Education Commons^™

The Academic Impact Of Extracurricular Activities On Middle School Students, Lauren Jansen

Dissertations

This research study examined the academic impact of extracurricular activities on middle school students. This study investigated a possible relationship between the amount of hours that students spent participating in extracurricular activities and their academic achievement, as well as the amount of hours that students spent participating in in-school extracurricular activities and their academic achievement. This study used a combination of quantitative and qualitative data to reach its results. The quantitative data ultimately did not show a statistically significant correlation between the hours that students spent in extracurricular activities in general or in in-school activities and academic achievement. However, there …

Differences In Sense Of Community Between Students In A Middle School Virtual Class Versus A Traditional Class, Brandon Ratliff

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the difference between students’ sense of community in the traditional classroom setting versus the virtual classroom setting with middle school–age students. McMillan and Chavis’s sense of community theory served as the theoretical foundation of the study. A quantitative, causal-comparative design was utilized to determine the effects of the variables. Students at a public middle school in Virginia and a virtual middle school in Tennessee participated in this study. Seventy-eight students participated from the public middle school that constituted the traditional setting, and 60 students participated from the virtual middle school that constituted the virtual setting. The students …

The Role Of The Technology Coach In Middle School English Language Arts Classrooms, Brenda Christine Conyac

Dissertations

Technology should play an important role in K-12 education, according to most educators and policymakers (Hastings, 2009). However, despite numerous classroom technology initiatives, supplemental funding, increased availability, encouragement by stakeholders, and urgency to develop 21st-century skills needed for the technology age, students and teachers are not making use of technology effectively in classrooms (Hastings, 2009). In this qualitative study, the researcher detailed how perceptions of technology coaches and teachers in sixth- through eighth-grade southwest Missouri classrooms related to the best model for implementing a technology coach. The duties and qualifications perceived to be important for the position of technology coach …

The Beliefs, Perceptions, And Strategies Of Vocabulary Instruction In Middle Grades Social Studies: A Phenomenological Study, Lisa-Renee Gilford

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Content specific vocabulary instruction at the secondary level is an area that had a minimal research focus. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the beliefs, perceptions, and experiences of 8 middle school social studies teachers in lesson delivery and instruction at Cornerstone Middle School (pseudonym), a middle school located in a major city in the southeastern United States. Data was collected from interviews, classroom observations, and artifacts from participants. The theoretical framework providing a foundation for this study centered on Vygotsky’s (1978) work on social interaction playing an integral role in cognitive development. The research questions that …

Academic Intervention: Acceleration And Remediation, Barbara Franklin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Eighth grade math students must pass a standards based test to be promoted to the next grade. Students who were at risk of failing the state’s annual test faced impending retention. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to see if an intensive nine-week (55 min per day) remedial Math Connection (MC) class for 67 suburban, eighth grade students identified as at risk of failing, could significantly increase the scores; concurrently, at this Title I school, they were compared with 122 eighth grade students who were not identified as at risk of failing. The dependent variable was measured using the …

The Relationship Between Student Achievement And Professional Learning Communities At The Middle School Level, Michael S. Burde

Dissertations

For nearly two decades, schools throughout the United States and beyond have utilized the Professional Learning Community (PLC) model to foster teacher collaboration in hopes of improving student achievement outcomes. At the turn of the century, much of the research suggested a positive relationship between student achievement outcomes and the implementation of PLC’s in the school setting. The more recent research suggests little to no relationship between PLC’s and student achievement outcomes.

In an effort to bring clarity to the conflicting research, data was collected from a sample of 12 schools which included 275 teachers and nearly 6,000 students. Teacher …

Use Of Student Created Video Podcasts To Promote Foreign Language Grammar Acquisition In Middle School, Sergio Parra

CCE Theses and Dissertations

The use of video podcasts in education has emerged as a phenomenon that has gained a considerable amount of attention over the last few years. Although video podcasting is becoming a well-established technology in higher education, new multimedia instructional strategies such as student-created video podcasts in grades K-12 are under-researched.

The study investigated the effects of video podcasts created by students to promote foreign language grammar acquisition at the middle school level and find how students described such experience. The current investigation was conducted by using the explanatory sequential design, which is a mixed methods research design that occurs in …

Evaluation Of A Middle School Positive Behavior Intervention Support Program, Tracie Michelle Grogan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Evaluation of a Middle School Positive Behavior Intervention Support Program

by Tracie Grogan

EdS, Mercer University

MA, Fort Valley State University BS, University of Georgia

Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education

Curriculum Instruction and Assessment

Walden University July 2016

School leaders at a middle school in a rural school district in Georgia were looking for ways to reduce poor student behavior, which has a negative impact on school climate. Judicious Discipline, a program based on Kohlberg's 6 stages of moral development, Bandura's social learning theory, and the 3 constitutional rights …