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Full-Text Articles in Education

Developing Proportional Reasoning Via Lego Robotics: Experiences Of A 7th Grade Mathematics Class, Shelli L. Casler-Failing, Leah C. Swann Dec 2023

Developing Proportional Reasoning Via Lego Robotics: Experiences Of A 7th Grade Mathematics Class, Shelli L. Casler-Failing, Leah C. Swann

Middle Grades Review

A qualitatively oriented mixed methods case study was conducted to investigate the effects of incorporating LEGO robotics into a seventh-grade mathematics curriculum. Using the lenses of Social Constructivist Theory and the Five Stages of Technology Integration, this research focused on the development of proportional reasoning skills. The data show students experienced success in developing their proportional reasoning skills as they completed tasks using the robotics. The quantitative data shows evidence of growth in understanding and development of proportional reasoning. The qualitative analysis provides evidence that students developed their understanding through collaborative discussions as they worked through the different technology stages. …


Detecting A Possible Correlation Between Hands-On Experimentation And Scientific Data Analysis In 8th Grade Students, Breana Dobesh, Phu Vu Jun 2023

Detecting A Possible Correlation Between Hands-On Experimentation And Scientific Data Analysis In 8th Grade Students, Breana Dobesh, Phu Vu

Middle Grades Review

This Practitioner Perspective reports on action research that examined the impact of integrating hands-on experimentation on eighth- grade students skills of scientific data analysis and interpretation in a science middle school class. The intervention given to the treatment group was tasking students with completing scientific experiments during their daily lessons, along with collecting and analyzing data from those experiments. Collected data through both control and treatment groups indicated that there was no significant difference in mean test scores between the two groups. Discussions and suggestions for future studies were included.


Pandemic Pandemonium: Negotiating Identities As A Middle Grades School Parent, Doctoral Student, And High School Mathematics Teacher, Veronica Cambra-Faraci Sep 2022

Pandemic Pandemonium: Negotiating Identities As A Middle Grades School Parent, Doctoral Student, And High School Mathematics Teacher, Veronica Cambra-Faraci

Middle Grades Review

This autoethnographic study represents a reflection of my experiences as a parent of middle school children, doctoral student, and mathematics high school teacher through the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Navigating all three identities simultaneously presented many challenges, including fear, isolation, and exhaustion; however, it also allowed me to reflect upon and transfer methods that I perceived as effective from one of my identities to one or more of my other identities. Therefore, this study investigated how reflecting upon my own funds of identity influenced my practices as a high school mathematics teacher during the COVID-19 pandemic.


Mathematics Mobility In The Middle Grades: Tracking The Odds Of Completing Calculus, Kristian Edosomwan, Jamaal Young, Jemimah Young, Alana Tholen May 2022

Mathematics Mobility In The Middle Grades: Tracking The Odds Of Completing Calculus, Kristian Edosomwan, Jamaal Young, Jemimah Young, Alana Tholen

Middle Grades Review

High school calculus has become indispensable for students seeking a college degree in a STEM field. However, in the present study, we argue that the mathematics opportunities that students seize (when afforded) in middle grades are the key to earning calculus credit in high school. To take calculus in high school, students usually need to take advanced mathematics in middle school to take the prerequisite courses. We analyzed the probability of earning credit in calculus based on a sample of (n =17,765) students and their eighth-grade mathematics courses. Using descriptive statistics and odds ratio effect sizes we found that …


Overcoming Barriers: De-Tracking To Teach For Social Justice, Stephanie J. White Dec 2021

Overcoming Barriers: De-Tracking To Teach For Social Justice, Stephanie J. White

Middle Grades Review

How do we overcome tracking in mathematics to actualize the goals of teaching for social justice? Tracking is a racist educational structure that puts limits on the effectiveness of teaching for social justice. This essay presents arguments for de-tracking with explanation of how tracking negatively impacts Black and Latinx students. Readers will learn about schools and districts that have de-tracked students juxtaposed with the barriers that keep most schools from dismantling tracking. This essay calls upon schools and researchers to further investigate locally why schools do not work through these barriers to spark action and eliminate tracking.


