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

Grade 7 Native Americans, Bryan Fierson

Social Studies

This lesson on Native American life will be a three-day lesson that includes, among other differentiated elements, a hook sparking the students' imagination through fantasy, a direct instruction session, two anchor activities, a group reading activity, a creative writing exercise, and performance tasks to measure student comprehension and learning.

Grades 6-8 Ecology, Jessica Williams

Science

This is a lesson for 6th-8th grade students on Ecology. This culminating activity has students creating a brochure or presentation on a National Park of their choice based on differentiated guidelines and rubrics. Through this lesson students will have an understanding of how their knowledge of ecology can be applied to the National Parks through collaborative group work.

Grade 6-8 Living Things, Theresa Gomez

Science

Abstract: This unit explores the characteristics of living things. Students must evaluate and classify various specimens to determine if they meet agreed upon criteria for life. The unit emphasizes the ways in which different organisms perform the same life functions, and reveals that non-living things may appear to perform some functions but do not perform all functions. The unit culminates in the relation that all living things are made of cells.

Knowledge And Understanding Of The 21st Century Skills Through Educator Externships: Programs In Southern New England, Lizann R. Gibson, Gary G. Gray

K-12 Education

This study utilized the body of knowledge that exists on emergent workforce development issues, the characteristics of the Millennial generation as they relate to the increasingly high drop-outs rates and the globalization of the workplace, the need for 21st Century Skills to be incorporated into the K-12 curriculum, and an authentic professional development experience for teachers, the educator externship.

The Educator Externship experience is a statistically viable method of authentic professional development to help teachers provide the educational experience that their students, the Millennial generation, are demanding.

The data from this study statistically showed that the Educator Externship Experience as …

A Case Study: The Evaluation Of The Graduate Middle School Education Program At A Southeastern University, Abbigail Armstrong

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation was designed to determine reasons graduate students do not complete requirements for a Master's in Middle Level Education degree at the southeastern university. Since the program's initial on-campus cohort (2000) the graduation rate has decreased from 80% to 62.96% with the fourth on-campus cohort (2005). The current cohort currently has five students enrolled which will yield a 29% graduation rate depending on student choice. Program faculty is concerned about the increasing difference between the number of applicants and number of those completing the program.

The researcher conducted a program evaluation, using Guba and Lincoln's four phases of responsive …

The Relationship Between Timed Drill Practice And The Increase Of Automaticity Of Basic Multiplication Facts For Regular Education Sixth Graders, Nelly P. Knowles

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

By the time students transition from elementary to middle school, many do not demonstrate mastery of recalling basic math facts. This 8-week quasi-experimental quantitative study, based in cognitive development and theories of the construction of memory, used a 3-level independent variable experimental design to determine if there was a relationship between teachers' implementation of timed drill practices and the students' level of automaticity with regard to basic multiplication facts in 9 sixth-grade, regular education math classes. The control group received no intervention, the first treatment group received weekly timed drill practice for 3 minutes, and a second treatment group received …

The Effect Of Learning Styles Strategies On Benchmark Eighth Grade Middle School Mathematics Achievement, Jean Ferrara

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low standardized mathematics scores resulted in a suburban middle school not reaching adequate yearly progress (AYP) for the 2 previous years. There were many possible factors contributing to this problem, among them the design of instruction. The purpose of this study was to identify learning styles of students and implement differentiated instructional strategies that address the learners' needs. The study was based on the Silver and Hanson's theory of learning style instruction and Gardner's multiple intelligences as a model for differentiating instruction. This sequential mixed methods quasi-experimental causal comparative design study investigated the effect of classroom intervention based on learning …

The Impact Of Coteaching On Regular Education Eighth Grade Student Achievement On A Basic Skills Algebra Assessment, Misty B. Rigdon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Coteaching strategies have been implemented in many of the inclusion math classrooms in an attempt to improve the achievement of students. Math achievement continues to be a concern as reported by the National Mathematics Advisory Council in 2007. Educators and previous research reported that coteaching does not improve student achievement. The purpose of this study and the research question was designed to investigate, determine, and examine if coteaching has an impact on regular education students' achievement on an algebra assessment in the eighth grade. This concurrent mixed methods design used test data from a convenience sample of 70 eighth grade …

Integrating Multimedia Into Moodle: Resources, Antoinette P. Bruciati

Education Faculty Publications

Create and share multimedia learning materials in your Moodle courses. This presentation introduces methods for embedding multimedia into Moodle for instruction, discussion, and assessment. An overview of free Web 2.0 applications that enable K-12 teachers and their students to produce multimedia files is also included.

