Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons^™

Are Teacher Education Programs Failing The Nation’S Urban Schools? A Closer Look At Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs About Working With Inner-City Students, Servet Celik

Servet Celik

To address the issue of pre-service teachers being under-prepared for work in multicultural and impoverished environments in America’s urban schools, teacher education programs have taken steps to improve diversity-oriented curricula and provide relevant fieldwork experience. However, research indicates that a large proportion of teacher candidates still do not have the necessary skills to deal with students from divergent upbringings. This interpretive study investigated the beliefs of pre-service teachers about urban students and how well their teacher education programs are addressing the issues of working in inner-city schools. The results revealed that, although some progress has been made, a significant gap …

Who Is Participating In Geoscience Teacher Education Workshops, Why Are They Doing It, And What Are They Learning?, Scott A. Nowicki

Scott A Nowicki

Presented here are evaluation results from the geoscience teacher education workshop: Invigorating High School and Middle School Earth Science Through Inquiry and Student Research (2010) and Climate Change Science: Content and Inquiry Methods for Secondary Teachers (2011). This program was conducted by PI Dr. Larry Rudd at Nevada State College and Co-I Dr. Steve Rowland at UNLV under the state-funded Nevada Collaborative Teacher Improvement Program (NeCoTIP). During five years of summer workshops (2007-2011) over 70 middle and high-school in-service teachers in the Clark County School System participated in a combination classroom and field-based professional development program focused on local geologic …

Assessing Impulsive-Analytic Disposition: The Likelihood-To-Act Survey And Other Instruments, Kien Lim, Amy Wagler

Kien H Lim

The likelihood-to-act (LtA) survey is a 32-item instrument that measures impulsive and analytic dispositions in solving math problems. In this research report, we compare it to other instruments related to the impulsive-analytic construct such as Frederick’s Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) and the Barratt Impulsive Scale in terms of mean scores, Cronbach alpha values, and correlation values. Both LtA-Impulsive and LtA-Analytic subscales have acceptable reliabilities of 0.79 and 0.83 respectively. The LtA-Analytic and LtA-Difference (analytic-impulsive difference) correlated well with other the Need for Cognition subscale and CRT scores. The correlations involving LtA-Impulsive subscale were unexpected and call for further investigation.

The Hammer-And-Nail Phenomenon In Mathematics Education, Kien Lim

Kien H Lim

"For a person with a hammer, everything looks like a nail" is a proverb that can be used to highlight the phenomenon that students tend to rely on familiar ideas as opposed to taking time to think about and analyse a problem. Presented in this theoretical paper is the usefulness of the hammer-and-nail metaphor, other related theoretical constructs, pedagogical causes of student impulsive behaviours, and pedagogical suggestions for addressing them.

Impulsive-Analytic Disposition In Mathematical Problem Solving: A Survey And A Mathematics Test, Kien H. Lim, Amy Wagler

Kien H Lim

The Likelihood-to-Act (LtA) survey and a mathematics test were used in this study to assess students’ impulsive-analytic disposition in the context of mathematical problem solving. The results obtained from these two instruments were compared to those obtained using two widely-used scales: Need for Cognition (NFC) and Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS). The exhibited correlations of the LtA scores with the NFC, BIS, and a math test provide evidence of the criterion validity of the analytic LtA items, and suggests further revision of the impulsive LtA items to improve the overall measurement validity of the LtA scale. Students LtA scores were found …

Emotional/Behavioral Disorders: A Retrospective Examination Of Social Skills, Linguistics, And Student Outcomes, John W. Hill, Kathy L. Coufal

John W. Hill

A language-based social skills instruction intervention used to prepare middle and high school students with emotional/behavioral disorders for return to less restrictive public school placements was evaluated. The daily 50-minute intervention focused on repetitive readings, recitations, and role-playing of skill step procedures until students achieved mastery on each required task in five broad dimensions: peer relations, self-management, academic, compliance, and assertion. The students were divided into three groups according to the length of intervention (under 2 years, 2 to 3 years, and more than 3 years). Dependent t tests were used to test the effects of prolonged intervention on past …

Logo Programming (Part 1) - A Creative And Fun Way To Learn Mathematics And Problem-Solving, Abhay B. Joshi, Sandesh R. Gaikwad

Abhay B Joshi

Programming means tapping into the computerʹs immense power by talking with it directly. Through programming, children use the computerʹs terrific power to draw graphics, design animation, solve mathematical or word puzzles, and even build robots. This idea was first proposed in the famous book ʺMindstormsʺ by Seymour Papert and has subsequently been appreciated and praised by educators and parents all over the world.

Through programming, students discover that the computer is a powerful and flexible tool. Using interesting ideas embedded in programming environments, students solve problems in their favorite subjects, and also develop interest in ʺdifficultʺ subjects like Math and …

Logo Programming (Part 2) - A Creative And Fun Way To Learn Mathematics And Problem-Solving, Abhay B. Joshi, Sandesh R. Gaikwad

Abhay B Joshi

Programming means tapping into the computerʹs immense power by talking with it directly. Through programming, children use the computerʹs terrific power to draw graphics, design animation, solve mathematical or word puzzles, and even build robots. This idea was first proposed in the famous book ʺMindstormsʺ by Seymour Papert and has subsequently been appreciated and praised by educators and parents all over the world.

Through programming, students discover that the computer is a powerful and flexible tool. Using interesting ideas embedded in programming environments, students solve problems in their favorite subjects, and also develop interest in ʺdifficultʺ subjects like Math and …

Nurturing A Healthy Mind: Doing What Matters Most For Your Child's Developing Brain, Michael C. Nagel Dr

Michael C Nagel Dr

No abstract provided.

Examining Spiraled Elementary Curricula On Columbus: A Case Study, Maegan Wilton, John H. Bickford Iii

John Bickford

Educators’ content background and use of accurate, age-appropriate teaching materials generates quality teaching. Content in every grade level should supplement content from previous grades in a spiraled format. State test results on students’ math and reading indicate, but do not prove, the presence of these two presumptions. Because history is not tested, the authors examined the basis of these two presumptions for history in two school districts that require every elementary educator to teach about Christopher Columbus. Findings reveal significant interconnections between these two presumptions and have consequential implications as states consider standardized testing in other curricular areas, such as …

Original Political Cartoon Methodology And Adaptations, John H. Bickford Iii

John Bickford

This paper is grounded on the premise that effective educators base lessons on rich and intriguing content which is relevant to students’ lives, implement the content using engaging and age-appropriate methodology, and measure students’ learning through authentic assessments. In order to support practicing teachers’ effective implementation of best practice methodology and assessment, educational researchers investigate the interconnections between content, methodology, and assessment. As technology facilitates teaching methodologies and learning assessments, meaningful activities such as students’ original political cartooning should be examined, detailed, and adapted. In this article, the methodological suggestions for, and adaptations of, students’ original political cartoons guide educators …

Identifying Cyberbullying, Connecting With Students: The Promising Possibilities Of Teacher-Student Social Networking, Mark Schmitz, Molly Sigler Hoffman, John H. Bickford

John Bickford

Cyberbullying, an emergent problem that most students face but few report, negatively affects students’ academic and personal development, disrupts the school environment, and usually peaks around middle school. The Association of Middle Level Education (AMLE) suggests that successful middle schools should, among other things, ensure every student has an adult advocate to guide academic and personal development in an inviting, safe, inclusive, and supportive school environment. The Olweus Anti-Bullying Program denotes educators’ proactive intervention must first follow recognition of students’ misbehaviors and both identification and supervision of problematic school contexts. Without such recognition, identification, and supervision, educators’ proactive interventions are …