Education Commons^™

Fostering Student Agency To Build A Whole Child, Whole School, Whole Community Approach, Holly Henderson Pinter, Lisa Bloom, Amie Broyhill, Kim K. Winter

Middle Grades Review

In this practitioner perspective, we explore the concept of student agency through the implementation of a student government association in a laboratory middle school. Interviews with a social studies teacher and her students offer perspectives of the impact of student voice and choice for student experiences. We describe three major lessons learned through this implementation process: students learn to have healthy conflict and cooperative skills; students learn the appropriate processes to enact change in a democratic society; and students learn to conduct service for their peers, school, and community.

Recovering Lost Local History: The Daily Record Project, Jeremy Hilburn, Tana Oliver, Leyna Varnum, Donyell L. Roseboro

Middle Grades Review

This practitioner perspective describes a collaboration between students and teachers at three middle schools, along with community partners, to recover and digitize news stories from The Daily Record, an African American owned newspaper that was attacked and burned in the 1898 Wilmington coup d’état.

Montessori Middle School: The Erdkinder, Luz M. Casquejo Johnston

Middle Grades Review

Montessori Education is over a century old. Since its inception, Montessori schools have been opened worldwide. While most are pre-schools serving three to six-year-old children, many people aren’t aware that Montessori spoke and wrote about middle level education before her death in 1952. Her concept for the Erdkinder, an intentionally designed learning environment for the adolescent ages twelve to fifteen, is described in this essay.

Teaching The Sun As Simile: Bringing Nature Into Language Arts Middle School Classrooms, Stormy Kage

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

Teaching the Sun as Simile is an essay that explores an interdisciplinary approach to teaching middle school English Language Arts (ELA) by infusing nature and environmental studies. This essay defines emerging concepts of new literacy studies and eco-criticism, literacy, and composition as it relates to ELA pedagogy. Also, it provides an explanation for the importance and relevance of using nature to develop an ecosystem of better readers, writers and communicators in middle school general ed and special ed classrooms.

Lessons Learned From Facilitating A Pre-Service Teacher/Youth Mentoring Program, Alan English

The Advocate

Traditional adult/youth mentoring programs have been associated with a host of positive academic, behavioral, and social/emotional youth outcomes. Little research, however, has been done on pre-service teacher/ youth mentoring programs; specifically if the benefits associated with more traditional mentoring programs translate into this context. For teacher educators, what is most promising about such mentoring programs is the potential for a mutually beneficial mentoring relationship. Pre-service teachers need experience working with youth as badly as youth need positive relationships and support. Furthermore, pre-service teachers need practicum experience throughout their coursework, at a time when some may not yet be ready to …

"Just Kidding" What Bullies Say, Christina Marie Gumbin

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone Project is on how present and past staff members of MM Middle School have addressed bullying in their classrooms and what they think could be done to prevent further bullying. This is an important issue for teachers of any grade because bullying affects children at any age. An argument is made that during middle school, bullies tend to say that they are just kidding without knowing why they are bullying. Consideration of the issue, required obtaining the perspectives of the principal and both current and former teachers. Three themes emerged from an analysis of the …

The Impact Of Character Education Programs On Middle School Bullying Behavior, Kelly M. Amshey

Dissertations

Bullying is recognized as a barrier that must be addressed by schools to ensure that all students have access to educational opportunities. Due to high accountability with limited resources, schools must identify strategies to address issues such as bullying in a manner that provides the maximum benefit to students. Character education (CE) programs, which contribute to the bullying deterrent of positive school climate, may also lessen bullying through explicit teaching of character traits and prosocial skills.

