure on their evaluations, through a collection of observational, interview, survey, and teaching artifact data. The data were analyzed through the methodology of a systematic grounded theory qualitative approach using open, axial, and selective coding to develop a model describing how and to what degree effective middle school science teachers differentiated their best teaching practices. The model that emerged from the data shows instruction as a four-phase process and highlights the major elements of best practices and DI represented at each phase. The model also depicts how teachers narrowed the scope of their differentiating strategies as instruction progressed. The participants incorporated DI into their pedagogies, though in different degrees at each phase, and primarily by using variety to present concepts with multiple types of instruction followed by a series of sense-making activities related to several learning modalities. Teachers scaffolded students carefully, using informal and formal assessment data to inform future instructional decisions and especially their plans to reteach or extend on a concept. The model is intended to provide insight into the value of DI for middle school science teaching.

  16. In the Beginning of the Middle: Curriculum Considerations for Middle School General Music

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Giebelhausen, Robin

    2015-01-01

    Middle school general music is an experience that numerous music educators feel underprepared to teach. Because many undergraduate programs spend little time on this teaching scenario and because the challenges of middle school general music are different from those of elementary general music or middle school ensembles, teachers often lack the…

  17. Teaching Design in Middle-School: Instructors' Concerns and Scaffolding Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bamberger, Yael M.; Cahill, Clara S.

    2013-01-01

    This study deals with engineering education in the middle-school level. Its focus is instructors' concerns in teaching design, as well as scaffolding strategies that can help teachers deal with these concerns. Through participatory action research, nine instructors engaged in a process of development and instruction of a curriculum about energy…

  18. Rescuing Middle School Astronomy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mayo, L. A.; Janney, D.

    2010-12-01

    There is a crisis in education at the middle school level (Spellings, 2006). Recent studies point to large disparities in middle school performance in schools with high minority populations. The largest disparities exist in areas of math and science. Astronomy has a universal appeal for K-12 students but is rarely taught at the middle school level. When it is taught at all it is usually taught in isolation with few references in other classes such as other sciences (e.g. physics, biology, and chemistry), math, history, geography, music, art, or English. The problem is greatest in our most challenged school districts. With scores in reading and math below national averages in these schools and with most state achievement tests ignoring subjects like astronomy, there is little room in the school day to teach about the world outside our atmosphere. Add to this the exceedingly minimal training and education in astronomy that most middle school teachers have and it is a rare school that includes any astronomy teaching at all. In this presentation, we show how to develop and offer an astronomy education training program for middle school teachers encompassing a wide range of educational disciplines that are frequently taught at the middle school level. The prototype for this program was developed and launched in two of the most challenged and diverse school systems in the country; D.C. Public Schools, and Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools.

  19. South Dakota Middle School Mathematics Teachers' Perceptions of Teaching Competencies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bleecker, Heather A.

    2017-01-01

    This quantitative research study investigates South Dakota middle school (grades 5-8) mathematics teachers' perceptions of teaching competencies including general pedagogical knowledge (GPK) and mathematical pedagogical content knowledge (MPCK). The study also considered how teacher characteristics relate to teacher competencies. The study…

  20. Co-Teaching in Middle School Classrooms: Quantitative Comparative Study of Special Education Student Assessment Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reese, De'borah Reese

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to determine the existence or nonexistence of performance pass rate differences of special education middle school students on standardized assessments between pre and post co-teaching eras disaggregated by subject area and school. Co-teaching has altered classroom environments in many ways.…

  1. Reading Like a Historian: Teaching Literacy in Middle and High School History Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wineburg, Sam; Martin, Daisy; Monte-Sano, Chauncey

    2011-01-01

    Reaching beyond textbooks, this is a guide to teaching "historical reading" with middle and high school students. This practical resource shows you how to apply Sam Wineburg's highly acclaimed approach to teaching, "Reading Like a Historian", in your classroom to increase academic literacy and spark students' curiosity. Each chapter begins with an…

  2. Using Pseudozoids to Teach Classification and Phylogeny to Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Freidenberg, Rolfe Jr.; Kelly, Martin G.

    2004-01-01

    This research compared the outcomes of teaching middle school students two different methods of classification and phylogeny. Two classes were randomly selected and taught using traditional methods of instruction. Three classes were taught using the "Pseudozoid" approach, where students learned to classify, develop and read dichotomous keys, and…

  3. Teaching the Middle School Grade-Level Outcomes with Standards-Based Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Avery, Marybell; Rettig, Brad

    2015-01-01

    This article focuses on the grade-level outcomes to be assessed on middle school (grades 6-8) physical education. Specifically, the article describes how to teach basic tactics and strategies while applying fundamental movement patterns to the various game and movement categories (invasion, net/wall, target, fielding/striking, dance/rhythms, &…

  4. Middle School Students' Beliefs about Matter

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nakhleh, Mary B.; Samarapungavan, Ala; Saglam, Yilmaz

    2005-01-01

    The objective of this study was to examine middle school students' developing understanding of the nature of matter and to compare middle school students' ideas to those of elementary schools students, as was done by Nakhleh and Samarapungavan ["J Res Sci Teach" 36(7):777-805, 1999]. Nine middle school students were interviewed using a scripted,…

  5. Sustaining Inquiry-Based Teaching Methods in the Middle School Science Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Murphy, Amy Fowler

    2012-01-01

    This dissertation used a combination of case study and phenomenological research methods to investigate how individual teachers of middle school science in the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) program sustain their use of inquiry-based methods of teaching and learning. While the overall context for the cases was the AMSTI…

  6. Preparing for the Educational Black Hole? Teachers' Learning in Two Pathways into Middle School Social Studies Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Conklin, Hilary G.

    2010-01-01

    The author presents findings from the first phase of a longitudinal, comparative case study that investigates what teachers learn about intellectually demanding social studies teaching at the middle school level from two distinctive teacher education pathways: a specialized middle school teacher education program and a secondary social studies…

  7. Teaching Behavior Questionnaire: Verifying Factor Structure and Investigating Depressive Symptoms in Catholic Middle and High Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pittard, Caroline M.; Pössel, Patrick; Smith, Rosamond J.

    2015-01-01

    Teaching behavior impacts student psychopathology. This study explored the associations between teaching behavior types and depressive symptoms in students. The Teaching Behavior Questionnaire (TBQ) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) were completed by 763 middle and 976 high school students from private Catholic…

  8. Teaching Design in Middle-School: Instructors' Concerns and Scaffolding Strategies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bamberger, Yael M.; Cahill, Clara S.

    2013-04-01

    This study deals with engineering education in the middle-school level. Its focus is instructors' concerns in teaching design, as well as scaffolding strategies that can help teachers deal with these concerns. Through participatory action research, nine instructors engaged in a process of development and instruction of a curriculum about energy along with engineering design. A 50-h curriculum was piloted during a summer camp for 38 middle-school students. Data was collected through instructors' materials: observation field notes, daily reflections and post-camp discussions. In addition, students' artifacts and planning graphical models were collected in order to explore how instructors' concerns were aligned with students' learning. Findings indicate three main tensions that reflect instructors' main concerns: how to provide sufficient scaffolding yet encourage creativity, how to scaffold hands-on experiences that promote mindful planning, and how to scaffold students' modeling practices. Pedagogical strategies for teaching design that developed through this work are described, as well as the ways they address the National Research Council (A framework for K-12 science education: practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2011) core ideas of engineering education and the International Technological Literacy standards (ITEA in Standards for technological literacy, 3rd edn. International Technology education Association, Reston, VA, 2007).

  9. Four science teachers' perceptions and reflections about teaching science to middle school students: A case study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Theadford, Brita A.

    This qualitative case study examined four middle school science teachers from Southern New Jersey perceptions and reflections about their selections of instructional strategies used to teach scientific concepts to seventh and eighth grade students. They reflected upon their pedagogy by reviewing videotaped lessons, reflective journaling, and participating in in-depth interviews. The findings in this study indicated that reflecting upon instruction contributes to the knowledge base of teaching, improves teachers' individual practices, and helps practitioners become deliberate about their instructional practices. Teacher should have opportunities to observe, investigate and practice using components they perceive as useful instructional strategies to teach scientific concepts to middle school students. When teachers engage in reflection, pedagogical strategies transform and teachers lean toward choosing instructional strategies that are less teacher-centered toward that of more student-centered. In conclusion, it is evident that engaging in student-centered dialogue, argumentation, and researched-based projects improved the way students learned. The participants found that constructivist, hands-on inquiry and reasoning, are skills that middle school students can readily engage in and students can develop skills that help them to think and act more like scientist.

  10. Teaching climate change: Pressures and practice in the middle school science classroom

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Crayne, Jennifer A.

    What are middle school science teachers teaching their students about climate change? And why? This qualitative study examined the experience of middle school science teachers from western Oregon, finding that while participating teachers accept the science of climate change and express concern about it, many teachers are reluctant to make the topic a priority in their classrooms. When they do include the subject, teachers frequently address "both sides." They also report that students have persistent doubts and misconceptions about climate change. What accounts for these trends? I argue that the way teachers address climate change is a result of complex interactions between structural pressures, emotional pressures, and cultural pressures. I conclude that, in order to promote the inclusion of sound climate science instruction in public schools, advocates of climate change education need to address challenges at all these levels: structural, emotional, and cultural.

  11. Turkish preservice science teachers' socioscientific issues-based teaching practices in middle school science classrooms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Genel, Abdulkadir; Sami Topçu, Mustafa

    2016-01-01

    Background: Despite a growing body of research and curriculum reforms including socioscientific issues (SSI) across the world, how preservice science teachers (PST) or in-service science teachers can teach SSI in science classrooms needs further inquiry. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the abilities of PSTs to teach SSI in middle school science classrooms, and the research question that guided the present study is: How can we characterize Turkish PSTs' SSI-based teaching practices in middle school science classrooms (ages 11-14)? Sample: In order to address the research question of this study, we explored 10 Turkish PSTs' SSI-based teaching practices in middle school science classrooms. A purposeful sampling strategy was used, thus, PSTs were specifically chosen because they were ideal candidates to teach SSI and to integrate SSI into the science curricula since they were seniors in the science education program who had to take the field experience courses. Design and method: The participants' SSI teaching practices were characterized in light of qualitative research approach. SSI-based teaching practices were analyzed, and the transcripts of all videotape recordings were coded by two researchers. Results: The current data analysis describes Turkish PSTs' SSI-based teaching practices under five main categories: media, argumentation, SSI selection and presentation, risk analysis, and moral perspective. Most of PSTs did not use media resources in their lesson and none of them considered moral perspective in their teaching. While the risk analyses were very simple and superficial, the arguments developed in the classrooms generally remained at a simple level. PSTs did not think SSI as a central topic and discussed these issues in a very limited time and at the end of the class period. Conclusions: The findings of this study manifest the need of the reforms in science education programs. The present study provides evidence that moral, media

  12. The Middle School Mess: If You Love Bungee Jumping, You're the Middle School Type

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meyer, Peter

    2011-01-01

    Suspended "between childhood and the adult world, pre-teens have been called the toughest to teach." Indeed, one can't touch middle school without hearing about "raging hormones." By all accounts, middle schools are a weak link in the chain of public education. Is it the churn of ill-conceived attempts at reform that's causing all the problems? Is…

  13. Impetus and barriers to teaching ocean literacy: A perspective from landlocked middle school science teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gillan, Amy Larrison

    The demand for a more ocean literate citizenry is growing rapidly in response to an ocean increasingly in peril. Discovering how to include students far removed from the ocean in our teaching about the ocean is imperative to meeting that charge. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the extent to which middle school science teachers in landlocked states addressed important ocean literacy concepts and what they perceived to be barriers and motivators to their doing so. This descriptive study was based on a nation-wide survey of middle school science teachers and content analyses of their most commonly used science textbooks and their state science standards. Data was analyzed quantitatively. Results indicated that landlocked and coastal teachers are similar in terms of their infrequency of teaching about the ocean, yet a number of their perceptions of barriers and motivators to do so vary. The barrier most often mentioned was middle school state science standards, which characteristically ignore the ocean sciences. The results are discussed in terms of their impact on ocean literacy professional development providers, science textbook publishers, and state science standards revision committees.

  14. TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR MIDDLE EASTERN CULTURAL STUDIES IN THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    KELLY, JAMES

    THE THIRD PART OF A PROJECT TO DEVELOP APPROACHES TO TEACHING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ABOUT CULTURE AREAS OF THE NON-WESTERN WORLD (SEE TE 499 984 AND TE 499 995), THIS TEACHERS' GUIDE FOR AN 8-WEEK COURSE ON THE MIDDLE EAST COVERS THE GOEGRAPHY, ECONOMY, POLITICS, AND CULTURE OF THE AREAS. IT ALSO DEALS WITH THE MAJOR HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE…

  15. Teaching about the Middle East in Elementary Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marek, Rosanne J.

    1983-01-01

    Most elementary teachers are inadequately prepared to teach about the Middle East. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that elementary texts dehumanize Middle Eastern peoples by reducing them to mere caricatures. Needed are the involvement of Middle Eastern studies experts in writing textbooks and the improvement of teacher's manuals. (RM)

  16. dETECT: A Model for the Evaluation of Instructional Units for Teaching Computing in Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    von Wangenheim, Christiane G.; Petri, Giani; Zibertti, André W.; Borgatto, Adriano F.; Hauck, Jean C. R.; Pacheco, Fernando S.; Filho, Raul Missfeldt

    2017-01-01

    The objective of this article is to present the development and evaluation of dETECT (Evaluating TEaching CompuTing), a model for the evaluation of the quality of instructional units for teaching computing in middle school based on the students' perception collected through a measurement instrument. The dETECT model was systematically developed…

  17. Breaking the Silence: Teaching the Next Generation about Mental Illness. For Middle School.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Susin, Janet; Kaplan, Lorraine; Slater, Louise

    As part of a campaign to end discrimination against mentally ill persons, this educational packet is designed to provide health educators with the material necessary to teach the facts about mental illness. The objectives of the lesson plans are for middle school students to: (1) identify the stigmatizing words associated with mental illness and…

  18. Piedmont City School District: Piedmont Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    EDUCAUSE, 2015

    2015-01-01

    At Piedmont Middle School, the future for students is changing through relevant, engaging learning opportunities, a school culture filled with hope, and a redesigned teaching and learning environment that utilizes blended learning, project-based learning, and competency-based learning to personalize education. The academic model is anchored by a…

  19. Videos for Teachers: Successful Teaching Strategies in Elementary and Middle School Classrooms. [CD-ROM].

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teachers Network, New York, NY.

    This CD-ROM provides information on successful teaching strategies for elementary and middle school teachers. One section offers links to curriculum and lesson planning strategies in the areas of English as a Second Language, library, arts, classroom management, English/language arts, foreign languages, global education, health/physical education,…

  20. Teaching with Picture Books in the Middle School.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tiedt, Iris McClellan

    Arguing that picture books have much to offer students in the upper grades (including middle school and even high school students), this book discusses using picture books to stimulate students' thinking in a variety of topic areas. Chapter 1, Using Picture Books in the Middle School To Stimulate Thinking, introduces the topic of using picture…

  1. Middle School Science Notes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    School Science Review, 1982

    1982-01-01

    Presents procedures, demonstrations, activities, and teaching suggestions on topics appropriate for middle school science including a simple electrolysis cell, conversion factors, energy, solubilities of salts, condensers, and a worksheet for studying coppice woodlands. (DC)

  2. Health Literacy Teaching Beliefs, Attitudes, Efficacy, and Intentions of Middle School Health and Physical Education Teachers.

    PubMed

    Lai, Hsiang-Ru; Wu, Der-Min; Lee, Pi-Hsia; Jhang, Yu-Siang

    2018-05-01

    Health education (HE) courses in schools are vital paths for improving teenagers' health literacy. HE and physical education (PE) teachers lead HE courses, and their teaching intentions and competency influence the effectiveness of the courses and the ability to promote students' health literacy. This study attempted to understand HE and PE teachers' health literacy teaching intentions and professional competency and to investigate their relationships. This study adopted a cross-sectional design. A questionnaire survey was administered to 906 middle school HE and PE teachers in Taiwan by mail, and 545 provided valid data with consent. Participants had a favorable health literacy (47.78/50), positive health literacy teaching beliefs and attitudes, and acceptable efficacy. They intended to implement health literacy instruction within the subsequent year. Teaching beliefs, attitudes, and efficacy were all positively correlated with intentions (all p < .001). Demographic variables, health literacy, and teaching beliefs, attitudes, and efficacy explained 33.5% of the variance of teaching intentions. Teaching beliefs, attitudes, and efficacy were crucial predictors of health literacy teaching intentions. To improve students' health literacy, educational authorities and schools should pay attention to HE and PE teachers' intentions and vital factors, thereby enhancing teachers' willingness to perform health literacy instruction. © 2018, American School Health Association.

  3. Teaching Them All: An Exploratory Mixed Methods Study of African American Students' Perceptions of Their Middle School's Culture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hankerson, Henry

    2009-01-01

    Research indicates school culture impacts student achievement. At Teach Them All Middle School (TTA), an achievement gap exists between African American and White students. The purpose of the current study was to examine the perceptions of African American students concerning the school culture at TTA. The research questions explored the…

  4. Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School: A Cognitive and Cultural Approach. Second Edition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Buxton, Cory A.; Provenzo, Eugene F., Jr.

    2010-01-01

    Featuring an increased emphasis on the way today's changing science and technology is shaping our culture, this Second Edition of "Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School" provides pre- and in-service teachers with an introduction to basic science concepts and methods of science instruction, as well as practical strategies for the…

  5. Reading and Teaching in an Urban Middle School: Preservice Teachers' Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Field-Based Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rogers-Haverback, Heather; Mee, Molly

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate middle level preservice teacher self-efficacy beliefs in general, as well as in the domain of reading. The participants were 8 middle school preservice teachers enrolled in a state-mandated reading methods course and student teaching over the course of a year. As part of the yearlong internship, the…

  6. Preparing College Students to Teach an Environmental Problem Solving Curriculum to Middle School Students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Powers, S. E.

    2001-12-01

    An NSF-funded project-based program was implemented by Clarkson University in 2000 to increase the interest and knowledge of middle school students in science, math and technology through the solution of an environmental problem that is relevant to their local school community. Clarkson students developed curricula for 7th and 8th grade science and technology classes and then worked with the middle school students throughout the year to reduce to transform solid waste into healthy soil for plant growth. The solution to this problem provided a vehicle to teach fundamental science and math content as well as the process of doing science and solving problems. Placing college science and engineering students in the classroom proved to be a great mechanism for engaging students in science topics and providing mentoring experiences that differ greatly from those that a practicing professional can provide. It is clear, however, that the students must be well prepared for this experience to maximize the benefits of university - school district partnership programs. The objective of this presentation will be to describe the training program that has been developed to prepare Clarkson students to work effectively in middle school classrooms. The Clarkson students are trained for their classroom experiences during the summer before they enter the classroom. They receive three credits for the training, curriculum development, and teaching efforts. It is expected that the students have the necessary background in science and technology to teach themselves the content and environmental relevance of the problem they will be teaching. Lectures and workshops focus on how to transform this knowledge into a project-based curriculum that meets the needs of the teachers, while also exciting the students. Lecture/workshops include: team work; components of an effective class and teacher; project planning and management; problem solving process; inquiry based learning, deductive

  7. Middle School Review.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cook-Kallio, Cheryl

    1991-01-01

    Discusses the use of primary resources in the teaching of middle school social studies. Describes a lesson in which students were given a copy of the Declaration of Independence, written in everyday language, and were asked to discuss and evaluate it. Suggests another activity based on Thomas Jefferson's writings. (SG)

  8. Teacher Perspectives of Whole Brain Teaching in a Suburban Middle School: A Program Evaluation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    VanHosen, Wendy

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this program evaluation case study was to seek the perceptions of a group of teachers based on their experience with Whole Brain Teaching strategies at a suburban middle school. Perceptions and factors that lead to teacher use of the strategies were explored with the intention of informing stakeholders of whether teachers view these…

  9. Middle School Principals' Perceptions and Preferences When Hiring Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mee, Molly; Haverback, Heather Rogers

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate middle school principals' knowledge of the state's new middle level teacher certification, their hiring preferences for newly certified teachers, and their perceptions of middle certified teacher' competencies in teaching various subject areas to middle school students. Survey data indicated that the…

  10. The complexity of teaching density in middle school

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hashweh, Maher Z.

    2016-01-01

    Background: Density is difficult to learn and teach in middle schools. This study, hypothesizing that the density concept develops as part of a conceptual system, used a conceptual change approach to teaching density. The approach emphasized the use of multiple strategies to teach the density concept and the associated concepts in the conceptual system. Purpose: This study assessed post-instructional understanding of different aspects of density in a sample of seventh grade students, examined the effectiveness of the multi-dimensional approach in teaching density, investigated the relations between prior student characteristics and their post-instructional understanding, and investigated if the concept of density develops as part of a conceptual system. Program description: In the first part of the study, student understanding of density was assessed in regular classrooms. In the second part, the investigator and a science teacher co-taught the density unit over a two-week period emphasizing relations between density, mass, volume, part-whole relations, and a scientific particulate conception of matter. A conceptual change approach was used which emphasized multiple representations of knowledge and the use of analogies. Sample: The sample in regular classes consisted of 1645 seventh graders in 51 schools in the West Bank, Palestine. The intervention group consisted of 29 students in one school. Design and methods: The post-instructional understanding of density in 51 regularly taught classrooms was assessed in the first part of the study using a pencil-and paper test. In the second part, a pre-test was used with the intervention group. Students in both parts of the study took the same post-test. Descriptive statistics were calculated to describe student performance. Comparison between pre-test and post-test performance of students in the intervention group was conducted using t-test and ANOVA. Correlations between pre-test sub-scores and post-test scores for

  11. Understanding Middle Leaders: A Closer Look at Middle Leadership in Primary Schools in Singapore

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heng, Mary Anne; Marsh, Colin J.

    2009-01-01

    What is the nature of middle leadership in primary schools? What are middle leaders' understanding and experiences in leading learning and teaching? Set against the policy context of decentralised centralism in Singapore and an emerging worldwide trend of decentralisation as a means to encourage school-based development and innovation, this study…

  12. Exploring Parental Involvement Strategies Utilized by Middle School Interdisciplinary Teams

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Robbins, Chris; Searby, Linda

    2013-01-01

    Adolescents present a unique collection of characteristics and challenges which middle school interdisciplinary teams were designed to address. This article describes a research study which explored parental involvement strategies employed by interdisciplinary teaching teams from three very different middle schools: an affluent suburban school, a…

  13. The Collective Construction of Middle-Class White Womanhood: Investigations of Teaching and Teacher Professionalization in a Diverse Elementary School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yoon, Irene H.

    2011-01-01

    This dissertation investigates how the intersections of race, class, and gender operate in the everyday teaching and professional norms of middle-class White women teachers--particularly in schools such as the one in this study, where a majority of middle-class, White women teachers serve predominantly low-income, racially and ethnically diverse…

  14. An Action Research Study: Using Classroom Guidance Lessons to Teach Middle School Students about Sexual Harassment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bates, Rebecca C.

    2006-01-01

    This article describes a three-part classroom guidance lesson that teaches middle school students the definition of sexual harassment, the difference between flirting and sexual harassment, and the harmful effects of sexual harassment. An action research study evaluated the effectiveness of the lessons in decreasing referrals for sexual harassment…

  15. The Content and Nature of Reflective Teaching: A Case of an Expert Middle School Science Teacher.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moallem, Mahnaz

    1997-01-01

    Explores the practical view of reflective teaching as it was revealed in the activities and thinking processes of an expert middle school science teacher. Discusses differences between types of reflection, importance of self-analysis by teachers, effect of social context on reflection, and having the opportunity to reflect. (RS)

  16. Teaching Mathematical Problem Solving to Middle School Students in Math, Technology Education, and Special Education Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bottge, Brian A.; Heinrichs, Mary; Mehta, Zara Dee; Rueda, Enrique; Hung, Ya-Hui; Danneker, Jeanne

    2004-01-01

    This study compared two approaches for teaching sixth-grade middle school students to solve math problems in math, technology education, and special education classrooms. A total of 17 students with disabilities and 76 students without disabilities were taught using either enhanced anchored instruction (EAI) or text-based instruction coupled with…

  17. Middle school students' beliefs about matter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nakhleh, Mary B.; Samarapungavan, Ala; Saglam, Yilmaz

    2005-05-01

    The objective of this study was to examine middle school students' developing understanding of the nature of matter and to compare middle school students' ideas to those of elementary schools students, as was done by Nakhleh and Samarapungavan [J Res Sci Teach 36(7):777-805, 1999]. Nine middle school students were interviewed using a scripted, semistructured interview. The interview probed students' understanding of the composition and particulate (atomic/molecular) structure of a variety of material substances; the relationship between particulate structure and macroscopic properties such as fluidity and malleability; as well as understanding of processes such as phase transition and dissolving. The results indicate that most of the middle school students interviewed knew that matter was composed of atoms and molecules and some of them were able to use this knowledge to explain some processes such as phase transitions of water. In contrast, almost no elementary students knew that matter was composed of atoms and molecules. However, the middle school students were unable to consistently explain material properties or processes based on their knowledge of material composition. In contrast to elementary school students, who had scientifically inaccurate but relatively consistent (macrocontinuous or macroparticulate) knowledge frameworks, the middle school students could not be classified as having consistent knowledge frameworks because their ideas were very fragmented. The fragmentation of middle school students' ideas about matter probably reflects the difficulty of assimilating the microscopic level scientific knowledge acquired through formal instruction into students' initial macroscopic knowledge frameworks.

  18. FMA Live! at Hardy Middle School

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2013-09-16

    Leland Melvin, NASA Associate Administrator for Education and former 2x astronaut, Hardy Middle School Prinipal Patricia Pride, and Tom Buckmaster, President, Honeywell Hometown Solutions introduce "FMA Live!" at Hardy Middle School in Washington on Monday, Sept. 16th, 2013. "FMA Live!" is a program sponsored by NASA and Honeywell that teaches Newton's three laws of motion mixed with dance and music. The program travels across the country and has reached nearly 300,000 students.Photo Credit: (NASA/Jay Westcott)

  19. FMA Live! at Hardy Middle School

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2013-09-16

    Leland Melvin, NASA Associate Administrator for Education and former 2x astronaut,Hardy Middle School Prinipal Patricia Pride, and Tom Buckmaster, President, Honeywell Hometown Solutions introduce "FMA Live!" at Hardy Middle School in Washington on Monday, Sept. 16th, 2013. "FMA Live!" is a program sponsored by NASA and Honeywell that teaches Newton's three laws of motion mixed with dance and music. The program travels across the country and has reached nearly 300,000 students.Photo Credit: (NASA/Jay Westcott)

  20. FMA Live! at Hardy Middle School

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2013-09-16

    Two teachers at Hardy Middle School square off in foam suits as "FMA Live!" crew members explain Newton's third law of motion during a performance of "FMA Live!" at Hardy Middle School in Washington on Monday, Sept. 16th, 2013. "FMA Live!" is a program sponsored by NASA and Honeywell that teaches Newton's three laws of motion mixed with dance and music. The program travels across the country and has reached nearly 300,000 students.Photo Credit: (NASA/Jay Westcott)

  1. Pre-Teacher Case Study Analysis of Teaching Life and Earth Science in Multicultural Middle School Classes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McGinnis, J. Randy

    Intending teachers in two science education methods classes (Fall Quarter, n=27; Spring Quarter, n=21) read and discussed a qualitative study describing science teaching and learning in a culturally diverse middle school. The two primary participants in the qualitative study were a white female veteran life science teacher and a white male…

  2. Biological Sciences Curriculum Study Newsletter 34, The Middle School.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clark, George M.

    Reported are guidelines which are the outgrowth of six conferences on the teaching of life science in the middle school. The membership of each conference was by invitation consisting of experienced middle school science teachers, biologists from universities, the BSCS staff, and observers. The guidelines were developed to provide direction in…

  3. Disciplinary Literacy in the Middle School: Exploring Pedagogical Tensions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Graham, Abbey C. K.; Kerkhoff, Shea N.; Spires, Hiller A.

    2017-01-01

    The present study examined middle school teachers' perceptions of literacy demands in their disciplines and specific literacy strategies they used to teach their disciplines. The eight participants in this multiple case study included 2 middle school teachers from each of 4 disciplines (i.e., English/language arts, science, social studies, and…

  4. Teaching Weight-Gravity and Gravitation in Middle School. Testing a New Instructional Approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Galili, Igal; Bar, Varda; Brosh, Yaffa

    2016-12-01

    This study deals with the school instruction of the concept of weight. The historical review reveals the major steps in changing weight definition reflecting the epistemological changes in physics. The latest change drawing on the operation of weighing has been not widely copied into physics education. We compared the older instruction based on the gravitational definition of weight with the newer one based on the operational definition. The experimental teaching was applied in two versions, simpler and extended. The study examined the impact of this instruction on the middle school students in regular teaching environment. The experiment involved three groups ( N = 486) of 14-year-old students (ninth grade). The assessment drew on a written questionnaire and personal interviews. The elicited schemes of conceptual knowledge allowed to evaluate the impact on students' pertinent knowledge. The advantage of the new teaching manifested itself in the significant decrease of the well-known misconceptions such as "space causes weightlessness," "weight is an unchanged property of the body considered," and "heavier objects fall faster". The twofold advantage—epistemological and conceptual—of the operational definition of weight supports the correspondent curricular changes of its adoption.

  5. Reflections on Teaching and Learning the Arts: A Middle-Grade Classroom and a High School for the Arts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barilla, Rosemary; Brown, Tina Boyer

    2015-01-01

    Rosemary Barilla, a middle-grade language arts teacher, inspired by her own dedication to the arts, describes the ways she integrates the fine arts into her classroom program that is designed to teach reading and writing. Tina Boyer Brown, a founding teacher at The Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts®), describes the school as a place where…

  6. What is motivating middle-school science teachers to teach climate change?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McNeal, Peggy; Petcovic, Heather; Reeves, Patricia

    2017-05-01

    Adoption of science content standards that include anthropogenic climate change has prompted widespread instruction in climate change for the first time. However, the controversial nature of the topic can be daunting and many teachers share misconceptions that lead to weak treatment of climate change in classrooms. Nevertheless, numerous teachers have embraced the topic and are providing illustrations of deliberate climate change education. In this study we investigated teacher motivation using focus groups with middle school teachers who currently teach climate change. Qualitative analysis of the collective teacher voices yielded underlying motivations. Our findings suggest that these teachers' interest in environmentalism naturally translates to climate change advocacy and motivates teaching the topic. Their knowledge and expertise gives them confidence to teach it. These teachers see themselves as scientists, therefore their views align with the scientific consensus. They practice authentic scientific research with their students, thus confirming valued characteristics of their scientist identity. Finally, our findings suggest that teaching climate change gives these teachers a sense of hope as they impact the future through their students. This study contrasts with skepticism over the state of climate change education and contributes to an understanding of how climate change education is motivated in teachers.

  7. Back to school: using physicians to teach middle school health.

    PubMed

    Friedland, Allen; Bianchetta, Tony; Elliott, Daniel

    2011-09-01

    To assess the ability of a lecture presentation by physicians to increase short-term knowledge about healthy lifestyles and behaviors among seventh grade students in the state of Delaware. The School Health Committee of the Medical Society of Delaware sponsored an educational project aimed at seventh grade students in the form of a slide presentation covering issues in physical health, mental health and safety, and social health. Attending and resident physicians from multiple specialties presented this standard 30-minute lecture to the students in six Delaware public middle schools. This was followed by a question and answer period. We administered a questionnaire immediately before and after the talk to assess the acquisition of short-term knowledge. We compared the results using the ranksum test for paired, non-parametric data. Nine hundred fifty eight seventh grade students from six schools participated in the presentation. Eight hundred eighty two students (92 percent) completed the pre and post test. Overall for all students, the average number of questions answered correctly increased from 2.5 to 3.1 (p < 0.001) out of five. Those students with improved scores (50 percent of students) improved from 2.0 to 3.7 correct answers (p < 0.001). Students had significant improvements (p < 0.001) in three questions related to healthy lifestyle, tanning and depression. There was no significant improvement with questions related to drug abuse (p = 0.6445) and internet safety (p = 0.3353). Lecture presentations by local physicians to Delaware public school seventh grade students increased short-term knowledge on various health topics. Future studies should include control groups (for the content and mode of presentation), assessment of long-term knowledge, and evaluation of attitudes of student participants. WHAT'S NEW: This pilot project demonstrated the feasibility of a physician-led initiative to teach health topics to seventh grade students.

  8. Moving Middle Schooling Reform from Policy to Practice: Issues for Queensland Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bryer, Fiona; Main, Katherine

    2005-01-01

    Three well-established issues for educational reform to insert middle schooling into the traditional primary-secondary tiers are (a) lack of preservice training of specialist middle school teachers, (b) the absence of clear positive educational outcomes linked to the promotion of middle schooling policy as a philosophy of teaching, and (c) the ad…

  9. Teaching Reading Comprehension to Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Social Studies Classrooms: Middle School Teacher Perceptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burke, Lisa; Hsieh, Wu-Ying; Lopez-Reyna, Norma; Servilio, Kathryn

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the perceptions of general education middle school social studies teachers related to their teaching practices and the inclusion of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in their classrooms. More specifically, an in-depth exploration of general education social studies teachers'…

  10. Teaching Energy Science as Inquiry: Reflections on Professional Development as a Tool to Build Inquiry Teaching Skills for Middle and High School Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seraphin, Kanesa Duncan; Philippoff, Joanna; Parisky, Alex; Degnan, Katherine; Warren, Diana Papini

    2013-01-01

    A hybrid (face-to-face and online) professional development (PD) course focused on energy science for middle and high school teachers (N = 47) was conducted using the teaching science as inquiry (TSI) framework. Data from the PD indicates that online opportunities enhanced participation and that the TSI structure improved teachers' inquiry…

  11. We Gain More Than We Give: Teaming in Middle Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dickinson, Thomas S., Ed.; Erb, Thomas O., Ed.