Ua100/2/5 Training School & College High Publications, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Publications created by and about the Training School and College High. Includes catalogs, schedules and student newspapers.

Ua100/2/1 Training School & College High Administration, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by administrators of the school. Records include accreditation reports, attendance data, curriculum guides, textbook reports, letterhead, student teacher evaluations and commencement programs.

The Redistricting Game: Teaching Congressional Gerrymandering Through An Online Simulation Game, Emily Juckett, Joseph R. Feinberg

Middle and Secondary Education Faculty Publications

An innovative online simulation game that spotlights the problem of gerrymandering can help students understand the congressional redistricting process.

Cooperative Learning Strategies For Teaching About Sub-Saharan Africa, Joseph R. Feinberg, Chara H. Bohan

Middle and Secondary Education Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Copying Right And Copying Wrong With Web 2.0 Tools In The Teacher Education And Communications Classrooms, Ewa Mcgrail, J. Patrick Mcgrail

Middle and Secondary Education Faculty Publications

Understanding the tenets of copyright in general, and in particular, in online communication and publishing with Web 2.0 tools, has become an important part of literacy in today’s Information Age, as well as a cornerstone of free speech and responsible citizenship for the future. Young content creators must be educated about copyright law, their own rights as content creators, and their responsibilities as producers and publishers of content derived from the intellectual property of others. As educators, we want to prepare them for responsible and ethical participation in new forms of creative expression in the Information Age. The recent integration …

New Perspectives On Mathematics Pedagogy, Margaret Walshaw, Kathy T. Nolan, Tony Brown, Tony Cotton, Brent Davis, Elizabeth De Freitas, Moshe Renert, David W. Stinson, Fiona Walls

Middle and Secondary Education Faculty Publications

“New Perspectives on Mathematics Pedagogy” represents a serious attempt to understand pedagogy within mathematics classrooms. To that end, this symposium will address the key questions and issues surrounding mathematics pedagogy presently confronting vast numbers of researchers, as well as educators, and policy makers. Organised around presentations, responses, discussion and debate, the symposium is intended not only to enhance understanding but also to stimulate fresh thinking and initiate ongoing critical dialogue about the practice of mathematics pedagogy within teaching and learning settings.

Principal Led In-Class Positive Behavioral Support Intervention, David Lavender, John W. Hill

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Results of this one-year study supported the use of an in-class behavioral intervention program that allowed 8th-grade students to reclaim themselves after verbally disruptive behavioral incidences with direct principal led administrator assistance resulting in student return to differentiated individualized instructional classroom activities. Students involved in a second verbally disruptive incident in the classroom were identified for intervention. Academic and behavioral improvement noted for verbally disruptive students with co-occurring below grade level reading test scores (n = 23) and verbally disruptive students with grade level reading scores (n = 12) suggests continued use of this intervention. All participants were in attendance …

Teaching Teachers And Students About The Nature Of Science, Nelofer Halai

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This article advocates the teaching about the nature of science to both pupils in schools and teachers in teacher education institutions in Pakistan. Not knowing about science; teachers tend to continue to teach science as fixed knowledge and not as inquiry and this cycle continues. This cycle needs to be broken. This article first discusses the salient features about the concept of the nature of science and then illustrates these ideas with the help of a simple but a powerful activity which could be used both with teacher educators and pupils in secondary and lower secondary classrooms.

Implicit Theories Of Ability Of Grade 6 Science Students: Relation To Epistemological Beliefs And Academic Motivation And Achievement In Science, Jason Chen, Frank Pajares

Articles

We investigated (a) the associations of implicit theories and epistemological beliefs and their effects on the academic motivation and achievement of students in Grade 6 science and (b) the mean differences of implicit theories, epistemological beliefs, and academic motivation and achievement as a function of gender and race/ethnicity (N = 508). Path analysis revealed that an incremental view of ability had direct and indirect effects on adaptive motivational factors, whereas fixed entity views had direct and indirect effects on maladaptive factors. Epistemological beliefs mediated the influence of implicit theories of ability on achievement goal orientations, self-efficacy, and science achievement. Results …

The Influence Of An Interactive Reading Program On Adolescent Students In Middle School, Bernadette L. Casey

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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A State Level Analysis Of Teach For America's Impact On Student Achievement, Steven Ferguson

CMC Senior Theses

Teach For America (TFA) has seen its profile and list of donors expand tremendously in recent years. Despite its success in attracting support, research on the effectiveness of the program has been inconclusive. This study investigates the impact of TFA on student achievement measured at the state level. Panel data from grades 4 and 8 are analyzed to examine how the presence of TFA corps members in a state impacts student test scores compared to states which have no TFA corps members.