Toward A Critical-Pbl: Centering A Critical Consciousness In The Middle Grades, Jaclyn Caires-Hurley, Margarita Jimenez-Silva, Rachel Harrington Dec 2020

Toward A Critical-Pbl: Centering A Critical Consciousness In The Middle Grades, Jaclyn Caires-Hurley, Margarita Jimenez-Silva, Rachel Harrington

Middle Grades Review

The dual pandemic of 2020 that includes racism and COVID-19 demonstrates the need for students to become socially responsible and critically conscious world citizens. Students in the middle grades are developing their sense of identity while concomitantly trying to understand the complex world around them. While many teachers understand the need for critical pedagogy, many still struggle to find time to teach rigorous content standards while integrating social justice education. In this article, we propose the four pillars of Critical-Problem Based Learning (Critical-PBL). Using critical standards, critical problems, critical content, and critical discourse, we offer a framework to support teachers …


Computational Thinking Integration Into Middle Grades Science Classrooms: Strategies For Meeting The Challenges, Danielle Cadieux Boulden, Eric Wiebe, Bita Akram, Osman Aksit, Philip Sheridan Buffum, Bradford Mott, Kristy Elizabeth Boyer, James Lester Dec 2018

Computational Thinking Integration Into Middle Grades Science Classrooms: Strategies For Meeting The Challenges, Danielle Cadieux Boulden, Eric Wiebe, Bita Akram, Osman Aksit, Philip Sheridan Buffum, Bradford Mott, Kristy Elizabeth Boyer, James Lester

Middle Grades Review

This paper reports findings from the efforts of a university-based research team as they worked with middle school educators within formal school structures to infuse computer science principles and computational thinking practices. Despite the need to integrate these skills within regular classroom practices to allow all students the opportunity to learn these essential 21st Century skills, prior practice has been to offer these learning experiences outside of mainstream curricula where only a subset of students have access. We have sought to leverage elements of the research-practice partnership framework to achieve our project objectives of integrating computer science and computational thinking …


Defining Technology For Learning: Cognitive And Physical Tools Of Inquiry, Connor K. Warner, Clare V. Bell, Arthur Louis Odom Apr 2018

Defining Technology For Learning: Cognitive And Physical Tools Of Inquiry, Connor K. Warner, Clare V. Bell, Arthur Louis Odom

Middle Grades Review

This essay explores definitions of technology and educational technology. The authors argue the following points: 1. Educational stakeholders, and the public at large, use the term technology as though it has a universally agreed upon definition. It does not, and how technology is defined matters. 2. For technology in schools to support student learning, it must to be defined in a way that describes technology as a tool for problem-solving. 3. Integration of technology, particularly when paired with teacher-centered practices, has the potential of reinforcing and heightening the negative consequences of a conception of learning that positions students as recipients …


The Effect Of Varied Gender Groupings On Argumentation Skills Among Middle School Students In Different Cultures, Pi-Sui Hsu, Margot Van Dyke, Thomas J. Smith Sep 2017

The Effect Of Varied Gender Groupings On Argumentation Skills Among Middle School Students In Different Cultures, Pi-Sui Hsu, Margot Van Dyke, Thomas J. Smith

Middle Grades Review

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the effect of varied gender groupings on argumentation skills among middle school students in Taiwan and the United States in a project-based learning environment that incorporated a graph-oriented computer-assisted application (GOCAA). A total of 43 students comprised the treatment condition and were engaged in the collaborative argumentation process in same-gender groupings. Of these 43 students, 20 were located in the U.S. and 23 were located in Taiwan. A total of 40 students comprised the control condition and were engaged in the collaborative argumentation process in mixed-gender groupings. Of these 40 students, …


What Does Motivated Mean? Re-Presenting Learning, Technology, And Motivation In Middle Schools Via New Ethnographic Writing, Justin Olmanson Oct 2016

What Does Motivated Mean? Re-Presenting Learning, Technology, And Motivation In Middle Schools Via New Ethnographic Writing, Justin Olmanson

Middle Grades Review

This article offers a critique of the way middle schoolers are often positioned as generalizable objects that can be acted upon to produce measurable increases in motivation and learning. The critique invites a reconsideration and cultural analysis of some of the dominant discourses and perceptions of technology, young adolescence, and the study of motivation. The use of New Ethnographic Writing—a method that performs a cultural critique via extended scenes connects to the roles and status of motivation, technology, and educational research methods deployed within public schools. Coupled with weak theory, this approach offers a way to understand young adolescents as …