    Despite increases in the number of middle school using interdisciplinary team teaching, many are struggling to articulate a clear defense of their teaming work in light of confounding and conflicting public demands. This compilation examines teaming in middle schools--its characteristics, knowledge base, current concerns and future adaptations.…

  12. Job Sharing Their First Year: A Narrative of Two Partnered Teachers' Induction into Middle School Science Teaching.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eick, Charles J.

    2002-01-01

    Examines the induction of two middle school science teachers as partners in a job sharing arrangement in lieu of student teaching, describing how they worked together and supported each other's attempts to implement student-centered practices and likening their mutual support to a marriage partnerships. The two teachers mentored each other through…

  13. Decreasing Bullying Behaviors in Middle School: Expect Respect

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nese, Rhonda N. T.; Horner, Robert H.; Dickey, Celeste Rossetto; Stiller, Brianna; Tomlanovich, Anne

    2014-01-01

    A nonconcurrent multiple baseline across 3 middle schools was used to assess the impact that teaching all students to follow the" Bullying and Harassment Prevention in Positive Behavior Support: Expect Respect" intervention had on bullying behaviors. The 3 schools were using School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports and…

  14. Sublime science: Teaching for scientific sublime experiences in middle school classrooms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cavanaugh, Shane

    Due to a historical separation of cognition and emotion, the affective aspects of learning are often seen as trivial in comparison to the more 'essential' cognitive qualities - particularly in the domain of science. As a result of this disconnect, feelings of awe, wonder, and astonishment as well as appreciation have been largely ignored in the working lives of scientists. In turn, I believe that science education has not accurately portrayed the world of science to our students. In an effort to bring the affective qualities of science into the science classroom, I have drawn on past research in the field of aesthetic science teaching and learning as well as works by, Burke, Kant, and Dewey to explore a new construct I have called the "scientific sublime". Scientific sublime experiences represent a sophisticated treatment of the cognitive as well as affective qualities of science learning. The scientific sublime represents feelings of awe, wonder, and appreciation that come from a deep understanding. It is only through this understanding of a phenomenon that we can appreciate its true complexity and intricacies, and these understandings when mixed with the emotions of awe and reverence, are sublime. Scientific sublime experiences are an attempt at the re-integration of cognition and feeling. The goal of this research was twofold: to create and teach a curriculum that fosters scientific sublime experiences in middle school science classes, and to better understand how these experiences are manifested in students. In order to create an approach to teaching for scientific sublime experiences, it was first necessary for me to identify key characteristics of such an experience and a then to create a pedagogical approach, both of which are described in detail in the dissertation. This research was conducted as two studies in two different middle schools. My pedagogical approach was used to create and teach two five-week 7 th grade science units---one on weather

  15. YourSELF. Middle School Nutrition Education Kit [Multimedia].

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.

    This multimedia kit provides information and materials for teaching nutrition to middle school students (grades 7 and 8). The kit supports schools' efforts to make school meals healthier and more appealing to students. The materials provide information about the relationships between food, nutrition, growth, and health. The kit speaks directly to…

  16. A comparative study teaching chemistry using the 5E learning cycle and traditional teaching with a large English language population in a middle-school setting

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McWright, Cynthia Nicole

    For decades science educators and educational institutions have been concerned with the status of science content being taught in K-12 schools and the delivery of the content. Thus, educational reformers in the United States continue to strive to solve the problem on how to best teach science for optimal success in learning. The constructivist movement has been at the forefront of this effort. With mandatory testing nationwide and an increase in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) jobs with little workforce to fulfill these needs, the question of what to teach and how to teach science remains a concern among educators and all stakeholders. The purpose of this research was to determine if students' chemistry knowledge and interest can be increased by using the 5E learning cycle in a middle school with a high population of English language learners. The participants were eighth-grade middle school students in a large metropolitan area. Students participated in a month-long chemistry unit. The study was a quantitative, quasi-experimental design with a control group using a traditional lecture-style teaching strategy and an experimental group using the 5E learning cycle. Students completed a pre-and post-student attitude in science surveys, a pretest/posttest for each mini-unit taught and completed daily exit tickets using the Expert Science Teaching Educational Evaluation Model (ESTEEM) instrument to measure daily student outcomes in main idea, student inquiry, and relevancy. Analysis of the data showed that there was no statistical difference between the two groups overall, and all students experienced a gain in content knowledge overall. All students demonstrated a statistically significant difference in their interest in science class, activities in science class, and outside of school. Data also showed that scores in writing the main idea and writing inquiry questions about the content increased over time.

  17. Middle Years. For Middle Level Educators.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hechinger, Fred M.; And Others

    1992-01-01

    This supplement offers 10 articles focusing on middle school education. Topics include remembering adolescence, resources and teaching tips, active middle school students, adolescent development, challenges in middle school education, integrated studies, planning middle school special events, a writing-science-consumerism miniunit on popcorn,…

  18. Shooting for the Sun: The Message of Middle School Reform.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mizell, M. Hayes

    This book is a collection of speeches by M. Hayes Mizell. The book is divided into three parts. In part 1, Mizell reviews some of the challenges middle schools must overcome to become effective places of teaching and learning. His suggestions range from developing a new kind of middle school principal to better serving young people's…

  19. Using Young Adult Literature and Literacy Theory to Teach Middle School Students How to Read through Critical Lenses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    King, Kathleen O'Connell

    2010-01-01

    Middle school students are socially conditioned through an inundation of messages conveyed by various mediums, and language arts teachers are capable of teaching them how to deconstruct messages through exercises in critical literacy. Many language arts teachers are not aware of critical theory and, if they are aware, rely solely on classic…

  20. Let's Poem: The Essential Guide to Teaching Poetry in a High-Stakes, Multimodal World (Middle through High School). Language & Literacy Practitioners Bookshelf

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dressman, Mark

    2010-01-01

    This cutting-edge guide presents multiple approaches to teaching poetry at the middle and high school levels. The author provides field-tested activities with detailed how-to instructions, as well as advice for how educators can "justify" their teaching within a high-stakes curriculum environment. "Let's Poem" will show pre- and inservice teachers…

  1. An exploration of middle school science teachers' understandings and teaching practice of science as inquiry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Castle, Margaret Ann

    understanding of science increases (Akkus, Gunel & Hand, 2007; Gibson, 2002; Liu, Lee & Linn, 2010). As a result, it is important to explore middle school science teachers' definition of science as inquiry because of its importance in how their understandings are reflected in their practice. Researchers must witness, first- hand, what is taking place in middle school science classrooms with respect to the teaching of scientific inquiry before recommendations for improvements can be made. We must also allow opportunities for middle school science teachers to broach, examine, explore, interpret and report implementation strategies when practicing the elements of scientific inquiry as a science content area. It then stands to reason that more research needs to be done to: (1) assess teachers' knowledge related to reform-based teaching, (2) investigate teachers' views about the goals and purposes of inquiry, and (3) investigate the processes by which teachers carry out SI and motivation for undertaking such a complex and difficult to manage form of instruction. The purpose of this study was to examine middle school science teachers' understandings and skills related to scientific inquiry; how those understandings and skills were translated into classroom practice, and the role the school district played in the development of such understandings and skills.

  2. The Right Stuff: Essential Resources for Managing Your Middle School Media Center.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Manczuk, Suzanne

    1999-01-01

    Describes the following resources for managing a middle school media center: literature bibliographies with on-target middle school recommendations and useful annotations; resources for teaching primary sources; resources on censorship and banned books; basic Internet guides; copyright-law resources; information-literacy standards; and…

  3. Successful Mathematics Teaching for Middle-School Grades.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clayton, Gypsy Abbott; And Others

    Several competencies and instructional strategies necessary to accommodate the changing role of teachers of mathematics at middle-school level are described. Also provided are teacher-generated and teacher-tested instructional activities that can be used to facilitate student success in learning mathematical concepts. After describing the…

  4. Big Fish, Little Fish: Teaching and Learning in the Middle Years

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Groundwater-Smith, Susan, Ed.; Mockler, Nicole, Ed.

    2015-01-01

    "Big Fish, Little Fish: Teaching and Learning in the Middle Years" provides pre-service and early career teachers with a pathway to understanding the needs of students as they make the important transition from primary to secondary schooling. The book explores contemporary challenges for teaching and learning in the middle years, with a…

  5. Abstract Algebra for Algebra Teaching: Influencing School Mathematics Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wasserman, Nicholas H.

    2016-01-01

    This article explores the potential for aspects of abstract algebra to be influential for the teaching of school algebra (and early algebra). Using national standards for analysis, four primary areas common in school mathematics--and their progression across elementary, middle, and secondary mathematics--where teaching may be transformed by…

  6. This Land Was Made for You and Me: Teaching for Economic Justice in Upper Elementary and Middle School Grades

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lucey, Thomas A.; Laney, James D.

    2009-01-01

    Teaching for economic justice can be challenging for upper elementary and middle school teachers. Many teachers may feel uncomfortable with the subject matter and thus avoid addressing sensitive social issues related to economic/financial inequities. This article describes how selected songs and works of visual art, expressions of social protest…

  7. Reflections on Teaching Struggling Middle School Readers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ivey, Gay

    1999-01-01

    Shares four working generalizations on what it takes for middle school students with persistent reading difficulties to become successful readers: (1) access to materials that span the gamut of interests and difficulty levels; (2) opportunities to share reading experiences with teachers and classmates; (3) real purposes for reading; and (4)…

  8. Middle School Mathematics: 2006-07 to 2008-09. Impact Evaluation. E&R Report No. 10.11

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Paeplow, Colleen

    2010-01-01

    In 2006-07, seven Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) middle schools piloted Algebraic Thinking as an alternate approach to teaching middle school mathematics. Algebraic Thinking was developed to help students in grade 6 reach higher mathematics courses by combining the regular and advanced middle school mathematics courses into one…

  9. Newjack: Teaching in a Failing Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sipe, Peter

    2004-01-01

    In this article, Peter Sipe compares his first year as a middle school teacher in Brooklyn, New York, to that of a rookie corrections officer at Sing Sing prison. Sipe explores what he considers to be disturbing similarities in these experiences, namely, a preoccupation with control, immersion in an adversarial social dynamic, and the prevalence…

  10. Elementary/Middle School Keyboarding Strategies Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Business Education Association, Reston, VA.

    Developed through a cooperative effort of many teachers and researchers, this guide is intended to supplement existing elementary and middle school materials on keyboarding. The guide contains sections that are designed for stand-alone use. Topics cover a wide range of strategies, including teaching special needs students. The U.S. Postal Service…

  11. Teachers' Perceptions of a Four-Teacher Team Model in the Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chavarria, George A.

    2010-01-01

    One middle school recently adopted a team teaching model as a result of principal directive in order to improve staff communication and better serve students. Because seventh and eighth grade teachers had never been teamed in this particular middle school, research was needed to investigate how teaming was implemented and how these teachers…

  12. Inclusion Professional Development Model and Regular Middle School Educators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Royster, Otelia; Reglin, Gary L.; Losike-Sedimo, Nonofo

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a professional development model on regular education middle school teachers' knowledge of best practices for teaching inclusive classes and attitudes toward teaching these classes. There were 19 regular education teachers who taught the core subjects. Findings for Research Question 1…

  13. "Finding the Joy in the Unknown": Implementation of STEAM Teaching Practices in Middle School Science and Math Classrooms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Quigley, Cassie F.; Herro, Dani

    2016-06-01

    In response to a desire to strengthen the economy, educational settings are emphasizing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum and programs. Yet, because of the narrow approach to STEM, educational leaders continue to call for a more balanced approach to teaching and learning, which includes the arts, design, and humanities. This desire created space for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education, a transdisciplinary approach that focuses on problem-solving. STEAM-based curricula and STEAM-themed schools are appearing all over the globe. This growing national and global attention to STEAM provides an opportunity for teacher education to explore the ways in which teachers implement STEAM practices, examining the successes and challenges, and how teachers are beginning to make sense of this innovative teaching practice. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implementation of STEAM teaching practices in science and math middle school classrooms, in hopes to provide research-based evidence on this emerging topic to guide teacher educators.

  14. Project-Based Learning versus Textbook/Lecture Learning in Middle School Science

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Main, Sindy

    2015-01-01

    As schools continue to become more diverse, it is important to look at science teaching methods that will meet the needs of all students. In this study, 172 students in a middle school in Northwestern Illinois were taught using two methods of teaching science. Half of the students were taught using project-based science (PBS) and the other half of…

  15. Helping Boys and Girls Discover the World: Teaching About Global Concerns and the United Nations in Elementary and Middle Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kenworthy, Leonard S., Ed.; And Others

    This guide for elementary and middle school teachers, curriculum specialists, and administrators answers 40 questions most frequently asked about global concerns and the work of the United Nations. Topics include the importance of teaching about the world and the United Nations; the need for beginning international understanding in the home;…

  16. India: A Myriad of Cultures. Three Learning Modules for Middle School Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jassim, Charlene

    Three learning modules designed for middle school students by a middle school teacher are presented in this document. The three modules are designed to supplement the regular textbook program for teaching about India. They are specifically created to fulfill the needs and interests of 11- to 14-year-old students. The modules contain elements of…

  17. Classroom and School Predictors of Civic Engagement among Black and Latino Middle School Youth

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jagers, Robert J.; Lozada, Fantasy T.; Rivas-Drake, Deborah; Guillaume, Casta

    2017-01-01

    This study used short-term longitudinal data to examine the contributions of democratic teaching practices (e.g., the Developmental Designs approach) and equitable school climate to civic engagement attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors among 515 Black and Latino middle school students (47.9% male). Concurrent experiences of democratic homeroom and…

  18. An Investigation of Turkish Middle School Science Teachers' Pedagogical Orientations Towards Direct and Inquiry Instructional Approaches

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sahingoz, Selcuk

    One of the most important goals of science education is preparing effective science teachers which includes the development of a science pedagogical orientation. Helping in-service science teachers improve their orientations toward science teaching begins with identifying their current orientations. While there are many aspects of an effective science teaching orientation, this study specifically focuses on effective pedagogy. The interest of this study is to clarify pedagogical orientations of middle school science teachers in Turkey toward the teaching of science conceptual knowledge. It focuses on what instructional preferences Turkish middle school science teachers have in theory and practice. The purpose of this study is twofold: 1) to elucidate teacher pedagogical profiles toward direct and inquiry instructional approaches. For this purpose, quantitative profile data, using a Turkish version of the Pedagogy of Science Teaching Test (POSTT-TR) assessment instrument, was collected from 533 Turkish middle school science teachers; 2) to identify teaching orientations of middle school science teachers and to identify their reasons for preferring specific instructional practices. For this purpose, descriptive qualitative, interview data was collected from 23 teachers attending a middle school science teacher workshop in addition to quantitative data using the POSTT-TR. These teachers sat for interviews structured by items from the POSTT-TR. Thus, the research design is mixed-method. The design provides a background profile on teacher orientations along with insights on reasons for pedagogical choices. The findings indicate that instructional preference distributions for the large group and smaller group are similar; however, the smaller workshop group is more in favor of inquiry instructional approaches. The findings also indicate that Turkish middle school science teachers appear to have variety of teaching orientations and they have varied reasons. Moreover, the

  19. Your Science Classroom: Becoming an Elementary/Middle School Science Teacher

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldston, M. Jenice; Downey, Laura

    2012-01-01

    Designed around a practical "practice-what-you-teach" approach to methods instruction, "Your Science Classroom: Becoming an Elementary/Middle School Science Teacher" is based on current constructivist philosophy, organized around 5E inquiry, and guided by the National Science Education Teaching Standards. Written in a reader-friendly style, the…

  20. Teachers' Perception of African American Middle School Girls' Interest in Mathematics and Science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Best, Bonnie M.

    Research into African American female underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields has become an area of interest due to the fact that a majority of African American middle school females do not possess the high levels of mathematics and science knowledge because of social and cultural barriers both inside and outside school that challenge their academic success. The purpose of this qualitative interpretative phenomenological study was to explore teachers' shared, lived experiences of teaching mathematics and science to African American middle school girls. Delgado and Stefancic's critical race theory, Pratt-Clarke's critical race feminism, and Baker-Miller's relational-cultural theory were used to guide this study. Research questions focused on the perceptions and experiences of teachers' lived experiences teaching mathematics and science to African American middle school females. Criterion, purposive, and maximum variation sampling techniques were used to recruit 10 teachers who have 3 or more years' experience teaching African American middle school girls. Semistructured face-to-face interviews were the primary data collection source. First cycle and second cycle coding methods were used to support the analysis of this study. Findings suggest that there is a connection between a positive student-teacher relationship and academic success. The results of this study contribute to positive social change by providing empirical evidence policymakers and teachers can use to improve the mathematics and science instruction and practices that are needed to meet the needs of African American middle school females and reduce the underrepresentation and underachievement of African American females in mathematics and science.

  1. Instructor Middle Years. September 1993.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Robin; And Others

    1993-01-01

    This "Instructor" Supplement on middle school education, presents articles on new research and materials, adolescent development, reasons for teaching middle school, moving toward a middle school curriculum, peer teaching, multimedia software, murder mysteries, ancient China, geometry, teamwork, descriptive writing, literature, problem solving,…

  2. Crossing Boundaries: Exploring Black Middle and Upper Class Preservice Teachers' Perceptions of Teaching and Learning in High Poverty Urban Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewis, Andrea D.

    2012-01-01

    The intent of this study was to explore the perceptions of Black middle and upper class preservice teachers as they relate to teaching and learning in high poverty urban schools. Participants included 11 senior early childhood education preservice teachers at a historically Black college in the southeast region of the United States. The study was…

  3. Understanding Male Underachievement in Middle School Science: Challenging the Assumptions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Holbrooks, Marilyn Jane

    The overall purpose of this collaborative action research study was to explore the experiences of eight middle school science teachers. This collaborative action research study concerned itself with male student underachievement in science at the middle school level. The study was conducted at Sherwood Forest Middle School (a pseudonym) with sixth through eighth grade science teachers with more than three years of experience, various teaching backgrounds within academic subjects as well as special education, and different grade levels. The interviews probed the teachers' personal experiences and insights regarding male underachievement in science. This collaborative action research study relied on qualitative data from interviews and other pieces of evidence that might support the teachers' observations, specifically standardized test data and class grades. In addition, four of the seven teachers participated in a focus group, developing strategies for more effective teaching in science for all students. Understanding the experiences of science educators for sixth through eighth grade students can assist local, state, and federal policymakers in educational decision-making processes for the future.

  4. Strategic Note-Taking for Middle-School Students with Learning Disabilities in Science Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boyle, Joseph R.

    2010-01-01

    While today's teachers use a variety of teaching methods in middle-school science classes, lectures and note-taking still comprise a major portion of students' class time. To be successful in these classes, middle-school students need effective listening and note-taking skills. Students with learning disabilities (LD) are poor note-takers, which…

  5. Coulombic Interaction in Finnish Middle School Chemistry: A Systemic Perspective on Students' Conceptual Structure of Chemical Bonding

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Joki, Jarkko; Lavonen, Jari; Juuti, Kalle; Aksela, Maija

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to design a novel and holistic way to teach chemical bonding at the middle school level according to research on the teaching and learning of bonding. A further aim was to investigate high achieving middle school students' conceptual structures concerning chemical bonding by using a systemic perspective. Students in one…

  6. FMA Live! at Hardy Middle School

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2013-09-16

    Performers dance and sing during a performance of "FMA Live!" at Hardy Middle School in Washington on Monday, Sept. 16th, 2013. "FMA Live!" is a program sponsored by NASA and Honeywell that teaches Newton's three laws of motion mixed with dance and music. The program travels across the country and has reached nearly 300,000 students.Photo Credit: (NASA/Jay Westcott)

  7. Using Film to Conduct Historical Inquiry with Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Woelders, Adam

    2007-01-01

    Challenged to re-consider his teaching practices, the author conducted a classroom research study designed to investigate and improve how he uses film to teach middle school students about history. He conducted this study in collaboration with his class of twenty-nine grade eight social studies students, who represented a range of ethnic…

  8. Caring Relationships: Perspectives from Middle School Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alder, Nora I.; Moulton, Margaret R.

    1998-01-01

    A year-long interpretive study, framed by the theory of symbolic interactionism, examined the meanings of care to middle school students. Five themes emerged: care as control, equality, forgiveness, concern, and good teaching. Findings indicated not only some agreement between students and teachers on meanings and symbolic acts of care, but also…

  9. Voice Range Profiles of Middle School and High School Choral Directors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schwartz, Sandra M.

    2009-01-01

    Vocal demands of teaching are significant, and this challenge is compounded for choral directors who depend on the voice for communicating information or demonstrating music concepts. The purpose of this study is to examine the frequency and intensity of middle and high school choral directors' voices and to compare choral directors' voices with…

  10. Teaching and nature: Middle school science teachers' relationship with nature in personal and classroom contexts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ball, Nadine Butcher

    2000-10-01

    This qualitative study describes three middle-school science teachers' relationship-with-nature in personal and classroom contexts. Participating teachers had more than 7 years experience and were deemed exemplary practitioners by others. Interview data about personal context focused on photographs the teacher took representing her/his relationship-with-nature in daily life. Interview data for classroom context explored classroom events during three or more researcher observations. Transcripts were analyzed using a multiple-readings approach to data reduction (Gilligan, Brown & Rogers, 1990; Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 14, 141). Readings generated categorical information focused on portrayals of: nature; self; and relationship-with-nature. Categorical data were synthesized into personal and teaching case portraits for each teacher, and cross case themes identified. Participants indicated the portraits accurately represented who they saw themselves to be. Additional readings identified sub-stories by plot and theme. Narrative data were clustered to highlight elements of practice with implications for the relationship-with-nature lived in the classroom. These individual-scale moments were compared with cultural-scale distinctions between anthropocentric and ecological world views. Cross case themes included dimensions of exemplary middle-school science teaching important to teacher education and development, including an expanded conception of knowing and skillful use of student experience. Categorical analysis revealed each teacher had a unique organizing theme influencing their interpretation of personal and classroom events, and that nature is experienced differently in personal as opposed to teaching contexts. Narrative analysis highlights teachers' stories of classroom pets, dissection, and student dissent, illustrating an interplay between conceptual distinctions and personal dimensions during moments of teacher decision making. Results suggest teachers

  11. Teaching Strategies for Improving Algebra Knowledge in Middle and High School Students. Educator's Practice Guide. What Works Clearinghouse.™ NCEE 2015-4010

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Star, Jon R.; Foegen, Anne; Larson, Matthew R.; McCallum, William G.; Porath, Jane; Zbiek, Rose Mary; Caronongan, Pia; Furgeson, Joshua,; Keating, Betsy; Lyskawa, Julia

    2015-01-01

    Mastering algebra is important for future math and postsecondary success. Educators will find practical recommendations for how to improve algebra instruction in the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) practice guide, "Teaching Strategies for Improving Algebra Knowledge in Middle and High School Students". The methods and examples included in…

  12. Training Manual: Middle Schools. Vocational Strategies for Special Needs Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blanc, Doreen V.

    Instructional materials presented in this teaching guide, one of five developed as part of the vocational strategies project, are intended to provide vocational services to mildly handicapped special needs students mainstreamed into regular schools at the middle school level. The skill development described is based on the belief that preparation…

  13. Comprehensive Guide for Middle School Programs. Instructor's Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hansen, Joan

    This instructor's guide contains materials for use in teaching a middle school exploratory home economics course. Addressed in the individual units of the guide are the following topics: nutrition education and food management, parenting education, resource management, clothing management, and personal management. Each section contains a unit…

  14. FMA Live! at Hardy Middle School

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2013-09-16

    A teacher gets dunked with apple sauce during a performance of "FMA Live!" at Hardy Middle School in Washington on Monday, Sept. 16th, 2013. "FMA Live!" is a program sponsored by NASA and Honeywell that teaches Newton's three laws of motion mixed with dance and music. The program travels across the country and has reached nearly 300,000 students.Photo Credit: (NASA/Jay Westcott)

  15. Science Teaching and Argumentation: One-sided versus dialectical argumentation in Chilean middle-school science lessons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Larrain, Antonia; Freire, Paulina; Howe, Christine

    2014-04-01

    Since the late 1990s, there has been consensus among educational researchers that argumentation should play a central role in science education. Although there has been extensive relevant research, it is not clear enough how oral argumentation spontaneously occurs in science teaching. This is particularly important with regard to the empirical evidence suggesting the effect of discussion of contradictory views on scientific learning. In order to contribute to the research on argumentation in science teaching, we conducted a study that aims to sketch a panoramic view of the uses of oral argumentation in Chilean middle-school science teaching. A total of 153 videotaped science lessons were observed, involving students aged 10-11 and 12-13. Whole-class argumentative discourse was analysed as a function of thematic episodes and teachers' and students' utterances. Results suggest that argumentative discourse in which contradictory points of view are discussed is scarce but when it occurs it does so predominantly within discourse among students. On the contrary, argumentation aimed at justifying points of view is widely used, even more so when students are older.

  16. Teaching College Physics at the Local Elementary School

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hagedorn, Eric A.

    2006-12-01

    For several years physics faculty at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) have taught physics to pre-service elementary and middle school teachers in an unusual location: the local elementary school! The participating pre-service elementary and middle school teachers are typically in their last semester and are fully immersed in their internships (called "student teaching" elsewhere. See Fig. 1). Rather than bringing the students back to campus for class during four of their field semesters, UTEP sends education, mathematics, and physics faculty out to the schools as part of what is referred to as the "field-based program" (FBP) even though some of this program occurs on campus.

  17. for Middle School Science and Mathematics Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Mimi Miyoung; Chauvot, Jennifer B.; Vowell, Julie; Culpepper, Shea Mosley; Plankis, Brian J.

    2013-01-01

    This paper is based on an online graduate program for middle school science and mathematics teachers in Texas titled Integration of Science, Mathematics and Reflective Teaching (iSMART). Launching the program for its first cohort in fall 2010, the authors attempted to answer the following two questions in this paper: (a) How do the members of the…

  18. The Relationship Between Reformed Teaching and Students' Creativity in a Chinese Middle School

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Chenglin

    Current education reform in both the United States and China promotes a reformed inquiry-based approach based on the constructivist learning theory. This study contributes to the research literature by exploring the relationship between reformed science teaching and students' creativity. Chinese education is often criticized for a lack of creativity by some news media (Stack, 2011). This study was designed to explore the creativity of students and the extent to which inquiry instruction is used in the science classroom. The study used a convenience sample of two classes from a middle school located in Wuhu city, Anhui province, China. A total of 120 students and 3 science teachers participated. A mixed-methods research approach was adopted for integrated explanation. Student surveys, the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT), Verbal, Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP), and semi-structured interview were utilized as research tools for collecting quantitative and qualitative data. The findings indicate that there was a positive relationship between reformed teaching and students' creativity (F (2, 117) = 19.760, p<.001). Classroom observation generally indicated that the participating teachers were skillful at promoting conceptual understanding and provoking high-level thinking. However, evidence of student-centered instruction was less apparent. The semi-structured interviews with participating teachers showed a positive attitude toward inquiry-based teaching but also revealed several challenges. The findings from the Verbal TTCT and classroom observation provided evidence of Chinese students' creativity. Directions for future research are provided.

  19. Understanding Misconceptions: Teaching and Learning in Middle School Physical Science

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sadler, Philip M.; Sonnert, Gerhard

    2016-01-01

    In this study the authors set out to better understand the relationship between teacher knowledge of science and student learning. The authors administered identical multiple-choice assessment items both to teachers of middle school physical science and to their students throughout the school year. The authors found that teachers who have strong…

  20. Principals' Self-Efficacy in Low Scoring Middle Schools in Mississippi

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Derryberry, James Foreman

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the self-efficacy (also often referred to as self-confidence) of principals as determined by school administrator certification credentials and teaching endorsements at low performing middle schools in Mississippi. In educational literature, the term "self-confidence" is often referred to under the nomenclature of…

  1. "It All depends...": Middle School Teachers Evaluate Single-Sex Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spielhagen, Frances R.

    2011-01-01

    This mixed-methods study explored the effectiveness of single-sex classes according to key stakeholders in this educational reform--the teachers who choose or are hired to teach in single-sex classes and schools. Specifically, this study examined the on-the-ground experiences of middle school teachers as they attempted to implement a relatively…

  2. Best Practice in Middle-School Science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oliveira, Alandeom W.; Wilcox, Kristen C.; Angelis, Janet; Applebee, Arthur N.; Amodeo, Vincent; Snyder, Michele A.

    2013-03-01

    Using socio-ecological theory, this study explores best practice (educational practices correlated with higher student performance) in middle-school science. Seven schools with consistently higher student performance were compared with three demographically similar, average-performing schools. Best practice included instructional approaches (relevance and engagement, inquiry, differentiated instruction, collaborative work, moderate amounts of homework, and integration of language literacy and science) and administrative practices (nurturing a climate of opportunity to succeed in science, offering professional development based on data and dialogue, engaging teachers in standards-based curriculum revision and alignment, and recruiting the right fit of teacher). It is argued that best practice entails multiple levels of teaching and administrative praxis that together form a school-wide socio-ecological system conducive to higher performance.

  3. The Impact of Collaborative Literacy Coaching on Middle and High School Teachers' Personal and General Sense of Efficacy for Literacy Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Howe, Kathleen Schmiedeler

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative multiple participant case study was to understand the impact of a nine month collaborative literacy coaching (CLC) initiative on middle and high school content teachers' personal and general sense of efficacy for literacy teaching. A variety of data, including but not limited to transcripts of weekly…

  4. Teaching Science in the Primary School: Surveying Teacher Wellbeing and Planning for Survival

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morgan, Anne-Marie

    2012-01-01

    A teacher-researcher in a primary school setting surveyed the middle years' teachers of her school and those in the local science hub group, to determine their confidence and satisfaction levels in relation to teaching science. Her results confirm feelings of inadequacy and reluctance to teach Science, but also indicate ways that schools can…

  5. Gender Equity in Middle School Science Teaching: Being "Equitable" Should Be the Goal.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Subrahmanyan, Lalita; Bozonie, Heath

    1996-01-01

    Examines level at which gender issues are addressed in middle school science classes. Argues that in the crucial area of science education, particularly for girls at the middle school level, "equal" rather than "equitable" as a dominant teacher attitude may be inadequate to ensure that gender imbalances are rectified. (SD)

  6. Teaching Math to My Scholars: Inner City Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Iyer, Ranjani; Pitts, Joseph

    2017-01-01

    Teaching in an inner city school requires classroom management, resilience, and most importantly strategies to promote learning and growth. There is a constant need for acceleration in student growth in core subjects, especially Math. A blended learning model can be an effective option for schools to personalize learning experiences for students…

  7. What Middle School Students Need from Their General Music Class (and How We Can Help)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davis, Virginia Wayman

    2011-01-01

    The middle school general music class is a course that holds many possibilities and challenges. In this research-based article, teachers are encouraged to "teach for transfer," to create worthwhile learning activities that prepare students for music making in the adult community. Three needs of the middle school music student are discussed:…

  8. Inservice Elementary and Middle School Teachers' Conceptions of Photosynthesis and Respiration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krall, Rebecca Mcnall; Lott, Kimberly H.; Wymer, Carol L.

    2009-02-01

    The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate inservice elementary and middle school teachers’ conceptions of photosynthesis and respiration, basic concepts they are expected to teach. A forced-choice instrument assessing selected standards-based life science concepts with non-scientific conceptions embedded in distracter options was utilized to assess 76 inservice elementary and middle school teachers from the central Appalachian region. Outcomes from four tasks assessing photosynthesis and respiration concepts are discussed. Findings revealed similarities between non-scientific conceptions the teachers demonstrated and non-scientific conceptions reported in the research literature on elementary and middle school students’ understanding of the concepts. Findings also informed subsequent inservice teacher professional development efforts in life science and the development of a biology course for preservice elementary teachers.

  9. Improving Diagrammatic Reasoning in Middle School Science Using Conventions of Diagrams Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, B. W.; Cromley, J. G.; Newcombe, N. S.

    2016-01-01

    Visual representations are essential for science understanding, but many students have poor diagrammatic reasoning skills. Previous research showed that teaching high school and college students about the conventions of diagrams (COD) can improve diagrammatic reasoning. In this study, middle school science students received COD instruction…

  10. Implementing a Context-Based Environmental Science Unit in the Middle Years: Teaching and Learning at the Creek

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    King, Donna; Ginns, Ian

    2015-01-01

    Engaging middle school students in science continues to be a challenge in Australian schools. One initiative that has been tried in the senior years but is a more recent development in the middle years is the context-based approach. In this ethnographic study, we researched the teaching and learning transactions that occurred in one ninth grade…

  11. FMA Live! at Hardy Middle School

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2013-09-16

    Leland Melvin, NASA Associate Administrator for Education and former 2x astronaut, addresses students before the start of "FMA Live!" at Hardy Middle School in Washington on Monday, Sept. 16th, 2013. "FMA Live!" is a program sponsored by NASA and Honeywell that teaches Newton's three laws of motion mixed with dance and music. The program travels across the country and has reached nearly 300,000 students.Photo Credit: (NASA/Jay Westcott)

  12. FMA Live! at Hardy Middle School

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2013-09-16

    With the help of a student participant, "FMA Live!" crew members explain Newton's second law of motion during a performance of "FMA Live!" at Hardy Middle School in Washington on Monday, Sept. 16th, 2013. "FMA Live!" is a program sponsored by NASA and Honeywell that teaches Newton's three laws of motion mixed with dance and music. The program travels across the country and has reached nearly 300,000 students.Photo Credit: (NASA/Jay Westcott)

  13. FMA Live! at Hardy Middle School

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2013-09-16

    With the help of a student participant, "FMA Live!" crew members explain Newton's first law of motion during a performance of "FMA Live!" at Hardy Middle School in Washington on Monday, Sept. 16th, 2013. "FMA Live!" is a program sponsored by NASA and Honeywell that teaches Newton's three laws of motion mixed with dance and music. The program travels across the country and has reached nearly 300,000 students.Photo Credit: (NASA/Jay Westcott)

  14. Student Scheduling in a Year-Round Middle School. A Simulation Notebook.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Whitley, Alfred C.