The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between utilization of character education and prevalence of bullying in middle …

Perceptions Of Restorative Practices Among Black Girls: Talking Circles In An Urban Alternative Middle School., Vanessa Marie Mcphail

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that Restorative Justice approaches have shown promise in terms of their impact on school climate, student behavior, and relationships. The purpose of this study is to explore Black female students’ perceptions of Restorative Practice (RP) talking circles at an alternative school. The study examined literature on Zero Tolerance, School Discipline Disparities, African American Female students, Intersectionality, Restorative Justice, and Alternative Schools. A qualitative case study method was used for this study, drawing from two sources: (a) face-to-face interviews and (b) observations of the Black female students who attend the alternative school and participate in the talking circles. Analyses …

Effects Of A Writing Instructional Package For Students With Moderate Intellectual Disability., Beth Newberry Gurney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The development of writing skills is one of the most complex competencies that students are expected to master (Saddler, 2013). Limited research has been conducted on the acquisition of writing skills for students with moderate and severe intellectual disability. Even fewer studies have examined the acquisition of sentence construction skills. The current study examines the effects of a writing instructional package using peer tutoring, response prompting, and sentence frames to teach students with moderate intellectual disability to construct sentences related to adapted grade-level social studies content. Four seventh grade students without disabilities were trained to implement the writing instructional package …

Middle School Outreach Efforts To Involve Immigrant Parents: What Are The Perceptions Of School Personnel And Immigrant Parents?, Marcella Denise Franklin-Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the years, a concern plaguing the education world is parent involvement. Ongoing research indicates students whose parents and family members are involved tend to experience greater academic achievement and decreased behavior issues (McNeal, 2015). With regard to parent involvement, immigrant parent involvement takes this concern to a new level with regard to the growing racial and ethnic diversity in education (Outley & Skuza, 2019). Guided by Epstein’s six types of involvement and Yosso’s community cultural wealth, this study explores one urban middle school’s outreach efforts to involve immigrant parents. In this qualitative case study, one middle schools’ stakeholders-the principal, …

From Rocks To Amethysts: Combination Innovation To Increase Student Achievement In School, Jason M. Hall Mr.

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

My final project at the International Center for Studies in Creativity applies the Torrance Incubation Model of Learning, Creative Problem Solving, Design Thinking, creativity scholar George Land’s Transformation Theory, and skills I have gained during my work on the MSc in Creativity. My work herein provides new and useful combination innovations that catalyze creative ways of analyzing, operating more successfully within, and improving upon current state, federal and district mandates and programs in public education. This project is middle school based. The core combination innovations are designed to assist school administrators, instructional coaches, and classroom educators in their daily work …

The Impact Of Structural Supports On The Success Of Students Of Color In The K-16 Educational System, Brandis Jones, Sherry Holmes

Dissertations

Collective Abstract

This collective dissertation contains the efforts of two practitioners in the field of education who possess a shared vision for designing student experiences with the mission of preparing all students for success in secondary and post-secondary education. The researchers believed that by creating structural supports for students in underserved populations, these same students will increase their educational attainment and access to long-term career opportunities. With successful completion of postsecondary education and with increased career opportunities, students can improve their lives, their families’ lives and the lives of members of their community.

Many students struggled on their educational journeys …

Social-Emotional Learning In Middle School: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation Of The Strong Kids Program, Erin Larsen Neth

Theses and Dissertations

Strong Kids is a social-emotional curriculum designed to reduce students' externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Strong Kids has shown promise in elementary school, but this was the first study to evaluate the newly updated version of the intervention in a middle school setting. The curriculum was implemented by two general education teachers with students at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders. A mixed method design was used to evaluate outcomes with eight middle school students. Overall findings suggest that Strong Kids was effective at improving students' social emotional knowledge and internalizing symptoms; however, there were no significant changes in students' externalizing symptoms. …

Bridging The Gap: Self-Efficacy And The Desire To Continue In Music Education, Janet Levine

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This study sought to explore the problem of student retention in music, specifically between eighth and ninth grade. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is a relationship between eighth-grade band students’ self-efficacy beliefs and their desire to participate in band. Bandura’s (1977) four sources of self-efficacy (mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal/ social persuasions, and students’ physiological state) were the theoretical framework that guided this study. The participants in this study consisted of 68 eighth grade band students who had at least one year of band experience. This quantitative study used the Music Performance Self-Efficacy Scale, specially …

Argument-Driven Engineering In Middle School Science: An Exploratory Study Of Changes In Engineering Identity Over An Academic Year, Lawrence Chu, Victor Sampson, Todd L. Hutner, Stephanie Rivale, Richard H. Crawford, Christina L. Baze, Hannah S. Brooks

