Secondary Education Commons^™

Learning About Teaching Writing: The Use Of Roles To Support Preservice Teachers Pedagogical Knowledge And Practices, Kristine Pytash, Denise N. Morgan, Elizabeth Testa

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

If teacher educators are fortunate to be able to teach a writing methods class, they encounter challenges in designing field experiences that support what preservice teachers are learning in their course. In this article, we described how we developed a unique field placement where the preservice teachers worked in teams and rotated roles each week. We found that these taking on these roles provided preservice teachers with unique lenses to learning about writing, students, and general teaching pedagogies.

Writing As A Vessel For Thinking: Incorporating Self-Regulation, Metacognition, And Formative Assessment In The Middle School Ela Classroom, Alyssha N. Ginzel

Michigan Reading Journal

This article examines three approaches to teaching writing: self-regulated instruction (Graham, 2018; Graham, 2020; Graham & Perin, 2007), metacognitive strategies (Hacker, 2018; Madison et al., 2019), and formative assessment (Black & Wiliam, 1998; Fleischer, 2013; Madison et al., 2019). Implementing these approaches, secondary ELA teachers can strike a balance between order and chaos while empowering adolescents to recognize, develop, and take ownership of their thinking and writing. Writing can and should be about grappling with big ideas that ultimately help us come to deeper, fuller understandings of ourselves and the world. This article explores how secondary ELA teachers can help …

Reading And Writing Like A Scientist: Implementation Of Disciplinary Literacy Strategies In A Middle School Science Classroom, Cameron K. Boyette

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

This study examined what happened when disciplinary literacy strategies were implemented in a middle school science class along with the students’ and teachers’ perceptions of these strategies. The researcher implemented disciplinary literacy strategies that went along with the scope and sequence for seventh-grade science at the time of implementation of the study. She collected data through surveys, observations, and interviews with students and teachers. Data were analyzed through the constant comparative method and coding. When disciplinary literacy strategies were implemented, students showed compartmentalization of reading and writing to their ELAR classes. Teachers showed negative perceptions of their students’ literacy abilities. …

School Climate And Teacher Self- Efficacy: Teacher's Perspectives, Jennifer Prado

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

Teacher self-efficacy is used to describe how a teacher feels about their ability to perform the tasks related to teaching. This qualitative study focused on how teachers’ perceptions of their school climate affect teacher self-efficacy in eight middle school teachers in Arkansas. Participants were Arkansas middle school teachers with three or more years of experience. The typical participant was a 43-year-old female with an undergraduate degree in education, a master’s degree, and 16 years of classroom experience. A request for participants was sent to the superintendent of every district in Arkansas that had at least one middle school with the …

Learning By Playing: A Curriculum Utilizing Improvisational Theater To Develop Prosocial Behavior Skills And Self-Efficacy In Young Adolescents, Lynn Lovett Barr

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Prosocial behavior requires competency in social-emotional skills including interpersonal skills, conflict resolution, and emotional regulation. During the developmental stage of early adolescence, youth are learning these skills and are more likely to engage in prosocial behavior if they feel efficacious in them. However, most social-emotional learning programs focus on conceptual knowledge in these areas without providing sufficient opportunities for practice, which does not allow students to develop sufficient procedural knowledge and self-efficacy. Improvisational theater offers a solution to this problem; used in concert with social-emotional lessons, it provides practice scenarios and procedural learning opportunities. This project consists of a curriculum …

Teaching Writing To Middle School Students With Disabilities: A Merc Research Brief, David Naff, Jennifer Askue-Collins, Julie S. Dauksys

MERC Publications

This research brief by the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium explores peer reviewed literature about effective strategies for teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities. It answers the following questions: 1) Why is it important to teach writing? 2) What is the nature of the challenge in teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities? 3) What interventions help with teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities? and 4) What strategies are utilized in the MERC region for teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities?

Self- And Socially-Regulated Learning In Middle School Science Classrooms: A Multiple Case Study, Lauren Cabrera

Theses and Dissertations

Students must employ self-regulated learning (SRL) and socially-regulated learning (soRL) in the science classroom, which includes a wide array of independent and collaborative learning activities. However, little is known about how student SRL and soRL co-occur in students’ learning and how the classroom teacher influences that regulation in situ (Cabrera et al., in preparation; Panadero et al., 2015). This explanatory, sequential case study analyzes classroom video data from six middle school science classrooms. The study uses an integrated coding scheme that captures SRL and soRL behaviors, soRL modes, and targets of regulation (Greene & Azevedo, 2009; Hadwin et al., 2018; …

“Want More Student Participation??... Bring On The Engagement!!”, Armando Palmerin

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Student engagement in the classroom is vital to academic achievement across all grade levels. This is especially true during middle school, where in-class participation can have a positive impact on emotional and cognitive development. Due to COVID-19 and school closures, students were forced to attend class virtually which had a negative impact on class engagement. Therefore this Capstone project focuses on how middle school teachers are keeping their students engaged during distance learning. This is an important issue that needs to be addressed because if students are not participating in their synchronous class meetings then they are not learning. It …

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.