    This paper presents a model of a successful student scheduling pattern for a 45-15 year-round middle school (grades 6-8). The model allows for scheduling 100 percent of resource lab teaching time for all the student population in attendance at any one time, and formulates a house design and team teaching structure that facilitates smooth ingress…

  15. Incorporating Primary Scientific Literature in Middle and High School Education.

    PubMed

    Fankhauser, Sarah C; Lijek, Rebeccah S

    2016-03-01

    Primary literature is the most reliable and direct source of scientific information, but most middle school and high school science is taught using secondary and tertiary sources. One reason for this is that primary science articles can be difficult to access and interpret for young students and for their teachers, who may lack exposure to this type of writing. The Journal of Emerging Investigators (JEI) was created to fill this gap and provide primary research articles that can be accessed and read by students and their teachers. JEI is a non-profit, online, open-access, peer-reviewed science journal dedicated to mentoring and publishing the scientific research of middle and high school students. JEI articles provide reliable scientific information that is written by students and therefore at a level that their peers can understand. For student-authors who publish in JEI, the review process and the interaction with scientists provide invaluable insight into the scientific process. Moreover, the resulting repository of free, student-written articles allows teachers to incorporate age-appropriate primary literature into the middle and high school science classroom. JEI articles can be used for teaching specific scientific content or for teaching the process of the scientific method itself. The critical thinking skills that students learn by engaging with the primary literature will be invaluable for the development of a scientifically-literate public.

  16. Incorporating Primary Scientific Literature in Middle and High School Education†

    PubMed Central

    Fankhauser, Sarah C.; Lijek, Rebeccah S.

    2016-01-01

    Primary literature is the most reliable and direct source of scientific information, but most middle school and high school science is taught using secondary and tertiary sources. One reason for this is that primary science articles can be difficult to access and interpret for young students and for their teachers, who may lack exposure to this type of writing. The Journal of Emerging Investigators (JEI) was created to fill this gap and provide primary research articles that can be accessed and read by students and their teachers. JEI is a non-profit, online, open-access, peer-reviewed science journal dedicated to mentoring and publishing the scientific research of middle and high school students. JEI articles provide reliable scientific information that is written by students and therefore at a level that their peers can understand. For student-authors who publish in JEI, the review process and the interaction with scientists provide invaluable insight into the scientific process. Moreover, the resulting repository of free, student-written articles allows teachers to incorporate age-appropriate primary literature into the middle and high school science classroom. JEI articles can be used for teaching specific scientific content or for teaching the process of the scientific method itself. The critical thinking skills that students learn by engaging with the primary literature will be invaluable for the development of a scientifically-literate public. PMID:27047607

  17. Inspiring Middle School Minds: Gifted, Creative, and Challenging

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Willis, Judy

    2009-01-01

    Teaching adolescents can be quite challenging. Dr. Judy Willis, a neurologist and teacher, explains the inner workings of the adolescent brain. She uses the findings of brain research in her classroom to explain how parents and teachers can trigger untapped inspiration in students. Middle school education has often been a "black hole" for gifted…

  18. Middle School Handbook.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Finks, Harry

    The middle school provides a planned transition from childhood to young adulthood: it moves a student from the protective nurture of elementary school to the more depersonalized high school setting gradually, sensitively, and by design. Composed of the ideas from middle school education that each of the educators who choose this wonderful level of…

  19. Reading Activities in Content Areas: An Ideabook for Middle and Secondary Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Piercey, Dorothy

    This book suggests reading activities and teaching strategies to encourage students' success in the following middle school and secondary school content areas: business; driver education; English, speech, and journalism; art, music, and theater; foreign languages (French, Spanish, and German); health; home economics end industrial and vocational…

  20. Teaching Disaffected Middle School Students: How Classroom Dynamics Shape Students' Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kennedy, Brianna L.

    2011-01-01

    This article examines instruction at a school in California for expelled middle school students and illustrates the practices of its most and least effective teachers. Findings show that teachers' implementation of instructional practices, classroom management, and rapport building mutually reinforced each other to either facilitate or hinder…

  1. The Middle School Learner: Instructional Planning for a Transitional Stage

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, James

    1978-01-01

    Examines Piaget's concrete and formal operational stages of intellectual development in relation to the middle school learner. Presents teaching strategies requiring the learner to use concrete and formal operational forms of thought in dealing with a social studies unit about Quebec. (Author/JK)

  2. FMA Live! at Hardy Middle School

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2013-09-16

    Tom Buckmaster, President, Honeywell Hometown Solutions and Leland Melvin, NASA Associate Administrator for Education and former 2x astronaut, are interviewed before the start of "FMA Live!" at Hardy Middle School in Washington on Monday, Sept. 16th, 2013. "FMA Live!" is a program sponsored by NASA and Honeywell that teaches Newton's three laws of motion mixed with dance and music. The program travels across the country and has reached nearly 300,000 students.Photo Credit: (NASA/Jay Westcott)

  3. FMA Live! at Hardy Middle School

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2013-09-16

    Leland Melvin, NASA Associate Administrator for Education and former 2x astronaut, is interviewed by a news crew before the start of a "FMA Live!" event at Hardy Middle School in Washington on Monday, Sept. 16th, 2013. "FMA Live!" is a program sponsored by NASA and Honeywell that teaches Newton's 3 laws of motion mixed with dance and music. The program travels across the country and has reached nearly 300,000 students. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jay Westcott)

  4. An Exploration of Middle School Teachers' Essences of Participation in Service-Learning Activities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cochran Holmes, Ashlee Elizabeth

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover the essence of middle school service-learning teachers' experiences with service-learning. Service-learning is "a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility,…

  5. The Scary World of Middle School: How to Be Sure Your Kids Are Ready

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adams, Caralee

    2008-01-01

    Middle school, which is generally thought of as sixth to eighth grades, is not easy for anybody. It is a rough time to be a student, and a tough age to teach. Teachers are expected to ease the transition of students from elementary to middle school. However, if you are an elementary teacher, you may not know what kids will be facing in middle…

  6. Rethinking Process-Based Writing Approaches in the ESOL Middle School Classroom: Developing Linguistic Fluency via Hybrid Pedagogies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pandey, Anjali

    2012-01-01

    This article calls for a rethinking of pure process-based approaches in the teaching of second language writers in the middle school classroom. The author provides evidence from a detailed case study of the writing of a Korean middle school student in a U.S. school setting to make a case for rethinking the efficacy of classic process-based…

  7. Beginnings: Beginning Musical Strategies with Social Implications for Level V Middle School Students in Baltimore County, Maryland.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teske, Patricia W.

    This document presents strategies developed for teaching learning disabled, emotionally disturbed, or intellectually limited middle school students in the music classroom. The proposed strategies are designed to meet the following criteria: (1) the musical activities are to be musically appropriate for middle school adolescents; (2) each activity…

  8. Three frameworks to predict physical activity behavior in middle school inclusive physical education: a multilevel analysis.

    PubMed

    Jin, Jooyeon; Yun, Joonkoo

    2013-07-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine three frameworks, (a) process-product, (b) student mediation, and (c) classroom ecology, to understand physical activity (PA) behavior of adolescents with and without disabilities in middle school inclusive physical education (PE). A total of 13 physical educators teaching inclusive PE and their 503 students, including 22 students with different disabilities, participated in this study. A series of multilevel regression analyses indicated that physical educators' teaching behavior and students' implementation intentions play important roles in promoting the students' PA in middle school inclusive PE settings when gender, disability, lesson content, instructional model, and class location are considered simultaneously. The findings suggest that the ecological framework should be considered to effectively promote PA of adolescents with and without disabilities in middle school PE classes.

  9. Building the pipeline: programs to introduce middle school, high school, medical, and veterinary students to careers in epidemiology and public health.

    PubMed

    Cordell, Ralph L; Cordeira, Kelly L; Cohen, Laurence P; Bensyl, Diana M

    2017-11-01

    This report describes Centers for Disease Control and Prevention programs that expose students to epidemiology and public health sciences (EPHS). The Science Ambassador workshop targets middle and high school teachers and promotes teaching EPHS in the classroom. The National Science Olympiad Disease Detectives event is an extracurricular science competition for middle and high school students based on investigations of outbreaks and other public health problems. The Epidemiology Elective Program provides experiential learning activities for veterinary and medical students. As of 2016, 234 teachers from 37 states and territories and three other countries participated in SA workshops. Several are teaching units or entire courses in EPHS. The National Science Olympiad Disease Detectives event exposed approximately 15,000 middle and high school students to EPHS during the 2015-2016 school year. The Epidemiology Elective Program has exposed 1,795 veterinary and medical students to EPHS. Students can master fundamental concepts of EPHS as early as middle school and educators are finding ways to introduce this material into their classrooms. Programs to introduce veterinary and medical students to EPHS can help fill the gap in exposing older students to the field. Professional organizations can assist by making their members aware of these programs. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  10. "Who Stays and Who Leaves?" Findings from a Three-Part Study of Teacher Turnover in NYC Middle Schools. Synthesis Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marinell, William H.; Coca, Vanessa M.; Arum, Richard; Goldstein, Jennifer; Kemple, James; Pallas, Aaron; Bristol, Travis; Buckley, Clare; Scallon, Amy; Tanner, Barbara

    2013-01-01

    There is growing evidence that the middle school years are critical to students' long-term success. In New York City, middle schools have been the target of several high-profile improvement initiatives. One factor that has the potential to facilitate or complicate these efforts is the stability of the middle school teaching force. Yet there have…

  11. Middle School Teachers' Descriptions of Their Level of Competency in the National Education Technology Standards for Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sam, Daisy

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate urban middle school teachers' descriptions of their competency in the current National Education Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T). The study also investigated how urban middle school teachers currently use technology to support their teaching and student learning. Research…

  12. How School Leaders Perceive the Leadership Role of Middle Leaders in Singapore Primary Schools?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koh, Hak Hiang; Gurr, David; Drysdale, Lawrie; Ang, Li Li

    2011-01-01

    Middle leaders are "recognised as a significant source in ensuring that quality education reaches out to pupils" (Low and Lim "1997", p. 77) for they are "the human link between national education policy as manifested in school-level strategic planning...and the teaching staff whose "field tactics" are used to…

  13. Videos for Teachers: Successful Teaching Strategies in Middle and High School Classrooms. [CD-ROM].

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teachers Network, New York, NY.

    This CD-ROM presents six videos that feature veteran middle and high school teachers in action in their classrooms. Each video offers links to supplemental education resources, including innovative lesson plans. The six videos are: "Monsters and Myths" (a humanities unit for middle school students); "The Bleeding Edge" (a thematic…

  14. The Language Demands of Science Reading in Middle School

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fang, Zhihui

    2006-04-01

    The language used to construct knowledge, beliefs, and worldviews in school science is distinct from the social language that students use in their everyday ordinary life. This difference is a major source of reading difficulty for many students, especially struggling readers and English-language learners. This article identifies some of the linguistic challenges involved in reading middle-school science texts and suggests several teaching strategies to help students cope with these challenges. It is argued that explicit attention to the unique language of school science should be an integral part of science literacy pedagogy.

  15. Sustaining inquiry-based teaching methods in the middle school science classroom

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Murphy, Amy Fowler

    This dissertation used a combination of case study and phenomenological research methods to investigate how individual teachers of middle school science in the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) program sustain their use of inquiry-based methods of teaching and learning. While the overall context for the cases was the AMSTI program, each of the four teacher participants in this study had a unique, individual context as well. The researcher collected data through a series of interviews, multiple-day observations, and curricular materials. The interview data was analyzed to develop a textural, structural, and composite description of the phenomenon. The Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) was used along with the Assesing Inquiry Potential (AIP) questionnaire to determine the level of inquiry-based instruction occuring in the participants classrooms. Analysis of the RTOP data and AIP data indicated all of the participants utilized inquiry-based methods in their classrooms during their observed lessons. The AIP data also indicated the level of inquiry in the AMSTI curricular materials utilized by the participants during the observations was structured inquiry. The findings from the interview data suggested the ability of the participants to sustain their use of structured inquiry was influenced by their experiences with, beliefs about, and understandings of inquiry. This study contributed to the literature by supporting existing studies regarding the influence of teachers' experiences, beliefs, and understandings of inquiry on their classroom practices. The inquiry approach stressed in current reforms in science education targets content knowledge, skills, and processes needed in a future scientifically literate citizenry.

  16. Metrics for Elementary and Middle Schools: The Curriculum Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kurtz, V. Ray

    This book is designed for teachers in elementary and middle schools who need explanations of problems and questions concerning the metric system and a source of classroom activities to aid in teaching the metric system. The book is divided into three parts. The first part is a primer of information designed to help a teacher in answering the many…

  17. Journal Article: Using Scientists and Real-World Scenarios in Professional Development for Middle School Science Teachers

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Morrison, Judith A.; Estes, Jeffrey C.

    Middle school science teachers were involved in a problem-solving experience presented and guided by research scientists. Data on the teachers’ perspectives about this professional development and any impact it may have had on their teaching practices were collected through interviews, surveys, and classroom observations. The findings show that the professional development experience was positive, although one concern expressed by teachers was their lack of understanding of the scientists’ vocabulary. Using scientists and real-world scenarios was shown to be an effective strategy for encouraging middle school teachers to teach science as a process and help them strengthen their science content understanding.

  18. Teaching in the Middle Grades Today: Examining Teachers' Beliefs about Middle Grades Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DiCicco, Mike; Cook, Chris M.; Faulkner, Shawn A.

    2016-01-01

    Since the beginning of the middle school movement in the mid-1960s, middle level advocates have called for a school experience for young adolescents grounded in adolescent development that engages students in meaningful learning (Alexander & Williams, 1965; Eichhorn, 1966). The aim of this exploratory multicase study was to understand middle…

  19. A Descriptive Analysis of the Impact of Co-Teaching on the Reading/Language Arts and Math Achievement of Selected Middle School Students in a Middle Tennessee School District

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maultsby-Springer, Barbara Michelle

    2009-01-01

    This research examined the impact of collaborative teaching (co-teaching) on the Reading/Language Arts and Math achievement of Middle Tennessee students in grades 5-8, as measured by the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement test. Within the context of this study, the co-teaching model of instruction is defined as the…

  20. Urban Middle School Students' Reflections on Authentic Science Inquiry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rivera Maulucci, María S.; Brown, Bryan A.; Grey, Salina T.; Sullivan, Shayna

    2014-01-01

    This study explores the experiences of six urban middle school students in an authentic science inquiry program. Drawing on data including teaching journal entries, student work folders, and semi-structured focus group interviews of six participants, the findings explore six dimensions of authentic science inquiry, an approach to science inquiry…

  1. The lived experience of violence: using storytelling as a teaching tool with middle school students.

    PubMed

    Werle, Gretchen D

    2004-04-01

    This qualitative study explored 8th-grade students' responses to hearing stories about the lived experience of violence. A convenience sample of 13 students attending health education classes at a public middle school was used. After hearing each story, students answered a series of questions using the process of free writing. Free writing is a technique that allows students to explore their thoughts and reactions while promoting critical thinking. Student free writing samples were analyzed using a process of constant comparison. Three themes emerged from the data: (a) students gain insights into the realities of violence through hearing these stories, (b) students respond on an emotional level to both the stories and the storytellers, and (c) students respond positively to and are engaged by these stories. The findings lend support to the use of storytelling in teaching youth about violence. School nurses can develop and implement violence prevention education programs using the storytelling model, seek grant and community support for such programs, and conduct further research into the use of the storytelling model.

  2. Multiple Intelligences: Theory to Practice in New York City Schools. Middle School/High School. [Manual and Video Guide].

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leopold, Marjorie

    This program is a self-guided professional development experience that explains how to use multiple intelligences (MI) theory to improve teaching, learning, and achievement in middle and high school classrooms. The program consists of one manual and six VHS videos, each of which corresponds to one of the six modules listed in the table of…

  3. Teaching the Literature of Today's Middle East

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Webb, Allen

    2011-01-01

    Providing a gateway into the real literature emerging from the Middle East, this book shows teachers how to make the topic authentic, powerful, and relevant. "Teaching the Literature of Today's Middle East": (1) Introduces teachers to this literature and how to teach it; (2) Brings to the reader a tremendous diversity of teachable texts…

  4. Colloquamur Latine cum Pueris Puellesque: Latin in the Middle School.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Graber, Charles F.; Norton, Harriet S.

    Guidelines for the development of a Latin curriculum for the middle school, with specific suggestions as to content and methodology, are presented in this manual. The material, oriented toward new approaches in the teaching of the Latin and Graeco-Roman cultures, strives to develop proficiency in the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and…

  5. Inservice Elementary and Middle School Teachers' Conceptions of Photosynthesis and Respiration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krall, Rebecca McNall; Lott, Kimberly H.; Wymer, Carol L.

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate inservice elementary and middle school teachers' conceptions of photosynthesis and respiration, basic concepts they are expected to teach. A forced-choice instrument assessing selected standards-based life science concepts with non-scientific conceptions embedded in distracter options was…

  6. Science Education at Riverside Middle School A Case Study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smiley, Bettie Ann Pickens

    For more than thirty years the gender gap in science and related careers has been a key concern of researchers, teachers, professional organizations, and policy makers. Despite indicators of progress for women and girls on some measures of achievement, course enrollment patterns, and employment, fewer women than men pursue college degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. According to the results of national assessments, the gender gap in science achievement begins to be evident in the middle school years. Gender and school science achievement involve a complex set of factors associated with schools and child/family systems that may include school leadership, institutional practices, curriculum content, teacher training programs, teacher expectations, student interests, parental involvement, and cultural values. This ethnographic case study was designed to explore the context for science education reform and the participation of middle school girls. The study analyzed and compared teaching strategies and female student engagement in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade science classrooms. The setting was a middle school situated in a district that was well-known for its achievement in reading, math, and technology. Findings from the study indicated that while classroom instruction was predominantly organized around traditional school science, the girls were more disciplined and outperformed the boys. The size of the classrooms, time to prepare for hands-on activities, and obtaining resources were identified as barriers to teaching science in ways that aligned with recent national science reform initiatives. Parents who participated in the study were very supportive of their daughters' academic progress and career goals. A few of the parents suggested that the school's science program include more hands-on activities; instruction designed for the advanced learner; and information related to future careers. Overall the teachers and

  7. Using "To Kill a Mockingbird" as a Conduit for Teaching about the School-to-Prison Pipeline

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maher, Steffany Comfort

    2013-01-01

    The author primarily teaches traditional high school English texts in a largely white, middle-class school, but the method she uses allows her to address important issues relevant to students. One unit she teaches is an investigation of the criminal justice system and a variety of issues related to the school-to-prison pipeline. A crucial text…

  8. Learning Environment, Attitudes and Conceptual Development Associated with Innovative Strategies in Middle-School Mathematics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ogbuehi, Philip I.; Fraser, Barry J.

    2007-01-01

    This study of middle-school students in California focused on the effectiveness of using innovative teaching strategies for enhancing the classroom environment, students' attitudes and conceptual development. A sample of 661 students from 22 classrooms in four inner city schools completed modified forms of the Constructivist Learning Environment…

  9. Authoritative school climate, aggression toward teachers, and teacher distress in middle school.

    PubMed

    Berg, Juliette K; Cornell, Dewey

    2016-03-01

    Aggression toward teachers is linked to burnout and disengagement from teaching, but a positive school climate may reduce aggression and associated teacher distress. Using authoritative school climate theory, the study examined whether schools with high disciplinary structure and student support were associated with less aggression and less distress. The sample of 9,134 teachers in 389 middle schools came from the Virginia Secondary School Climate Survey, a statewide survey administered to all public schools with 7th and 8th grade enrollment. The majority of teachers (75%) were female. More than half (53%) reported that they had more than 10 years of teaching experience; 23% reported 6 to 10 years; 24% reported 1 to 5 years. Students reported on the degree to which their schools were structured and supportive. Teachers reported on their experiences of aggression by students, their level of distress, and their feelings of safety. Staff-related infractions computed from Department of Education records were also used. Multilevel modeling revealed that teachers in authoritative schools experienced less aggression and felt safer and less distressed. Lower aggression by students mediated the association between more authoritative schools and lower distress such that more structured and supportive schools had greater teacher safety and, in turn, less distress. The findings support the idea that more structured and supportive schools relate to greater safety for teachers and, in turn, less distress. Research limitations and implications for practice are discussed. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. America's Heritage: An Adventure in Liberty. Middle School Edition. First Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Houston Independent School District, TX.

    These curriculum materials are intended to supplement classroom resources for teaching middle school students about the roots of the nation's heritage and the responsibilities of U.S. citizenship. The materials are divided into 16 sections: (1) "Purpose"; (2) "Letter from Superintendent"; (3) "Forward: Miracle of America"; (4) "Preface: From…

  11. Identifying Teacher, School, and District Characteristics Associated with Middle and High School Teachers' Use of Technology: A Multilevel Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Dwyer, Laura M.; Russell, Michael; Bebell, Damian

    2005-01-01

    Investment in educational technology has increased rapidly in recent years and many observers have begun to question whether, and how technology is being used as a teaching and learning tool. In order to address this issue, this research used survey data collected from 1,404 "middle and high school teachers" in 52 schools across 22…

  12. Afterschool: Supporting Career and College Pathways for Middle School Age Youth. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 46

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Afterschool Alliance, 2011

    2011-01-01

    In order to ensure that middle school youth are on a path toward higher education and careers, an early introduction to the importance of continuing education past high school is necessary. The middle school years are a vital time to teach the importance of college and career readiness and the linkages to success in life. This issue brief…

  13. Student Engagement and the Use of Volunteer Teachers in Alternative Urban Middle Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fenzel, L. Mickey; Flippen, Gerivonni M.

    2006-01-01

    The use of recent college graduates as volunteer teachers has increased in recent years with the growth of the Teach for America program and alternative middle schools for at-risk children from low income homes. Very few studies to date have investigated the effects of the use of such teachers on student learning and engagement in school. The…

  14. Efficacy of MedMyst: an Internet Teaching Tool for Middle School Microbiology.

    PubMed

    Miller, Leslie M; Moreno, Janette; Estrera, Vicky; Lane, David

    2004-05-01

    Can web-based technology be used to effectively introduce or reinforce aspects of microbiology to middle school students? This central hypothesis examines whether brief exposure to a web adventure format containing virtual lab experiments and computer games within an engaging story line can impact student learning. An episodic adventure series, MedMyst (http://medmyst.rice.edu), focuses on infectious diseases and the microbes that cause them. The website is not intended to replace classroom instruction, but rather to engage students in problem-solving activities not likely to be encountered elsewhere. It also provides scientists with a resource to introduce microbiology to adolescent audiences through outreach activities. In the online adventure, the player (student) enters a futuristic world in which he or she becomes a "Reconstructor," a member of an elite team charged with preventing the spread of infectious disease. The series consists of three "missions," each lasting approximately 30 to 40 minutes and designed to address a limited set of learning objectives. Middle school students participated in the creation of the characters and the stylized design through focus groups. Classroom teachers oversaw the alignment of the web adventure objectives with the National Science Content Standards. Scientists and clinicians reviewed the web adventure for content and accuracy. A field test involving over 700 students from nine different schools assessed the knowledge gains attributable to playing MedMyst. Gain scores from pretest to posttest indicated that middle school students retained important information by interacting with the online material for as little as 30 minutes per adventure; however, gains for high school students were less persuasive, perhaps indicating a different learning tool or content is required for this age audience.

  15. Photographs and Classroom Response Systems in Middle School Astronomy Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Hyunju; Feldman, Allan

    2015-01-01

    In spite of being readily available, photographs have played a minor and passive role in science classes. In our study, we present an active way of using photographs in classroom discussions with the use of a classroom response system (CRS) in middle school astronomy classes to teach the concepts of day-night and seasonal change. In this new…

  16. Narratives of Inquiry Learning in Middle-School Geographic Inquiry Class

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kuisma, Merja

    2018-01-01

    This study aimed at modifying a teaching and learning model for a geographic inquiry to enhance both the subject-related skills of geography and so-called twenty-first century skills in middle-school students (14-15 years old). The purpose of this research is to extend our understanding of the user experiences concerning certain tools for learning…

  17. Are Middle Schools More Effective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bedard, Kelly; Do, Chan

    2005-01-01

    While nearly half of all school districts have adopted middle schools, there is little quantitative evidence of the efficacy of this educational structure. We estimate the impact of moving from a junior high school system, where students stay in elementary school longer, to a middle school system for on-time high school completion. This is a…

  18. From teachers' perspective: Implementation of literacy materials in middle school science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weingartner, Judith A.

    Documentation of adolescents' difficulty in comprehending textbooks spans a century. For just as long, researchers have advocated that explicit instruction of reading strategies can help students' comprehension of text; many have recommended that the best place to teach these strategies is within the content classroom (science, math, etc.), and taught by the content teacher. Despite this research, reading strategy instruction in content classrooms is not a common occurrence. In a large district with 300 middle school science teachers, some science teachers expressed concern about their students' reading difficulties with the district's science text. In response to those concerns, the middle school science coordinator organized a small committee to develop the Reading Strategies Handbook for Middle School Science for Teachers (the Handbook), believing that this tool would guide teachers' in implementing the Handbook's reading strategies and improve students' comprehension of the text. This was a qualitative study that explored 11 middle school science teachers' responses to implementing the Handbook. Data for this study were gathered through an e-mailed questionnaire, a classroom visitation, and one interview with each teacher participant. The study found that teachers' varied backgrounds influenced their beliefs about teaching and learning, and impacted their classroom practices. Teachers faced their district's expectations to implement reading strategies in the Handbook with minimal support and cited influences beyond their control that created tension with their decision whether to implement the Handbook. Teachers commented that a "one size fits all" curriculum and textbook-specific issues influenced their degree of using the Handbook's reading strategies. In addition, teachers identified time and pressure to cover curriculum as obstacles to implementing the Handbook. Implications of these findings include: (a) Professional development studies related to content

  19. Upper Primary School Teachers' Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Functional Thinking in Algebra

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilkie, Karina J.

    2014-01-01

    This article is based on a project that investigated teachers' knowledge in teaching an important aspect of algebra in the middle years of schooling--functions, relations and joint variation. As part of the project, 105 upper primary teachers were surveyed during their participation in Contemporary Teaching and Learning of Mathematics, a research…

  20. Middle School Science Teachers' Perceptions of Social Justice: A Study of Two Female Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Upadhyay, Bhaskar

    2010-01-01

    The focus of this qualitative study is to document two middle school science teachers' perceptions of social justice and how these teachers implement various aspects of social justice in their science instruction. The two teachers teach science in an urban school that serves students from low-income, immigrant, and ethnic minority families. The…

  1. Teachers' perceptions and use of a large-scale science education reform initiative for middle schools

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pistorius, Carolyn Sue

    Reform efforts in science education have been increasing over the past decade. This quantitative design study explored middle school teachers' perceptions and attitudes about one such reform effort. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from teachers and their classrooms. The population consisted of all of the middle school science teachers who had completed at least one two-week session of professional development in the University of Alabama in Huntsville in-service region. The teachers were all involved in the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI). This initiative provided professional development and complete science modules, including materials for all K-8 teachers of science to use. Middle school teachers' (grades 6-8) perceptions, attitudes, and information about classroom decisions in teaching science using the AMSTI were obtained through the uses of the AMSTI Science Questionnaire, teacher interviews and classroom observations using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP). Quantitative data were analyzed using ANOVA, chi-square, Tukey HSD statistical analyses. Qualitative data involved transcribing, coding, and determination of emerging themes. The AMSTI Science Questionnaire was found to have evidence of reliability and validity for the determination of the impact of professional development on teachers' perceptions and attitudes towards teaching science in their classrooms. Results of this study demonstrated that the more professional development experienced by the teachers was related to the number of lessons that the teachers used from the AMSTI modules. The amount of professional development was also related to the amount of time spent teaching and quality of the teaching as rated using the Reformed Teacher Observation Protocol. The more professional development the teachers received, the higher they self-reported their level of expertise in teaching the AMSTI science modules. Some of the strengths of the

  2. Middle School Teachers and School Leadership Perceptions of School Culture: An Examination of the Transition from Junior Highs to Middle Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chaney, Maura Chase

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this case study was to examine the transition from junior high school to a middle school as experienced in two middle schools from a mid-sized urban school district located in the Rocky Mountains. The overarching question that guided data collection for this study centered on the factors that influenced school culture before,…

  3. Middle School Children's Thinking in Technology Education: A Review of Literature

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sherman, Thomas M.; Sanders, Mark; Kwon, Hyuksoo; Pembridge, James

    2009-01-01

    In 2006, the authors began a project to understand what happens in middle school technology education classrooms in order to document the goals that technology education teachers pursue, the instructional strategies they use to teach children to meet these outcomes, the measures they use to assess achievement of these goals, and the learning…

  4. Listening to Their Voices: Middle Schoolers' Perspectives of Life in Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Steinberg, Mary Anne; McCray, Erica D.

    2012-01-01

    This article examines middle schoolers' perspectives on their lives in middle school. Fifteen middle school students from three middle schools in the Southeast region of the United States participated in a basic qualitative study using focus groups at their schools where they were asked the central question, "If you could change one thing at…

  5. Solar Energy: A Middle School Unit. Environmental Education Occasional Paper No. 2.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mason, Jack L.; Cantrell, Joseph S.

    This collection of teaching activities was developed to provide teachers with guidance in presenting solar energy education to students of middle school age. The unit provides activities presenting learning opportunities involving: (1) passive solar collectors, (2) active solar collectors, (3) concentrating collectors, and (4) photovoltaic cell…

  6. Woodbridge Middle School: Getting Better Together

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Principal Leadership, 2012

    2012-01-01

    This article features Woodbridge Middle School, a middle school in Woodbridge, Virginia, which has always celebrated a tradition of excellence. Today's Woodbridge Middle School in no way resembles the school that existed in 2005. Then, the students were mostly White and few qualified for the free and reduced-price meals program; today, there is no…

  7. Middle School Teachers' Theories of Puberty.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    LeTendre, Gerald

    This study explored middle school teachers' perspectives on and expectations of adolescence and puberty, using observations and interviews of 15 teachers in two Japanese middle schools and two United States (U.S.) middle schools, as well as a survey of teachers in selected schools in both nations. Teachers in the U.S. described puberty as being…

  8. Introducing the Historical Thinking Practice of Contextualizing to Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kucan, Linda; Cho, Byeong-Young; Han, Hyeju

    2017-01-01

    This article describes the design of a social studies unit about the Johnstown Flood of 1889 with a particular emphasis on how specific unit resources engaged middle school students in learning about the geographical and historical context of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. We also report on how the resources supported the teaching and learning of the…

  9. Myth Making and the Power of Place in the Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Henning, Jean

    2007-01-01

    A suburban art museum, forced to rely on an outdoor environment for a middle-school collaborative program, discovered that in fact, this large and varied landscape was the ideal setting for students to learn not only classroom curriculum, but also about themselves, their peers, and their relationship with nature. In developing and teaching this…

  10. Promoting Positive Achievement in the Middle School: A Look at Teachers' Motivational Knowledge, Beliefs, and Teaching Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haselhuhn, Charlotte W.; Al-Mabuk, Radhi; Gabriele, Anthony; Groen, Marc; Galloway, Sarah

    2007-01-01

    This study was prompted by previous research showing a decline in motivation as students transition from elementary to middle school. The decline in motivation may be associated with changes in the achievement goal structures of their classrooms and schools. This study describes a survey of 69 elementary and 28 middle school teachers that explored…

  11. Ecology of an Estuary: Chesapeake Bay. A Guide for Middle School Teachers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fleming, Cris; Swarth, Christopher

    This environmental education teaching guide for middle school teachers features information on the National Estuarine Reserve System in Maryland. Pre-trip field activities, field trip activities, and post-trip activities are discussed, and a list of useful resources and organizations is provided. Reproducible handouts are included throughout the…

  12. Integrating Reading and Writing Instruction in Middle and High School: The Role of Professional Development in Shaping Teacher Perceptions and Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doubet, Kristina J.; Southall, Gena

    2018-01-01

    This study examined the extent to which middle and high school English teachers integrate reading and writing instruction as complementary processes. Using qualitative research methods, researchers investigated the following: (a) Do middle and high school English teachers conceive of and enact the teaching of reading and writing as integrated…

  13. Tell Me What You Hear: Vocabulary Acquisition and Application in the General Music Middle School Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walby, Nathan

    2011-01-01

    Teaching musical vocabulary in a middle school general music class can often be challenging to the performance-based teacher. This article provides several teaching strategies for approaching words from both a theoretical and a practical standpoint. Based on a dialectical "this-with-that" approach by Estelle Jorgensen, this article argues that…

  14. A Teaching Journey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ratzel, Marsha

    2013-01-01

    The author of this article, a middle school science teacher, reflects on her teaching profession and how she connected to other teachers which helped fuel her students' love of learning. She describes her traditional teaching practice and the facilities of her school's middle science laboratory facilities. She explains how social media…

  15. Female Middle School Principals' Voices: Implications for School Leadership Preparation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Cathy; Ovando, Martha; High, Cynthia

    2009-01-01

    This study was an attempt to add the voices of women to the discourse of school leadership. It focused on the nature of the middle school leadership experiences of three female middle school principals, their social interactions based on gender role expectations and their own leadership perspectives. Findings suggest that middle school leadership…

  16. The National Standards and Medieval Music in Middle School Choral and General Music.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawkins, Patrick; Beegle, Amy

    2003-01-01

    Discusses how medieval music can be utilized in the choral and general music classroom to teach middle school students and to address the National Standards for Music Education. Provides background information on medieval music, ideas for lessons, and a glossary of key terms. (CMK)

  17. Lessons for Teaching Botany: What Middle School Students Know about Plants.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Natarajan, Chitra; Chunawala, Sugra; Apte, Swapna; Ramadas, Jayashree

    Students' alternative conceptions arise out of an interconnected system of beliefs: about the nature of science, of learning, of the natural and social world. Cross-cultural perspectives on these world views are therefore essential. This study probed middle school students' conceptions about plants. Tribal students were found to have a richer and…

  18. Too Big to Fail: Rethinking Group Work in a Restructured Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Horn, Brian R.

