Education Commons^™

The Impact Of A Reading Workshop Approach In A Seventh Grade Supplemental Reading Class, Diana Koscik

Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes a problem of practice that developed due to a downward trend in reading achievement scores in an independent middle school in the Southeast. To address this problem, the researcher conducted an action research, mixed methods study to examine the impact of a reading workshop approach in a seventh-grade supplemental reading class. The mixed methods study was guided by one research question designed to collect quantitative data: What is the impact of a reading workshop approach on seventh-grade students’ reading achievement as measured by the STAR reading assessment? It was also guided by two qualitative research questions that …

Translanguaging About, With, And Through Code And Computing: Emergent Bi/Multilingual Middle Schoolers Forging Computational Literacies, Sara Vogel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As computing pervades more aspects of life, and as Computer Science for All (CS for All) initiatives roll out across the U.S., the field must understand the experiences and language practices of emergent bi/multilingual K-12 students and use that knowledge to drive equitable pedagogical and programmatic approaches. But little is known about how emergent bi/multilingual students — a growing population that school systems have often viewed with deficit-based lenses and have thus struggled to educate equitably — use language in the context of CS education. This dissertation addresses this gap by (1) qualitatively documenting and using asset-based frames to analyze …

Engaging Middle School Emergent Bilinguals In Language Awareness: A Practitioner Researcher Study, Carol Lickenbrock

Dissertations

This practitioner research study (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009) traced the journey toward critical literacy of a group of seven emergent bilinguals and me, their teacher, over the course of a four-month unit on argument as part of our English for Speakers of Other Languages 3 (ESOL3) class. Many of these students, like many emergent bilinguals in the United States, had been disempowered because they had not had access to the academic texts of school. As part of this research, students worked with tools of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to analyze the interpersonal, ideational and textual metafunctions of argumentation in lessons …

The Influence Of English Language Arts Instructional Minutes On Student Achievement In Grades 6, 7, & 8, Franklin Goulburn

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study was to examine if a relationship existed between allocated English Language Arts (ELA) instructional minutes within a school’s bell schedule for Grades 6, 7, and 8 and its corresponding mean PARCC score for that grade. Furthermore, the study also sought to detect the presence of an interaction effect regarding time, socioeconomic status, and student performance. The study controlled for other student, faculty, and school variables as well. Data for ELA instructional time were obtained from school personnel and also through school websites. Additional variable were obtained through the New Jersey School Performance Reports …

Finding Hope: Student Empowerment In A Segregated School District, Rachel Leigh Russell

Education | Master's Theses

This study seeks to understand how students are self-empowered in a racially and economically diverse school. A literature review revealed a body of peer reviewed research in relation to student empowerment through educational, sociological, and psychological theories. Within the literature review, the need for restructure of teacher/student relationships became apparent across a range of theories and frameworks. Yet, insufficient studies have been conducted to understand student empowerment and identity from a student perspective, or to what extent they are able to empower themselves and what methods or support they seek to feel more empowered. Through collecting and coding in-depth writing …

Teachers On The Front Line: Supporting Students With Anxiety And Depression, Avril Wilson

Education | Master's Theses

Previous research shows that anxiety and depression in adolescents is a growing problem. If left untreated, mental health problems can damage both academic success and adult life. Teachers are on the front line, meeting afflicted students every day, and are therefore ideally placed to identify students in need, to refer help and to provide ongoing support. The question under investigation is whether schools and teachers are equipped to meet the challenge. Previous studies have focused on high school, but most mental health issues manifest during middle school. Previous studies have utilized quantitative methodology, thereby missing the opportunity to gain a …

The Impact Of Social Constructivist Mathematics Learning Experiences On Latino, Middle School Students’ Proportional Reasoning, Victor M. Vizcaino

Theses and Dissertations

Due to its centrality in the curriculum, research on proportional reasoning (PR) has seen a resurgence of interest. Recent research examined students’ patterns, strategies, and achievement when solving PR problems. Other studies explored PR learning trajectories. Additional studies focused on instructional interventions such as the effect of number structure, continuous, discrete, and intensive quantities to promote the development of proportional reasoning skills (PRS). The subjects of these studies have been United States white middle school students, Icelandic grade 5 girls, Spanish secondary school students, Turkish middle school students, as well as Scottish and Korean upper primary grades’ students. Few studies …