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

The goal of this study was to examine how the use of a new instructional model is related to changes in middle school students’ engineering identity. The intent of this instructional model, which is called argument-driven engineering (ADE), is to give students opportunities to design and critique solutions to meaningful problems using the core ideas and practices of science and engineering. The model also reflects current recommendations found in the literature for supporting the development or maintenance of engineering identity. This study took place in the context of an eighth-grade science classroom in order to explore how middle school students’ …

Empower Adolescent Writers With Ongoing Choice In Purpose, Audience, Topic, And Genre, Lauren Heimlich Foley

English Student Work

No abstract provided.

The Status Of Middle Schools In The Southeastern United States: Perceptions And Implementation Of The Middle School Model, Ryan Alverson, Mike Dicicco, Shawn A. Faulkner, Chris Cook

Middle Grades Review

For more than 100 years, education communities have debated how best to educate the young adolescent. Proponents of both the junior high school model and the current middle school model have advocated for a specialized approach to educating adolescents that emphasizes the developmental needs of students. To accomplish this, various organizational structures and instructional approaches are recommended. This survey study examines the perceptions of these middle school practices and the implementation of those practices in middle schools in the Southeastern region of the United States. We note several key trends in our results and highlight key differences in perception of …

Career Exploration At The Middle School Level: Barriers And Opportunities, Samantha Godbey, Howard R. D. Gordon

Middle Grades Review

In this essay, we discuss issues related to the integration of career exploration in our nation’s middle schools. We discuss the theoretical and empirical basis for career exploration at the middle school level and identify selected barriers to its effective implementation, namely with regards to career advising and parent involvement. We also propose new directions for practice and research as we work to counteract these barriers.

Understanding The Developmental Nature Of Young Adolescents: Editorial Remarks, James F. Nagle, Penny A. Bishop

Middle Grades Review

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of An Afterschool Mentorship Program For Self-Efficacy, Atia D. Mark, Steve Wells

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Middle school students in Nova Scotia, Canada, are perceived to have low self-efficacy for achieving learning outcomes. While strong self-efficacy beliefs, developed through effective curricula, have been linked to improved academic performance, there is a need for formal evaluation of such curricula. The purpose of this study was to investigate a 10-week afterschool mentorship curriculum that has never been evaluated. The aim of the curriculum is to strengthen self-efficacy beliefs via relationship building exercises, public speaking training, and character education. Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy, which states that treatment influences can alter the strength of self-efficacy, informed the conceptual framework. Evaluation …

Gamification Learning For Ipad Engagement In Middle School, Chong Xiong

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The purpose of this action research was to determine if gamification learning would increase iPad engagement. This research was done in a 7th grade urban middle school over nine weeks in the fall of the school year. A regular 7th grade class of 18 students and an accelerated 7th grade class of 34 students participated in the study. Informed data was collected from pre and post survey, checklists, observations, student journals and gamification platform on Classcraft. The literature review examined the how motivated and self-regulated learner skills contribute to their academic success and how these skills can be used when …

Wonder, Karleah Schroeder

Diverse Families Bookshelf Lesson Plans and Activities

No abstract provided.

Middle School Teachers’ Perceptions Of The Integration Of Technology Into Pedagogy, Joe George Gerez

All Theses And Dissertations

The aim of this qualitative exploratory case study was to examine middle school teachers’ perceptions of the integration of technology into pedagogy. Data collection occurred from analyzing middle school teacher’s experiences, observations, and motivation following a technological implementation initiative into pedagogy. The evaluation of the study data included the analysis of surveys and interpretation of in-depth interviews of teachers. A pedagogical focus on teacher integration of technology supported by the self-determination theory as the research study’s theoretical framework examining human motivation was appropriated to the case study. As educational leaders face significant challenges in understanding the impact of teachers’ perceptions …

Using An Argument Driven Inquiry Model To Develop Scientific Proficiency In The Middle School Classroom, Lorelei Ross