    2012-01-01

    Utilizing critical and sociocultural approaches to teaching and learning, this article presents data from seven middle grade students at a Title I school regarding their experiences in a student-constructed learning group. Findings reveal students' desires and abilities to constructively participate in work with others that runs contrary to common…

  19. Escaping from Sunday School: Teaching "The Middle East" in the Setting of Religion

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marten, Michael

    2011-01-01

    The article argues that, in the teaching of religion at undergraduate level, many students approach understanding the historical or contemporary Middle East in ways that are coloured by what they think is biblical knowledge or basic Christian beliefs. This is less noticeable for students in disciplines such as history or politics. Many history or…

  20. Making the transition to middle schooling: A case study of experienced science teachers coping with change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Strong, Donna Dorough

    The increasing popularity of the middle school movement necessitates a need for more interpretive research in middle level education. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore science teachers' perceptions of the transition to a new middle school and the meanings they attached to this new experience. The participants were three eighth grade science teachers, each with 20 plus years of teaching experience. The primary data for analysis was a series of five interviews with each participant. Data collection also included weekly participant observation of team meetings. Findings revealed that the science teachers all had positive feelings attached to the ability to keep track of students' academic progress and behavior problems as a result of teaming. The changes associated with the first year were very stressful for all three, primarily the loss of the traditional junior high departmentalized structure. The two participants who transferred directly from the junior high school were very skeptical of any benefits from an interdisciplinary curriculum, the appropriateness of the middle school philosophy for eighth grade students, and the move to heterogeneously grouped science classes. In contrast, the former junior high teacher who had spent the past ten years teaching sixth grade at the elementary school had positive beliefs about the potential benefits of an interdisciplinary curriculum and heterogeneous grouping. Teacher stress associated with a change in the school setting and the science teachers' constraints to actualizing a meaningful middle schooling experience are illuminated. Teachers' lack of ownership in the reform decision making process, loss of time with their science teacher peers, diminished compliments from high school counterparts, and need for more empirical evidence supporting proposed changes all served as barriers to embracing the reform initiatives. The participants found taking a very slow approach to be their most useful means of

  1. A Case Study of Career Change Professionals in Middle School Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cutler, Jessica Lynn

    2017-01-01

    The entrance of second-career professionals to the middle grades math/science education field indicates a shift from the typical work avenues to the field of Education. School culture/climate may also be affected by the insertion of older, experienced second-career professionals. Many educators will refer to the feeling of a "calling" to…

  2. Obstacles to Developing Digital Literacy on the Internet in Middle School Science Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Colwell, Jamie; Hunt-Barron, Sarah; Reinking, David

    2013-01-01

    Obstacles, and instructional responses to them, that emerged in two middle school science classes during a formative experiment investigating Internet Reciprocal Teaching (IRT), an instructional intervention aimed at increasing digital literacy on the Internet, are reported in this manuscript. Analysis of qualitative data revealed that IRT enabled…

  3. Fieldale-Collinsville Middle School: Banishing Anonymity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Principal Leadership, 2010

    2010-01-01

    It is no accident that the staff at Fieldale-Collinsville Middle School adopted a central tenet of "Breaking Ranks in the Middle"--to banish anonymity by creating a personalized learning environment for all of its students. The school was created six years ago when the four middle schools in Henry County, VA, were consolidated into two…

  4. Recruiting Middle School Students into Nursing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Matutina, Robin E.

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this literature review is to illustrate the importance of initiating nursing recruitment during the middle school years. Data sources included citations from the years 1989 to 2006. The study focused on middle school students 9 to 13 years of age in Grades 6 to 8. One survey compared middle school students' perceptions of an ideal…

  5. Medical students help bridge the gap in sexual health education among middle school youth.

    PubMed

    Adjei, Naomi; Yacovelli, Michael; Liu, Dorothy; Sindhu, Kunal; Roberts, Mary; Magee, Susanna

    2017-01-06

    School-based programs are important in addressing risky teenage sexual behavior. We implemented a sex education program using trained medical student volunteers. Medical students (n=30) implemented a seven-session curriculum, designed by medical students and faculty, to 7th and 8th grade students (n=310) at a local school. Middle school students completed pre- and post-assessments. Teachers and medical students completed questionnaires relating their perceptions of students' attitudes and understanding of sexual health. Students completing the curriculum scored 5% higher on post- versus pre-assessment (84% vs 78.7%, p<0.001). Statistically significant gains were noted in knowledge of reproductive system anatomy, community resources, and sexual decision making. Sixty percent of middle school teachers compared to only 16.7% of medical student volunteers reported discomfort teaching sexual health. Sexual education delivered by trained medical student volunteers may improve middle schoolers' understanding of sexual health. [Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2017-01.asp].

  6. Renewing the Middle School: The Early Success of Middle School Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    George, Paul S.

    2009-01-01

    Renewing the Middle School is a special three-part series in which the author, an eminent scholar in the field of middle grades education, offers his view on the status of middle grades education and its prospects for the future. In this part of the series, he responds strongly to some of the criticism that has been aimed at American public…

  7. Middle School Program and Participatory Planning Drive School Design.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sullivan, Kevin

    1996-01-01

    Uses the example of award-winning Black Hawk Middle School in Minnesota to examine: (1) developing a middle school architecture; (2) benefits of the house concept; (3) the need for staff involvement in school design; (4) assembling houses into schools; (5) reduced discipline problems; (6) fostering teacher collaboration; and (7) measuring success.…

  8. Student Achievement and Fidelity of Implementation of the Middle School Concept in Middle Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jackson, Delilah A.

    2013-01-01

    This study, using qualitative, multiple case methodology, examined four middle schools within a Local Education Agency (LEA) in eastern North Carolina to determine whether the implementation of key middle school features; (a) interdisciplinary teaming, (b) flexible scheduling, (c) advisor/advisee relationships, and (d) an integrative, exploratory…

  9. Teaching Scholar Partnerships: A Fresh Approach to College/School Collaborations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bearce, W. Hutchinson

    2004-01-01

    This document is intended to be a handbook for independent college and university leaders interested in learning about a fresh approach to cooperation with local elementary, middle, and high schools. It draws from the Teaching Scholar Partnerships (TSP) program, a successful demonstration project that involved ten private institutions working in…

  10. Games as an educational resource in the teaching and learning of mathematics: an educational experiment in Portuguese middle schools

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Campos, Helena; Moreira, Rute

    2016-04-01

    This article is based on an experiment using the game 'Caminhando e Calculando' (Moving and Calculating) in order to analyse the potential of the game as an educational resource for the teaching and learning of mathematics in Portuguese middle schools, where most students are 10 or 11 years old. Students' data obtained during the games will be used to analyse the different options used for solving the game, identifying its potential and its weaknesses. We start with a theoretical analysis of games as an inherent element of human culture. Combining our innate desire for fun with the different types of teaching and learning styles allows for fun and knowledge to be combined into more efficient and meaningful types of knowledge. Playing games are a primordial aspect of what it means to be a child and they develop within a motivating environment; therefore, not to take advantage of games as a learning resource would be to neglect an important asset. With regard to mathematics, emphasis will be given to the advantages that this teaching and learning tool provides for certain mathematical processes, such as problem-solving.

  11. Assessing Climate Misconceptions of Middle School Learners and Teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sahagian, D. L.; Anastasio, D. J.; Bodzin, A.; Cirucci, L.; Bressler, D.; Dempsey, C.; Peffer, T.

    2012-12-01

    Middle School students and their teachers are among the many populations in the U.S. with misconceptions regarding the science or even reality of climate change. Teaching climate change science in schools is of paramount importance since all school-age children will eventually assume responsibility for the management and policy-making decisions of our planet. The recently published Framework for K-12 Science Education (National Research Council, 2012) emphasizes the importance of students understanding global climate change and its impacts on society. A preliminary assessment of over a thousand urban middles school students found the following from pretests prior to a climate literacy curriculum: - Do not understand that climate occurs on a time scale of decades (most think it is weeks or months) -Do not know the main atmospheric contributors to global warming -Do not understand the role of greenhouse gases as major contributors to increasing Earth's surface temperature -Do not understand the role of water vapor to trap heat and add to the greenhouse effect -Cannot identify some of the human activities that increase the amount of CO2 -Cannot identify sources of carbon emissions produced by US citizens -Cannot describe human activities that are causing the long-term increase of carbon -dioxide levels over the last 100 years -Cannot describe carbon reduction strategies that are feasible for lowering the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere To address the lack of a well-designed middle school science climate change curriculum that can be used to help teachers promote the teaching and learning of important climate change concepts, we developed a 20-day Environmental Literacy and Inquiry (ELI): Climate Change curriculum in partnership with a local school district. Comprehension increased significantly from pre- to post-test after enactment of the ELI curriculum in the classrooms. This work is part of an ongoing systemic curriculum reform initiative to promote (1

  12. Elementary and middle school science improvement project

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mcguire, Saundra Yancy

    1987-01-01

    The Alabama A & M University Elementary and Middle School Science Improvement Project (Project SIP) was instituted in response to a need to improve the ability of North Alabama teachers to teach science effectively using the experimental or hands-on approach. The major component of the project was a two-week workshop. Follow-up visits were made to the classrooms of many of the participating teachers to obtain information on how the program was being implemented in the classroom. The administrative aspects of the program, the delivery of the services to participating teachers, and the project outcomes are addressed.

  13. The Importance of Emotional Intelligence during Transition into Middle School. What Research Says.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richardson, Tommye Lou

    2002-01-01

    Recommends that teachers nurture students' emotional intelligence by teaching coping skills, how to acquire and use information, how to work with others, and how to manage personal growth. Discusses usefulness of emotional intelligence during transition to middle school, and suggests educators involve students in common activities that foster…

  14. Lesher Middle School: Commitment by Choice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Principal Leadership, 2012

    2012-01-01

    This article features Lesher Middle School, a school of choice, as are all of the schools in the Poudre School District in Ft. Collins, Colorado. In 2004, it was a traditional junior high school with a declining enrollment that housed an application-based International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP) that resulted in tracking…

  15. The Challenge of Counseling in Middle Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Rourke, Kathleen, Ed.

    This book of readings presents 33 articles that address topics of importance to counselors who serve middle school students. It was written for counselors already working in middle schools and for individuals who are preparing for careers as middle school counselors. The book will also benefit both elementary school counselors who help children…

  16. Developmental Characteristics of Middle Schoolers and Middle School Organization.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thornburg, Hershel D.

    The extent to which the middle school becomes a true educational alternative is directly related to the ability of middle school educators and researchers to identify and investigate the developmental needs and learning capacities of students. Three important developmental characteristics of early adolescents are a high need for peer friendships,…

  17. Middle School Special Education Teachers' Perceptions and Use of Assistive Technology in Literacy Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Flanagan, Sara; Bouck, Emily C.; Richardson, Jennifer

    2013-01-01

    In this research the authors examined middle school special education teachers' perceptions of assistive technology during literacy instruction with students with high incidence disabilities. A survey explored the use, effectiveness, and factors impacting use or effectiveness of assistive technology for literacy teaching and learning. Results…

  18. The Effectiveness of a CBI Program for Teaching Problem Solving Skills to Middle Level Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Langholz, Judith; Smaldino, Sharon E.

    This study focuses on the effectiveness of "Solutions Unlimited," a computer software program developed to teach problem solving to middle level students. Fifty-one fourth, fifth, and sixth graders (21 girls and 30 boys) attending a private school in a small mid-west community were the subjects for this experiment; none had received…

  19. Intercultural Awareness in Rural Title 1 Elementary School Teaching Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leventhal, Mary Wilson

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to examine cultural dissonance between teachers and students with its implications for student achievement in a rural Title 1 elementary school. Most U.S. teachers share a White, monolingual, middle-class, female teaching culture that is a mismatch with their increasingly multicultural student population. That problem…

  20. "I Have Shakespeare in My Blood": Reading Intervention with Middle School Boys

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guenther, Leah

    2017-01-01

    This research investigates the impact of teaching Shakespeare to below-grade-level readers in an English Language Arts classroom on Chicago's South Side. The students studied are five middle school boys who were observed over a two-year course of study under the same teacher who, after finding success with this method, found herself asking, how is…

  1. Collaborative Middle School Geometry through Blogs and Other Web 2.0 Technologies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hossain, Mokter; Wiest, Lynda R.

    2013-01-01

    This paper explores the use of blogs, a simple application of Web 2.0 technologies, in middle school geometry instruction. Specifically, it provides an overview of the interactive features of Web 2.0 technologies and the feasibility of using Web 2.0 technologies in geometry teaching and learning, as well as a proposed model for creating a…

  2. The impact of mathematical models of teaching materials on square and rectangle concepts to improve students' mathematical connection ability and mathematical disposition in middle school

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Afrizal, Irfan Mufti; Dachlan, Jarnawi Afghani

    2017-05-01

    The aim of this study was to determine design of mathematical models of teaching materials to improve students' mathematical connection ability and mathematical disposition in middle school through experimental studies. The design in this study was quasi-experimental with non-equivalent control group type. This study consisted of two phases, the first phase was identify students' learning obstacle on square and rectangle concepts to obtain the appropriate design of teaching materials, beside that there were internalization of the values or characters expected to appear on students through the teaching materials. Second phase was experiments on the effectiveness and efficiency of mathematical models of teaching materials to improve students' mathematical connection ability and mathematical disposition. The result of this study are 1) Students' learning obstacle that have identified was categorized as an epistemological obstacle. 2) The improvement of students' mathematical connection ability and mathematical disposition who used mathematical teaching materials is better than the students who used conventional learning.

  3. Moving toward equitable, systemic science education reform: The synergy among science education and school-level reforms in an urban middle school

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kelly, Mary Kathryn

    The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the relationships among school-level and science education reform efforts and how, collectively, they contribute to the progress of equitable, systemic science education reform. A case study research design was employed to gather both qualitative and quantitative data between 1995 and 1999. The site of this study is a non-selective, urban middle school in a large district that participated in several reform efforts. These reforms include both efforts focused on school-level change and efforts focused on change in science teaching and learning. Its program incorporates aspects of several school-level reforms---from the underlying Paideia philosophy, to structural characteristics of middle schools, to site-based decision-making, to its status as a magnet school, to its participation as a professional development school. Further, the participation of all science teachers in the intensive, standards-based professional development offered by Ohio's systemic reform of mathematics and science created a critical mass of reform-oriented teachers who supported one another as they incorporated reform-based practices into their teaching. The interplay of the reform efforts has manifested in a high level of science achievement in comparison to the school's district. Addressing the third component of O'Day and Smith's model for systemic reform, the need for school-level change to enable implementation of curriculum frameworks and aligned policies, this study illustrates two important points. First, the high-quality teacher professional development increased teachers' capacity to change their practices by enhancing their knowledge of and skills in implementing standards-based teaching practices. Second, because of the synchrony among the school-level reforms and between the school-level and science education reforms, the context of Webster provided a supportive environment in which lasting changes in science teaching

  4. Getting the Word Out: Teaching Middle-School Children about Cardiovascular Disease

    PubMed Central

    Toepperwein, Mary Anne; Pruski, Linda A.; Blalock, Cheryl L.; Lemelle, Olivia R.; Lichtenstein, Michael J.

    2008-01-01

    Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has roots in childhood; since CVD begins early, a clear strong case for early education focused on CVD primary prevention exists. Scientists are not traditionally involved in disseminating health knowledge into public education. Similarly, public school teachers typically do not have access to biomedical research that may increase their students’ health science literacy. One way to bridge the ‘cultural’ gap between researchers and school teachers is to form science education partnerships. In order for such partnerships to be successful, teams of scientists and teachers must ‘translate’ biomedical research into plain language appropriate for students. In this article, we briefly review the need for improving health literacy, especially through school-based programs, and describe work with one model scientist/teacher partnership, the Teacher Enrichment Initiatives. Examples of cardiovascular research ‘translated’ into plain language lessons for middle school students are provided and practical considerations for researchers pursuing a science education partnership are delineated. PMID:19122871

  5. Predictors of scientific understanding of middle school students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Strate, Joshua Matthew

    The purpose of this study was to determine if middle school student scientific understanding could be predicted by the variables: standardized 5th grade score in science, standardized 5th grade score in mathematics, standardized 5th grade score in reading, student attitude towards science, socioeconomic status, gender, and ethnicity. The areas of the comprehensive literature review were trends in science learning and teaching, research in the K-12 science education arena, what factors have influenced K-12 science education, scientific understanding, what research has been done on K-12 scientific understanding, and what factors have influenced science understanding in the K-12 arenas. Based on the results of the literature review, the researcher of this study examined a sample of middle school 8th grade students. An Attitude Towards Science Survey (SATS) Simpson & Oliver (1990) and a Survey of Scientific Understandings (Klapper, DeLucia, & Trent, 1993) were administered to these 116 middle school 8th grade students drawn from a total population of 1109 who attend this middle school in a typical county in Florida during the 2010- 2011 school year. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to test each sub-hypothesis and to provide a model that attempted to predict student scientific understanding. Seven null sub-hypotheses were formed to determine if there were significant relationships between student scientific understanding and the abovementioned variables. The results of the tests of the seven null sub-hypotheses showed that the sub-hypothesis that involved socioeconomic status was rejected, which indicated that the socioeconomic status of a family does influence the level of scientific understanding of a student. Low SES students performed lower on the scientific understanding survey, on average, than high SES students. This study can be a source of information for teachers in low-income schools by recognizing potential areas of concern for low

  6. Measuring University Students' Perceived Self-Efficacy in Science Communication in Middle and High Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chi, Shaohui; Liu, Xiufeng; Gardella, Joseph A.

    2016-01-01

    Service learning typically involves university students in teaching and learning activities for middle and high school students, however, measurement of university students' self-efficacy in science communication is still lacking. In this study, an instrument to measure university students' perceived self-efficacy in communicating science to…

  7. School-Wide Discipline Policies: In-School Suspension in One Middle School.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chung, Gloria; Paul, Rachel

    One of the more perplexing problems facing middle schools is the use of in-school suspension (ISS). So as to understand better the effects of this practice, one middle school's ISS program was studied and evaluated. Current research on ISS polices and practices is limited, and there is little evidence that supports its use or reform; however, in…

  8. The Effects of Using Space to Teach Standard Elementary School Curriculum

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ewell, Robert N.

    1996-01-01

    This brief report and recommendation for further research brings to a formal close this effort, the original purpose of which is described in detail in The effects of using space to teach standard elementary school curriculum, Volume 1, included here as the Appendix. Volume 1 describes the project as a 3-year research program to determine the effectiveness of using space to teach. The research design is quasi experimental using standardized test data on students from Aldrin Elementary School and a District-identified 'control' school, which shall be referred to as 'School B.' Students now in fourth through sixth grades will be compared now (after one year at Aldrin) and tracked at least until the present sixth graders are through the eighth grade. Appropriate statistical tests will be applied to standardized test scores to see if Aldrin students are 'better' than School B students in areas such as: Overall academic performance; Performance in math/science; and Enrollments in math/science in middle school.

  9. Working While in Middle School: Student Perceptions of School Climate & Connectedness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Sabrena

    2016-01-01

    Does working during the school year result in lowered perceptions of school climate and connectedness for middle school students? According to outcomes from a Rocky Mountain Region School District's (RMRSD) school climate survey, 20% of their middle school student population works during the school year. Existing literature on youth employment…

  10. How Schools Are Teaching about Labor. A Collection of Guidelines & Lesson Plans. Third Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, Washington, DC.

    This collection of outlines, lesson plans, and classroom materials is intended to help teachers and curriculum specialists in teaching students about the contribution of organized labor to the development of the United States. Units suitable for the elementary, middle school, and high school levels are included. The first of the 12 units, which…

  11. Effective science teaching in a high poverty middle school: A case study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meyer, Georgette Wright

    This qualitative case study described the characteristics of science teachers in a high poverty urban middle school whose 2010 scores on South Carolina's Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS) ranked second in the state. Data was obtained through classroom observations, open-ended interviews, school documents, and photographs taken inside the school from ten participants, who were seven science teachers, a science coach, and two administrators. Findings revealed a school culture that pursued warm and caring relationships with students while communicating high expectations for achievement, strong central leadership who communicated their vision and continuously checked for its implementation through informal conversations, frequent classroom observations, and test score analysis. A link between participants' current actions and their perception of prior personal and professional experiences was found. Participants related their classroom actions to the lives of the students outside of school, and evidenced affection for their students.

  12. Musicals Enrich Middle School Programs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, Douglas D.; North, Rita

    2005-01-01

    An enriching fine arts program has long been advocated as an essential element of an effective middle school program. The vocal music program at Pleasant Hill (Missouri) Middle School supports student growth and development beyond the regular classroom. It supports students' existing skills and talents and provides opportunities for them to…

  13. Teaching History to Adolescents: A Quest for Relevance. Adolescent Cultures, School, and Society. Volume 52

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beineke, John A.

    2011-01-01

    "Teaching History to Adolescents: A Quest for Relevance" is an exploration of research, ideas, trends, and practices for educators who teach American history to adolescents from the middle grades through high school. Higher education faculty in history and professional education will also find the book germane to their work. Topics within the…

  14. Middle School Concept Helps High-Poverty Schools Become High-Performing Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Picucci, Ali Callicoatte; Brownson, Amanda; Kahlert, Rahel; Sobel, Andrew

    2004-01-01

    The results of a study conducted by the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin for the U.S. Department of Education during the 2001-02 school year showed that elements of the middle school concept can lead to improved student performance, even in high-poverty schools. This article describes common elements of the middle school…

  15. Teacher Preferences for Middle Grades: Insights into Attracting Teacher Candidates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Radcliffe, Rich A.; Mandeville, Thomas F.

    2007-01-01

    Shortages of middle-level teacher candidates may cause teacher educators to recruit candidates by focusing on what attracts and discourages candidates about teaching at the middle level. The authors used a survey approach (n = 110) to investigate why preservice middle school and high school teachers and in-service middle school teachers chose the…

  16. Middle School: Lessons from the Rand Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bunting, Carolyn E.

    2005-01-01

    This article reports on a recent study by the Rand Corporation that concluded that there is cause for middle schools to worry. Commissioned by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, one of four major philanthropies supporting the middle school movement, the Rand investigation is clear in its assessment: The American middle school leaves adolescents…

  17. Does Staff Development in Cognitively Guided Instructional Theory Change Middle School Teachers' Mental Models about Teaching and Learning?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schmitz, Judith R.

    This practicum was designed to increase middle-level teaching teams' understanding of cognitively guided instructional strategies or brain-based learning theories and to promote the incorporation of these strategies into the teaching of cross-curriculum thematic units. Twelve staff development modules based on a new perspective of learning which…

  18. Teaching a New Conceptual Framework of Weight and Gravitation in Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stein, Hana; Galili, Igal; Schur, Yaron

    2015-01-01

    Empirical studies have reported difficulties, confusion, and lack of understanding among students at all levels of instruction regarding the issue of weight--gravitation--weighing relationships. This study examined the impact of a new conceptual framework of weight, on a small group of 7th-grade students (N?=?14) in a middle school in Israel. This…

  19. Science teacher improvement: A study of the change in preparation and qualifications of public middle school science teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wickler, Nicole I. Z.

    According to the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (1996), a teacher's professional preparation, their work conditions and sense of efficacy are fundamental to improving elementary and secondary education. These factors lie at the core of educational reforms that seek to raise standards, reshape curricula, and restructure the way schools operate. The call to reconceptualize the practice of teaching and the interaction between teachers and students ring hollow without a careful examination of actions that have taken place in the workplace of teachers themselves. A national profile that identifies key characteristics of the current status of public middle school science teachers preparation, teaching qualifications, and work environments can provide a context for better understanding the current conditions that confront science teachers. This study seeks to provide critical information in four major areas: (1) preservice learning and teaching assignment; (2) continued learning; (3) supportive work environment, and (4) teachers' sense of efficacy. This study is based on current efforts by the National Center for Education Statistics (LACES) to collect data of key indicators of teacher preparation and qualifications using a large-scale survey administered to a nationally representative sample of full-time public school teachers whose primary teaching assignment is in science. In this effort, the information reported in this study utilizes the NCES's Schools and Staffing Surveys (SASS) from 1987--88 and 1993--94. Significant change between 1987--77 and 1993--94 was determined using a t-test for independent means. In addition, frequency counts were analyzed using a chi-square statistic to determine if more "qualified middle school science teachers" were located in particular schools by urbanicity location or/and percent minority enrollment. In general, the quality of middle school science teachers across the country is declining. Teachers report they

  20. School Size and Incidents of Violence among Texas Middle Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kohler, Elizabeth A.; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.; Combs, Julie P.; Bustamante, Rebecca M.; Edmonson, Stacey L.

    2015-01-01

    Although many studies have been conducted regarding (a) school violence in middle schools and (b) the size of schools, to date, no researcher appears to have examined the role that the size of the middle school plays in determining incidents of violence specifically fighting, assaults, and aggravated assaults. Thus, the purpose of this study was…

  1. Stuck in the Middle: How and Why Middle Schools Harm Student Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rockoff, Jonah E.; Lockwood, Benjamin B.

    2010-01-01

    Could middle schools be bad for student learning? Could something as simple as changing the grade configuration of schools improve academic outcomes? That's what some educators have come to believe. States and school districts across the country are reevaluating the practice of educating young adolescents in stand-alone middle schools, which…

  2. Word Knowledge and Comprehension Effects of an Academic Vocabulary Intervention for Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKeown, Margaret G.; Crosson, Amy C.; Moore, Debra W.; Beck, Isabel L.

    2018-01-01

    This article presents findings from an intervention across sixth and seventh grades to teach academic words to middle school students. The goals included investigating a progression of outcomes from word knowledge to comprehension and investigating the processes students use in establishing word meaning. Participants in Year 1 were two sixth-grade…

  3. First-Year Urban Mathematics and Science Middle School Teachers: Classroom Challenges and Reflective Solutions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kelly, Angela M.; Gningue, Serigne M.; Qian, Gaoyin

    2015-01-01

    This study explored the challenges facing 1st-year alternatively certified teachers of mathematics and science in urban middle schools. Four teachers, participants in a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Robert Noyce Scholarship Program, were followed from preservice training through their 1st year of teaching, having taken part in…

  4. STEAM Enacted: A Case Study of a Middle School Teacher Implementing STEAM Instructional Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Herro, Danielle; Quigley, Cassie

    2016-01-01

    This paper examines the implementation practices of a 6th grade middle school teacher enacting STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) teaching in his classroom after participating in a 45-hour STEAM professional development. Case study is used to detail the process, successes, and challenges. Project-based learning, technology…

  5. Prospective Middle Grade Mathematics Teachers' Knowledge of Algebra for Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, Rongjin; Kulm, Gerald

    2012-01-01

    This study examined prospective middle grade mathematics teachers' knowledge of algebra for teaching with a focus on knowledge for teaching the concept of function. 115 prospective teachers from an interdisciplinary program for mathematics and science middle teacher preparation at a large public university in the USA participated in a survey. It…

  6. The Effects of Implementing a Reading Workshop in Middle School Language Arts Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, Angela Falter

    2012-01-01

    Two language arts teachers in a small, rural middle school set a goal of improving their reading instruction and ultimately their students' learning. The two teachers implemented Reading Workshop as their new methodology for teaching reading to all six of their 7th and 8th grade classes. Interviews and classroom observations, over the course of…

  7. Calculus in the Middle School?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barger, Rita H.; McCoy, Ann C.

    2010-01-01

    This article presents an example of how middle school teachers can lay a foundation for calculus. Although many middle school activities connect directly to calculus concepts, the authors have decided to look in depth at only one: the concept of change. They will show how teachers can lead their students to see and appreciate the calculus…

  8. Mining the Middle School Mind

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vawter, David

    2010-01-01

    Middle school students are walking dichotomies. They can talk about world peace and then hit the kid next to them. They can recycle to ease global warming only to leave the cafeteria a mess. Why? Well, scientifically, it is because their brains do not work. When people look at middle school students, they can plainly see evidence of physical…

  9. Learning to Teach English Language Arts in Urban Middle Schools: A Cultural and Interactional Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Buescher, Eileen M.

    2017-01-01

    This dissertation explores the experiences of middle childhood pre-service teachers (PST) across two academic years as they learn to teach English language arts to diverse students from conflicting sociocultural contexts. To help PSTs navigate the tensions across contexts, this study introduced culturally relevant (Ladson-Billings, 1995; 2014) and…

  10. Individual Differences in Sibling Teaching in Early and Middle Childhood

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Howe, Nina; Recchia, Holly

    2009-01-01

    Research Findings: Sibling teaching and learning behaviors were investigated in 2 studies of children in early and middle childhood. Study 1 addressed individual differences in teaching/learning and associations with dyadic age, age gap, gender, birth order, and relationship quality in 71 middle-class dyads (firstborns M age = 81.54 months;…

  11. Drama for At-Risk Students: A Strategy for Improving Academic and Social Skills among Public Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schiller, Juliet

    2008-01-01

    The use of drama to teach social skills to public middle school students labeled at-risk is powerfully effective. Drama is a universal form of human expression found in cultures all over the world and throughout history. For students at-risk of poor educational outcomes, drama is effective for teaching social, emotional, and physical development.…

  12. Alignment of Content and Pedagogy in an Earth Systems Course for Pre-Service Middle School Teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cole, T.; Teed, R.; Slattery, W.

    2006-12-01

    , present and future Earth Systems science. Because the course is created for pre-service teachers, the class models the jigsaw teaching technique, an effective and age-appropriate method of science instruction. This enables pre-service teachers to experience a technique they can use in their own classroom. Course content is aligned with all state and national 4-10 Earth/Space Science standards, which supports pre- service Middle School Science teachers by covering the content areas tested in the Praxis Middle School Science test, a requirement for graduation with licensure from Wright State University. It also helps the pre- service teachers gain experience with the content that they will need to teach to their K-12 students, so they will be able to pass the high-stakes Ohio Graduation Test. Assessment of the Earth Systems course suggests that the course leads to increased science content knowledge that leads to success in passing the Praxis Middle Childhood Science Test, and that the pedagogy modeled in the course is used by the pre- service teachers in their own K-12 teaching upon graduation.

  13. Teacher Education Matters: A Study of Middle School Mathematics Teacher Preparation in Six Countries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schmidt, William H.; Blomeke, Sigrid; Tatto, Maria Teresa

    2011-01-01

    Based on a major international teacher education research project--the Mathematics Teaching in the 21st Century Study (MT21)--this book investigates the pre-service preparation of middle school mathematics teachers in the United States, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany, Bulgaria, and Mexico. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation and…

  14. The relationship between affect and constructivism as viewed by middle school science teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Black, Denise L.

    The purpose of this research was to examine middle school science teachers' perceptions of their students' affective behaviors at each level of the affective domain (receiving, responding, valuing, organization, characterization of value system), perceptions of the usefulness of constructivism as a curricular theory, and constructivist teaching strategies. This study investigated the relationship between affect and constructivism to determine if constructivist strategies can predict levels of affective behavior. Affect is a broad generalization that includes elements (i.e., interests, attitudes, values, emotions, and feelings). The importance of this research relates to enhancing learning, increasing achievement, participatory democracy, and facilitating understanding of science, as well as promoting the development of higher order thinking skills. A nonexperimental, descriptive research design was used to determine the relationship between affect and constructivism. A total of 111 middle school teachers participated in this study. Three instruments were used in this study: Taxonomy of Affective Behavior (TAB), Survey of Science Instruction (SSI), and a short demographic survey. Statistical significance obtained from one-sample t-tests provided evidence that teachers were aware that the affective domain was a viable construct. Statistical evidence of one-sample t-tests provided evidence that teachers perceived constructivism was useful to teach science to middle school students. Pearson product moment correlations results indicated statistically significant relationships between perceptions of constructivism and associated constructivist teaching strategies. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis revealed a relationship between affect and constructivism. Teacher responses indicated they felt constrained from implementing constructivism due to an emphasis on testing. Colleges of education, curriculum specialists, science teachers, and school districts may

  15. Using AN Essea Earth Systems Science Course in a Web-Enhanced Setting for Pre-Service Middle School Teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Slattery, W.

    2003-12-01

    The ESSEA Middle School course was originally designed as an asynchronous on-line tool for teacher professional development. The ESSEA course uses real world events such as deforestation, volcanic eruptions and hurricanes to develop content understandings of Earth systems processes and to model pedagogical best practices appropriate for middle school students. The course is structured as multiple three-week learning cycles. During week one of each cycle, participants are formed into Sphere groups to study the impact of the event under consideration on the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, or lithosphere. During week two, Event teams are formed to include members from each of the previous week's Sphere groups. Together they develop interactions between the different spheres and the event. During week three, teachers develop classroom applications and post them on-line for other participants to comment upon. On-going assessment suggests that in-service teacher participants of the on-line course are more likely to infuse inquiry-based science instruction into their classroom settings and to teach science as a subject integrating Physical science, Life science, and Earth/Space science in their own classrooms It is imperative to develop such characteristics in pre-service teachers as well. Wright State University's undergraduate Middle School teacher preparation program requires that undergraduates seeking Middle Childhood Licensure by the State of Ohio take a course in Earth Systems science that is aligned with the national and state science education standards. Towards this end the ESSEA course has been adapted for use in a web-enhanced setting. Weeks one and two (Sphere and Event study) of the ESSEA Middle School course are used as an integral component of this Earth Systems science course. In this way content knowledge and pedagogical strategies are modeled just as they are in the fully on-line course. Questions raised on-line are the topic of research or

  16. School Libraries and Science Achievement: A View from Michigan's Middle Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mardis, Marcia

    2007-01-01

    If strong school library media centers (SLMCs) positively impact middle school student reading achievement, as measured on standardized tests, are they also beneficial for middle school science achievement? To answer this question, the researcher built upon the statistical analyses used in previous school library impact studies with qualitative…

  17. Using the News to Enhance Critical Thinking and Engagement in Middle and High School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walters, Jessica

    2017-01-01

    This article describes the author's adaptation of Gallagher's (2009) Article of the Week approach to teaching students literacy skills using current events. The use of this unique instructional routine within the context of a Catholic middle school language arts classroom has proven successful for supporting students in developing critical…

  18. Changing Knowledge and Attitudes with a Middle School Mental Health Education Curriculum

    PubMed Central

    Wahl, Otto F.; Susin, Janet; Kaplan, Lorraine; Lax, Amy; Zatina, Dayna

    2011-01-01

    Purpose This research tested the effectiveness of a widely used mental health education curriculum in changing knowledge and attitudes about mental illness. Method Middle school students from four schools were provided the Breaking the Silence: Teaching the Next Generation About Mental Illness mental health instruction while students from other classes at the same schools received usual class instruction. Students completed questionnaires assessing knowledge, attitudes, and social distance preferences before, immediately after, and six weeks after the instruction was given. Results Students given the Breaking the Silence instruction showed improvements in knowledge about mental illness, attitudes toward mental illness, and willingness to interact with people with mental illnesses. Students in the comparison classes showed no changes. Conclusions Breaking the Silence was an effective means of improving the knowledge and attitudes of middle school students about mental illness. Implications An easy-to-administer and effective curriculum, Breaking the Silence is available to teachers and schools to help improve understanding and acceptance of people with mental illness. Such a curriculum, introduced during childhood and adolescence, may help to prevent the negative attitudes and misunderstanding that characterize adult perceptions of mental illness. PMID:21731851

  19. An Investigation of Factors Related to the Retention of Teachers in Rural Middle Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dixon, Timothy M.