Big Kids Need Books Too: Lessons Learned From Building Classroom Libraries At The Secondary Level, Jenelle Williams, Megan Kortlandt

Michigan Reading Journal

This article is intended to describe the rationale and process of creating and effectively using classroom libraries in middle- and high-school English Language Arts classrooms. The authors connect theory to practice, using research to guide decisions about book selection and teacher professional development that takes into account the unique affordances and constraints of using classroom libraries at the secondary level. Additionally, the authors include considerations for the current reality of remote, virtual, and blended learning scenarios.

Should Reading Be A Core Class In Middle School?, Irica R. Dunkley

Essays in Education

This article discusses the value of reading as a core class in middle school. Research has shown that Language Arts, tasked with reading instruction, is insufficient for the development of the reading ability of middle students. Students are also expected to develop their reading skills through other core classes, such as Science, Social Studies, and Mathematics, but the development of reading ability is secondary in these classes. On the contrary, reading as a core class could improve reading achievement as it would be mandatory and provide all middle school students with explicit reading instruction by trained reading teachers.

The Relationship Between Spatial Ability And The Conservation Of Matter In Middle School, Merryn Cole, Jennifer Wilhelm, Briana Marie-Mcknight Vaught, Corinne Fish, Hailey Fish

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Faculty Publications

Research has shown that spatial ability plays a key role in understanding STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) content, including chemistry. Conservation of Matter (CoM) is an essential but challenging topic for chemistry students of all ages to grasp; it is often taught in a way where students memorize it but do not learn what it means conceptually. This research explored the relationship between understanding spatial ability and conceptual understanding of CoM in middle school students. CoM was examined in two ways using the Conservation of Matter Assessment (CoMA): through questions on conservation of atoms and the conservation of mass. …

Can Middle Schoolers Learn To Read The Web Like Experts? Possibilities And Limits Of A Strategy-Based Intervention, Angela M. Kohnen, Gillian E. Mertens, Shelby M. Boehm

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This paper describes the strategies 8^th graders used to evaluate the credibility of unfamiliar websites after a curricular intervention. Website topics were somewhat contested, and students could navigate the open web in order to assess the credibility of the sites. Findings reveal that students were more likely to leave the presented webpages and investigate the sources before making a credibility judgment after the curricular intervention. Furthermore, after the intervention students were more likely to prefer a more credible source of information over a less credible source when the two sources were presented. However, few students improved in their ability …

Teacher Perceptions And Implementation Of A Content-Area Literacy Professional Development Program, Osha Lynette Smith, Rebecca Robinson

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The Common Core State Standards recommend that all educators equip students with the literacy skills needed for college and careers. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine middle-level content-area teachers’ perspectives on a district-led literacy professional development program and their implementation of the literacy strategies they learned. The conceptual framework included Bruner’s constructivist, Bandura’s self-efficacy, and Knowles’s andragogy theories. These theories informed the investigation of adult learners’ perspectives regarding the way they learn and gain confidence in providing literacy instruction. Eleven English, math, science, and social studies teachers participated in the study through individual interviews. Data were …

A Place Of Yes? Experiences Of Educators Participating In Site-Based Teacher-Led Reform, Elizabeth Hind

Education (PhD) Dissertations

This study examined the experiences of four teachers who participated as mentors in a teacher-designed and -implemented creative community at a middle school in southern California. Using the arts-based research methodologies of poetic inquiry, narrative inquiry, and painting, the researcher explored how teachers experience teaching and learning when they deconstruct structures that perpetuate standardization and choose to approach education as a place of yes, freed from the parameters of mandated curriculum, the idea of education as product, and high- stakes accountability measures. The study revealed that the qualities of the creative community had a humanizing effect on its participants, allowing …

The Equity And Engagement Challenges Of Teaching Reading In Middle School, Edmund T. Hamann, Stephanie Malone

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

The point is to look at midlevel and high school students—those often encapsulated by the term ‘adolescent literacy’—and to ask what it is that makes those students less likely to engage in productive reading practice. That may at first look like a psychological question about motivation, which makes the challenge seem like it is something inside the student that needs attention or ‘fixing’. But the orientation here is instead more sociological. If we talk about instruction, in this case reading instruction, it is intrinsically interactive, between teacher and student most obviously, but also interactive between students and their peers (e.g. …

An Investigation Of Parental Involvement And Student Academic Achievement In Middle School, Laura Smokoska

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research study was to investigate the relationship between parental involvement and student academic achievement in middle school. Additionally, this study investigated whether there were patterns among parental involvement and student academic achievement among different ethnicities. The study was conducted in a diverse school in the Chicago suburbs to determine parental involvement levels and student academic achievement levels among different ethnicities. The study had 41 student and parent participants who took a survey about parental involvement at home and parental communication with the school. In addition to the surveys, students’ final English grades, final science grades, and …