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of argument driven inquiry (ADI) on the development of evidence-based arguments for eight eighth-grade students. This study took place in the third quarter of the 2018-2019 school year. The setting was a public middle school in a suburban county in the Southeast. Through the use of an action research design, qualitative and quantitative data was collected over a six-week period using various instruments. Instruments included a content pretest and post-test, generating an evidence-based argument pre-test and post-test, pre- and post-formal interviews, pre and post science questionnaire Likert attitudinal scale, collection …

The Effects Of Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams In Two Middle School Art Classrooms, Kimberly Davis Monson

Theses and Dissertations

Classroom management is a common challenge in middle schools. Class-wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) is a multi-tiered intervention designed to decrease problem behaviors at the classroom level (Wills et al., 2010). It is comprised of evidence-based practices such as teaching classroom expectations, increasing teacher praise, and using positive reinforcement in an interdependent group contingency. CW-FIT has shown promise in a variety of school settings, but it has not been tested in middle school art classrooms. This was initial investigation examining the effects of CW-FIT using a single-subject ABAB design in two middle school art classrooms. Results indicated that class on-task …

An Examination Of Middle School Organizational Structures In The United States And Australia, Cheryl Ellerbrock, Katherine Main, Kristina N. Falbe, Dana Pomykal Franz

Cheryl Ellerbrock

The middle school concept, aimed at creating a more developmentally responsive learning environment for young adolescents, gained a stronghold in the later part of the 20th century. Proponents of this concept have argued continually for the holistic implementation of its six key characteristics if its benefits are to be realized. These characteristics include: (a) a challenging, integrative, and exploratory curriculum; (b) varied teaching and learning approaches; (c) assessment and evaluation that promote learning; (d) flexible organizational structures (i.e., including the physical space, scheduling, and grouping of students and teachers); (e) programs and policies that foster health, wellness and safety; and …

Sources Of Missed Understanding: A Framework For Diagnosing Comprehension Breakdown, Tarr Jennifer

Dissertations

This research sought to understand how a formative assessment framework created by the researcher (called the Sources of Missed Understanding construct) would be used by teachers to diagnose students’ reading comprehension challenges during authentic reading instruction, and to understand the context and supports teachers needed to use the tool effectively. A design experiment methodology was used to follow the diagnostic processes of five reading specialist candidates, each working one-to-one with an upper elementary or middle school reader during a five week summer university-based tutoring setting, resulting in five case studies and cross case analysis. This study shows that teachers who …

The Potential Of Socio-Biologically Relevant Mobile Applications To Attract Girls To Stem, Vanaja Nethi, Santanu De

FDLA Journal

Stimulating girls’ interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) when they are in school, and sustaining that interest, is critical in motivating girls to choose STEM-related disciplines in higher education and enter STEM careers. Research indicates that girls show an interest in STEM until about 11-12 years of age, but this starts to wane by the time they are 15-16 years. Thus, there is a clear need to focus on sustaining the interest of girls in STEM at middle or high school levels. Research has shown that one of the main drivers that impact girls’ interest in STEM is …

The Effects Of A Mindfulness-Based Intervention On Middle School Students With Special Needs, Michelle Castillo

Education | Master's Theses

Adolescence is a vulnerable period to a child’s emotional and social environment due to the puberty-related changes in hormones, which has an effect on their judgement, impulse control, and emotional regulation. Middle school students face several daily stressors at school, at home, and in their communities. Although adolescents face stressors in and out of school, a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) can be beneficial. This research focuses on the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention on middle school special education students in regards to their attention and behavior in general education classes as well as their self-perception. While prior studies address the benefits …

Implementation Of Standards-Based Grading At The Middle School Level, Amy Louise Manley

Theses and Dissertations from 2019

The grading practices in education are steeped in tradition. Although the inaccuracies of grading have been written about for over 100 years, schools have been slow to tackle grading reform. This research study is based on a case study which investigated the implementation of standards-based grading from traditional grading in one middle school. This case study was developed to answer one research question: How was standards-based grading implemented in the middle school? The research obtained in this case study will be used with the researcher’s own school community as they transition to standards-based grading. The case study involved semi-structured interviews …