    2012-01-01

    Studies about factors specific to rural middle-school teachers' decisions to remain in the profession are limited. Within a framework of Boylan's spheres of influence, the purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to investigate the factors that teachers considered to be most important in decisions to remain teaching in a rural middle…

  20. Does elementary school alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use increase middle school risk?

    PubMed

    Wilson, Nance; Battistich, Victor; Syme, S Leonard; Boyce, W Thomas

    2002-06-01

    To assess whether alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use in elementary school may have serious implications for continued ATOD use in middle school and beyond. Longitudinal analyses were conducted on questionnaire data from 331 middle school students who had previously provided ATOD-use data during elementary school. Non-school personnel administered questionnaires in three participating school districts in three different states. The sample of students was ethnically and geographically diverse, including students from a range of low socioeconomic status backgrounds living in rural, urban or inner-city environments. Middle school alcohol use was almost three times as likely to occur if alcohol use had occurred in elementary school (OR = 2.94, p <.001). Elementary school use of tobacco and marijuana also greatly increased the likelihood of middle school use (OR = 5.35, p <.001 and OR = 4.25, p <.05, respectively). Early use of ATOD is associated with greatly increased odds of later use, which has important implications for the timing of drug prevention programs. Preventive interventions designed for use in pediatric practice settings should commence no later than elementary school, during the middle childhood years.

  1. Rural Middle School Students' Perceptions of Bullying

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, Jonte' C.

    2009-01-01

    The present study is an examination of bullying perceptions by rural middle school students. Three rural middle schools participated in the study which involved 138 students completing The School Bullying Survey to determine their experiences with bullying by types and the overall school climate as it relates to bullying behavior. Results from…

  2. School Mobility among Middle School Students: When and for Whom Does It Matter?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Sara

    2017-01-01

    This study sought to understand the extent to which elementary or middle school mobility was associated with adverse middle school academic achievement and mental health and whether youth or contextual characteristics moderated associations. I contrasted elementary and middle school mobility to consider whether a recent school move or elementary…

  3. Media and Teaching about the Middle East

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaviani, Khodadad

    2009-01-01

    This qualitative study was conducted in 2006-2007 and found that teachers relied on a variety of readily available media to stay informed about the Middle East and used some of them in their teaching. Teachers tried to explain to their students that every Middle Eastern Muslim is not a terrorist and Iraq was not behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks.…

  4. Meeting the Demands of Science Reforms: A Comprehensive Professional Development for Practicing Middle School Teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pringle, Rose M.; Mesa, Jennifer; Hayes, Lynda

    2018-03-01

    Preparing teachers to teach science consistent with current reforms in science education is a daunting enterprise given a lack of high-quality science professional development (PD) adaptable across various contexts (Wilson 2013). This study examines the impact of a comprehensive professional development program on middle school teachers' disciplinary content knowledge and instructional practices. In this mixed methods investigation, data sources included classroom observations, content knowledge assessments, surveys, and a range of interviews. The teachers in the program showed significant improvements in their disciplinary content knowledge and demonstrated through their enactment of a reform-based curriculum, a range of ability levels to translate their knowledge into instructional practices consistent with the principles espoused in the PD. We conclude that programs that attend to elements of effective PD identified in the literature can positively impact middle school science teachers' enactment of reform-based science teaching. Our findings extend these elements to include the strategic engagement of school and district leadership and the provision of a safe learning space for teachers to collectively engage in reciprocal learning and critical practice. This study has worldwide implications for designing PD for science teachers and for extending our understanding of the impact of each element.

  5. Where's the Evidence? Finding Support for Separating Middle and Junior High School Choirs by Gender

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zemek, Michael D.

    2010-01-01

    Choral experts, namely conductors and textbook authors, have long recommended separating middle and junior high school singers into all-male and all-female choirs to address the unique challenges facing young adolescents and those who teach them. However, limited research-based evidence exists on the decisions conductors and choral music educators…

  6. Motivating Middle Schoolers Grades 5-8

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jansen, Barbara

    2007-01-01

    What motivates middle school students? Hormones and success! There is not much that teachers can do about the hormones, but they sure can affect the success. "Teaching Information and Communication Technology Skills: The Big6 in Middle Schools," a new book from Linworth Publishing, offers classroom teachers and teacher librarians new strategies…

  7. Using Educative Assessments to Support Science Teaching for Middle School English-Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Buxton, Cory A.; Allexsaht-Snider, Martha; Suriel, Regina; Kayumova, Shakhnoza; Choi, Youn-jeng; Bouton, Bobette; Baker, Melissa

    2013-01-01

    Grounded in Hallidayan perspectives on academic language, we report on our development of an educative science assessment as one component of the language-rich inquiry science for English-language learners teacher professional learning project for middle school science teachers. The project emphasizes the role of content-area writing to support…

  8. Indicators of Middle School Implementation: How Do Kentucky's Schools to Watch Measure Up?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cook, Christopher M.; Faulkner, Shawn A.; Kinne, Lenore J.

    2009-01-01

    High-performing middle schools are a critical link in the educational continuum. In an effort to stimulate the sluggish reform efforts of middle schools, the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform established the Schools to Watch recognition program. Using responses of school personnel to a statewide survey, this study examined the…

  9. Using an Interactive Singing Software Program: A Comparative Study of Struggling Middle School Readers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Biggs, Marie C.; Homan, Susan P.; Dedrick, Robert; Minick, Vanessa; Rasinski, Timothy

    2008-01-01

    Software that teaches users to sing in tune and in rhythm while providing real-time pitch tracking was used in a study of struggling middle school readers. The software, Carry-a-Tune (CAT) was originally developed to improve singing; however, since it involves a repeated reading format, we used it to determine its effect on comprehension and…

  10. Middle School Science Notes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    School Science Review, 1984

    1984-01-01

    Presents (1) suggestions on teaching volume and density in the elementary school; (2) ideas for teaching about floating and sinking; (3) a simple computer program on color addition; and (4) an illustration of Newton's second law of motion. (JN)

  11. Agriscience Education for the Middle School.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Henrico County Public Schools, Glen Allen, VA. Virginia Vocational Curriculum and Resource Center.

    This curriculum guide, which is intended for middle school agriculture teachers in Virginia, outlines a three-course competency-based agriscience program to give middle school students an understanding of basic science concepts through agriculture. The guide begins with a program description that includes descriptions of the program's three…

  12. Middle School Developmental Guidance. "Steps to Success."

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Orange County Public Schools, Orlando, FL.

    This document articulates the goals and objectives of the middle school guidance program in Orange County, Florida Public Schools system. Professional roles and responsibilities are discussed, as well as program implementation. These goals to assist students are listed for the middle school guidance program: (1) understanding the school…

  13. Learning Environment, Attitudes and Achievement among Middle-School Science Students Using Inquiry-Based Laboratory Activities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wolf, Stephen J.; Fraser, Barry J.

    2008-01-01

    This study compared inquiry and non-inquiry laboratory teaching in terms of students' perceptions of the classroom learning environment, attitudes toward science, and achievement among middle-school physical science students. Learning environment and attitude scales were found to be valid and related to each other for a sample of 1,434 students in…

  14. Eight Stars of Gold--The Story of Alaska's Flag. Middle School Activities (Grades 6-8).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alaska State Museum, Juneau.

    This activities booklet focuses on the story of Alaska's state flag. The booklet is for use in teaching middle school students. Each activity contains: background information, a summary and time estimate, Alaska state standards, a step-by-step technique for classroom implementation of the activity, assessment tips, materials and resources needed,…

  15. Guided Investigations in Middle School Math

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schroth, Stephen T.; Helfer, Jason A.

    2008-01-01

    Gifted middle school mathematics students often exhibit boundless energy, a desire to exert some degree of control over their learning, and an ability to think logically and abstractly in ways that astound their parents and teachers. Middle school math curriculum that combines guided investigations of real-life problems with product-based…

  16. [A cross-sectional study on suicide attempts in urban middle school students in Chengdu].

    PubMed

    Zhang, Zhi-qun; Guo, Lan-ting

    2003-03-01

    To study the prevalence and associated factors of suicide attempt in middle school students. Five middle schools in Chengdu were randomly sampled in the study. A total of 1393 students between the ages of 11 and 18 finished a self-administered questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Check List (ASLEC) and Egma Minnen av Bardodosnauppforstran (EMBU). Everyone who had suicide attempts was interviewed. Data were analysed by SPSS 8.0 (statistical package for the social science) program on computer. Thirty-six (2.6%) of the 1 393 students has the history of attempted suicide and the ratio of boys and girls was 1:2. Among the suicide attempters, 33.3% had recurrent events. The most common reason of suicide attempts in middle school stage was family conflicts (34.4%) with most common event as taking overdose tranquilizers or poisoning (50.0%). Risk factors of suicide attempt seemed to include hallucination, cigarette smoking, being bullied by peers, wanting to change sex, parents' remarriage, being female, father's refusal, being neglected in childhood and experiencing more events in the previous year. Protecting factor was found to have been family warmness. Suicide attempts were not uncommonly seen in middle school students. Clinicians and teaching staff should identify the risk factors and carry out intervention as early as possible.

  17. Classroom Management and the Middle School Philosophy. Fastback 500.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dougherty, John W.

    This document explores how teachers can connect the instructional and interpersonal approaches embedded in middle-school philosophy to effective classroom management. It describes the current mismatch between middle-school philosophy and practice and how the creation of middle-school grades introduced a volatile mismatch between a school's…

  18. The Netherlands: Report on the Middle School.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Western European Education, 1985

    1985-01-01

    The Commission for Renewal of the Middle School (ICM) in the Netherlands has been concentrating its efforts on introducing the middle school into the secondary school system. Described is a report published by the ICM in which the group discusses what it is proposing and problems that it is encountering. (RM)

  19. Technology in Teaching English Language Learners: The Case of Three Middle School Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Andrei, Elena

    2017-01-01

    This study looks at how three middle school teachers of English as a second language (ESL) use technology in the classroom. Technology use in the ESL classroom has the potential of supporting the English and content learning of English language learners, but the availability of technology does not necessarily lead to technology integration that…

  20. Multiple Influences: Latinas, Middle School Science, and School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Parker, Carolyn

    2014-01-01

    This paper describes the multiple school and school science experiences of eight Latina students of Central American descent in a tracked, urbanized, middle school setting. Framed by a sociocultural perspective, I describe how eight seventh and eighth grade Latino girls interacted with school science. Implications for the concept "science for…

  1. Teaching East Asia: China, Japan, Korea. Lesson Plans for Middle School Teachers. Volume II.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beville, Francie; Boone, Mark; Chapman, Kelly; Crump, Claudia; Curtis, Lonnie; Erickson, Stacy; Kaiser-Polge, Tami; Klus, John A.; Luebbehusen, Mary Lou; Rea, Patrick S.; Ward, Mary E.

    This volume contains 23 lesson plans that were written for middle school teachers to help students learn about East Asia. The lessons are organized across six themes: (1) "People, Places & Environment"; (2) "Technology, Production, Distribution & Consumption"; (3) "Cultures, Continuity, and Change"; (4)…

  2. Private Middle School Parents' Perspectives Regarding School-Located Immunization Programs (SLIPs)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Venkatesh, Sheila R.; Acosta, Amy B.; Middleman, Amy B.

    2013-01-01

    The perspectives of parents of private middle school students regarding the use of school-located immunization programs (SLIPs) are unknown. Parents of private middle school students in a large, urban setting were surveyed "N" = 1,210) regarding their willingness to use SLIPs. Analyses included frequencies and chi-square analyses. Data…

  3. The Effects of Representations, Constructivist Approaches, and Engagement on Middle School Students' Algebraic Procedure and Conceptual Understanding

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ross, Amanda; Willson, Victor

    2012-01-01

    This study examined the effects of types of representations, constructivist teaching approaches, and student engagement on middle school algebra students' procedural knowledge and conceptual understanding. Data gathered from 16 video lessons and algebra pretest/posttests were used to run three multilevel structural equation models. Symbolic…

  4. Environmental, Institutional, and Demographic Predictors of Environmental Literacy among Middle School Children

    PubMed Central

    Stevenson, Kathryn T.; Peterson, M. Nils; Bondell, Howard D.; Mertig, Angela G.; Moore, Susan E.

    2013-01-01

    Building environmental literacy (EL) in children and adolescents is critical to meeting current and emerging environmental challenges worldwide. Although environmental education (EE) efforts have begun to address this need, empirical research holistically evaluating drivers of EL is critical. This study begins to fill this gap with an examination of school-wide EE programs among middle schools in North Carolina, including the use of published EE curricula and time outdoors while controlling for teacher education level and experience, student attributes (age, gender, and ethnicity), and school attributes (socio-economic status, student-teacher ratio, and locale). Our sample included an EE group selected from schools with registered school-wide EE programs, and a control group randomly selected from NC middle schools that were not registered as EE schools. Students were given an EL survey at the beginning and end of the spring 2012 semester. Use of published EE curricula, time outdoors, and having teachers with advanced degrees and mid-level teaching experience (between 3 and 5 years) were positively related with EL whereas minority status (Hispanic and black) was negatively related with EL. Results suggest that school-wide EE programs were not associated with improved EL, but the use of published EE curricula paired with time outdoors represents a strategy that may improve all key components of student EL. Further, investments in teacher development and efforts to maintain enthusiasm for EE among teachers with more than 5 years of experience may help to boost student EL levels. Middle school represents a pivotal time for influencing EL, as improvement was slower among older students. Differences in EL levels based on gender suggest boys and girls may possess complementary skills sets when approaching environmental issues. Our findings suggest ethnicity related disparities in EL levels may be mitigated by time spent in nature, especially among black and Hispanic

  5. 9-13 Middle Schools: A Local View

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gorwood, Brian

    1978-01-01

    States that his experience leads him to question the similarity of constitution among middle schools. Examines the causes of that diversity which he believes characterizes the nine to thirteen middle school system in Hull. (Author/RK)

  6. Exploring U.S. Westward Expansion in the Elementary and Middle School Curriculum through Tall Tales

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Almerico, Gina M.; Martin, Nicole; Masuck, William; Strickland, Cynthia; Thomas, Jessica

    2012-01-01

    Teaching social studies in the elementary and middle school curriculum is enhanced by incorporating quality children's and adolescent literature and strategies that bring the human element into play. American tall tales are a genre unique to the history of our nation and provide a glimpse into the way early settlers of the west envisioned heroism…

  7. An After-School Counseling Program for High-Risk Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kruczek, Theresa; Alexander, Charlene M.; Harris, Kevin

    2005-01-01

    There are a number of middle school students who experience difficulty making the transition from childhood to early adolescence and may be described as high-risk. This article describes an after-school program designed to promote healthy identity and adaptive personal choice behaviors in a high-risk group of middle school students.

  8. Preparing Students for Middle School Through After-School STEM Activities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moreno, Nancy P.; Tharp, Barbara Z.; Vogt, Gregory; Newell, Alana D.; Burnett, Christopher A.

    2016-12-01

    The middle school years are a crucial time for cultivating students' interest in and preparedness for future STEM careers. However, not all middle school children are provided opportunities to engage, learn and achieve in STEM subject areas. Engineering, in particular, is neglected in these grades because it usually is not part of science or mathematics curricula. This study investigates the effectiveness of an engineering-integrated STEM curriculum designed for use in an after-school environment. The inquiry-based activities comprising the unit, Think Like an Astronaut, were intended to introduce students to STEM careers—specifically engineering and aerospace engineering—and enhance their skills and knowledge applicable related to typical middle school science objectives. Results of a field test with a diverse population of 5th grade students in nine schools revealed that Think Like an Astronaut lessons are appropriate for an after-school environment, and may potentially help increase students' STEM-related content knowledge and skills.

  9. Patterns in Teachers' Instructional Design When Integrating Apps in Middle School Content-Area Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Karchmer-Klein, Rachel; Mouza, Chrystalla; Harlow Shinas, Valerie; Park, Sohee

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine patterns evident in the ways middle school teachers, who value technology integration, design instruction that leverages educational applications (app) affordances. Using the pedagogy of multiliteracies (Cope & Kalantzis, 2015) and app affordances of multimodality, collaboration, and interactivity as…

  10. Schools in the Middle: Developing a Middle-Level Orientation. The Practicing Administrator's Leadership Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKay, Jack A.

    This handbook was designed to help school administrators, teachers, and community members make a successful transition from a junior high school to a middle school. The focus is on the process rather than content. Chapter 1 provides an example of how one junior high school faculty and administration made the shift to a middle school. Chapter 2…

  11. Transforming Teaching through Arts Integration: AI Implementation Results: Middle School Reform through Effective Arts Integration Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Snyder, Lori; Klos, Patricial; Grey-Hawkins, Lauren

    2014-01-01

    In four years, Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) increased sixth and seventh grade student achievement on the Maryland State Assessment (MSA) by 20% at Bates Middle School, a low performing school that had been targeted for restructuring by the state. This improvement positively correlates with the implementation of the arts integration…

  12. Mathematics Instruction for Middle School Students with and At-Risk for Behavioral Disorders: A Survey Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Stacey Eagan Lefort

    2012-01-01

    This survey study was designed to investigate mathematics instruction for middle school students with and at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). It sought to identify who is teaching mathematics to students with and at-risk for EBD, investigate if mathematics and special education teachers are implementing recommended curricula and…

  13. Shifting Attendance Trajectories from Middle to High School: Influences of School Transitions and Changing School Contexts

    PubMed Central

    Benner, Aprile D.; Wang, Yijie

    2014-01-01

    In the current study, we examine patterns of school attendance across middle and high school with a diverse sample of 8,908 students (48% female; 54% Latino, 31% White, 13% African American, 2% Asian American). Attendance declined from middle through high school, but this overall pattern masked important variations. In total, 44% of students maintained their attendance trajectories from middle to high school (11% stable high, 19% high-decreasing, 10% mid-decreasing, 4% low-decreasing), and shifting attendance trajectories often signaled greater school disengagement (38% shifted to poorer attendance trajectories, 18% experienced improved attendance trajectories). Transition experiences, school structural characteristics, and the divergence between students’ middle and high schools provided insights into which students recovered, becoming more engaged in high school versus those who became more disconnected. Implications for identifying and intervening with disengaged youth are discussed. PMID:24364827

  14. Building Success into Your Montessori Middle School Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sutton, Ann

    2007-01-01

    Montessori middle schools can be immensely successful and highly beneficial to students. Traditional schools notice differences in students who come from Montessori backgrounds; they find them to be adaptable self-starters who often take on leadership roles. Prestigious high schools seek to recruit Montessori middle school graduates. As more…

  15. Effective Middle Level Teaching: Perceptions on the Preparedness of Newly Hired Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Howell, Penny B.; Cook, Chris; Faulkner, Shawn A.

    2013-01-01

    This interpretive, exploratory study utilized survey methodology to document middle level principals' perceptions of effective teaching practices and the preparedness of newly hired middle level teachers. The findings suggest that principals' descriptions of effective teaching differ from their descriptions of effective teachers. Additionally,…

  16. Writing Practices for Mainstream Teachers of Middle School English Learners: Building on What We Know Works Effectively

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haas, Eric; Goldman, Julie; Faltis, Christian

    2018-01-01

    Improving the writing of middle-school English learners can improve their academic thinking, literacy, and content knowledge. The Writing Reform and Innovation for Teaching Excellence (WRITE) program uses six high-leverage writing practices and develops teacher capacity through professional learning activities anchored in the group grading of…

  17. Knowing and Teaching Middle School Mathematics: A Professional Development Course for In-Service Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Celia Rousseau; Hoffmeister, April M.

    2007-01-01

    This article describes a professional development course intended to improve the content understanding of middle school mathematics teachers. The design of the course included three professional learning strategies: problem solving, examination of student thinking, and discussion of research. The concepts studied in the course included multi-digit…

  18. Middle School Expressions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oliver, Teddy J.; Clements, Robert D.

    1983-01-01

    After viewing and discussing slides of Van Gogh's and Munch's paintings and studying the principles of color, middle school students had to execute two drawings, one showing any emotion and the second depicting an expressionistic self-portrait. (RM)

  19. Middle School Technology Integration Study.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hall, Grey; Mantz, Chris

    This paper is a report on the development and findings of an on-going study being conducted on 126 middle schools in rural eastern North Carolina. An analysis of the technological readiness of each school is being followed with a program to offer school leaders a technology design and teacher training that will work in their schools. This includes…

  20. Oscar F. Smith Middle School: One Extra Degree

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Principal Leadership, 2012

    2012-01-01

    This article features Oscar F. Smith Middle School, a challenging school in Chesapeake, Virginia. When Principal Linda Scott exclaims, "Oscar F. Smith Middle School is "hot"!" to visitors, she is not referring to the inside temperature of the bustling school of grades 6-8 located in the historic South Norfolk borough of…

  1. Instructional Strategies to Accommodate a Team-Teaching Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gaytan, Jorge

    2010-01-01

    The concept of team teaching is attributed to William Alexander, known as the "father of the American middle school," who delivered a presentation at a 1963 conference held at Cornell University. Alexander's main idea was to establish teams of three to five middle school teachers who would be in charge of team teaching content to large groups of…

  2. Preparing Students for Middle School through After-School STEM Activities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moreno, Nancy P.; Tharp, Barbara Z.; Vogt, Gregory; Newell, Alana D.; Burnett, Christopher A.

    2016-01-01

    The middle school years are a crucial time for cultivating students' interest in and preparedness for future STEM careers. However, not all middle school children are provided opportunities to engage, learn and achieve in STEM subject areas. Engineering, in particular, is neglected in these grades because it usually is not part of science or…

  3. School Climate in Middle Schools: A Cultural Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schneider, Stephanie H.; Duran, Lauren

    2010-01-01

    In 2007-08 and 2008-09, 2,500 randomly-selected middle school students completed an annual survey on school climate and character development. In examining differences based upon grade, gender, race/ethnicity, school, and length of program participation, significant differences were found for all but length of program participation. Responses of…

  4. Focus on Curriculum Design for Middle School Programs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaminski, Lorraine B.; Dornbos, Karen L.

    The middle school concept was devised to counteract the tendency of junior high school programs to mimic those of the high school at the expense of addressing the developmental needs of students who are in the process of physical maturation. This book on curriculum design focuses on the importance of the middle school and understanding…

  5. Middle School Buildings for the 21st Century.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    George, Paul S.

    2003-01-01

    Discusses "pods,""team areas," and "houses" as middle school physical environments that support the type of learning opportunities young adolescents need. Offers examples of such school designs from Cleveland, Tennessee; British Columbia; and Milledgeville, Georgia. Concludes by suggesting specifications for new middle school buildings. (EV)

  6. Physics Teaching in a Rural School.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilhite, Lora

    1979-01-01

    The author describes, in a highly personal manner, physics teaching in a rural school. Topics detailed include: program descriptions, teaching methods, textbook selection and adoption procedures, teaching load, and the problems associated with teaching in a school district with limited funds. (BT)

  7. [Violence prevention in secondary schools: the Faustlos-curriculum for middle school].

    PubMed

    Schick, Andreas; Cierpka, Manfred

    2009-01-01

    Schools and kindergartens are particularly suitable for the implementation of violence prevention programs. Many German schools and kindergartens have securely established the violence prevention curriculum Faustlos. The Faustlos programs for kindergartens and elementary schools are now complemented with the version for middle schools. As the kindergarten- and elementary school versions the middle school program too focuses on the theoretically profound, age group-tailored promotion of empathy, impulse control and anger management. These dimensions are subdivided into the five themes "understanding the problem" "training for empathy"; "anger management", "problem solving" and "applying skills" and taught stepwise, highly structured and based on several video sequences in 31 lessons. US-American evaluation studies proof the effectiveness and the violence prevention potential of the program. With the curriculum for middle schools a comprehensive Faustlos program package is now made available to sustainably promote core violence prevention competences of children and adolescents on a developmentally appropriate level and with a consistent didactic approach.

  8. Preparing New Teachers for Contemporary Middle Grades Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edwards, Susan

    2013-01-01

    This article describes the middle grades teacher preparation program at Augusta State University in Georgia. It describes the negotiation between the middle school concept and the standardized testing culture of the local schools as the faculty redesigned the undergraduate middle grades program to adequately address both. Ways in which new…

  9. Play Dough Economics: Motivating Activities for Teaching Economics to Elementary and Middle School Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Day, Harlan R.

    Economic literacy is important because economics is such an integral part of daily existence. Individuals who understand basic economic concepts will be better equipped to make the important decisions that effective citizenship requires. The 15 economics lessons in this booklet are designed for elementary and middle school students. Each lesson…

  10. Violence Prevention in Middle School: A Preliminary Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    KIllam, Wendy K.; Roland, Catherine B.; Weber, Bill

    2014-01-01

    Violence in schools continues reflecting violence within society. There is a growing need for violence prevention programs within the schools that provide students with the skills needed to cope with interpersonal and relationship is-sues effectively. This study was conducted at a middle school and there were 345 middle school students (6th to 8th…

  11. The Middle School of Tomorrow. Chapter 15, The American Middle School: An Organizational Analysis.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Popper, Samuel H.

    The future development of the middle school depends on its continued commitment to the social value of a differentiated early adolescent education and on its adoption of innovations aimed at the institutional integration of its values with a changing society. Flexibility of programs and self-concept development of adolescents are key middle school…

  12. Exploring School- and Home-Related Protective Factors for Economically Disadvantaged Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Okilwa, Nathern S. A.

    2016-01-01

    This study explored the experiences of middle school students, particularly focusing on the academic achievement of economically disadvantaged students. For low SES middle school students, the known cumulative effects of poverty coupled with school transition and early adolescence development heighten the potential risks for school failure. By…

  13. Uniforms in the Middle School: Student Opinions, Discipline Data, and School Police Data

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sanchez, Jafeth E.; Yoxsimer, Andrew; Hill, George C.

    2012-01-01

    This study investigated public middle school students' opinions on the benefits of wearing a school uniform. A review of related literature is provided along with results of the opinions obtained from 604 seventh- and eighth-grade middle school students attending a public school in Nevada that had recently initiated a school uniform policy.…

  14. School lunch waste among middle school students: nutrients consumed and costs.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Juliana F W; Richardson, Scott; Austin, S Bryn; Economos, Christina D; Rimm, Eric B

    2013-02-01

    The National School Lunch Program has been guided by modest nutrient standards, and the palatability of meals, which drives consumption, receives inadequate attention. School food waste can have important nutritional and cost implications for policymakers, students, and their families. Nutrient losses and economic costs associated with school meal waste were examined. The study also assessed if school foods served were valid proxies for foods consumed by students. Plate waste measurements were collected from middle school students in Boston attending two Chef Initiative schools (n=1609) and two control schools (n=1440) during a 2-year pilot study (2007-2009) in which a professional chef trained cafeteria staff to make healthier school meals. The costs associated with food waste were calculated and the percentage of foods consumed was compared with a gold standard of 85% consumption. Analyses were conducted in 2010-2011. Overall, students consumed less than the required/recommended levels of nutrients. An estimated $432,349 of food (26.1% of the total food budget) was discarded by middle school students annually at lunch in these Boston middle schools. For most meal components, substantially less than 85% was consumed. There is substantial food waste among middle school students in Boston. Overall, students' nutrient consumption levels were below school meal standards, and foods served were not valid proxies for foods consumed. The costs associated with discarded foods are high; if translated nationally for school lunches, roughly $1,238,846,400 annually is wasted. Students might benefit if additional focus were given to the quality and palatability of school meals. Copyright © 2013 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Tools for Data Analysis in the Middle School Classroom: A Teacher Professional Development Program

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ledley, T. S.; Haddad, N.; McAuliffe, C.; Dahlman, L.

    2006-12-01

    In order for students to learn how to engage with scientific data to answer questions about the real world, it is imperative that their teachers are 1) comfortable with the data and the tools used to analyze it, and 2) feel prepared to support their students in this complex endeavor. TERC's Tools for Data Analysis in the Middle School Classroom (DataTools) professional development program, funded by NSF's ITEST program, prepares middle school teachers to integrate Web-based scientific data and analysis tools into their existing curricula. This 13-month program supports teachers in using a set of freely or commonly available tools with a wide range of data. It also gives them an opportunity to practice teaching these skills to students before teaching in their own classrooms. The ultimate goal of the program is to increase the number of middle school students who work directly with scientific data, who use the tools of technology to import, manipulate, visualize and analyze the data, who come to understand the power of data-based arguments, and who will consider pursuing a career in technical and scientific fields. In this session, we will describe the elements of the DataTools program and the Earth Exploration Toolbook (EET, http://serc.carleton.edu/eet), a Web-based resource that supports Earth system education for teachers and students in grades 6 through 16. The EET provides essential support to DataTools teachers as they use it to learn to locate and download Web-based data and use data analysis tools. We will also share what we have learned during the first year of this three-year program.

  16. The Influence of University Coursework on Pre-service Middle and High School Teachers' Experiences with Multicultural Themes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Verma, Geeta

    2009-08-01

    The study explored the influence of university-based teacher education courses on pre-service middle and high school teachers’ experiences with multicultural themes in a secondary science alternative certification program. Eight participants ( N = 8), six women and two men, volunteered to be a part of the study that took place over a period of four semesters. Qualitative data was collected, coded and analyzed to make meaning of the participants’ experiences. Data comprised of participants’ reflective journals, personal and group interviews, and classroom observations done in middle school practicum and high school student teaching placements. The findings indicated that while the participants became more familiar with the themes of multicultural education, many did not demonstrate fluency with these themes and struggled with balancing their responsibilities as a science teacher and a culturally competent teacher.

  17. The Results of Teaching Middle School Students Two Relaxation Techniques as Part of a Conflict Prevention Program.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dacey, John S.; And Others

    1997-01-01

    Boston College Conflict Prevention Program techniques for relaxation and self-control were taught to middle-school students in two Boston schools. Preliminary results from teacher interviews revealed that students spontaneously used these methods to calm their "fight-or-flight" reactions in real conflicts. Results also indicated that…

  18. Experimental Effects of Word Generation on Vocabulary, Academic Language, and Perspective Taking in High Poverty Middle Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Stephanie M.; Kim, James; LaRusso, Maria; Kim, Ha Yeon; Selman, Robert; Uccelli, Paola; Barnes, Sophie; Donovan, Suzanne; Snow, Catherine

    2016-01-01

    Word Generation (WG) is a research-based vocabulary program for middle school students designed to teach words through language arts, math, science, and social studies classes. The program consists of weekly units that introduce 5 high-utility target words through brief passages designed to spark active examination and discussion of contemporary…

  19. Are middle schools harmful? The role of transition timing, classroom quality and school characteristics.

    PubMed

    Holas, Igor; Huston, Aletha C

    2012-03-01

    Are middle schools ill-suited for early adolescents, or can school characteristics account for any differences in student functioning? Achievement, school engagement, and perceived competence of children starting middle schools in 5th and 6th grades were compared to those of their same-grade peers in elementary schools in a national, longitudinal sample (NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, n = 855; 52% Female, 82% White). Classroom quality (observed and teacher-reported) and school characteristics (composition and size) were considered as explanations for any relationships between school-level and student functioning. Fifth grade middle school students did not differ from those in elementary school, but students entering middle school in 6th grade, compared to those in elementary school, experienced lower classroom quality, which in turn predicted slightly lower achievement. They also had lower school engagement, explained by larger school size. Classroom quality and school characteristics predicted youth functioning regardless of school type. We suggest reshaping the research and policy debate with renewed focus on classroom quality and school size instead of grade organization.

  20. Satisfaction of Middle School Lunch Program Participants and Non-Participants with the School Lunch Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Stephanie; Cunningham-Sabo, Leslie; Auld, Garry

    2015-01-01

    Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine middle school students' satisfaction with the school lunch experience, using two validated surveys; the Middle/Junior High School Student Participation Survey and the Middle/Junior High School Student Non-Participation Survey, both developed by the National Food Service Management…

  1. Teaching Digital Natives: 3-D Virtual Science Lab in the Middle School Science Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Franklin, Teresa J.

    2008-01-01

    This paper presents the development of a 3-D virtual environment in Second Life for the delivery of standards-based science content for middle school students in the rural Appalachian region of Southeast Ohio. A mixed method approach in which quantitative results of improved student learning and qualitative observations of implementation within…

  2. Foundations in Science and Mathematics Program for Middle School and High School Students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Desai, Karna Mahadev; Yang, Jing; Hemann, Jason

    2016-01-01

    The Foundations in Science and Mathematics (FSM) is a graduate student led summer program designed to help middle school and high school students strengthen their knowledge and skills in mathematics and science. FSM provides two-week-long courses over a broad spectrum of disciplines including astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer programming, geology, mathematics, and physics. Students can chose two types of courses: (1) courses that help students learn the fundamental concepts in basic sciences and mathematics (e.g., "Precalculus"); and (2) knowledge courses that might be excluded from formal schooling (e.g., "Introduction to Universe"). FSM has served over 500 students in the Bloomington, IN, community over six years by acquiring funding from Indiana University and the Indiana Space Grant Consortium. FSM offers graduate students the opportunity to obtain first hand experience through independent teaching and curriculum design as well as leadership experience.We present the design of the program, review the achievements, and explore the challenges we face. We are open to collaboration with similar educational outreach programs. For more information, please visit http://www.indiana.edu/~fsm/ .