Middle School Parent Involvement: Perceptions In Two South Carolina School Districts, Jessica Vanvalkenburgh

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This study was created to explore the parent involvement perceptions of teachers and parents of middle school students in two South Carolina districts. The study is grounded in Epstein et al.’s (2019) theory of overlapping spheres and six typologies of parent involvement. An exploratory mixed methods study was used to gather research. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to determine the perceptions of teachers and parents at five different sites. Cronbach’s alpha was used to test reliability, and a MANOVA test was used to test for mean differences of dependent variables. Univariate ANOVA tests were used to further explore differences …

Parental Involvement In Middle School: The Parent's Perspective, Brittany D. Orange

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Over the years, parental involvement has been studied from the perspectives of administrators and teachers. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to expound upon parental involvement from the parent’s perspective. The researcher’s goal is to understand the reasons why parents choose to get involved and the strategies they consider beneficial and a hindrance in facilitating their involvement. Parental involvement declines as students move through the K-12 system (Benner, Boyle & Sadler, 2016). As students move to middle school, the educational structure changes. Students go from having one teacher to multiple teachers, which presents a challenge to parents, as they …

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.

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 …

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 …

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’ …

Florida Science: The Science That Makes Florida Different, Terence W. Cavanaugh

Secondary Level Resources

This book was created to assist students with their understanding of how science occurs in Florida. When teaching science or any subject it’s important to remember to begin with the concrete and then move to the abstract. I have found that it has helped my students when I begin by teaching science concepts in a concrete manner and expand from there. For example, when I taught about topographic maps, the students were much more successful in their learning when I started with local topographic maps that included the school and the surrounding area than with places that had mountains or …

The Student-Leader Voice In Restorative Justice Practices, Amanda Wagner

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

As more and more schools work to develop equitable and effective discipline strategies many are turning to restorative practices. However, there is no one correct way to implement a successful restorative justice program so schools are left to experiment with different practices and procedures to determine what works best for their school community. Research suggests that there are numerous benefits to developing a restorative program at a school but studies largely exclude the student perspective. Since students are a central part of a meaningful restorative justice program, it is important to hear their voices and experiences. The purpose of this …

Personal And Leadership Development In The Middle School Environment: The School Strong Initiative, Ashley Kunkle

M.A. in Leadership Studies: Capstone Project Papers

Schools today are extremely focused on the academic rigor demands of standards and literacy that students aren’t learning the skills necessary to become self-initiating individuals and leaders. Through the School STRONG Initiative, students and teachers will have an outlet for community, technical skills enhancement, and leadership and coaching development. With this program in place, schools will transition from the traditional schooling approach, to an authentically led learning organization.

Curriculum Drama: Using Imagination And Inquiry In A Middle School Social Studies Classroom, Catherine Franklin

Occasional Paper Series

This essay provides a vivid window into an eighth-grade class engaged in a legislative curriculum drama. Students acted as members of political parties within the Senate and participated in legislative hearings, discussed costs and benefits to legislation, and engaged in debates. Curriculum drama formed a bridge that linked the task of teaching and learning about a defined unit of study to the authentic interests, concerns, and energies of the students

Wrong Place, Right Time, Rachel Mazor

Occasional Paper Series

Mazor recounts working in the three distinctly different environments during her first year of teaching: sixth-grade math, pre-school social studies, and first-grade reading. Each of these experiences taught her specific skills that she later applied to assignments; additionally, each experience helped her develop her own style as a teacher.

Food Insecurity: Rudimentary Education For Local Youth (Firefly), Nam-Anh Nguyen, Quynh P. Nguyen, Jane E. Krause

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

As service-learning becomes recognized as a significant teaching-learning tool for college students, the authors of this article came together to apply for the Purdue University Service-Learning Sustainability Projects Grant. Upon receiving the grant, with the encouragement of Professor Jane Krause and Food Finders Food Bank, the student authors created a project focused on food insecurity education in West Lafayette, Indiana. The main objective was to develop and teach a series of lessons on food insecurity and sustainability to middle school students using interactive activities. A team of Purdue students from various backgrounds was recruited to assist in planning and to …

Relationships Between Access To Mobile Devices, Student Self-Directed Learning, And Achievement, Scott R. Bartholomew, Ed Reeve, Raymond Veon, Wade Goodridge, Victor Lee, Louis Nadelson

Faculty Publications

Today’s students are growing up in a world of constant connectivity, instant information, and ever-changing technological advancements. The increasingly ubiquitous nature of mobile devices among K–12 students has led many to argue for and against the inclusion of these devices in K–12 classrooms. Arguments in favor cite instant access to information and collaboration with others as positive affordances that enable student self-directed learning. In this study, 706 middle school students from 18 technology and engineering education classes worked in groups of 2–3 to complete an openended engineering design challenge. Students completed design portfolios and constructed prototypes in response to the …