Education Commons^™

Beating The Odds: High-Growth Schools Based On The Act Aspire Examinations, Serving Low-Income Communities, Charlene A. Reid, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights high-growth schools across Arkansas based on the ACT Aspire examinations in Math and English Language Arts (ELA) for the 2020-2021 academic year. For these awards, we consider schools where at least 66% of the student body is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRL).

High-poverty schools are ranked by school level (Elementary, Middle, or High) based on Overall Growth (Math and ELA combined), as well as for growth in each content area independently. High-poverty schools are also ranked within each region of the state. Tables include the region in which the school is located, the number of …

Amplifying The "A" In Steam Education, Grace Floerke

Honors College Theses

This paper discusses the importance of teachers implementing STEAM education in the classroom. Previously, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (abbreviated as STEM) education was used as a tool to prepare students to excel in career fields that are projected to grow in the near future. However, recently the acronym was changed to STEAM to add “the arts” to the original acronym. It is imperative that the arts are seen as an equal to STEM, as they can complement and enhance the goals STEM is trying to reach. Since not all students possess the same interest, ways of learning, or abilities, …

Exploration Of Strategies Of Teacher Leaders For Responding To Students Experiencing Trauma Framed In Casel's Social And Emotional Learning Theory, Kimberly Dionne Parrott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to explore strategies for supporting students experiencing trauma as perceived by teacher leaders framed in CASEL’s social and emotional learning theory. A descriptive instrumental case study design utilized data from online interviews and voluntarily submitted artifacts of nine middle school teacher leaders to investigate strategies used to support students experiencing trauma. Data were manually coded to determine themes indicating recommend strategies used to support students who have experienced trauma. The overall findings revealed that teacher leaders require professional development focusing on trauma-informed practices to suitably support students who are experiencing trauma. …

High-Growth Middle Schools In Arkansas Based On Performance On The Act Aspire Examinations, Charlene A. Reid, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights middle schools across the state whose students demonstrated high growth on the Arkansas ACT Aspire exams. The ACT Aspire was administered to students in grades 3 through 10 in April 2021 in Math and ELA courses which include English, Writing, and Reading.

Each table in this section presents the Top 20 schools for the noted subject area and school level. In addition, these tables include the region in which the schools are located, the grades served at the school, the weighted achievement score, and the content growth score in that particular subject.

The level of the schools, …

Front-End-Connective Phonics Effectiveness In Reading And Spelling In Fifth Through Seventh Grade Students, Bridget Weber

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This 2021 study experimentally investigated the impact five front-end-connective phonics had on the academic performance of middle school students in reading and spelling DIBELS nonsense words. In the upper grades, students depend on whole-word instruction instead of phoneme awareness. My focus was on whether or not front-end-connective phonics instruction played a significant role in the outcome of students’ scores on reading and spelling tests. Participants were assessed twice in both reading and spelling. The participants took an assessment at the beginning of the study and then a final assessment at the end of the study. The research took place in …

Teacher Impact On Student Growth Mindset, Cassandra Jennings, Joshua A. Cuevas

Perspectives In Learning

The main goals of this study were to determine if student growth mindset impacted achievement and motivation and to see if gender and ethnicity made a difference in the type of mindset a student possesses. The study was conducted in a suburban middle school in Georgia with a predominantly white population and above-average socio-economic status. Ninety-five students from four 7th grade social studies classes took part in the eight-week study. The results from the study showed that there was no statistically significant relationship between mindset gains and academic gains; however, there was a strong positive, statistically significant relationship between mindset …

Essential Or Optional? Effects Of Creative Writing On Expository Skills And Attitude In Middle School Students, Nicole Samuelson

Honors Program Projects

Creative writing's effectiveness has not been clearly established through research, especially in regards to expository writing skills. However, other benefits of creative writing have been shown such as emotional benefits and general writing improvement. This study was conducted with two groups of middle school students. One group received ten creative writing interventions over a month and the other group continued with normal instruction. The goal was to discover if these interventions would improve students' expository writing skills as well as their attitude towards and confidence in writing. Surprisingly, while the experimental group did not improve significantly in either area, the …

Brain Breaks And Student Engagement, Allison Kasparek

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to determine the relationship between brain breaks and student engagement, specifically on-task and off-task behaviors. The participants included 23 twelve and thirteen-year-old students wh9o attended a middle school in Nebraska. Students participated in a 3-4 minute brain break movement activity during the 10 day intervention period. Brain breaks consisted of GoNoodle mirrored dances or "Would You Rather" guided movement activities. Data was collected by the researcher using a tally-mark system to indicate the occurrence of off-task behaviors. The study found that the implementation of brain breaks did have a positive effect on …

Essential Practices For Disciplinary Literacy Instruction In Secondary Classrooms, Jenelle Williams

Michigan Reading Journal

This article describes the role of student-centered, problem-based instruction, and it offers practical tips and resources for secondary English Language Arts educators in using effective problem frames for units of instruction.