  3. Find Meaning in Middle School Physical Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pagnano, Karen

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to provide readers with several suggestions and ideas for promoting meaning and meaningfulness for middle school students in physical education based on their unique developmental characteristics. To help physical educators create movement experiences that are meaningful for middle school students, the author…

  4. Middle School Teacher Misconceptions and Anxieties Concerning Space Science Disciplinary Core Ideas in NGSS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Larsen, Kristine

    2017-01-01

    The Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI) of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are grouped into the broad disciplinary areas of Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, Earth and Space Sciences, and Engineering, Technology and Application of Science, and feature learning progressions based on endpoint targets for each grade band. Since the Middle School DCIs build on the expected learning achievements to be reached by the end of Fifth Grade, and High School DCI similarly build on the expected learning achievements expected for the end of Eighth Grade, the Middle School grade band is of particular importance as the bridge between the Elementary and High School curriculum. In states where there is not a special Middle School Certification many of these science classes are taught by teachers prepared to teach at the Elementary level (and who may have limited content background). As a result, some pre-service and in-service teachers have expressed reduced self-confidence in both their own science content knowledge and their ability to apply it in the NGSS-based classroom, while decades of research has demonstrated the pervasiveness of science misconceptions among teachers. Thus the adoption of NGSS has the potential to drive talented teachers out of the profession who feel that they are ill-prepared for this sweeping transition. The key is providing rigorous education in both content and pedagogy for pre-service teachers and quality targeted professional development for in-service teachers. This report focuses on the Middle School Space Sciences grade band DCIs and presents research on specific difficulties, misconceptions and uncertainties with the material demonstrated by pre-service education students over the past four years in a required university science content course, as well as two year-long granted workshop series for current Middle School teachers. This information is relevant to the development of both new content courses aligned with NGSS for pre

  5. Democratic Leadership in Middle Schools of Chihuahua Mexico: Improving Middle Schools through Democracy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Delgado, Manuel Lopez

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to analyse the effects of the implementation of a democratic approach to lead and manage middle schools in Chihuahua, Mexico. This research was based on a Likert questionnaire and semistructured interviews to explore the level of involvement of students, teachers, and parents in schools participating in a programme…

  6. Accelerated Middle Schools. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    What Works Clearinghouse, 2008

    2008-01-01

    Accelerated middle schools are self-contained academic programs designed to help middle school students who are behind grade level catch up with their age peers. If these students begin high school with other students their age, the hope is that they will be more likely to stay in school and graduate. The programs serve students who are one to two…

  7. Using Reflective Practice to Incorporate Formative Assessment in a Middle School Science Classroom: A Participatory Action Research Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Trauth-Nare, Amy; Buck, Gayle

    2011-01-01

    Our purpose was to investigate the efficacy of using reflective practice to guide our action research study of incorporating formative assessment into middle school science teaching and learning. Using participatory action research, we worked collaboratively to incorporate formative assessment into two instructional units, and then engaged in…

  8. Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ride, Sally

    2008-01-01

    Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students (EarthKAM), an education activity, allows middle school students to program a digital camera on board the International Space Station to photograph a variety of geographical targets for study in the classroom. Photos are made available on the web for viewing and study by participating schools around the world. Educators use the images for projects involving Earth Science, geography, physics, and social science.

  9. Learning and Teaching with Web 2.0 Applications in Saudi K-12 Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bingimlas, Khalid Abdullah

    2017-01-01

    This study aims to understand teachers' perspectives of the use of Web 2.0 applications in learning and teaching and to explore the barriers to their use. The sample of this study involved teachers from primary, middle, and secondary schools in the Kharj region. The total sample consisted of 352 teachers. A quantitative survey instrument was…

  10. Engaging Musical Practices: A Sourcebook for Middle School General Music

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burton, Suzanne L., Ed.

    2012-01-01

    Middle school general music may be a student's last encounter with school music. A practical book with accessible pedagogical resources on middle school general music is needed for methods courses and music practitioners' use. The book "Engaging Musical Practices: A Sourcebook for Middle School General Music" presents numerous ways to engage…

  11. At S.C. School, Behavior Is One of the Basics: A Charleston Middle School Joins the Growing Number Nationwide That Use PBIS Strategies to Teach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shah, Nirvi

    2012-01-01

    Learning "how to be a Haut Gap student" is one of the basics at Charleston's Haut Gap Middle School. Along with reading, science, and mathematics classes, every student at Haut Gap Middle School takes a course in how to be a Haut Gap student. For most students, the class is 40 minutes a day for nine weeks. But it can last 18 weeks for…

  12. Learning to teach upper primary school algebra: changes to teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching functional thinking

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wilkie, Karina J.

    2016-06-01

    A key aspect of learning algebra in the middle years of schooling is exploring the functional relationship between two variables: noticing and generalising the relationship, and expressing it mathematically. This article describes research on the professional learning of upper primary school teachers for developing their students' functional thinking through pattern generalisation. This aspect of algebra learning has been explicitly brought to the attention of upper primary teachers in the recently introduced Australian curriculum. Ten practising teachers participated over 1 year in a design-based research project involving a sequence of geometric pattern generalisation lessons with their classes. Initial and final survey responses and teachers' interactions in regular meetings and lessons were analysed from cognitive and situated perspectives on professional learning, using a theoretical model for the different types of knowledge needed for teaching mathematics. The teachers demonstrated an increase in certain aspects of their mathematical knowledge for teaching algebra as well as some residual issues. Implications for the professional learning of practising and pre-service teachers to develop their mathematics knowledge for teaching functional thinking, and challenges with operationalising knowledge categories for field-based research are presented.

  13. Integrated Curriculum in the Middle School. ERIC Digest.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beane, James

    Recent debates among educators about the middle school curriculum involve three concepts: (1) middle school ought to provide a general education school in which the curriculum focuses on widely shared concerns of early adolescents and the larger world rather than specialization among separate subjects; (2) the curriculum ought to serve the…

  14. Middle School Teachers and Principals Perspectives on Technology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Majeski, Mark

    2013-01-01

    In this study, the researcher endeavored to examine Morris County, New Jersey, middle school teacher and principal perspectives on the use of technology in their classrooms and schools. Specifically, this study examined teacher engagement, implementation and limitations related to the use of technology with middle school students. This study used…

  15. Student Achievement in High Performing, Suburban Middle Schools and Low Performing, Urban Middle Schools: Plausible Explanations for the Differences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Kathleen M.; Anfara, Vincent A., Jr.; Roney, Kathleen

    2004-01-01

    Utilizing a qualitative, multisite case study design and the theoretical framework of Hoy and Hannum (1997), the design and execution of this research investigates plausible explanations for the difference in student achievement between high performing (HPS) suburban middle schools and low performing (LPS) urban middle schools. Aside from the…

  16. The Cultural Contradictions of Middle Schooling for Rural Community Survival.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DeYoung, Alan J.; And Others

    During 1968-91, middle schools were the only school type to grow in number, increasing by over 400 percent. Middle school advocates focus on early adolescents' need for developmentally appropriate institutions, but show only a weak historical understanding of the emergence and status of middle schools. Critical factors in early support for the…

  17. Developing a school functioning index for middle schools.

    PubMed

    Birnbaum, Amanda S; Lytle, Leslie A; Perry, Cheryl L; Murray, David; Story, Mary

    2003-08-01

    Despite widespread recognition of schools' role in the healthy development of youth, surprisingly little research has examined the relationships between schools' overall functioning and the health-related behavior of students. School functioning could become an important predictor of students' health-related behavior and may be amenable to intervention. This paper describes the development and testing of the School Functioning Index (SFI) as a first step in investigating this question. The index was developed for use with middle schools and conceived as a predictor of students' violent behavior, with the potential for extending research applications to additional health and social behaviors. Using social cognitive theory, social ecological theory, and social disorganization theory as guides, three domains were identified to operationalize school functioning and identify candidate SFI items: 1) resources available to the school and students; 2) stability of the school population; and 3) the schools' performance as a socializing agent for students. Data for candidate SFI items were collected from public archives and directly from 16 middle schools participating in a school-based dietary intervention study. Data collection from schools, particularly concerning student aggressive behavior and disciplinary actions, presented challenges. The final SFI comprised nine items and demonstrated good internal consistency and variability. The SFI was modestly correlated in expected directions with violence and other health behaviors. This work supports the feasibility of combining multiple school-level indicators to create a measure of overall school functioning. Further investigation of validity and more acceptable data collection methods are warranted.

  18. UCSF partnership to enrich science teaching for sixth graders in San Francisco's schools.

    PubMed

    Doyle, H J

    1999-04-01

    Increasing the diversity of students entering the health professions is a challenging goal for medical schools. One approach to this goal is to share the enthusiasm and energy of medical students with younger students, who may pursue medical education in the future. The MedTeach program, established in 1989 and coordinated by the Science & Health Education Partnership of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), does so by partnering volunteer medical students from UCSF with sixth-grade classes studying the human body. In 1997-98, around 350 sixth-graders in the San Francisco Schools benefitted from the program. Each team of medical student's visits its class ten to 12 times a year to present engaging, hands-on lessons on body systems and health. The medical students are also role models for the middle-school students. In addition, the diverse student population of San Francisco public schools provides a rich environment for the medical students to improve their communication and teaching skills.

  19. How to Talk About Science: Lessons from a Middle School Science Classroom

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cushman-Patz, B. J.

    2010-12-01

    Middle school students are curious, energetic, and impatient. A middle school science teacher is always challenged to find ways to relate the content she’d like to convey to the students’ everyday lives, working to both satiate and foster their natural curiosity. She must communicate science in language appropriate for her audience, teaching new vocabulary words the first time she uses them, and reviewing them often. A thriving middle school science classroom is noisy, messy, and fun. Understanding what makes this classroom dynamic work can lead to better communication about science to any audience. 1) Know your bottom-line message, and keep it simple. Research science is complicated and nuanced. Your audience may be interested in some of these details, but start with the big picture first, and fill in the details as appropriate. 2) Avoid jargon. Use language that you would use to explain science to your 13-year-old neighbor or your 85-year old grandmother. They know what a volcano is, but they may not know the difference between a crater and a caldera. They definitely don’t know what a phreatomagmatic eruption is. As you introduce necessary jargon into your discussion, define it clearly in terms of something you are sure they do know and understand. 3) Engage the audience. Use pictures; use your hands; use common-reference points. Whenever possible, get the audience members to use their hands to mimic your motion. Encourage them to try to reframe what you say in terms that they’re comfortable with. Make it a two-way conversation 4) Pause. New concepts take time to absorb. Take a breath; give your audience a moment to absorb what you just explained and to formulate questions they may have. 5) Pay attention to cues. Middle school students make it obvious when they’re bored; adults tend to be more subtle. When eyes wander or eyelids droop, ask a question that engages your audience, even if it’s just, “do you follow?” or, “where did I lose you

  20. Sleep Habits of Elementary and Middle School Children in South Texas.

    PubMed

    Surani, Salim; Hesselbacher, Sean; Surani, Saherish; Sadasiva, Sreevidya; Surani, Zoya; Surani, Sara S; Khimani, Amina; Subramanian, Shyam

    2015-01-01

    Background. Sleep difficulties, including insufficient sleep and inadequate sleep hygiene, have been prevalent among children. Sleep deprivation can lead to poor grades, sleepiness, and moodiness. We undertook this study to assess the prevalence of sleep abnormalities among elementary and middle school students in South Texas and how the groups compare with one another. Method. After approval from the appropriate school district for a sleep education program, a baseline survey was taken of elementary and middle school students, using the Children's Sleep Habit Questionnaire-Sleep Self-Report Form, which assessed the domains of bedtime resistance, sleep onset delay, sleep anxiety, sleep duration, night awakening, and daytime sleepiness. Results. The survey was completed by 499 elementary and 1008 middle school children. Trouble sleeping was reported by 43% in elementary school, compared with 29% of middle school children. Fifty percent of middle school children did not like sleeping, compared with 26% in elementary school. Bedtime resistance, sleep onset delay, and nighttime awakening were more common among elementary school students. Daytime sleepiness was more common among the middle school children when compared to elementary school children. Conclusions. Sleep abnormalities are present in elementary school children with changes in sleep habits into middle school.

  1. A Bargain Price for Teaching about Percentage

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lo, Jane-Jane; Ko, Yi-Yin

    2013-01-01

    Middle school is a crucial transition period for students as they move from concrete to algebraic ways of thinking. This article describes a sequence of instruction geared toward helping prospective middle school instructors teach the topic of percentages.

  2. Middle School Math. What Works Clearinghouse Topic Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    What Works Clearinghouse, 2007

    2007-01-01

    The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) reviewed interventions to promote middle school students' math knowledge and skills. Because there is some variation in how school districts organize middle school, we considered curricula aimed at students in grades 6 through 9, covering one or more of the following content areas: numbers and operations,…

  3. The Effect of Using the Creative Reversal Act in Science Education on Middle School Students' Creativity Levels

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Karaca, Tulin; Koray, Ozlem

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the creative reversal act (CREACT) used in teaching ecosystems topics on the creativity levels of middle school students. Research Methods: The research was conducted using a quasi-experimental design, a quantitative research method, and a pretest-posttest control group design. The…

  4. A study of the continuum of integration of mathematics content with science concepts at the middle school level in West Virginia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meisel, Edna Marie

    The purpose of this study was to examine the practices and perceptions of regular education seventh grade middle school mathematics teachers in West Virginia concerning the integration of mathematics objectives with science concepts. In addition, this study also emphasized the use of integrated curriculum continuum models to study mathematics teachers' practices and perceptions for teaching mathematics objectives in connection with science concepts. It was argued that the integrated curriculum continuum model can be used to help educators begin to form a common definition of integrated curriculum. The population was described as the regular education seventh grade middle school mathematics teachers in West Virginia. The entire population (N = 173) was used as the participants in this study. Data was collected using an integrated curriculum practices and perceptions survey constructed by the researcher. This was a descriptive study that incorporated the Chi Square statistic to show trends in teacher practices and perceptions. Also, an ex post facto design, that incorporated the Mann-Whitney U statistic, was used to compare practices and perceptions between teachers grouped according to factors that influence teaching practices and perceptions. These factors included teaching certificate endorsement and teacher professional preparation. Results showed that the regular education seventh grade middle school mathematics teachers of West Virginia are teaching mathematics objectives mainly at a discipline-based level with no formal attempt for integration with science concepts. However, these teachers perceived that many of the mathematics objectives should be taught at varying levels of integration with science concepts. It was also shown that teachers who experienced professional preparation courses that emphasized integrated curriculum courses did teach many of the mathematics objectives at higher levels of integration with science than those teachers who did not

  5. A Comparison of Text Structure and Self-Regulated Writing Strategies for Composing from Sources by Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reynolds, Gillian A.; Perin, Dolores

    2009-01-01

    This study compared two techniques for teaching middle school students to compose from expository text sources, a common but difficult academic writing task. Classroom social studies content was used. Text structure instruction (TSI), which focused on text characteristics using graphic organizers, was compared with PLAN & WRITE for Summarization…

  6. Desks, Dollars, and Deficits: Managing a Middle School during a Recession.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Merrill, Adeline B.

    1992-01-01

    A brief history of East Ridge Middle School in Connecticut illustrates the strong economic and demographic pressures that can work against a middle school. The principal plays a crucial role in preserving both the structure and the programs of an effective middle school. Points out strategies to protect and develop middle schools in tough economic…

  7. Best Practice in Middle-School Science

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oliveira, Alandeom W.; Wilcox, Kristen C.; Angelis, Janet; Applebee, Arthur N.; Amodeo, Vincent; Snyder, Michele A.

    2013-01-01

    Using socio-ecological theory, this study explores best practice (educational practices correlated with higher student performance) in middle-school science. Seven schools with consistently higher student performance were compared with three demographically similar, average-performing schools. Best practice included instructional approaches…

  8. Relationship of Teacher Training and School Characteristics to Middle School State Assessment Results

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hall, Tina J.; Hicklin, Lori K.; French, Karen E.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: To examine the relationship between the South Carolina middle school physical education assessment results and the school characteristics. In addition, the relationship between teacher training attendance and student achievement were determined. Method: Student performance on four physical education indicators in 63 middle schools (and…

  9. A Qualitative Phenomenology of Christian Middle School Implementation of Inquiry-based Science Instruction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ferrin, Patricia Ann

    The purpose of this qualitative phenomenology study will be to explore curriculum coordinators, teachers, and principals' implementation of Inquiry-Based Instruction (IBI) in Christian middle school science classes in the central Virginia area. IBI will be referred to as "a teaching method that combines the curiosity of students and the scientific method to enhance the development of critical thinking skills while learning science" (Warner & Myers, 2008, p.3). A qualitative phenomenology study will be made to consider the requirements and implementation of IBI in the Christian middle schools as compared to the requirements and implementation of IBI in the National Science Education Standard (NSES). Curriculum coordinators, teachers, and principals, and participated in this study from five Christian middle schools in the central Virginia area. The guiding theories include John Dewey's (1948) Constructivism, Lev Vygotsky's (1998) Social Constructivism, and William Glasser's (2005) Choice Theory as they relate to the beliefs curriculum coordinators, teachers, and principals have regarding the implementation of IBI. A primary research question for this study is, "If research supports successful outcomes of IBI, then how and why do Christian CMSST, principals, and curriculum coordinators implement or not implement IBI?" Interviews, classroom observations, and document reviews were used for triangulation and data collection. The data analysis used in this study were completed by using Moustakas' (1994) seven step thematic coding derived from the observations, interview transcriptions, and school documents in the form of lesson plans and objectives (Merriam, 2009; Moustakas, 1994).

  10. Enhancing Middle-Level General Music: Suggestions from the Literature

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gerrity, Kevin W.

    2009-01-01

    In his book "Teaching Music in the Secondary Schools," Charles Hoffer reported a lack of consensus among music educators when considering the essential components of a middle-level general music course. Today, this condition persists. The increasingly diverse nature of students and schools makes a singular, model curriculum for middle-level…

  11. The Culture of Bullying in Middle School.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Unnever, James D.; Cornell, Dewey G.

    2003-01-01

    Study assessed the nature and extent of student attitudes toward bullying. Data from surveys of over 2,400 students in six middle schools indicated that a culture of bullying was pervasive among middle school students. Students believed that, in most cases, neither classmates nor teachers would intervene to stop bullying. Most students denied that…

  12. White Middle Class Identities and Urban Schooling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Devine, Dympna; Savage, Mike; Ingram, Nicola

    2012-01-01

    The authors review "White middle class identities and urban schooling," by D. Reay, G. Crozier and D. James. This book focuses on the perspectives of white middle-class parents who make "against"-the-grain school choices for their children in urban England. It provides key insights into the dynamics of class practising that are…

  13. Education and Certification Qualifications of Public Middle Grades Teachers of Selected Subjects: Evidence from the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey. NCES 2015-815

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baldi, Stéphane; Warner-Griffin, Catharine; Tadler, Chrystine

    2015-01-01

    This report examines the postsecondary majors and teaching certifications of middle grades teachers in public schools in selected subject areas by using data from the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). SASS is a sample survey of elementary and secondary schools in the United States that collects data on American public and private…

  14. School Start Times for Middle School and High School Students - United States, 2011-12 School Year.

    PubMed

    Wheaton, Anne G; Ferro, Gabrielle A; Croft, Janet B

    2015-08-07

    Adolescents who do not get enough sleep are more likely to be overweight; not engage in daily physical activity; suffer from depressive symptoms; engage in unhealthy risk behaviors such as drinking, smoking tobacco, and using illicit drugs; and perform poorly in school. However, insufficient sleep is common among high school students, with less than one third of U.S. high school students sleeping at least 8 hours on school nights. In a policy statement published in 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) urged middle and high schools to modify start times as a means to enable students to get adequate sleep and improve their health, safety, academic performance, and quality of life. AAP recommended that "middle and high schools should aim for a starting time of no earlier than 8:30 a.m.". To assess state-specific distributions of public middle and high school start times and establish a pre-recommendation baseline, CDC and the U.S. Department of Education analyzed data from the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). Among an estimated 39,700 public middle, high, and combined schools* in the United States, the average start time was 8:03 a.m. Overall, only 17.7% of these public schools started school at 8:30 a.m. or later. The percentage of schools with 8:30 a.m. or later start times varied greatly by state, ranging from 0% in Hawaii, Mississippi, and Wyoming to more than three quarters of schools in Alaska (76.8%) and North Dakota (78.5%). A school system start time policy of 8:30 a.m. or later provides teenage students the opportunity to achieve the 8.5-9.5 hours of sleep recommended by AAP and the 8-10 hours recommended by the National Sleep Foundation.

  15. Recruiting middle school students into nursing: An integrative review.

    PubMed

    Williams, Cheryl

    2017-10-27

    Middle school students interested in nursing need clarification of the nursing role. Students choose nursing as a career because they want to help others, yet they are often unaware of the need to for arduous secondary education preparation to become a nurse. Middle school students, if not properly exposed to the career during their formative years, may choose another career or not have enough time for adequate nursing school preparation. This integrative review examined seven studies from years 2007 to 2016, which utilized various recruitment strategies to increase the awareness of nursing as a career in middle school and address the need for academic rigor. Implications of the review: there is a need for collaboration between nurses and school counselors to design more robust longitudinal studies of middle school interventions for students interested in nursing as a career. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Teaching planetary sciences to elementary school teachers: Programs that work

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lebofsky, Larry A.; Lebofsky, Nancy R.

    1993-01-01

    Planetary sciences can be used to introduce students to the natural world which is a part of their lives. Even children in an urban environment are aware of such phenomena as day and night, shadows, and the seasons. It is a science that transcends cultures, has been prominent in the news in recent years, and can generate excitement in young minds as no other science can. Planetary sciences also provides a useful tool for understanding other sciences and mathematics, and for developing problem solving skills which are important in our technological world. However, only 15 percent of elementary school teachers feel very well qualified to teach earth/space science, while better than 80 percent feel well qualified to teach reading; many teachers avoid teaching science; very little time is actually spent teaching science in the elementary school: 19 minutes per day in K-3 and 38 minutes per day in 4-6. While very little science is taught in elementary and middle school, earth/space science is taught at the elementary level in less than half of the states. It was pointed out that science is not generally given high priority by either teachers or school districts, and is certainly not considered on a par with language arts and mathematics. Therefore, in order to teach science to our youth, we must empower our teachers, making them familiar and comfortable with existing materials. In our earlier workshops, several of our teachers taught in classrooms where the majority of the students were Hispanic (over 90 percent). However, few space sciences materials existed in Spanish. Therefore, most of our materials could not be used effectively in the classroom. To address this issue, NASA materials were translated into Spanish and a series of workshops for bilingual classroom teachers from Tucson and surrounding cities was conducted. Our space sciences workshops and our bilingual classroom workshops and how they address the needs of elementary school teachers in Arizona are

  17. Experiences and Perceptions of Middle School Handbell Participants

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rohwer, Debbie

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of the current study was to describe the process of music learning and the perceptions of members in a school-based middle school handbell setting. The participants were 39 students and one music teacher in a middle school in Texas. The design of the current study was a case study using observation and interview data. The results…

  18. Sleep Habits of Elementary and Middle School Children in South Texas

    PubMed Central

    Surani, Salim; Hesselbacher, Sean; Surani, Saherish; Sadasiva, Sreevidya; Surani, Zoya; Surani, Sara S.; Khimani, Amina; Subramanian, Shyam

    2015-01-01

    Background. Sleep difficulties, including insufficient sleep and inadequate sleep hygiene, have been prevalent among children. Sleep deprivation can lead to poor grades, sleepiness, and moodiness. We undertook this study to assess the prevalence of sleep abnormalities among elementary and middle school students in South Texas and how the groups compare with one another. Method. After approval from the appropriate school district for a sleep education program, a baseline survey was taken of elementary and middle school students, using the Children's Sleep Habit Questionnaire-Sleep Self-Report Form, which assessed the domains of bedtime resistance, sleep onset delay, sleep anxiety, sleep duration, night awakening, and daytime sleepiness. Results. The survey was completed by 499 elementary and 1008 middle school children. Trouble sleeping was reported by 43% in elementary school, compared with 29% of middle school children. Fifty percent of middle school children did not like sleeping, compared with 26% in elementary school. Bedtime resistance, sleep onset delay, and nighttime awakening were more common among elementary school students. Daytime sleepiness was more common among the middle school children when compared to elementary school children. Conclusions. Sleep abnormalities are present in elementary school children with changes in sleep habits into middle school. PMID:26770835

  19. Comprehensive School Reform & Student Achievement in Kentucky Middle Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Evans-Andris, Melissa; Usui, Wayne M.

    2008-01-01

    This project examines the effects of Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) models on the achievement of students in Kentucky middle schools. Previous studies exploring the effects of CSR on schools and student achievement have rendered mixed results (Berends, 2000; May & Supovitz, 2006; May, Supovitz, & Perda, 2004; RAND, 2002; Zhang,…

  20. Middle School Science Notes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    School Science Review, 1981

    1981-01-01

    Describes activities, demonstrations, and materials suitable for middle school science, including investigations on solar energy, surface tension, exploding cottages, worms and light, airplanes, depolarizing simple cells, and the thermal expansion of metals. (JN)

  1. Associations between School Climate, Suicidal Thoughts, and Behaviors and Ethnicity among Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    La Salle, Tamika P.; Wang, Cixin; Parris, Leandra; Brown, Jacqueline A.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of the current study is to investigate the relationships between suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs), school climate, and student demographics among middle school students. The study was conducted with a sample of 152,191 middle school students across 607 schools within 182 school districts in a southeastern state. Results support…

  2. Am I a Mathematics Teacher Who Teaches Middle Grades or a Middle Grades Teacher Who Teaches Mathematics? Untangling the Multiple Identities of Preservice Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kasten, Sarah E.; Austin, Christopher; Jackson, Christa

    2014-01-01

    This article reports on a qualitative study that investigated the identities of preservice middle grades teachers preparing to teach mathematics as one of their chosen content areas. Data were collected using open response reflective prompts questionnaires with 68 preservice middle grades teachers at 3 south-central universities. Findings indicate…

  3. Mid South Middle Start: Studies of Three Middle Start Schools in the Mid South Delta

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rose, Lea Williams; Cheney, Nancy

    2005-01-01

    These three case studies highlight the implementation and impact of Mid South Middle Start by: (1) contributing toward an in-depth understanding of what it means to be a school implementing Middle Start; (2) describing a holistic portrait of the schools' participation in Mid South Middle Start; and (3) assisting the Academy for Educational…

  4. Kuss Middle School: Expanding Time to Accelerate School Improvement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Massachusetts 2020, 2012

    2012-01-01

    In 2004, Kuss Middle School became the first school declared "Chronically Underperforming" by the state of Massachusetts. But by 2010, Kuss had transformed itself into a model for schools around the country seeking a comprehensive turnaround strategy. Kuss is using increased learning time as the primary catalyst to accelerate learning,…

  5. School Aggression and Dispositional Aggression among Middle School Boys

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ballard, Mary E.; Rattley, Kelvin T.; Fleming, Willie C.; Kidder-Ashley, Pamela

    2004-01-01

    We examined the relationship between dispositional (trait) aggression and administrative reports of school aggression among 100 adolescent male participants from an urban middle school. Aggression was fairly common among the sample; 58 boys had a record of school aggression, and many of those were repeat offenders. Our hypothesis that those higher…

  6. The Middle East Content Priority Teaching Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fix, Jerrold E.

    Variations of a social studies unit on Middle Eastern culture, history, and geography are presented to aid secondary school classroom teachers as they develop and implement Middle Eastern area studies educational programs. The guide is presented in four parts, each of which represents one version of the unit. Teachers are directed to select the…

  7. Predictors and consequences of prescription drug misuse during middle school.

    PubMed

    Tucker, Joan S; Ewing, Brett A; Miles, Jeremy N V; Shih, Regina A; Pedersen, Eric R; D'Amico, Elizabeth J

    2015-11-01

    Non-medical prescription drug use (NMPDU) is a growing public health problem among adolescents. This is the first study to examine the correlates of early NMPDU initiation during middle school, and how early initiation is associated with four domains of functioning in high school (mental health, social, academic, and delinquency). Students initially in 6th-8th grades from 16 middle schools completed in-school surveys between 2008 and 2011 (Waves 1-5), and a web-based survey in 2013-2014 (Wave 6). We used discrete time survival analysis to assess predictors of initiation from Waves 1 to 5 based on students who provided NMPDU information at any of these waves (n=12,904), and regression analysis to examine high school outcomes associated with initiation based on a sample that was followed into high school, Wave 6 (n=2539). Low resistance self-efficacy, family substance use, low parental respect, and offers of other substances from peers were consistently associated with NMPDU initiation throughout middle school. Further, perceiving that more of one's peers engaged in other substance use was associated with initiation at Wave 1 only. By high school, those students who initiated NMPDU during middle school reported lower social functioning, and more suspensions and fighting, compared to students who did not initiate NMPDU during middle school. NMPDU initiation during middle school is associated with poorer social functioning and greater delinquency in high school. It is important for middle school prevention programs to address NMPDU. Such programs should focus on both family and peer influences, as well as strengthening resistance self-efficacy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Social Studies: Appendix for Elementary, Middle, and High School Guides for Teaching about Human Rights.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Detroit Public Schools, MI. Dept. of Curriculum Development Services.

    Seventy documents including primary source materials, simulations, mock trials, short stories, vignettes, and statistical data are provided for the implementation of the elementary, middle, and high school human rights curriculum. Original documents include: (1) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; (2) the Declaration of the Rights of the…

  9. What Role for Middle School Sports?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McEwin, C. Kenneth; Dickinson, Thomas S.

    1998-01-01

    Safe, developmentally appropriate play is difficult to achieve when middle schools move into the competitive interscholastic arena. Problems associated with middle-level sports programs include students' predisposition to physical injury, psychological unreadiness, high attrition rates, improper coaching, and liability issues. Improving…

  10. Early Predictors of Middle School Fraction Knowledge

    PubMed Central

    Bailey, Drew H.; Siegler, Robert S.; Geary, David C.

    2014-01-01

    Recent findings that earlier fraction knowledge predicts later mathematics achievement raise the question of what predicts later fraction knowledge. Analyses of longitudinal data indicated that whole number magnitude knowledge in first grade predicted knowledge of fraction magnitudes in middle school, controlling for whole number arithmetic proficiency, domain general cognitive abilities, parental income and education, race, and gender. Similarly, knowledge of whole number arithmetic in first grade predicted knowledge of fraction arithmetic in middle school, controlling for whole number magnitude knowledge in first grade and the other control variables. In contrast, neither type of early whole number knowledge uniquely predicted middle school reading achievement. We discuss the implications of these findings for theories of numerical development and for improving mathematics learning. PMID:24576209

  11. Middle School Transition Stress: Links with Academic Performance, Motivation, and School Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldstein, Sara E.; Boxer, Paul; Rudolph, Erin

    2015-01-01

    The present study investigates links between early adolescents' subjective experiences of stress associated with the middle school transition and their academic outcomes. Seventh and eighth grade students (N?=?774) were surveyed about their experiences during their transition to middle school. Students answered questions about stress…

  12. Ann Richards Middle School.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kell, John H.

    2001-01-01

    Presents photos and basic information about a Texas middle school whose architecture reflects the hybrid culture of the borderlands and "regionalism" in which it is located. A line drawing of the site plan is included. (GR)

  13. Haymon-Morris Middle School: Keeping the Peace in Georgia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Principal Leadership, 2011

    2011-01-01

    This article features Haymon-Morris Middle School in Winder, Georgia. This highly successful Title I middle school is tucked behind the high school in a rural area 50 miles northeast of Atlanta. The staff is dedicated to creating a culture where it is believed that a calm, serene school setting results in less stress for both students and staff…

  14. Meeting the Needs of Middle Grade Science Learners through Pedagogical and Technological Intervention

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yerrick, Randy; Johnson, Joseph

    2009-01-01

    This mixed methods study examined the effects of inserting laptops and science technology tools in middle school environments. Working together with a local university, middle school science teaching faculty members wrote and aligned curricula, explored relevant science education literature, tested lessons with summer school students, and prepared…

  15. Tensions in Teacher Community: Competing Commitments in the Teaching of US Middle School Physical Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Craig, Cheryl J.; You, JeongAe; Oh, Suhak

    2014-01-01

    In this article, tensions in teacher community arose when the school's "rainy day" policy was invoked in the middle of a class period, disturbing instruction on the athletic field and subsequently in the gymnasium. The narrative inquiry takes a multiperspectival stance towards competing commitments to educational policy, on one hand, and…

  16. Middle School, One-to-One

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weber, Eric G.

    2009-01-01

    Westside Middle School, located in Omaha, Nebraska, serves 950 seventh- and eighth-grade students. Over the last few years, the school's teachers and administrators have evaluated its technology status and needs. As part of this process, the staff members engaged in many activities, including developing a building-level technology plan, organizing…

  17. Deep Knowledge: Learning to Teach Science for Understanding and Equity. Teaching for Social Justice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Larkin, Douglas B.

    2013-01-01

    "Deep Knowledge" is a book about how people's ideas change as they learn to teach. Using the experiences of six middle and high school student teachers as they learn to teach science in diverse classrooms, Larkin explores how their work changes the way they think about students, society, schools, and science itself. Through engaging case stories,…

  18. Activity Preferences of Middle School Physical Education Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Greenwood, Michael; Stillwell, Jim; Byars, Allyn

    2001-01-01

    Investigated the physical education activity preferences of middle school students who completed a checklist featuring a variety of activities. Overall, middle school boys and girls both differed and agreed on their interests for specific activities. Most students liked basketball, bicycling, roller skating, soccer, swimming, and volleyball but…

  19. Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions of Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Connor, Kevin J.; D'Angelo, Christina M.