A Place Of Yes? Experiences Of Educators Participating In Site-Based Teacher-Led Reform, Elizabeth Hind

Education (PhD) Dissertations

This study examined the experiences of four teachers who participated as mentors in a teacher-designed and -implemented creative community at a middle school in southern California. Using the arts-based research methodologies of poetic inquiry, narrative inquiry, and painting, the researcher explored how teachers experience teaching and learning when they deconstruct structures that perpetuate standardization and choose to approach education as a place of yes, freed from the parameters of mandated curriculum, the idea of education as product, and high- stakes accountability measures. The study revealed that the qualities of the creative community had a humanizing effect on its participants, allowing …

Teacher Questions In The Classroom: The Effects Of Using A Low- To High-Level Questioning Sequence On The Text-Based Reading Comprehension Outcomes Of Low-Performing Students, Shannon Harris Brown

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Teacher questioning may be an effective instructional procedure for building students’ reading comprehension. Strategically asking questions at two different levels, low-level (text explicit) and high-level (text implicit), may be needed to assist students to engage in higher order thinking skills.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a low- to high-level questioning sequence without or with linking prompts on the text-based reading comprehension outcomes of fifth-grade students who evidenced poor reading comprehension. A secondary analysis was used to determine whether the questioning sequence was effective regardless of students’ interest in the narrative …

Guiding The Socio-Emotional Learning Of African American Middle School Girls Through The Perspective Of School Counselors, Towana Hunter

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored the perspective of school counselors and how they support African American middle school girls through their SEL challenges. School counselors play a key role in the development of socio-emotional learning (SEL) for all students. SEL supports academic achievement, behaviors, and positive relationship development. Despite success with SEL, socio-emotional gaps remain in the areas of age, gender, and race. In response to addressing these gaps, this study focused on SEL challenges that impact African American middle school girls and how school counselors support them through these challenges. Data for this study was collected through individual interviews …

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 …

What Is The Significance Of Reading Aloud To Middle School Aged Students In The Language Arts Classroom As Measured By The Star Reading Assessment?, Samantha Alme

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this study is: what is the significance of reading aloud to middle school aged students in the language arts classroom as measured by the STAR Reading assessment? Topics explored in the review of the literature include components of literacy-specifically children’s literacy, language arts curriculum, as well as the importance and effectiveness of classroom read alouds. A cohort of nearly 30 students in fifth and sixth grades were observed on how well they comprehended children’s novels while reading independently and while reading with teacher guidance and interaction. While one class completed a read aloud novel study …

The Impact Of Professional Development On Technology Integration: A Mixed-Methods Action Research Study Of Teachers New To Ocean County School District, Mary C. Rizzi

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods action research study was to evaluate the impact of a technology integration professional development program on teachers who were new to the Ocean County School District. This study was conducted at one middle school with teacher-participants (n = 4) from different grade levels and subject areas. All teacher-participants were new to the district but not new to teaching. Each participant had access to a laptop computer and an interactive white board. The school district was a one-to-one device district, so students, too, had their own laptops to use in the classroom.

Professional development was …

The Influence And Predictability Of Socioeconomic Factors On The 2018 Parcc Middle School Ela Scores In New Jersey, Charlene Jones

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This quantitative study is nonexperimental, utilizing socioeconomic, community, and district data to determine what influence and level of accuracy of prediction is made on standardized testing in New Jersey. This study focuses on middle school students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 in New Jersey's traditional public schools. The study design is a quantitative correlational predictive study design. SES factors for each district were identified using both U.S. Census data and NJDOE district data. Independent variables include percentage of poverty, percentage of single-parent families, education level of parents, percentage of free and reduced price lunch. The dependent variables include: 2018 …

High-Ability Middle School Girls In Independent Schools, Maria Arellano

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Research shows that middle school is a critical time for gifted girls. There is much research as to why and the ways in which girls’ intellectual ambitions significantly wane during the middle school years, but not much on how to combat the issue. Whatever studies have been conducted in the area of gifted and talented female learners has been largely done in the public sector. Given the unique culture and practice of independent schools existing research on this topic in public schools does not provide a clear view of how independent schools are catering to their most highly able female …

Effect Of Classroom Interactions And Instructional Practices On Mindset Development And Students’ Attitude Toward Challenges, Cherie Kinnersley

