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Full-Text Articles in Education
Engineering-Based Problem Solving In The Middle School: Design And Construction With Simple Machines, Lyn D. English, Peter Hudson, Les Dawes
Engineering-Based Problem Solving In The Middle School: Design And Construction With Simple Machines, Lyn D. English, Peter Hudson, Les Dawes
Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)
Incorporating engineering concepts into middle school curriculum is seen as an effective way to improve students’ problem-solving skills. A selection of findings is reported from a STEM-based unit in which students in the second year (grade 8) of a three-year longitudinal study explored engineering concepts and principles pertaining to the functioning of simple machines. The culminating activity, the focus of this paper, required the students to design, construct, test, and evaluate a trebuchet catapult. We consider findings from one of the schools, a co-educational college, where we traced the design process developments of four student groups from two classes. The …
Textbooks, Teachers, And Middle School Mathematics Student Achievement, Susan R. Monaghan
Textbooks, Teachers, And Middle School Mathematics Student Achievement, Susan R. Monaghan
Dissertations (1934 -)
The purpose of this study was to extend the research on textbook effectiveness to a situated investigation of a single large urban school district in which middle schools were given a choice in selecting from three textbooks for mathematics instruction: a reform textbook, a commercially produced textbook developed in response to mathematics standards, and a traditional textbook. Its genesis is rooted in the efforts in the mathematics education community to investigate the interaction of teachers and mathematics curriculum materials, but in light of the shift to an accountability policy climate in public education. In particular, this study sought to determine …
A Phenomenological Investigation Of Experience In Middle School Honors Math And Language Arts Courses And Student And Teacher Perceptions Of Preparedness For Similar High School Honors And Advanced Placement Courses, Melissa Butler
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to investigate student and teacher perceptions concerning the impact of honors middle school language arts and mathematics courses on preparedness for similar ninth through twelfth grade classes at a high school in northwest Georgia. The questions that guided the study focused on examining the perceptions of students and teachers who had experienced this phenomenon and their notions of the impact that participation in middle school honors mathematics and language arts courses had on preparedness for non-gifted students enrolled in similar accelerated high school courses. A transcendental phenomenological design was used to discover …
An Electrolysis Experiment For A Middle School Summer Science Camp, Mike A. Christiansen, Leslie Jessup, Kevin D. Woodward
An Electrolysis Experiment For A Middle School Summer Science Camp, Mike A. Christiansen, Leslie Jessup, Kevin D. Woodward
Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications
Higher education is often culturally deemphasized in the geographic area served by our rural, regional campus. As a result, faculty members have the opportunity to spearhead teaching efforts designed to educate the community about the importance of obtaining a post-secondary degree. To this end, we recently held a Science Summer Camp for middle school students, designed to infuse young people with an increased excitement for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education. In this report, we summarize a chemical electrolysis experiment we carried out with middle school students for our annual Science Summer Camp. We also provided procedural guidelines for …
The Effect Of Online Collaborative Learning On Middle School Student Science Literacy And Sense Of Community, Jillian Wendt
The Effect Of Online Collaborative Learning On Middle School Student Science Literacy And Sense Of Community, Jillian Wendt
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This study examines the effects of online collaborative learning on middle school students' science literacy and sense of community. A quantitative, quasi-experimental pretest/posttest control group design was used. Following IRB approval and district superintendent approval, students at a public middle school in central Virginia completed a pretest consisting of the Misconceptions-Oriented Standards-Based Assessment Resources for Teachers (MOSART) Physical Science assessment and the Classroom Community Scale. Students in the control group received in-class assignments that were completed collaboratively in a face-to-face manner. Students in the experimental group received in-class assignments that were completed online collaboratively through the Edmodo educational platform. Both …
Impact Of Looping On Middle School Science Standardized Achievement Tests, Tammy Barger
Impact Of Looping On Middle School Science Standardized Achievement Tests, Tammy Barger
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Looping may be defined as a teacher remaining with a group of students for multiple academic years. In this quantitative study, looping was examined as a factor on science achievement. State-wide eighth grade school level 2010 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) data were used. By responding to a mailing, school administrators indicated if 2010 eighth grade students had or had not been looped. The schools' percentage of advanced and proficient Science PSSA data were used to determine if the independent variable had a significant impact on science achievement. The results of the independent t-test analysis suggest that looping does …
Students Talk About Energy In Project- Based Inquiry Science, Benedikt W. Harrer, Virginia J. Flood, Michael C. Wittmann
Students Talk About Energy In Project- Based Inquiry Science, Benedikt W. Harrer, Virginia J. Flood, Michael C. Wittmann
Benedikt W. Harrer
We examine the types of emergent language eighth grade students in rural Maine middle schools use when they discuss energy in their first experiences with Project-Based Inquiry Science: Energy, a research-based curriculum that uses a specific language for talking about energy. By comparative analysis of the language used by the curriculum materials to students’ language, we find that students’ talk is at times more aligned with a Stores and Transfer model of energy than the Forms model supported by the curriculum.
Students Talk About Energy In Project- Based Inquiry Science, Benedikt W. Harrer, Virginia J. Flood, Michael C. Wittmann
Students Talk About Energy In Project- Based Inquiry Science, Benedikt W. Harrer, Virginia J. Flood, Michael C. Wittmann
Faculty Publications
We examine the types of emergent language eighth grade students in rural Maine middle schools use when they discuss energy in their first experiences with Project-Based Inquiry Science: Energy, a research-based curriculum that uses a specific language for talking about energy. By comparative analysis of the language used by the curriculum materials to students’ language, we find that students’ talk is at times more aligned with a Stores and Transfer model of energy than the Forms model supported by the curriculum.