    2013-01-01

    This report shares a study that explored the perceptions pre-service teachers have of middle school students. Participants were asked to complete the "Adjective Checklist" ("ACL") by endorsing the words they considered most characteristic of a typical middle school student. Items most frequently endorsed indicated a…

  20. Teaching Writing to Middle School Students in Portugal and in Brazil: An Exploratory Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Veiga Simão, Ana Margarida; Malpique, Anabela Abreu; Frison, Lourdes Maria Bragagnolo; Marques, André

    2016-01-01

    Learning how to write is a challenging process, typically developed in schools. Teachers' practices in teaching writing, however, have been under researched. The aim of this study was to survey a sample of teachers from Portugal (n = 96) and Brazil (n = 99) about their practices for and perceptions about writing instruction. Teachers reported on…

  1. Adult and Middle School Girls' Perceptions of Risk-Taking Behavior: Implications for School Practitioners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Solomon, Brett Johnson; Garibaldi, Mark

    2013-01-01

    There is an overwhelming disconnect between young adolescent girls and adults, in relationship to perceptions of middle schoolgirl risk taking. This mixed-methods study investigates the differences between adult practitioners and middle school girls' perceptions of risk taking, understanding of consequences, and needs among middle school girls.…

  2. Relations between Popularity and Prosocial Behavior in Middle School and High School Chinese Adolescents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lu, Ting; Li, Ling; Niu, Li; Jin, Shenghua; French, Doran C.

    2018-01-01

    The concurrent and longitudinal associations between popularity, likeability, and prosocial behavior were evaluated in this three-year study of middle school and high school Chinese adolescents. The initial sample included 766 middle school (mean age = 13.3 years) and 668 high school participants (mean age = 16.6 years); there were 880 (399 girls)…

  3. One-to-one iPad technology in the middle school mathematics and science classrooms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bixler, Sharon G.

    Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has become an emphasized component of PreK-12 education in the United States. The US is struggling to produce enough science, mathematics, and technology experts to meet its national and global needs, and the mean scores of science and mathematics students are not meeting the expected levels desired by our leaders (Hossain & Robinson, 2011). In an effort to improve achievement scores in mathematics and science, school districts must consider many components that can contribute to the development of a classroom where students are engaged and growing academically. Computer technology (CT) for student use is a popular avenue for school districts to pursue in their goal to attain higher achievement. The purpose of this study is to examine the use of iPads in a one-to-one setting, where every student has his own device 24/7, to determine the effects, if any, on academic achievement in the areas of mathematics and science. This comparison study used hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to examine three middle schools in a private school district. Two of the schools have implemented a one-to-one iPad program with their sixth through eighth grades and the third school uses computers on limited occasions in the classroom and in a computer lab setting. The questions addressed were what effect, if any, do the implementation of a one-to-one iPad program and a teacher's perception of his use of constructivist teaching strategies have on student academic achievement in the mathematics and science middle school classrooms. The research showed that although the program helped promote the use of constructivist activities through the use of technology, the one-to-one iPad initiative had no effect on academic achievement in the middle school mathematics and science classrooms.

  4. Greeley's Maplewood Middle School Stellar in Solar Car Race

    Science.gov Websites

    - Students from Greeley's Maplewood Middle School built the fastest model solar car and won the Junior Solar Monarch K-8 School in Louisville won top honors for design. Forty-one teams from across Colorado entered School's car 13 "Crème de la Crème," fourth place; and Golden's Bell Middle School, fifth place

  5. The Purpose-Driven Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chesley, Gary M.; Hartman, Diane

    2010-01-01

    During the 2008-2009 school year, faculty members at New Fairfield (CT) Middle School examined relevance and student engagement in relation to student achievement. Subtle clues indicated that students were not fully engaged in their learning: many students did not relate their classroom experiences to their personal reality or to their vision of…

  6. An Exploration of Middle and High School Students' Perceptions of Deviant Behavior when Using Computers and the Internet

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Daniel, Annie J.

    2005-01-01

    If the current trend continues, the use of computer technologies and the Internet will increase for teaching and education. It is urgent that researchers study computer and Internet deviance. The purpose of this study was to explore middle and high school students' perceptions of deviant behavior when using computers and the Internet. The target…

  7. Transitions between subclasses of bullying and victimization when entering middle school.

    PubMed

    Williford, Anne; Boulton, Aaron J; Jenson, Jeffrey M

    2014-01-01

    We examined the effects of depressive symptoms, antisocial attitudes, and perspective-taking empathy on patterns of bullying and victimization during the transition from late elementary (4th grade to 5th grade) to middle school (6th grade) among 1,077 students who participated in the Youth Matters (YM) bullying prevention trial. Latent transition analysis was used to establish classes of bullying, victimization, bully-victimization, and uninvolvement. The intervention had a positive impact on children as they moved from elementary to middle school. More students in the YM group transitioned from the involved statuses to the uninvolved status than students in the control group during the move to middle school. Elementary school bullies with higher levels of depressive symptoms were less likely than other students to move to an uninvolved status in the first year of middle school. Students who held greater antisocial attitudes were more likely to be a member of the bully-victim status than the uninvolved status during the move to middle school. Perspective-taking empathy, however, was not a significant predictor of status change during the transition to middle school. Implications for school-based prevention programs during the move to middle school are noted. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. The Implementation of Integrated Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Instruction Using Robotics in the Middle School Science Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ntemngwa, Celestin; Oliver, J. Steve

    2018-01-01

    The research study reported here was conducted to investigate the implementation of integrated STEM lessons within courses that have a single subject science focus. The purpose also included development of a pedagogical theory. This technology-based teaching was conceptualized by school administrators and teachers in order to provide middle school…

  9. Building of Environmental Literacy among Middle School Students: The Role of In-School, Out of School, and Psychological Factors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stevenson, Kathryn Tate

    Solving environmental challenges will require an environmentally literate citizenry, equipped with ecological knowledge, pro-environmental attitudes, problem-solving skills, and motivation toward environmentally responsible behaviors. This dissertation addresses three approaches to building environmental literacy (EL) among middle school students: through schools (Chapter 1), through activities outside of school (Chapter 2), and through understanding psychological factors that affect environmental perceptions (Chapter 3). Chapter 1. This study examined school-wide EE programs among middle schools in North Carolina, including the use of published EE curricula and time outdoors while controlling for teacher education level and experience, student demographics, and school attributes. Our sample included an EE group selected from schools with registered schoolwide EE programs, and a control group randomly selected from NC middle schools that were not registered as EE schools. Students were given an EL survey at the beginning and end of the spring 2012 semester. Use of published EE curricula, time outdoors, and having teachers with advanced degrees and mid-level teaching experience (between 3 and 5 years) were positively related with EL whereas minority status (Hispanic and black) was negatively related with EL. Results suggest that though school-wide EE programs may vary in effectiveness, the use of published EE curricula paired with time outdoors represents a promising strategy. Further, investments in both new and veteran teachers to build and maintain enthusiasm for EE may help to boost student EL levels. Middle school represents a pivotal time for influencing EL, as improvement was slower among older students. Differences in EL levels based on gender suggest boys and girls may possess complementary skills sets when approaching environmental issues. Our findings suggest ethnicity related disparities in EL levels may be mitigated by time spent in nature, especially

  10. Prioritizing Elementary School Writing Instruction: Cultivating Middle School Readiness for Students with Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ciullo, Stephen; Mason, Linda

    2017-01-01

    Helping elementary students with learning disabilities (LD) prepare for the rigor of middle school writing is an instructional priority. Fortunately, several standards-based skills in upper elementary school and middle school overlap. Teachers in upper elementary grades, specifically fourth and fifth grades, have the opportunity to provide…

  11. Teaching Statistics in Middle School Mathematics Classrooms: Making Links with Mathematics but Avoiding Statistical Reasoning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Savard, Annie; Manuel, Dominic

    2015-01-01

    Statistics is a domain that is taught in Mathematics in all school levels. We suggest a potential in using an interdisciplinary approach with this concept. Thus the development of the understanding of a situation might mean to use both mathematical and statistical reasoning. In this paper, we present two case studies where two middle school…

  12. Interdisciplinary Middle School Teams as Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jackson, George Ellis, Jr.

    2016-01-01

    Problem: Interdisciplinary teaming has been noted as a critical element of the middle school model associated with higher student achievement. Yet, research on middle school teams' use of common planning time suggests that the majority of meeting time is spent discussing student behavior/issues, discussing student learning problems/issues, and…

  13. Work and Family Life: Middle School Content Competencies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ohio State Dept. of Education, Columbus. Div. of Career-Technical and Adult Education.

    This document, which lists the middle school content competencies for the Work and Family Studies curriculum within Family and Consumer Sciences in Ohio, is intended to help middle school students develop self-responsibility and competence dealing with the practical problems of early adolescence. (Career awareness and career choice options are…

  14. Middle School Girls: Perceptions and Experiences with Robotics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hyun, Tricia

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate the impact a robotics curriculum might have on the experiences and perceptions of middle school girls in two California classrooms. The research found that middle school girls in two different California classrooms felt that their experiences with robotics were personalized experiences…

  15. In the Middle: Do We Share the Vision? Do Principals and Teachers Agree about the Middle School Concept?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Watts, Cherry; Seed, Allen H.; Franceschini, Louis A., III

    2013-01-01

    In 2009, the Tennessee Professors of Middle Level Education (TPOMLE) examined how Tennessee schools implemented the middle school concept. Of concern was the impact that emphasis on accountability and achievement had on the middle school concept which emphasizes the development of the whole child. A survey was developed based on the tenets of…

  16. Middle School Responses to Cyberbullying: An Action Research Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zidack, Astri Marie

    2013-01-01

    This action research study engaged a small public middle school in the northwest United States in a collaborative process to address cyberbullying issues that often lead to academic and behavior problems in schools (Hinduja, 2010; Olweus, 2010). The specific purpose of this action research study was to address the middle school's cyberbullying…

  17. Family and Consumer Sciences Delivers Middle School Multicultural Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clauss, Barbara A.

    2006-01-01

    In this article, the author talks about valuing individual and group differences and knowing how to interact effectively with a variety of people in school through multicultural education in a middle school family and consumer sciences setting. Here, she answers the questions: (1) Why multicultural education? (2) Why middle school? and (3) Why…

  18. Youth Risk Behavior Survey of Middle School Students Attending Bureau Funded Schools, 1997.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shaughnessy, Lana; Everett, Sherry; Ranslow, Steve

    This report presents findings from a spring 1997 survey of all middle-school students (grades 6-8) enrolled in schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The Centers for Disease Control Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was completed by 6,990 students in 115 of the 122 BIA-funded middle schools; the overall response rate was 74 percent.…

  19. Chronic fatigue syndrome in Chinese middle-school students.

    PubMed

    Shi, Jieyao; Shen, Jie; Xie, Jian; Zhi, Jianming; Xu, Yong

    2018-01-01

    The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and its associated factors in middle-school students in Suzhou, China. From September 2010 to January 2011, across-sectional study was conducted in junior- and senior middle-school students aged 10 to 18 years using a battery of confidential questionnaires. Our results indicate that 18,139 completed the questionnaires effectively, of whom 163 (0.9%) met the definition of CFS, with senior high-school students and male students predominating. The prevalence of CFS in the middle-school students increased steadily with age. The main symptoms of CFS in these students included being afraid of going to school, despondency, and irritability in addition to those specified in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Our study shows that CFS is prevalent among Chinese teenagers, and requiring proper intervention and treatment.

  20. Learning Leadership Skills in Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bowman, Richard F.

    2013-01-01

    For middle school students, the essence of 21st-century leadership development is being "in influence" versus being "in control." A core student leadership skill involves listening intently to others, framing others' concerns, and advancing the other person's interests. Creating contexts in which middle school…

  1. Middle School Science Notes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    School Science Review, 1983

    1983-01-01

    Demonstrations, experiments, and classroom activities/materials for middle school science are presented. These include: additive color mixing demonstration; electricity activity and worksheet; atmospheric pressure "magic" demonstration; homemade microbalance; energy from soap bubbles; and a model used to demonstrate muscle pairs and how…

  2. Exploratory Programing in Georgia's Middle Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Warren, Louis L.; Allen, Michael G.

    This study surveyed the nature and extent of exploratory programming in intermediate schools. A 22-item questionnaire was sent to all 285 of the state's middle and junior high schools. Of the 163 respondents, 160 indicated that they had some form of exploratory programming. The latter number included: (1) 155 schools with traditional exploratory…

  3. Associations between Parental Limits, School Vending Machine Purchases, and Soft Drink Consumption among Kentucky Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nickelson, Jen; Roseman, Mary G.; Forthofer, Melinda S.

    2010-01-01

    Objective: To examine associations between parental limits on soft drinks and purchasing soft drinks from school vending machines and consuming soft drinks among middle school students. Design: Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the middle school Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Setting: Eight public middle schools in central Kentucky.…

  4. Computer Utilization in Middle Tennessee High Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lucas, Sam

    In order to determine the capacity of high schools to profit from the pre-high school computer experiences of its students, a study was conducted to measure computer utilization in selected high schools of Middle Tennessee. Questionnaires distributed to 50 principals in 28 school systems covered the following areas: school enrollment; number and…

  5. Alternative Education Programmes and Middle School Dropout in Honduras

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marshall, Jeffery H.; Aguilar, Claudia R.; Alas, Mario; Castellanos, Renán Rápalo; Castro, Levi; Enamorado, Ramón; Fonseca, Esther

    2014-01-01

    Honduras has made steady progress in expanding post-primary school coverage in recent years, but many rural communities still do not provide a middle (lower secondary) school. As a result, Honduras has implemented a number of middle school alternative programmes designed to meet the needs of at-risk populations throughout the country. This article…

  6. Data-Based Decision-Making Teams in Middle School: Observations and Implications from the Middle School Intervention Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crone, Deanne A.; Carlson, Sarah E.; Haack, Marcia K.; Kennedy, Patrick C.; Baker, Scott K.; Fien, Hank

    2016-01-01

    The use of data-based decision making (DBDM) in schools to drive educational improvement and success has been strongly promoted by educational experts and policymakers, yet very little is documented about the actual DBDM practices used in schools. This study examines DBDM practices in 25 middle schools through 80 standardized observations of data…

  7. Inquiring minds: Case studies of two middle school science teachers as they include inquiry and graphing in their curricula

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Scarano, Grace Hotchkiss

    2000-10-01

    Current reform documents in science and mathematics call for teachers to include inquiry and data analysis in their teaching. This interpretive quasi-ethnographic case study examined two middle school science teachers as they planned and implemented inquiry and graphing in their science curricula. The focus question for this research was: What are middle school science teachers' experiences as they include graphing and inquiry-based student research projects in their curricula? How is teaching these areas different from usual teaching? The research examined two teachers teaching their favorite unit, parts of other familiar units, graphing, and student inquiry. Four main types of data were gathered: (1) observations of teachers' instruction, (2) interviews and meetings with the teachers, (3) curricular artifacts, and (4) questionnaires and other written material. The study took place over a seven-month period. The findings revealed that these two teachers had different ideologies of schooling and that these ideologies shaped the teachers' planning and implementation of their usual content as well as graphing and inquiry. One teacher's ideology was technical, and the other's was constructive. Six themes emerged as salient features of their teaching: (1) the role of developing a vision for curricular implementation, (2) curricular decisions: internal and external authority, (3) views of knowing and learning, (4) perceptions of the nature of science, (5) attending to a personal concern in teaching, and (6) reflection. The textures of these themes varied between the two teachers, and formed a coherent yet dynamic system within which each teacher maneuvered. This study found that both teachers found it challenging to include inquiry in their curricula, even though both had attended workshops designed to help teachers use student inquiry. The constructive teacher's implementation was more in line with the notions that are central to constructivism and current non

  8. Retention of Information as a Function of Lesson Design for Middle School Studies of Wetlands in New Jersey

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parsekian, A.; Cimiluca, C.; Gates, A. E.; Calderon, I.

    2010-12-01

    Considering the breadth of innovative teaching strategies available, it is helpful to identify which will be best suited for a particular subject. With students that have a variety of interests, it is important to engage as many as possible in the lab activity, especially those who might not identify science as their preferred interest. Here we test the retention of information by middle school students after a problem-based learning (PBL) style lesson compared with an investigation where the students were given no role-playing problem. Both lessons were designed around wetlands in New Jersey: the first being a pond-edge ecosystem in a park near the middle school in Newark, NJ that the students are familiar with and the second being small, isolated peat bogs in the Pinelands of southern New Jersey that are the subject of ongoing scientific research. Days after both hands-on lessons, the students were given short, carefully designed multiple choice quizzes that tested the retention of knowledge about each of the learning objectives set forth. Results of the quizzes are nearly normally distributed, indicating a similar average performance. A higher number of students preformed better on the problem-based learning post-quiz suggesting the inclusion of a role playing scenario is useful for engaging the most students in hands-on wetlands laboratory experiments. Future work should test the retention of this type of information over time and explore other teaching strategies. We also present new ideas for an inexpensive hands-on lesson as implemented for the peat bog wetlands example that introduces basic soil science concepts to middle school and high school students.

  9. Lessons from Africa: A Supplement to Middle School Courses in World Culture, Global Studies, and World Geography. Experimental Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Merryfield, Merry M., Ed.

    These lessons were written by African social studies specialists for U.S. middle school students to stimulate interest in and develop a positive attitude toward Africans and their culture. Each lesson provides objectives, materials, teaching procedures, and is meant to be used as a textbook supplement. To promote understanding of young Africans,…

  10. The Middle School Transition in Private Schools: Student Perceptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Atkinson, Eileen Irby

    2010-01-01

    Students transitioning into the middle school often experience difficulty adjusting to their new environment. During this transition, declines in academic motivation, academic achievement, and connectedness have been noted. Most research on this transition has taken place in public school settings. This research investigated the impact of the…

  11. Teaching Ethics in Medical School.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ewan, Christine

    1986-01-01

    Reviews the literature regarding the teaching of ethics in medical schools. Defines medical ethics and attempts to determine the scope of medical ethics teaching. Discusses ways medical ethics could be taught and how that teaching can be assessed. Calls for increased attention into the teaching of medical ethics. (TW)

  12. Creating Hybrid Spaces for Engaging School Science among Urban Middle School Girls

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barton, Angela Calabrese; Tan, Edna; Rivet, Ann

    2008-01-01

    The middle grades are a crucial time for girls in making decisions about how or if they want to follow science trajectories. In this article, the authors report on how urban middle school girls enact meaningful strategies of engagement in science class in their efforts to merge their social worlds with the worlds of school science and on the…

  13. Difficulties in Learning and Teaching Statistics: Teacher Views

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koparan, Timur

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to define teacher views about the difficulties in learning and teaching middle school statistics subjects. To serve this aim, a number of interviews were conducted with 10 middle school maths teachers in 2011-2012 school year in the province of Trabzon. Of the qualitative descriptive research methods, the…

  14. Greeley's Maplewood Middle School Stellar in Solar Car Race

    Science.gov Websites

    ; Sinclair Middle School's car 21, "The Flyer," second place; Eagle Valley Middle School's car 5 , competitors designed and built vehicles no larger than 12 inches wide, 24 inches long and 12 inches high. The

  15. Influences of High-Stakes Testing on Middle School Mission and Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Musoleno, Ronald R.; White, George P.

    2010-01-01

    This study explored the effects of high-stakes testing and accountability on the fundamental practices associated with middle school philosophy. Participants were middle school educators, including administrators and teachers, from Pennsylvania middle schools. An online survey was used to collect data for this study. The survey addressed the…

  16. Thinking Processes in Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Matsuoka, Caryn

    2012-01-01

    As part of the author's doctoral program at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, she conducted a study to determine whether and how former sixth-grade students at Waikiki School were using the thinking processes and strategies they were taught in elementary school when they were in middle school. In order to find this out, she interviewed eight…

  17. Systems Thinking among School Middle Leaders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shaked, Haim; Schechter, Chen

    2017-01-01

    Systems thinking is a holistic approach that puts the study of wholes before that of parts. This study explores systems thinking among school middle leaders--teachers who have management responsibility for a team of teachers or for an aspect of the school's work. Interviews were held with 93 school coordinators, among them year heads, heads of…

  18. Middle Grades: Quality Teaching Equals Higher Student Achievement. Research Brief

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bottoms, Gene; Hertl, Jordan; Mollette, Melinda; Patterson, Lenora

    2014-01-01

    The middles grades are critical to public school systems and our nation's economy. It's the make-or-break point in students' futures. Studies repeatedly show when students are not engaged and lose interest in the middle grades, they are likely to fall behind in ninth grade and later drop out of school. When this happens, the workforce suffers, and…

  19. Delaware Middle Schools Beating the Odds. Technical Report Number T2010.4

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grusenmeyer, Linda; Fifield, Steve; Murphy, Aideen; Nian, Qinghua; Qian, Xiaoyu

    2010-01-01

    The investigation identified Delaware public and charter middle schools across the state which outperformed other Delaware middle schools with similar student demographic profiles. Teachers and administrators at six of these "Beating the Odds" schools and at six comparison middle schools were surveyed regarding their schools…

  20. Perceptions of middle school educators in Hawai'i about school-based gardening and child health.

    PubMed

    Ahmed, Ameena T; Oshiro, Caryn E; Loharuka, Sheila; Novotny, Rachel

    2011-07-01

    Childhood obesity prevention is a national priority. School-based gardening has been proposed as an innovative obesity prevention intervention. Little is known about the perceptions of educators about school-based gardening for child health. As the success of a school-based intervention depends on the support of educators, we investigated perceptions of educators about the benefits of gardening programs to child health. Semi-structured interviews of 9 middle school educators at a school with a garden program in rural Hawai'i were conducted. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Perceived benefits of school-based gardening included improving children's diet, engaging children in physical activity, creating a link to local tradition, mitigating hunger, and improving social skills. Poverty was cited as a barrier to adoption of healthy eating habits. Opinions about obesity were contradictory; obesity was considered both a health risk, as well as a cultural standard of beauty and strength. Few respondents framed benefits of gardening in terms of health. In order to be effective at obesity prevention, school-based gardening programs in Hawai'i should be framed as improving diet, addressing hunger, and teaching local tradition. Explicit messages about obesity prevention are likely to alienate the population, as these are in conflict with local standards of beauty. Health researchers and advocates need to further inform educators regarding the potential connections between gardening and health.

  1. Integrating Physics and Literacy Learning in a Physics Course for Prospective Elementary and Middle School Teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Zee, Emily H.; Jansen, Henri; Winograd, Kenneth; Crowl, Michele; Devitt, Adam

    2013-06-01

    The ability to listen closely, speak clearly, write coherently, read with comprehension, and to create and critique media offerings in science contexts is essential for effective science teaching. How might instructors develop such abilities in a physics course for prospective elementary and middle school teachers? We describe here such a course, involving collaboration among physics, science education, and literacy faculty members and two graduate assistants. Meeting twice a week for 10 weeks, the course emphasized questioning, predicting, exploring, observing, discussing, writing, and reading in physical science contexts. We report common themes about aspects that fostered or hindered science and literacy learning, changes in views about science teaching and learning, and positive shifts in interest in science and intended teaching practices.

  2. Follow-up of an elementary school intervention for asthma management: do gains last into middle school?

    PubMed

    Greenberg, Cindy; Luna, Pamela; Simmons, Gretchen; Huhman, Marian; Merkle, Sarah; Robin, Leah; Keener, Dana

    2010-06-01

    Albuquerque Public Schools (APS), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted an evaluation to examine whether students who were exposed to the APS asthma program in elementary school retained benefits into middle school. APS middle school students who participated in the APS asthma program in elementary school, including the Open Airways for Schools (OAS) education curriculum, responded to a follow-up questionnaire (N = 121) and participated in student focus groups (N = 40). Asthma management self-efficacy scores from the follow-up questionnaire were compared to scores obtained before and after the OAS education component. Additional items assessed students' asthma symptoms, management skills, avoidance of asthma triggers, and school impact. Although asthma management self-efficacy scores declined in middle school among students exposed to the asthma program in elementary school, they remained significantly higher than scores obtained during elementary school prior to the OAS intervention. The results indicate that although students benefited from the asthma program delivered in elementary school, they need booster sessions and continued school support in middle school.

  3. An Advocate for Every Student at Millard Central Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Balkus, Beth

    2006-01-01

    Central Middle School, part of the Millard Public School District, is a grade six through eight urban school located in Omaha, Nebraska. Omaha has a metropolitan and surrounding suburban population of approximately one million. Along with approximately 800 students in traditional middle school teams, CMS also offers a Montessori mini-magnet and…

  4. Motivating Middle School Readers: The Graphic Novel Link

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edwards, Buffy

    2009-01-01

    Middle school students are not reading for pleasure as frequently as they formally have, due to the influx of video games, cell phones, MP3 players, and other electronic device. This is not even to mention the common stresses of the average middle school student. Current research on reading motivation finds that as children move from upper…

  5. Short Sleep Duration Among Middle School and High School Students - United States, 2015.

    PubMed

    Wheaton, Anne G; Jones, Sherry Everett; Cooper, Adina C; Croft, Janet B

    2018-01-26

    Insufficient sleep among children and adolescents is associated with increased risk for obesity, diabetes, injuries, poor mental health, attention and behavior problems, and poor academic performance (1-4). The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has recommended that, for optimal health, children aged 6-12 years should regularly sleep 9-12 hours per 24 hours and teens aged 13-18 years should sleep 8-10 hours per 24 hours (1). CDC analyzed data from the 2015 national, state, and large urban school district Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBSs) to determine the prevalence of short sleep duration (<9 hours for children aged 6-12 years and <8 hours for teens aged 13-18 years) on school nights among middle school and high school students in the United States. In nine states that conducted the middle school YRBS and included a question about sleep duration in their questionnaire, the prevalence of short sleep duration among middle school students was 57.8%, with state-level estimates ranging from 50.2% (New Mexico) to 64.7% (Kentucky). The prevalence of short sleep duration among high school students in the national YRBS was 72.7%. State-level estimates of short sleep duration for the 30 states that conducted the high school YRBS and included a question about sleep duration in their questionnaire ranged from 61.8% (South Dakota) to 82.5% (West Virginia). The large percentage of middle school and high school students who do not get enough sleep on school nights suggests a need for promoting sleep health in schools and at home and delaying school start times to permit students adequate time for sleep.

  6. Transforming High-Poverty Urban Middle Schools into Strong Learning Institutions: Lessons from the First Five Years of the Talent Development Middle School.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Balfanz, Robert; Mac Iver, Doug

    2000-01-01

    Two developers of the Talent Development Middle School model discuss 10 lessons from implementing, refining, and evaluating this model in 5 high-poverty middle schools in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and describe obstacles encountered and breakthroughs experienced in developing the knowledge base, materials, and infrastructure of the model. (SLD)

  7. Looking Forward to High School and College: Middle Grade Indicators of Readiness in Chicago Public Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Allensworth, Elaine M.; Gwynne, Julia A.; Moore, Paul; de la Torre, Marisa

    2014-01-01

    There is a very large population of students who struggle with the transition from the middle grades to high school, raising concerns that high school failures are partially a function of poor middle grade preparation. As a result, middle grade practitioners are grappling with questions about what skills students need to succeed in high school,…

  8. A Novel Approach to Professional Development in Middle School Science: Instructional Coaching by University Professors to Improve the Instructional Core

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mchenry, Nadine; Borger, Laurie; Liable-Sands, Louise

    2017-01-01

    The current study was constructed based on the recommendations of a previous study (McHenry & Borger, 2013). Though inquiry-based teaching has long been touted as an effective pedagogy, its application by middle school science teachers has been problematic. Using tools developed from the previous study in conjunction with professional…

  9. Judging the Quality of Teaching in Lessons: Some Thoughts Prompted by Ofsted's Subsidiary Guidance on Teaching Style

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richards, Colin

    2014-01-01

    Lesson observations involving judgements of teaching quality are a regular feature of classroom life. Such observations and judgements are made by senior and middle managers in schools and also, very significantly, by Ofsted inspectors as a major component of their judgement on the quality of teaching in a school. Using the example of Ofsted…

  10. Middle School and High School Students Who Stutter: A Qualitative Investigation of School Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cobb, Tiffany R.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and further understand the ways in which middle school and high school students perceive their school experiences within the school environment. School has an important impact on the social development of children (Milsom, 2006). Learning is not done individually as classrooms are inherently social…

  11. Replacement vs. Renovation: The Reincarnation of Hubble Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ogurek, Douglas J.

    2010-01-01

    At the original Hubble Middle School, neither the views (a congested Roosevelt Road and glimpses of downtown Wheaton) nor the century-old facility that offered them was very inspiring. Built at the start of the 20th century, the 250,000-square-foot building was converted from Wheaton Central High School to Hubble Middle School in the early 1980s.…

  12. Middle School Science Notes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    School Science Review, 1980

    1980-01-01

    Describes equipment, experiments, and activities useful in middle school science instruction, including demonstrating how strong paper can be, the inclined plane illusion, a simplified diet calculation, a magnetic levitator, science with soap bubbles, a model motor and dynamo, and a pocketed sorter for safety glasses. (SK)

  13. Interactive Whiteboards and Digital Teaching Book to Secondary School Teachers and Contextual Affordances: Hybrid or Substitute?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pacurar, Ecaterina; Clad, Nicolas

    2015-01-01

    The objective of our study is to analyze the utility and the integration of the interactive whiteboard (IWB) and interactive textbook into the teaching skills. This project concerns middle and high school teachers with professional career guidance in France. The research had as objectives the appropriation in the use of IWB features and the…

  14. Teachers' Conceptions of Excellent Teaching and Its Relationships to Self-Reported Teaching Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Junjun; Brown, Gavin T. L.; Hattie, John A. C.; Millward, Pam

    2012-01-01

    This study surveyed Chinese middle school (n = 951) teachers' conceptions of excellent teaching and examined the relationship of those conceptions to their self-reported teaching practices. Responses were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. These teachers identified one examination-oriented dimension and…

  15. Development of a Multidisciplinary Middle School Mathematics Infusion Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Russo, Maria; Hecht, Deborah; Burghardt, M. David; Hacker, Michael; Saxman, Laura

    2011-01-01

    The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project "Mathematics, Science, and Technology Partnership" (MSTP) developed a multidisciplinary instructional model for connecting mathematics to science, technology and engineering content areas at the middle school level. Specifically, the model infused mathematics into middle school curriculum…

  16. Impacts of reform-based science in middle school classrooms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ruth, Lisa Mccurry

    2007-12-01

    In the summer of 2005, the University of South Carolina offered a four week, summer professional development opportunity for middle school science teachers. In this institute, reform-based curricula and strategies were introduced to the teachers. Seven teachers were asked to participate in this study to assess the impacts of reformed curricula and pedagogy. Teachers administered standards-based pretests and posttests to their students before and after the specified unit of study. Teachers were videotaped teaching lessons included in the curriculum unit or teaching a lesson that addressed the same set of standards. Pretests and posttests were analyzed and effect sizes were calculated. Effect sizes ranged from a minimum of 0.57 to 3.18. Videotaped lessons were analyzed using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) developed by the Arizona Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers (ACEPT) project. The level of inquiry-based instruction was not found to be a primary predictor of student learning gains, but was found to be associated with teachers who implemented the curriculum and associated pedagogical techniques. Teachers who presented lessons considered highly reformed had effect sizes as high as or greater than those who continued to utilize more traditional methods of teaching, when student population differences are taken into account. These same teachers were highly successful in facilitating student-directed, scientific discussions in their classrooms as compared to teachers who did not utilize curriculum materials.

  17. Story - Science - Solutions: A new middle school science curriculum that promotes climate-stewardship

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cordero, E.; Centeno Delgado, D. C.

    2017-12-01

    Over the last five years, Green Ninja has been developing educational media to help motivate student interest and engagement around climate science and solutions. The adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) offers a unique opportunity where schools are changing both what they teach in a science class and how they teach. Inspired by the new emphasis in NGSS on climate change, human impact and engineering design, Green Ninja developed a technology focused, integrative, and yearlong science curriculum (6th, 7th and 8th grade) focused broadly around solutions to environmental problems. The use of technology supports the development of skills valuable for students, while also offering real-time metrics to help measure both student learning and environmental impact of student actions. During the presentation, we will describe the design philosophy around our middle school curriculum and share data from a series of classes that have created environmental benefits that transcend the traditional classroom. The notion that formal education, if done correctly, can be leveraged as a viable climate mitigation strategy will be discussed.

  18. Perceptions of School Experiences during the First Semester of Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Buehler, Cheryl; Fletcher, Anne C.; Johnston, Carol; Weymouth, Bridget B.

    2015-01-01

    Symbolic interaction and stage-environment fit theories were used to examine associations between several aspects of the perceived school environment and youths' school-related experiences during the first semester of middle school in a sample of 390 youth living in a southeastern U.S. county. Perceived school environment included learning…

  19. "These books give me life": Considering what happens when comics and graphic novels are welcomed into a middle school space

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dallacqua, Ashley Kaye

    This year-long, ethnographic study documents the use of comics and graphic novels as academic literature across the curriculum in a suburban middle school. Because the use of this medium in classrooms is relatively new, it is a process that has not been extensively documented. While comics and graphic novels can provide a complex and valuable experience for readers, they can also be challenging to both students and teachers. In particular, this dissertation documents the tensions that surfaced as comics and graphic novels were integrated into a curriculum. This study is situated in a middle school entrenched in neoliberal ideologies, with focuses on high-stakes testing, a standardized curriculum, and individual, rather than collaborative work. Yet, the faculty in this middle school was also inviting nontraditional texts into classrooms, and operating in tension with a neoliberal agenda. By focusing on teaching and learning literacy practices with comics and graphic novels and talk about those practices, this study also addresses negative assumptions and hesitancies around such texts being used for academic purposes. Participants included seventh grade teachers and students engaged in working with and talking about comics. This research considers how comics and graphic novels were welcomed into this school, as well as impacts around time and space, and positioning. All of these themes point back to how comics and graphic novels were working within and against normative structures in this school. This study is positioned to consider conventional literacy practices and how teaching and learning with comics and graphic novels supports and disrupts those practices. Serving as an example and a starting point for bringing this dynamic medium into classrooms, this study fills a significant gap, supporting and challenging traditional literacies practices and analyzing potential for new ways of operating in a school.

  20. Middle Level Education in Rural Communities: Implications for School Leaders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, Douglas D.

    2005-01-01

    Middle level teachers and administrators working in small or rural schools often face unique obstacles in implementing recommended middle level practices. From sharing staff and schedules with other school sites, to inappropriate instructional techniques, to a general lack of understanding of the middle level philosophy, these obstacles can be a…

  1. Helping Middle School Girls at Risk for School Failure Recover Their Confidence and Achieve School Success: An Experimental Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mann, Michael J.

