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Full-Text Articles in Education
Brain Breaks And Engagement, Joe'l Vander Waal
Brain Breaks And Engagement, Joe'l Vander Waal
Master of Education Program Theses
This action research project explored the effects of brain breaks on student engagement. The participants in this study were 22 eighth-grade students in a language arts classroom at a public middle school in Northwest Iowa. Students were observed to determine engagement for the last 18 minutes of class. A no-treatment period was observed in order to create a baseline, followed by a treatment period to demonstrate any increase or decrease in overall student engagement. The treatment consisted of a three-minute brain break implemented half-way through the class period. These breaks included two minutes of physical activity followed by one minute …
Writing Self-Efficacy And Student Ownership: Exploring Middle School Writing Perceptions Through Increased Ownership In The Classroom, Ruth Clark
Master of Education Program Theses
This action research study explored whether increased student ownership in writing influenced student self-efficacy in writing tasks. Previous literature shows that student engagement often decreases during middle school years when students desire to have more ownership over their learning. Forty-six students participated in this six-week study in a seventh grade writing and language arts class. For this study, students were surveyed regarding their self-efficacy towards writing tasks before and after a series of interventions related to student ownership. The results revealed a measurable decrease in writing self-efficacy within the intervention group of students.
Reading As A Necessity: Best Practices For Incorporating Reading Into One English Course, Kristin M. Janssen
Reading As A Necessity: Best Practices For Incorporating Reading Into One English Course, Kristin M. Janssen
Master of Education Program Theses
This action research project investigated the best practices of teaching reading in a middle school curriculum requiring reading and writing to be combined in one English course. A private middle school in the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, was evaluated on its use of the best practices. The participants were 24 teachers of 13 different subjects taught to students in seventh and eighth grade. All middle school teachers were sent a survey including questions about the best practices of reading across the curriculum, integrated instruction, and cooperative learning. The results of this study suggested that best practices of reading instruction …
Standards-Based Assessment System In A Christian Middle School Science Classroom, David J. Mulder
Standards-Based Assessment System In A Christian Middle School Science Classroom, David J. Mulder
Master of Education Program Theses
Teachers in all sorts of educational settings have a common difficulty: accurately reporting what their students know, understand, and are able to do. Reporting the measurement of these assessments has traditionally been done through the assignment of letter grades. There is a fairly comprehensive and growing body of literature indicating the weakness of traditional letter grades for authentically assessing student understanding. This study examines an alternative to traditional grading practices. After reviewing relevant literature, I designed a standards-based assessment and evaluation system and put it into place in my 8th grade science classroom at a mid-sized Christian school in northwestern …
Effectiveness Of Problem-Based Learning In Middle School Science, Alan Bandstra
Effectiveness Of Problem-Based Learning In Middle School Science, Alan Bandstra
Master of Education Program Theses
Middle school science students appear to lack motivation when learning under teaching methods which reduce the subject of science to a body of facts. This study attempted to examine the effectiveness of problem-based learning as an alternative teaching method in sixth grade science. The participants were generally homogeneous representing mostly Caucasian children, and the classrooms were typical classrooms containing the normal range of abilities. Three variables were tested in a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test control group design: attitude toward science, problem-solving ability, and knowledge. Results showed no significant effect for any of the variable as a result of the intervention. However, certain …