Principal Instructional Leadership Behavior As Perceived By Teachers And Principals At New York State Recognized And Non-Recognized Middle Schools, Brendan J. Lyons

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Complicating Students’ Historical Thinking Through Primary Source Reinvention, John Bickford

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

To best challenge students’ thinking, researchers and educators must locate or create innovative ways to spark enthusiasm and facilitate criticality. This paper investigates how middle school students analyzed various primary and secondary historical documents to construct original political cartoons. Students articulated newly generated understandings about the complex historical event within these original political cartoons. Students then examined and discussed peers’ original political cartoons. This approach was novel because the research literature indicated students rarely are asked to construct original political cartoons to express opinions and understandings. Political cartoons mostly are used as tools for interpretation and usually only with gifted …

Inquiry Based Mathematics Instruction Versus Traditional Mathematics Instruction: The Effect On Student Understanding And Comprehension In An Eighth Grade Pre-Algebra Classroom, Kyle Ferguson

Master of Education Research Theses

This quantitative study provides information obtained through the use of inquiry-based mathematics instruction verses traditional mathematics instruction. The use of each curriculum was implemented into two classrooms of eighth grade pre-algebra students. The study was based on data collected before and after each of the two units of study. Fifty-two suburban eighth grade students represented the sample population. Results of the SPSS analysis showed that both classes made improvement from their pre-test to their post-test for both units but students receiving instruction through inquiry-based instruction showed significantly more improvement on the second unit. These results can be useful for educators …

The Influence Of Inclusion On Langauge Arts Literacy And Math Achievement On Non-Disabled Middle School Students, Faye Brady

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Middle School Teachers' Implementation Of Differentiated Instruction : The Complexity, Tonya Rae Vitense Keefer

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The needs of students in American schools are increasingly more varied as the school population becomes more diverse. Ensuring that all students receive access to an appropriate education becomes vital to our future. Differentiated instruction has been suggested as one way to provide that access. Differentiated instruction does this by using planning that explicitly addresses students' diverse interests, learning preferences, and abilities. There is plentiful information on what differentiated instruction is and what it looks like in the classroom, but there is little research on the process of teachers implementing differentiated instruction.

Over a seven-month period, this research sought to …

Ua100/2/2 Training School & College High Departments, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about Training School / College High departments which inlude Athletics, Classes, English, Library, Music and Theatre.

Well-Prepared Middle School Teachers: Common Ground Or Subtle Divide Between Practitioners And University Faculty In The State Of Oregon, United States, Linda L. Samek, Younghee M. Kim, Jay Casbon, Micki M. Caskey, William L. Greene, Patricia Maureen Musser

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

This qualitative study followed a survey study that investigated university faculty, classroom teachers, and principals' perceptions of well-prepared middle school teachers in the state of Oregon in the United States. A qualitative approach allowed the researchers to explore and interpret the participants' views (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998). In spite of many similarities, a number of differences in emphasis or priority were found among the groups, including views on assessment, curriculum development, and the importance of family and community connections for beginning classroom teachers. This study provides a foundation for deeper analysis and discussion among university faculty and practitioners concerning the …

Whytry? A Program Evaluation, Tammie Knick

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In Minnesota, one out of every five students fail to graduate from high school (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2009). Long before students decide to drop out of school, a host of risk factors or early predictors undoubtedly emerged in childhood. The purpose of this research pilot project was to determine the efficacy of the WhyTry? program in helping to reduce some of those risk factors such as: Truancy, Behavior problems in school, Low academic achievement, and School disengagement. The WhyTry? Program uses a strengths-based approach to help youth overcome their challenges and improve their outcomes at school. WhyTry? is based …

An Examination Of The Effectiveness Of A Professional Development Program On Teacher Knowledge And Practice To Address Adolescent Health Issues, Narima Aliya Shahabudeen

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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