    2013-01-01

    Middle school girls who are at risk have experienced a disproportionate number of intense and disruptive traumatic life events. Such events can adversely affect healthy development and often contribute to higher levels of school failure and problem behavior. Few programs focus on helping at-risk middle school girls achieve school success through…

  2. RTI in Middle School Classrooms: Proven Tools and Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Esteves, Kelli J.; Whitten, Elizabeth

    2014-01-01

    "RTI in Middle School Classrooms" provides practical, research-based instructional techniques and interventions--geared especially to middle school teachers and administrators--that target and address specific needs of individual students. Response to intervention allows educators to assess and meet the needs of struggling students…

  3. Association of being bullied in school with suicide ideation and planning among rural middle school adolescents.

    PubMed

    Bhatta, Madhav P; Shakya, Sunita; Jefferis, Eric

    2014-11-01

    This study examined the association of ever being bullied in school with suicide ideation (ever thinking about killing oneself) and ever seriously making a plan to kill oneself (suicide planning) among rural middle school adolescents. Using the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Middle School Youth Risk Behavior Survey instrument, 2 cross-sectional surveys were conducted among middle school adolescents (N = 1082) in a rural Appalachian county in Ohio in 2009 and 2012. Multivariable logistic regression models assessed the relationship of ever being bullied in school with suicide ideation and planning. Overall, a total of 468 participants (43.1%) reported ever being bullied in school, and 22.3% and 13.2% of the adolescents surveyed reported suicide ideation and planning, respectively. In the multivariable analyses, ever being bullied in school was significantly associated with both suicide ideation (odds ratio [OR] = 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.7-3.5) and planning (OR = 2.5; 95% CI: 1.6-3.8). The results show a strong association between being bullied in school and suicide ideation and planning among rural middle school adolescents. Prevention of bullying in school as early as in middle school should be a strategy for reducing suicide ideation and planning among adolescents. © 2014, American School Health Association.

  4. Student Perceptions of the Transition from Elementary to Middle School.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akos, Patrick

    2002-01-01

    This study sought to learn more about student perceptions during the transition from elementary to middle school. In response to students' concerns, it is suggested that school counselors implement preventive or proactive programming to assist students with the elementary to middle school transition. (Contains 22 references.) (GCP)

  5. A Special Report on Middle Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hollifield, John H.

    1988-01-01

    The first Center for Research on Elementary and Middle Schools (CREM) report describes the structures and practices currently used at all school levels for staffing, grouping, and scheduling. The report assesses the effects of departmentalization, tracking, ability grouping, and grade spans on student learning and development. (MLH)

  6. Unfinished but Not yet Exhausted: A Review of Australian Middle Schooling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prosser, Brenton

    2008-01-01

    The state of Middle Schooling in many Western countries has been described as under threat, at a crossroads and like a wasteland. Within Australia, it has also been claimed that the past generation focus on Middle Schooling is unfinished and exhausted. But a Middle Schooling movement continues in Australia that provides examples of a way out of a…

  7. Operationalization of a Frame of Reference for Studying Organizational Culture in Middle Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Daniel, Larry G.

    A frame of reference for studying culture in middle schools was developed. Items for the Middle School Description Survey (MSDS), which was designed to test elements of the ideal middle school culture, were created based on middle school advocacy literature. The items were conceptually categorized according to E. H. Schein's (1985) cultural…

  8. Equity in Reform: Case Studies of Five Middle Schools Involved in Systemic Reform

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kahle, Jane Butler; Kelly, Mary Kay

    Science and mathematics education reform documents of the last decade have called for improved teaching and learning for all children. To overcome inequalities, a systemic approach to reform has been adopted. The case studies synthesized in this analysis arc part of a larger effort to reform science and mathematics education systemically and assess the progress of systemic reform. The purpose of this study was to assess the progress toward achieving equitable systemic reform in five middle schools. A multiple-case study design was used, and qualitative data were collected. Kahle's Equity Metric was used to analyze the schools' progress toward achieving equitable systemic reform of mathematics and science. Two results occurred: Various equity issues were identified in the five case studies, and the metric proved efficacious in identifying barriers to or facilitators of equitable reform in the schools. Overall, the study illustrates how schools might assess their commitments to providing high-quality science and mathematics education to all students.

  9. Perceptions about interpersonal relationships and school environment among middle school students with asthma.

    PubMed

    Rhee, Hyekyun; McQuillan, Brenda; Chen, Ding-Geng; Atis, Shannska

    2017-11-01

    To examine interpersonal relationships involving peers and teachers and perceptions about school environment among middle school students with asthma in comparison to their healthy counterparts. The study also assesses asthma prevalence in a large sample of middle school students representing different geographic locations. Cross-sectional data were collected from 1059 middle school students in grades 6-8 enrolled in schools in a northeastern region of the United States. Students reported their chronic health conditions including asthma and completed questionnaires measuring perceptions about their relationships with peers and teachers as well as school environment. Analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) were used to compare students with asthma and their healthy counterparts in the study variables. Asthma was reported by 16.5% of the sample (n = 169). The rate was higher among minority students (23%) than their white counterparts (15%). Greater proportion of urban students (28%) reported asthma than rural (18%) and suburban (14%) students. Students with asthma reported significantly poorer relationships with peers (B = -1.74, p <.001) and teachers (B = -1.41, p =.009), and their perceptions about overall school environment (B = -1.30, p =.009) were also lower than their healthy counterparts. Race showed no significant effects on school factors. Overall asthma prevalence was substantially higher than the national average of adolescent asthma, particularly those residing in the urban area. Poor perceptions of interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers among students with asthma may indicate compromised quality of life. Suboptimal interpersonal relationships and school environment need to be identified and adequately addressed, given their implications for asthma management at the school setting among middle school students.

  10. Difficulties in learning and teaching statistics: teacher views

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koparan, Timur

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to define teacher views about the difficulties in learning and teaching middle school statistics subjects. To serve this aim, a number of interviews were conducted with 10 middle school maths teachers in 2011-2012 school year in the province of Trabzon. Of the qualitative descriptive research methods, the semi-structured interview technique was applied in the research. In accordance with the aim, teacher opinions about the statistics subjects were examined and analysed. Similar responses from the teachers were grouped and evaluated. The teachers stated that it was positive that middle school statistics subjects were taught gradually in every grade but some difficulties were experienced in the teaching of this subject. The findings are presented in eight themes which are context, sample, data representation, central tendency and dispersion measure, probability, variance, and other difficulties.

  11. Injecting Computational Thinking into Computing Activities for Middle School Girls

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Webb, Heidi Cornelia

    2013-01-01

    Advances in technology have caused high schools to update their computer science curricula; however there has been little analogous attention to technology-related education in middle schools. With respect to computer-related knowledge and skills, middle school students are at a critical phase in life, exploring individualized education options…

  12. Cyberbullying: What Middle School Students Want You to Know

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burnham, J. J.; Wright, V. H.

    2012-01-01

    Cyberbullying is a growing concern because youth are technologically savvy. Much is to be learned about this pervasive phenomenon, especially during the middle school years when cyberbullying often peaks. This focus group study examined cyberbullying attitudes, beliefs, and opinions among middle school students in Alabama and describes…

  13. Teacher Perspectives on Career-Relevant Curriculum in Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akos, Patrick; Charles, Pajarita; Orthner, Dennis; Cooley, Valerie

    2011-01-01

    Relevant, challenging, integrative, and exploratory all describe the curriculum desirable in middle school (National Middle School Association, 2010). Career-relevant curriculum is one prominent strategy used since the 1970s to achieve these goals. Systematic, integrated, and contemporary efforts at career education often engage core teachers who…

  14. Life Satisfaction and Violent Behaviors among Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Valois, Robert F.; Paxton, Raheem J.; Zullig, Keith J.; Huebner, E. Scott

    2006-01-01

    We explored relationships between violent behaviors and perceived life satisfaction among 2,138 middle school students in a southern state using the CDC Middle School Youth Risk Behavior Survey (MSYRBS) and the Brief Multidimensional Student Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS). Logistic regression analyses and multivariate models constructed…

  15. Social Studies in the Middle School: A Report of the Task Force on Social Studies in the Middle School. Position Statement & Guidelines.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Council for the Social Studies, Washington, DC.

    This task force report is designed to focus attention on the young adolescent learner and provide direction for developing appropriate and meaningful social studies instruction for the middle school. Schools at the middle level characteristically focus on the unique developmental needs of young adolescents. A number of these needs are listed, in…

  16. Intensive Language Teaching in Schools. Teaching Languages 1.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawkins, Eric, Ed.; Perren, G. E., Ed.

    The papers in this volume concerning intensive language teaching are grouped into three sections: "Sections bilingues,""Intensive courses within schools," and "Intensive courses at external centres." A preliminary chapter by Eric Hawkins introduces the historical context of intensive language teaching and a concluding…

  17. A private school leadership perspective on highly qualified middle school science teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bogaski, Carolyn Siniscalchi

    The purpose of this study was to determine how Florida (FL) private, middle school (MS) leaders define highly qualified (HQ) MS science teachers, and how congruent their definitions are. The study also determines how congruent these leaders' definitions are with FL, national, and National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) definitions. Lastly, the study determines the major challenges these private MS leaders have in hiring MS science teachers who meet the NSTA definition of HQ. A convergent mixed methods survey design (Creswell, 2014) was used, in which qualitative and quantitative data were collected in parallel, analyzed separately, and then merged. Participants in the survey consisted of 119 leaders. A congruency rubric separated responses by religious affiliation and socioeconomic status (SES) level and matched responses with the percentage of congruency with the existing FL, national, and NSTA definitions of HQ. Descriptive statistics, paired samples t-test, and chi-squared test were used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data. Qualitative data were coded into preliminary and final codes. Final codes were converted into magnitude codes, which allowed the researcher to analyze further the qualitative data statistically. Survey responses received were definitely congruent, except in ranking the importance of a candidate having an out-of-field degree with state certification, and in ranking the importance of a candidate being fully qualified to teach science in their state with a strong knowledge of science content. Segregating the survey responses into registered religious affiliations and SES levels found that the definition of a HQ MS science teacher was mostly congruent among all demographics, with only a couple of exceptions. The study found that these private school leaders' common definition of a HQ MS science teacher is one with adequate science content knowledge, pedagogy including engagement in laboratory activities, ability to relate to

  18. Middle School Student Attitudes about School Drinking Fountains and Water Intake

    PubMed Central

    Patel, Anisha I.; Bogart, Laura M.; Klein, David J.; Cowgill, Burt; Uyeda, Kimberly E.; Hawes-Dawson, Jennifer; Schuster, Mark A.

    2014-01-01

    Objective Describe middle school student attitudes about school drinking fountains, investigate whether such attitudes are associated with intentions to drink water at school, and determine how intentions relate to overall water intake. Methods Students (n=3,211) in 9 California middle schools completed surveys between 2009–2011. We used multivariate linear regression, adjusting for school sociodemographic characteristics, to examine how attitudes about fountains (5-point scale; higher scores indicating more positive attitudes) were associated with intentions to drink water at school and how intentions to drink water at school were related to overall water intake. Results Mean age of students was 12.3 (SD=0.7) years; 75% were Latino, 89% low-income, and 39% foreign-born. Fifty-two percent reported lower than recommended overall water intake (<3 glasses/day), and 30% reported that they were unlikely or extremely unlikely to drink water at school. Fifty-nine percent reported that school fountains were unclean, 48% that fountain water does not taste good, 33% that fountains could make them sick, 31% that it was not okay to drink from fountains, and 24% that fountain water is contaminated. In adjusted analyses, attitudes about school drinking fountains were related to intentions to drink water at school (B=0.41; p-value <0.001); intentions to drink water at school were also associated with overall water intake (B=0.20; p-value <0.001). Conclusions and Relevance Students have negative attitudes about school fountains. To increase overall water intake, it may be important to promote and improve drinking water sources not only at school, but also at home and in other community environments. What’s New Although most schools provide water via fountains, little is known about student attitudes about fountains. In this study, middle school students had negative attitudes about fountains; such attitudes were associated with lower intentions to drink water at school. PMID

  19. Retired African American female urban middle school science teachers' beliefs and practices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Whitney, Frances M.

    The purpose of this paper is to give a voice to a dedicated group of professionals who unselfishly labored twenty-five plus years educating the children of America's poorest taxpaying citizens. These retired African American female urban middle school science teachers (RAAFUMSST) explain the experiences that gave them the fortitude to stay in the urban school system until their retirement. The goal is to give you a glimpse into the distractions, challenges, and victories the teachers encountered as they strove to teach science in an overcrowded, underserviced, and depressed urban school district of a major city. Most times sacrificing self for service, the participants of this study held fast to their beliefs that all of America's children, regardless of their parents' socioeconomic status, deserve a quality education. It is through individual interviews that the five retired science teachers of this project share their reflections on the events and circumstances that altered their labor of love. Critical Race Theory (CRT) serves as the theoretical frame for this study.

  20. Girls in Foster Care: Risk and Promotive Factors for School Adjustment Across the Transition to Middle School.

    PubMed

    Pears, Katherine C; Kim, Hyoun K; Leve, Leslie D

    2012-01-01

    Girls in foster care may face difficulties across the transition to middle school. Latent growth curve modeling was employed to examine trajectories and predictors of academic competence and aggression from and against peers for 75 girls in foster care from the end of elementary school to the 2(nd) year of middle school. Across the transition to middle school, academic competence increased. Poor self-regulation was associated with decreased academic competence, and higher caregiver support was associated with increased academic competence. Frequency of aggression from peers decreased across the transition, with perceived school competence predicting smaller decreases. Aggression against peers dropped initially and then increased to pretransition levels by the end of the 2(nd) year of middle school. Lower caregiver support was associated with higher rates of aggression against peers at the end of the 1(st) year of middle school. The results are discussed in terms of implications for interventions for girls in foster care.

  1. Girls in Foster Care: Risk and Promotive Factors for School Adjustment Across the Transition to Middle School

    PubMed Central

    Pears, Katherine C.; Kim, Hyoun K.; Leve, Leslie D.

    2011-01-01

    Girls in foster care may face difficulties across the transition to middle school. Latent growth curve modeling was employed to examine trajectories and predictors of academic competence and aggression from and against peers for 75 girls in foster care from the end of elementary school to the 2nd year of middle school. Across the transition to middle school, academic competence increased. Poor self-regulation was associated with decreased academic competence, and higher caregiver support was associated with increased academic competence. Frequency of aggression from peers decreased across the transition, with perceived school competence predicting smaller decreases. Aggression against peers dropped initially and then increased to pretransition levels by the end of the 2nd year of middle school. Lower caregiver support was associated with higher rates of aggression against peers at the end of the 1st year of middle school. The results are discussed in terms of implications for interventions for girls in foster care. PMID:22389543

  2. School Attachment Theory and Restitution Processes: Promoting Positive Behaviors in Middle Years Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Penner, Christine; Wallin, Dawn

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents the findings of a case study that examined school attachment and restitution strategies used in a middle years school to determine if the program had provided a viable means of promoting and sustaining positive behaviors among middle years students. Data were gathered by interviewing five teachers who had Restitution I training…

  3. Progress Monitoring in Middle School Mathematics: Options and Issues

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Foegen, Anne

    2008-01-01

    This study investigated the technical features of six potential progress-monitoring measures in mathematics appropriate for use at the middle school level, including two commercially available measures for sixth-grade mathematics, two measures used in previous middle school studies, and two new measures of numeracy concepts. Five hundred…

  4. Teaching Literature to Adolescents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beach, Richard W.; Appleman, Deborah; Hynds, Susan; Wilhelm, Jeffrey

    2006-01-01

    This text for pre-service and in-service English education courses presents current methods of teaching literature to middle and high school students. The methods are based on social constructivist/socio-cultural theories of literacy learning, and incorporate research on literary response conducted by the authors. "Teaching Literature to…

  5. Commitment to Teach in Under-Resourced Schools: Prospective Science and Mathematics Teachers' Dispositions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ganchorre, Athena R.; Tomanek, Debra

    2012-02-01

    In this exploratory study, we sought to gain an understanding of what motivates prospective teachers who are Noyce Scholars at a research-intensive southeastern US university to commit to teaching secondary level science or mathematics in school districts that have a high proportion of students who come from low-socioeconomic households. An interpretive methodology revealed three themes associated with Noyce Scholars' motivations to teach (1) awareness of educational challenges, (2) sense of belonging to or comfort with diverse communities, and (3) belief that one can serve as a role model and resource. The paper describes and compares the significance of each theme among six prospective teachers who identify with the schooling experiences of students who came from low-income or poor households and nine prospective teachers who identify with the schooling experiences in a middle-income school or district. The implication of this study supports the importance of recruiting prospective science and mathematics teachers who have knowledge of and a disposition to work with learners from low-income or poor households, even if those prospective teachers are not themselves the members of under-served populations.

  6. What Current Research Says to the Middle Level Practitioner.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Irvin, Judith L., Ed.

    This volume provides recent research findings on important topics related to the still-expanding middle school movement. They are divided into seven parts, addressing teaching/learning, curriculum, teacher education, social context, organization, leaderships, and issues and future directions. Following an introduction to middle level education…

  7. Determining the Science, Agriculture and Natural Resource, and Youth Leadership Outcomes for Students Participating in an Innovative Middle School Agriscience Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Skelton, Peter; Stair, Kristin S.; Dormody, Tom; Vanleeuwen, Dawn

    2014-01-01

    The Memorial Middle School Agricultural Extension and Education Center (MMSAEEC) located in Las Vegas, New Mexico is a youth science center focusing on agriculture and natural resources. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study of the MMSAEEC teaching and learning model was to determine if differences exist in science achievement, agriculture…

  8. A Preliminary Examination of the Cost Savings and Learning Impacts of Using Open Textbooks in Middle and High School Science Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wiley, David; Hilton, John Levi, III; Ellington, Shelley; Hall, Tiffany

    2012-01-01

    Proponents of open educational resources claim that significant cost savings are possible when open textbooks displace traditional textbooks in the classroom. Over a period of two years, we worked with 20 middle and high school science teachers (collectively teaching approximately 3,900 students) who adopted open textbooks to understand the…

  9. Bullying and Symptoms of Depression in Chilean Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fleming, Lila C.; Jacobsen, Kathryn H.

    2009-01-01

    Background: The goal of this study was to assess the association between bullying and symptoms of depression among middle school students in Chile. Methods: Secondary data analysis of Chile's 2004 Global School-Based Health Survey. Results: A total of 8131 middle school students participated in the study. Forty-seven percent of students reported…

  10. Urban Middle School Students' Perceptions of Bullying, Cyberbullying, and School Safety

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Varjas, Kris; Henrich, Christopher C.; Meyers, Joel

    2009-01-01

    This study examined 427 urban middle school students' perceptions of bullying, cyberbullying, and school safety utilizing the Student Survey of Bullying Behavior-Revised 2 (Varjas, Meyers, & Hunt, 2006). A unique finding is that cyberbullying may represent a unique modality of victimization and bullying compared with other school-based…

  11. Predicting Middle School Students' Use of Web 2.0 Technologies out of School Using Home and School Technological Variables

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hughes, Joan E.; Read, Michelle F.; Jones, Sara; Mahometa, Michael

    2015-01-01

    This study used multiple regression to identify predictors of middle school students' Web 2.0 activities out of school, a construct composed of 15 technology activities. Three middle schools participated, where sixth- and seventh-grade students completed a questionnaire. Independent predictor variables included three demographic and five computer…

  12. Orientation to Middle School: A Guidance Play.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Childress, Natalie Wilson

    1982-01-01

    Presents a play that gives elementary school students a lighthearted but informative overview of middle school life. The play presents information about curriculum, lockers, physical education, materials, and classwork. Notes student reactions to the presentation. (RC)

  13. The Peril of Ignoring Middle School Student Speech Rights

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hassenpflug, Ann

    2016-01-01

    Analysis of two recent federal court cases in which principals violated student speech rights offers guidance to middle school administrators as they attempt to address student expression. Characteristics of a successful school from the Association for Middle Level Education provide a framework for analyzing these cases in order to prevent…

  14. Utilization of hands-on and simulation activities for teaching middle school lunar concepts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roseman, Reni B.; Jones, Dyan L.

    2013-01-01

    A great deal of literature exists surrounding the misconceptions that students have regarding the moon, specifically how the moon phases and eclipses occur. These studies provide teachers with information regarding what misconceptions their students may come to the classroom with as well as some ideas as to how to approach and correct them. However, these methods are not always validated with classroom-based research, and much of the research that has been done is in the high school and college setting. As such, we have undertaken a study to investigate what a group of middle school students know about the moon pre-instruction, and how hands-on activities and computer simulations affect student learning and understanding of these topics. The results of this project show that neither supplementation was distinguishably more effective in improving student test scores, as measured by normalized gains; this may be an artifact of high pre-test scores, as described herein.

  15. Perceptions of Middle School Educators in Hawai‘i about School-based Gardening and Child Health

    PubMed Central

    Oshiro, Caryn E; Loharuka, Sheila; Novotny, Rachel

    2011-01-01

    Background Childhood obesity prevention is a national priority. School-based gardening has been proposed as an innovative obesity prevention intervention. Little is known about the perceptions of educators about school-based gardening for child health. As the success of a school-based intervention depends on the support of educators, we investigated perceptions of educators about the benefits of gardening programs to child health. Methods Semi-structured interviews of 9 middle school educators at a school with a garden program in rural Hawai‘i were conducted. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Results Perceived benefits of school-based gardening included improving children's diet, engaging children in physical activity, creating a link to local tradition, mitigating hunger, and improving social skills. Poverty was cited as a barrier to adoption of healthy eating habits. Opinions about obesity were contradictory; obesity was considered both a health risk, as well as a cultural standard of beauty and strength. Few respondents framed benefits of gardening in terms of health. Conclusions In order to be effective at obesity prevention, school-based gardening programs in Hawai‘i should be framed as improving diet, addressing hunger, and teaching local tradition. Explicit messages about obesity prevention are likely to alienate the population, as these are in conflict with local standards of beauty. Health researchers and advocates need to further inform educators regarding the potential connections between gardening and health. PMID:21886287

  16. Food Sauces to Understand Volcanoes: a Learning Sequence in Middle School

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pieraccioni, Fabio; Bonaccorsi, Elena; Gioncada, Anna

    2017-04-01

    , pupils become familiar with concepts such as viscosity, behavior of fluids, magma, lava, slope of flanks and they can begin to comprehend why volcanoes have got differently named forms. REFERENCES Baker D.R., Dalpè C. & Porier G. (2004) - The Viscosities of Food as Analogs for Silicate Melts. Journal of Geoscience Education, 52, 363-367. Dove J. (1998) - Students alternative conceptions in Earth science: a review of research and implications for teaching and learning. Research Papers in Education, 13(2), 183-201. Greca I.M. & Moreira M.A. (2000) - Mental models, conceptual models, and modelling. International Journal of Science Education, 22(1), 1-11. Minner D. D., Levy A. J., & Century J. (2010) - Inquiry-based science instruction—what it is and does it matter? Results from a research synthesis years 1984 to 2002. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(4), 474-496. Pieraccioni F., Finato B., Bonaccorsi E. & Gioncada A. (2016) - The soil in the classroom: a middle school case study. Educational Journal of the University of Patras UNESCO, 3(2), 149 -157.

  17. Final Environmental Assessment: Replace Hanscom AFB Middle School

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-04-01

    term impacts on wastewater facilities are anticipated during the demolition/construction of the Middle School. Portable toilets may be available for...7.14. CUMULATIVE IMPACTS 7-18 SECTION 8. MEASURES TO REDUCE POTENTIAL FOR IMPACT 8-1 SECTION 9. CONSULTATION LETTERS, EMAILS, AND PUBLIC NOTICE 9-1...U.S. Air Force April 2012 1 FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT Name of Action: Replace Hanscom AFB Middle School Hanscom Air Force Base

  18. The Effects of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support on Middle School Climate and Student Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Caldarella, Paul; Shatzer, Ryan H.; Gray, Kristy M.; Young, K. Richard; Young, Ellie L.

    2011-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) on middle school climate and student outcomes. Data consisted of more than 300 teacher responses and 10,000 student responses in two middle schools in the western United States. This study used a quasi-experimental (non-equivalent two-group, pretest-posttest)…

  19. The Explicit Teaching of Reading.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hancock, Joelie, Ed.

    Exploring the explicit teaching of reading, this book is the result of a group of Australian teachers who took a closer look at their teaching so that they could be clearer to their kindergarten through middle-school students. Chapter 1 is based on a presentation at a Saturday inservice program on explicit teaching. Chapters 2-9 were written by…

  20. Social and Emotional Learning through a Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility Based After-School Program for Disengaged Middle-School Boys

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gordon, Barrie; Jacobs, Jenn M.; Wright, Paul M.

    2016-01-01

    This study examined a long-term afterschool leadership program situated in a Midwestern university town in the US. The activity-based program for boys considered to be disengaged with school and at risk for dropping out of education, was based on the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) model. The program curriculum was strongly…

  1. Middle School Student Records as Dropout Indicators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gregg, William Sherman

    2010-01-01

    Dropping out of school is associated with a wide array of negative outcomes and the extraordinarily high United States dropout rate has brought the issue to the forefront of American education. This study investigated normally collected middle school data from a suburban Colorado school district to determine the predictive value toward students…

  2. [Frequency of use of school cafeterias in middle and high schools in 3 French districts].

    PubMed

    Michaud, C; Feur, E; Gerbouin-Rérolle, P; Leynaud-Rouaud, C; Chateil, S; Gourdon, M

    2000-09-01

    Reports from the French Ministry of Education warn of a decrease in the use of school food services, especially in sensitive urban areas. They also suggest that this decline has led to cases of malnutrition. This article describes the characteristics of the current supply of school meals and measures the evolution of demand observed between 1992 and 1996 in relation to the economic situation of students' families. The study was carried out in 3 departments in France: Doubs, Herault, and Val de Marne. The administrators of all public and private middle and high schools in the 3 departments received a questionnaire asking them to describe the services offered in their cafeterias and to provide the corresponding statistical and accounting data. External food services near the schools were also taken into account. Seventy-nine percent of schools responded to the survey. Concerning the services offered, 91% of schools have their own cafeterias, of which 81% are managed by the schools. Concerning the evolution of utilisation, a significant decrease in the number of meals served in seen in middle schools. On the other hand, high schools have observed stable utilisation. The positive changes in utilisation are linked, in middle schools, to characteristics of the schools' internal food services (self-service, choice of main courses, modulation of seats). In high schools, positive changes in the utilisation of school services are linked to the lack of external food services near the schools. As middle schools and high schools control the logistics and management of food services offered to students, they are potentially in a position to influence a policy on this issue. The evolution in utilisation is very different among departments and between middle and high schools. While economic precariousness has a negative structural effect on utilisation, it doesn't seem to be a major factor in the evolution of the decrease observed over the past few years.

  3. Body Power! School-Based Weight Management for Middle School Adolescents. Leader's Manual.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dennee, Phyllis M.; And Others

    This leader's manual contains the materials required to present a school-based weight management curriculum that may be offered both in school and outside the school setting for middle-school adolescents. The first section contains instructor information regarding the following topics: need for the program; program objectives; timeline and…

  4. Middle School Deaf Students' Problem-Solving Behaviors and Strategy Use

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, ChongMin

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this research is to describe and understand the ways in which deaf middle school students understood and solved compare word problems, and to examine their overall strategy use in learning mathematics. The participants in the study were deaf middle school students, attending a residential state school for the deaf. Most of them used…

  5. Development of the Spatial Ability Test for Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yildiz, Sevda Göktepe; Özdemir, Ahmet Sükrü

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to develop a test to determine spatial ability of middle school students. The participants were 704 middle school students (6th, 7th and 8th grade) who were studying at different schools from Istanbul. Item analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis were used to analyse the data.…

  6. Investigating Indian Elementary and Middle School Students' Images of Designers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ara, Farhat; Natarajan, Chitra

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents an investigation into Indian elementary and middle school students' images of designers. A "Draw a designer at work" test was used with 511 students from Classes 5 to 9 from a school located in Mumbai. Findings from the study indicate that Indian elementary and middle school students, who had no experience in design…

  7. Leadership in Middle Level Education. Volume I: A National Survey of Middle Level Leaders and Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Valentine, Jerry W.; And Others

    The National Association of Secondary School Principals periodically studies practices and characteristics of secondary schools to help inform educators and shape policy. Such studies of middle-level education were conducted in 1966 and 1981. As middle-level education moved into the 1990s, many new questions about education and leadership needed…

  8. The Effects of Cover, Copy, and Compare to Teach Spelling to Middle School Students with Learning Disabilities and OHI

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kinney, Michelle; Hochstetler, Elizabeth; McLaughlin, T. F.; Derby, K. Mark

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of cover, copy, and compare (CCC) on the spelling performance of three male middle school students. Two of the participants had learning disabilities and the third was health impaired. The study was conducted in a public school resource room in the Pacific Northwest. A multiple-baseline across…

  9. Differences in Middle School Science Achievement by School District Size

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mann, Matthew James; Maxwell, Gerri M.; Holland, Glenda

    2013-01-01

    This study examined differences in Texas middle school student achievement in science by school district enrollment size. Quantitative research utilized analysis of variance to determine whether significant differences existed between student achievement on the 2010 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills 8th grade science results and four school…

  10. Coping with Verbal and Social Bullying in Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Donoghue, Christopher; Almeida, Angela; Brandwein, David; Rocha, Gabriela; Callahan, Ian

    2014-01-01

    Becoming a victim of verbal and social bullying in middle school can lead to illness, psychological stress, and maladjustment. The coping strategies that students utilize when they are bullied may influence the likelihood and severity of these negative effects. In this study, we examined the predictions made by students in two middle schools about…

  11. An Examination of Middle School Counselors' Comfort with Technology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roddy, Patricia Christina

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of the current study was to investigate the differences in comfort with technology in middle school counselors in South Carolina. The researcher's goal was to determine the effects of years of experience, technology training, gender, and age on middle school counselors' comfort with technology. After a review of literature, it has been…

  12. Preservice Educators' Perceptions of Teaching in an Urban Middle School Setting: A Lesson from the Amistad

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hill, Pixita del Prado; Phelps, Stephen; Friedland, Ellen S.

    2007-01-01

    Preparing European-American preservice teachers for diverse urban school settings pose multiple challenges. Of primary concern are the differences in race, culture, and community between teachers and students. Because new teachers prefer to work where they grew up, most preservice teachers want to teach students who are like themselves in familiar…

  13. Health Literacy Teaching Beliefs, Attitudes, Efficacy, and Intentions of Middle School Health and Physical Education Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lai, Hsiang-Ru; Wu, Der-Min; Lee, Pi-Hsia; Jhang, Yu-Siang

    2018-01-01

    Background: Health education (HE) courses in schools are vital paths for improving teenagers' health literacy. HE and physical education (PE) teachers lead HE courses, and their teaching intentions and competency influence the effectiveness of the courses and the ability to promote students' health literacy. This study attempted to understand HE…

  14. Box Cello Middle School Science Clubs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vandegrift, Guy

    1998-10-01

    The Box Cello is a middle school science club which is attempting to (1) understand the cello and (2) design a low-cost starter instrument. We can support and justify this research by adding a third goal: (3) to help supply local science classes with equipment. My policy of spending one entire day each week away from the university, out in a local school is essential to this project. This schedule also permits me to conduct lessons on optics and music in the schools. And, it permits circulation of tools and equipment. A simple calculation demonstrates the great economy achieved by combining science clubs with academic year school visits. Consider the cost of letting 10,000 students in 10 middle schools each learn about and play with a pair of "upside-down" glasses for one hour. A visit to each school for three consecutive weeks would easily permit such a circulation if only 30 pairs were constructed. Assume rhetorically, that the construction of 30 pairs of glasses were to consume the entire estimated annual budget of $100,000. The cost per student would be only ten dollars! The visits, guest lectures, and equipment loans permit informal networking (including lunch) with math, science and music teachers in 10 schools. For more information, visit the http://www.utep.edu/boxcello/

  15. Teaching Media and Culture of the Middle East to American Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muhtaseb, Ahlam; Algan, Ece; Bennett, Anne

    2014-01-01

    Americans know very little about the Middle East in general despite the fact that the region is at the heart of American foreign policy. While no one doubts the importance of teaching the history, culture, and politics of the Middle East in the United States, lack of basic knowledge coupled with the strong antipathy toward Arabs and Muslims make…

  16. Improving Social Competence in a Middle School.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Levinsohn, Mary; Klyap, John M.

    This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of a social competence promotion program conducted in the sixth grade of a middle school. The need to increase social competence within the school arose from the results of enumerative and stakeholder data collected at the school. This paper outlines the steps of the needs assessment, program…

  17. A-Okay: A Middle School Advisory Program.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Robinson, Bonnie

    This guide presents an advisory program for middle schools. The program is designed for groups of 10 to 15 students meeting twice a week; the advisors should be adults from within the school (teachers, guidance counselors, administrators, etc.). The program has four goals: (1) to promote students' sense of belonging within the school; (2) to…

  18. Impact of an Immunization Education Program on Middle School Adolescents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Glik, Deborah; Macpherson, Fiona; Todd, Wendy; Stone, Kathleen; Ang, Alfonso; Jones, Marcy Connell

    2004-01-01

    Objectives : To raise middle school student awareness, attitudes, and proactive behaviors about immunization, and to increase immunization rates among middle school students through implementation of a comprehensive integrated immunization promotion curriculum ( Immunization Plus! ) Methods: Evaluation used a quasi-experimental non-equivalent…

  19. Using Collaborative Planning and Teaching Practices to Improve the Academic Achievement of Students with Disabilities: A Case Study of Inclusive Classrooms in Two Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Terranoud, Timothy Gerard

    2010-01-01

    This study examines the collaborative practices between three sets of special education and English/Language Arts teachers involved in the co-teaching of inclusive classrooms--classrooms consisting of both general education and special education students (SWDs). The study took place in two middle schools in two different school districts in New…

  20. A Program Review of a Middle School Gay-Straight Alliance Club

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Quasha, Scott; McCabe, Paul C.; Ortiz, Samuel O.

    2014-01-01

    This program review examined a middle school Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club within a northeastern suburban school situated in a large metropolitan area. The GSA was the first in the region to start exclusively in a standalone middle school. The review was accomplished through a staff survey comparing school climates for lesbian, gay, bisexual,…