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This mixed-methods study explored the relationship between growth and failure mindset with a student’s attitude toward challenge and the ecological factors in the classroom that lead to mindset development. The study included both a survey and individual student interviews. For the study, one school was with a low percentage of students with free or reduced lunch (10%–30%), one with a high percentage of free or reduced lunch (60%–95%), and one with an average percentage of students with free or reduced lunch (31%–59 %). A principal component analysis (PCA) was run to examine and analyze the survey items. The quantitative …

A Research-Based Social Skills Curriculum For Middle School Students With Special Needs, Lynn Bruvold Ellis

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social skills instruction is an essential part of special education programming. There are many different approaches to social skills instruction, and there are studies that show the benefits to these different approaches. The research presented here seeks to answer this question: What methods of social skills instruction are most effective for middle school students? Studies included explore the use of literacy-based interventions, direct instruction, group-orientated contingency, and other methods of social skills interventions. Following the literature review this researcher created a three-year social skills curriculum designed for special education students in the middle school setting.

Re-Establishing The Value Of Family And Consumer Science In The General Middle School Curriculum, Cassidy Wallace

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Family and consumer science is a subject that carries a complex cultural legacy. Beginning as a response to the social upheaval of the industrial revolution, family and consumer started as home economics, and was split between elevating the importance of the domestic arts and applying science to traditionally domestic tasks to both improve homelife and create new fields of academic research. While second goal was reached, and we now have food science, sanitation engineering, and materials research, among others, family and consumer science is still often relegated to domestic associations. However, family and consumer science is still relevant and powerful …

Middle School Teachers’ Experiences Implementing The Workshop Model In Their Classroom, Patience Ndidi Onyegwara

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Due to the increasing diversity in U.S. schools, there is a need for differentiated and individualized educational models for these learners to be successful in the future. However, little is known about innovative educational models allowing differentiation and individualized education. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand the experiences and perceptions of middle school teachers implementing the innovative Workshop Model (WSM) of teaching and learning. The conceptual framework for this study included the diffusion of innovation, sociocultural, and andragogical theories, and the principles of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). The participants were 10 middle school teachers …

Substance Use Among 7th - 9th Grade Adolescents: The Role Of Risk- Related Variables In The Probability Of Use Involving Tobacco, Alcohol And Marijuana, Susana A. Villalobos

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The role of schools in preventing substance use among adolescents is a priority for public health advocates across the United States. In recent years the United States has seen an increase in prescription medication overdoses in adults and adolescents. A lack of research exists of adolescents in middle school substance use (Welsh, & Rappaport, 2018). Trends of adolescent substance use of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana continue to rise. Early onset use of legal and illegal substances has proven to increase the odds of long-term use of adolescence into adulthood. Parents, educators, community advocates and law enforcement have long tackled the …

What Happened To My Son: Parent Perspectives Of African American Male Students And Their Out-Of-School Suspensions During Middle School, Faith Ivey

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain and examine the parent and caretaker perspectives of African American male students and their out-of-school suspensions during middle school. African American male students are similar to an archipelago; although this group of students are a part of the school, they are slowly drifting away. The participants in this study included six African American parents from Midwestern Michigan whose sons did not primarily experience out-of-school suspensions prior to middle school. All of the participants voluntarily provided candid insight and background information on their son’s agency and school experience. The parents also provided school-related …

Middle School Parent Involvement: Perceptions In Two South Carolina School Districts, Jessica Vanvalkenburgh

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This study was created to explore the parent involvement perceptions of teachers and parents of middle school students in two South Carolina districts. The study is grounded in Epstein et al.’s (2019) theory of overlapping spheres and six typologies of parent involvement. An exploratory mixed methods study was used to gather research. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to determine the perceptions of teachers and parents at five different sites. Cronbach’s alpha was used to test reliability, and a MANOVA test was used to test for mean differences of dependent variables. Univariate ANOVA tests were used to further explore differences …

Parental Involvement In Middle School: The Parent's Perspective, Brittany D. Orange

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Over the years, parental involvement has been studied from the perspectives of administrators and teachers. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to expound upon parental involvement from the parent’s perspective. The researcher’s goal is to understand the reasons why parents choose to get involved and the strategies they consider beneficial and a hindrance in facilitating their involvement. Parental involvement declines as students move through the K-12 system (Benner, Boyle & Sadler, 2016). As students move to middle school, the educational structure changes. Students go from having one teacher to multiple teachers, which presents a challenge to parents, as they …

