Education Commons^™

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. …

Associations Between Daily Wellness Behaviors And Outcomes Among Medical Students, Ankrish Milne, Alexandra Novelli, Carly Watson, Hakeem Yousef, William Copeland, Leigh Ann Holterman, Lee Rosen, Yang Bai, Azilee Curl, Samuel Pasqualoni, Stephen Kirby, Xixi Halvorson-Phelan, James Hudziak

Larner College of Medicine Fourth Year Advanced Integration Teaching/Scholarly Projects

Objective: Explore which wellness behaviors have the greatest impact on wellbeing outcomes in medical students.

Methods: A total of 213 medical students were enrolled in this study between June and September 2021. Participants completed a battery of online surveys, including demographic information, and 60-second nightly surveys on the WE-MD smartphone app, which assessed wellness-related indicators (exercise duration, sleep quality, nutrition quality, etc.) and wellbeing outcomes (mood, focus, stress, etc.).

Results: 116 participants completed >50% of nightly surveys between September 2021 and November 2021 and were included in the analysis. All wellness indicators were significantly associated with at least one wellness …

Persisting In The Age Of Covid-19: School-University Partnership To Promote Equity-Oriented Teaching And Learning, Susan Y. Leonard, Gayle Andrews, Allie Loder, Taera Oconnor, Brooke Wilson

Middle Grades Review

The authors describe collaborative efforts between novice teachers and their former university teacher educators who partnered to design and enact equity-oriented teaching and learning experiences for teacher candidates and young adolescents despite limitations, barriers, and disruptions generated by COVID-19. Observations and feedback from students, teachers, and leaders speak to mutual benefits that the partnership generated. Authors will describe their collaborative processes, feature artifacts from the activities, and discuss implications for future practice.

Community Colleges Meeting Students’ Basic Needs, Annamaria Cavaleri, Gabi Cuna, Kaia Palm-Leis, Robyn Suchy

The Vermont Connection

https://sites.google.com/view/dsp-community-college/home

Of the students currently enrolled in post-secondary education institutions, more than 50% of college students are attending community colleges. Of these students, 36% are nontraditional students who are between the ages of 22 and 39, 29% first-generation students, and 20% are disabled students. Community colleges and their students are transforming what it means to participate in higher education by providing resources for students with diverse identities, overcoming exclusionary practices that sacrifice students’ physical, mental, and financial wellbeing. As part of a digital storytelling project, we aimed to think critically about injustice in higher education by focusing on a special …

Leveraging Technology Toward Family Supports For And Development Of Middle Schoolers, Elizabeth Gil

Middle Grades Review

This Practitioner Perspective discusses how sharing a learning space with their parents, college students, and other adult members in a community-based technology program influenced middle school students’ familial support, their own technology knowledge and social capital, sense of membership in a learning community, and identity development. The program’s structure used technology as a starting point to develop skills, but also to aid Latino immigrant families to navigate their children’s schooling experiences.

“Just Don’T Bore Us To Death”: Seventh Graders’ Perceptions Of Flipping A Technology-Mediated English Language Arts Unit, Clarice M. Moran

Middle Grades Review

This mixed methods study aimed to assess student engagement during the flipped model of instruction in two seventh-grade English language arts (ELA) classrooms. Implementation of the flipped model required students (n=183) and teachers (n=2) to use digital technology via a website and teacher-made videos. It compared student perceptions during a flipped unit to those same students’ perceptions during a traditionally taught unit. A hybrid embedded design and case study interviews were used to assess students’ cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement. Data analysis revealed that overall student engagement decreased in the flipped unit and that students were divided in their reactions …

Mediators Of Inequity: Online Literate Activity In Two Eighth Grade English Language Arts Classes, Sonia M. Kline, Sarah J. Mccarthey

Middle Grades Review

This comparative case study, framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory and sociocultural understandings of literacy, investigated students’ online literate activity in two eighth grade English Language Arts classes taught by the same teacher - one with a scripted literacy curriculum and the other without. During a year-long research project, we used ethnographic methods to explore the nature of middle school students’ literate activity in each of these classes, with particular attention to the mediators evident as students engaged in online literate activity. Specifically, this article addresses the following research question: What mediators were evident within and across each of the …

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 …

Technology For Learning In The Middle Grades: Editorial Remarks, Penny A. Bishop, James F. Nagle

Middle Grades Review

No abstract provided.

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 …

Collaborative Action Research For Middle Grades Improvement, John Matthew Downes, Penny A. Bishop, Meredith Swallow, Mark William Olofson, Susan Hennessey

Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education Publications

Technology’s rapid evolution applies constant pressure to educational organizations, suggesting a need to continually re-envision schools for the digital age. Yet educators often struggle to understand the growing chasm between students’ out-of-school and in-school technology lives. This gap is particularly noticeable during the middle grades years, when home technology use increases dramatically. The purpose of this research was to examine the experiences of teachers and students engaged in collaborative action research for middle school improvement in technology-rich settings. We begin by outlining our theoretical framework, emphasizing Fletcher’s Ladder of Student Involvement. We then describe our case-study design and methods. Findings …

“Think Bigger About Science”: Using Twitter For Learning In The Middle Grades, Ryan Liss Becker, Penny Bishop

Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education Publications

This article examines the use of Twitter as a learning tool in a middle grades science classroom. Relevant research, the direct experience of the teacher leading this unique initiative, and the invaluable perspectives of his middle level students are included to inform interested stakeholders. Following a discussion of open versus closed digital environments, a rationale for why open forms of social media, like Twitter, can be appropriate for middle grades students is explored. The ways in which one author integrates Twitter into his teaching is then described before student outcomes are explained, including the voices and perspectives of students themselves. …

Accessing Reliable Health Information On The Internet, Nathaniel Sugiyama ,Ms3

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

In a low socioeconomic farming town at a rural family medicine clinic in upstate NY, I wanted to find a way to help reduce barriers to healthcare and help patients take an active role in their health using free internet resources. My idea was to help connect patients with reliable health information without needing to travel to the clinic, understanding that some patients may be limited in their ability to travel, take time off from work or afford the copays/expenses associated with seeing their providers. As such, I chose to investigate access to the internet, the ways in which users …

Exploring Catholic Education In The Twenty-First Century: Teaching Practices, Technology Integration, And Educational Goals, Meredith Swallow

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Although Catholic schools are the largest sector of the national private and faith-based educational market, the overall student enrollment in Catholic K-12 schools has steadily declined. In order for Catholic schools to remain sustainable and competitive among the many different educational options in the twenty-first century, they must set themselves apart from other schools by offering unique learning opportunities that support twenty-first century education while promoting Catholic educational values. Recognizing the need for updated teaching practices, balanced pedagogy with Catholic educational values, and focused research on Catholic education, this two-year multiple-case study explored the instructional practices of eight middle level …

A Science Instrument For The Digital Age: #Scistuchat Participants' Perceptions Of Twitter As A Tool For Learning And Communicating Science, Ryan Liss Becker

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The integration of digital technologies in K-12 education is ubiquitous. Web 2.0 technologies enable students who were once passive consumers to become active participants in, and even creators of, dynamic digital experiences. Social media, in particular, can connect disparate populations, minimizing traditional barriers such as time, space and geography. Similarly, science communication has also been influenced by an expanding array of media through which scientists can now connect directly with the public. #Scistuchat, the focus of this study, uses the social media platform Twitter to bring together scientists, secondary science students and teachers outside of school in monthly, science-focused Twitter …