Education Commons^™

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 …

A Collaborative Integrated Stem Teaching: Examination Of A Science And Math Teacher Collaboration On An Integrated Stem Unit, Drew C. Ayres

Open Access Theses

The integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics curriculum in middle school science and math classrooms is a reform effort currently taking place. The teachers are being encouraged to teach integrated content through national and state standards. The teachers have not been trained to do this form of teaching, which has led to feelings of discomfort or incompetence to fulfill those standards. This has led to a need for professional developments to train these teachers. Those developing the professional developments are seeking to identify ways to encourage teachers to continue to implement integrated units.

The purpose of this study was …

Adolescent Visual Voices: Discovering Emerging Identities Through Photovoice, Perspective And Narrative, Ann Mechem Ziergiebel

Educational Studies Dissertations

This qualitative multicase study seeks to create dynamic pedagogical space - meaning making capacities encouraging multiple types of participation - where adolescent voices are privileged. Opening pedagogical space sits at the intersection of feminist standpoint theory, critical consciousness and social constructivism. Disturbingly, space supporting the inner lives and voices of students is shrinking in current educational environments, partially due to prescriptive curricula and rigid standards. The rationale for this study emanates from the researcher’s (as co-participant) educational journey and professional experience at the middle school and higher education levels. This study’s purpose explores, “what happens when space is created for …

Technology Underutilized: Principal’S Role In Creating A Culture Of High-Level Uses, Darlene A. Foley

Educational Studies Dissertations

Teachers need to maximize technology to support student learning by drawing upon varying pedagogical orientations; however, teacher-centered, highly structured approaches that foster low-level thinking is more prevalent. Although highly structured approaches help develop students’ foundational skills and content knowledge, student-centered, open-ended approaches foster high-level thinking aimed by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Literature suggests principals have an important role in the implementation of the CCSS and technology integration, but it does not capture the ways principals help teachers adopt high-level uses of technology. This research asks the overarching question, “What actions, decisions, and relationships do principals perceive contributed to …

Design Thinking For The Development Of Formal Operations: A Team-Based Middle School Design Curriculum, Stephanie K. O'Dell

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I propose a team-based design curriculum that aligns with the cognitive development of middle school age students. The ability to think abstractly develops at a specific time in development, according to widely accepted cognitive theory. The middle school years are the launching pad of abstract thinking. At this age, students are also primed for learning through social activity. The design process often includes abstract problem solving challenges, and working within a team structure. These ideas build a foundation for a research question—could a team-based design curriculum in middle school strengthen students’ natural cognitive development by providing opportunities …

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

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

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 navigating …