A Comparison Study Of Teacher Efficacy And Principal Leadership Behaviors At The Elementary And Middle School Levels, Keith Ezell

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The single most important factor for the success of a student in school is the teacher, yet many factors impact the teacher’s ability to do the job as effectively as possible. Data exists regarding the multiple influences that affect the teacher’s sense of self-efficacy, however, specific data regarding leadership behaviors is limited. Research shows that student achievement is affected by the teacher, therefore it is imperative to determine what leadership behaviors impact teacher efficacy the most. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the impact of principal behaviors on teacher efficacy. Also, the study sought to compare the …

Fidelity Of Implementation Of Arts Integration In Middle School English Language Arts, Barbara A. Sanders

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An urban middle school in the southern U.S. introduced an arts integration (AI) program, however, student achievement in the English language arts (ELA) has not improved. Therefore, the problem to be investigated through this study is that it has not been determined if AI was implemented into ELA classrooms with fidelity. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ and administrators’ perceptions of the fidelity of implementation (FOI) of the AI program in the ELA classrooms, as well as school documents and artifacts, to determine whether the delivery of instruction replicated the original instructional design. Guided by Rogers’s FOI …

Teacher Perspectives Of Project-Based Learning Implementation In Middle-Grade Classrooms, Lyndria Regina Bland

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teachers at a middle school in a Southeastern U.S. state were not implementing project-based learning (PBL) as mandated by the district. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the perspectives of teachers concerning PBL implementation and how their self-efficacy shaped their perspectives. Bandura’s self-efficacy theory provided the framework for the study. Data were collected through interviews with 11 participants and examination of PBL artifacts. Data were analyzed using thematic, open and axial coding to discover patterns and themes. Findings indicated that teachers shaped their perspectives regarding PBL through their experiences while implementing PBL, collaboration among teachers is …

Teach-To-One Blended Mathematics' Impact On Middle School Students' Mathematics Achievement, Navdeep Dhindsa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Blended learning that integrates computer-assisted instruction with face-to-face instruction is gaining popularity in U.S. middle schools; therefore, the effectiveness of such blended learning models in improving middle school students' achievement in mathematics needs to be explored. Middle school students at a public Connecticut school have shown poor performance in mathematics on a state standardized test. The local district implemented a blended learning model, Teach to One: Math (TTO), in 1 of the middle schools to improve students' performance in mathematics. The theoretical framework for this study was Koehler and Mishra's theory of technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge. The key research …

Perceptions Of Home-Based Parental Involvement And Middle School Students' Science Outcomes, Staicy Anthony

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A low-income, urban school district has consistently failed to achieve the state’s target science performance index for several years at the middle school level. Studies have suggested that parental involvement affects student achievement. Middle school administrators and science teachers lack an understanding of home-based parental involvement behaviors regarding students’ science outcomes. There is a need for increased home-based parental involvement to enhance science outcomes among middle school students. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to fill the gap in practice by exploring administrators’ and science teachers’ perceptions of home-based parental involvement behaviors regarding middle school students’ science outcomes. …

Engendering Empathy For Immigrants In Middle Grade Readers Through Culturally Relevant Young Adult Literature, Amy J. Cattapan

Dissertations

This dissertation uncovered the ways through which culturally relevant young adult literature (YAL) engenders empathy for immigrants in middle grade readers. Empathy was displayed through both affective and cognitive responses and resulted in mirror and window moments (Bishop, 1990) as well as crystallizing experiences. Their empathetic responses led students to apply critical literacy skills to issues related to stereotypes, racism, discrimination, and immigration policies.

I conducted a qualitative case study to examine the ways in which reading and discussing YAL about immigrants created empathy in eighth graders in a culturally and linguistically diverse middle school and in what ways it …

Teacher Support: A Study About Teacher Emotional Support And Engagement Among Middle School Boys, Melissa Johnson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Engagement in school has been recognized as important for achievement in multiple ways, and yet adolescent boys have been observed to be less engaged in school than their female peers. Boys are less motivated than girls, spend less time on homework, and have lower expectations of themselves (Barber, 1996). Boys experience the following school and personal events at rates higher than girls: discipline referrals, suspensions, failing and near-failing grades, and also suicide. This study examined the differential responses between boys and girls in terms of perceived teacher support and student engagement.

The study began with an initial survey distributed to …