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

“Implacement”: The Importance Of Place And Community In Schooling, Emily Coady

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three chapters exploring my overarching research question: How does sense of place shape a teacher’s orientation to their profession? My first chapter empirically answers the question: Is there a relationship between place attachment and measured aspects of teacher quality? In an attempt to qualify the strength of bond between a teacher and his or her community, I adapted a place attachment instrument developed by Raymond, Brown, and Weber (2010). Each teacher is given a place attachment score informed by their responses on the 21-item survey. Next, I correlated these scores to other aspects of teacher quality …

Educators’ Adolescent Experiences And Their Implementation Of Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports, Je Quila D. Broussard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) is a framework comprised of several tiers to address students’ emotions and academics. Although educators utilize PBIS in their classroom management, they encounter barriers that hinder implementation. The purpose of the study was to discover, through qualitative interviews, how educators’ adolescent experiences with behavior/classroom management and the positive and negative consequences they experienced in school influenced their values and beliefs about classroom management and their implementation of the PBIS framework in middle schools in Texas. Bandura’s social cognitive theory provided the theoretical framework used to craft the research questions. The central research question examined …

Effect Of 100% Virtual Learning Modality On Middle Level Learners, Madison Stanton

KU Inspires! Undergraduate Research Day

Teachers and students have been incorporating technology into instructional practices for quite some time. Technology has multiple benefits. However, concerns have been developing due to the increase in technology. While these concerns were being explored, the COVID-19 pandemic hit causing schools to move quickly to 100% virtual learning. Our investigation sought to identify the effects of 100% virtual learning modality on middle level students from their teachers' perspectives. Findings will be shared and solutions discussed.

Keywords: Technology, Middle School, Perspectives, COVID-19, Virtual Learning, KU BEARS.

Connecting Confidence To College Mathematics And High School Ability Tracks, Kaleb Wourms

Honors Projects

Ability tracking within mathematics education is commonplace in American high schools. Some feel that students’ ability tracks act as a predictor for their success in university mathematics. Research has shown that many factors, such as socioeconomic status and more, have substantial effects on student success. The purpose of this study was to further investigate variables related to success in university mathematics. Confidence in mathematics is one factor in student performance that is particularly under-researched. This research investigated the relationship between ability tracking in high school mathematics, student confidence level, and performance in university mathematics. Data was gathered via a survey. …

From The Editors..., Todd Pagano

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Bullying: How Feelings Of Fatalism May Influence Youth Choices To Offend, Tammy Shartzer

Theses

School age bullying continues to be a source of intense research as it is commonly linked to increased levels of delinquency in adolescents. In an effort to understand the process through which bullying victimization is linked to increased levels of delinquency, researchers continue to explore environmental and psychological components. This study used both OLS regression and negative binomial regression to examine the relationship between traditional and cyberbullying victimization and delinquency to assesses if fatalism mediates or moderates this relationship. An individual with fatalism often feels they are stuck within a revolving cycle of bad happenings and are powerless to change …

Engaging Disinterested Adolescent Readers In The Middle School Classroom, Elizabeth M. Lezman

Masters Projects

Reading is a necessary skill and habit that adolescents need to carry into adulthood to set them on a more advantageous life trajectory. As students reach adolescence and their interest and engagement in reading tends to decrease, it is vital for educators to implement strategies and structures to promote engagement, passion and interesting in reading. Three key factors of increasing engagement are to build a community of readers, implement choice reading, and provide texts representing a variety of identities, cultures, traditions and voices. Research has proven that students are more engaged in reading when they feel part of a community, …

Teaching And Integrating Women’S Studies Into The Classroom: Perspectives Of Elementary Teachers, Thomas Lucey

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Women’s studies represent an underappreciated aspect of elementary education. Whether or how classrooms and their resources portray, present, and value women role-models informs both boys and girls about what passes for acceptable communication, treatment, and conduct towards women. Indeed, the extent to which and the basis that a young citizenry is taught to appreciate others informs the nature of the conversations engaged.

This paper describes the results of a research study that interpreted elementary teachers’ perspectives of women’s studies in elementary settings. The online survey was administered as part of the registration for two workshops that prepared teachers in the …

Designing A Tool And Cooperative Learning: A Macos Inspired Activity, Jeffrey Byford, Jennifer Cordero, Alisha Milam, Kate Chambers, Presley Shilling

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This simulation activity presents how elements of Man: A Course of Study (MACOS) can be implemented into the social studies classroom. Inspired by the Tool-Making Activity found in MACOS, this modified simulation activity prompts students to design an instrument to peel an orange as they discuss life and daily tasks related to the Great Plains settlement.

School Climate And Culture Impact On Middle School Students And Their Attendance, Marci H. Prater

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education at Morehead State University by Marci H. Prater on April 14, 2022.

Authentic Low-Stakes Practice To Make Meaning Lasting For Ells: Creating Vocabulary Chants And Songs To Enhance The Word Generation Curriculum, Lori Cohen

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

This curriculum creation is designed to supplement the Word Generation (WordGen) vocabulary program for middle school students. It adds songs and chants of the weekly focus words for use as a mnemonic device to remember and synthesize word meaning. The WordGen curriculum is heavily based on reading and writing and English Language Learners (ELLs) are at a disadvantage when tasked with learning and understanding academic vocabulary due to the short length of time for mastery (Cummins, 1999; Collier, 1987; Thompson, 2017). This curriculum is inspired by the desire to appeal to ELLs who would respond favorably to music or kinesthetic …

The Wheels On The Bus Go Round And Round: Rethinking The St. Louis Busing Program, Tango Walker, Ketosha Harris

Dissertations

This autoethnography shares our personal experiences and counter-narratives in the St. Louis busing program. Through our mission we expound on experiences and real-life situations as seen through our lens as a student and a mother in the St. Louis busing program. Critical race theory (CRT) was used as an essential framework allowing us to focus on the following four tenets: counter-stories, permanence of racism, whiteness as property, interest convergence. (Anderson, et al., 2017). Critical race theory (CRT) is the framework in social sciences that examines society and culture as it relates to categorization of race, law and power (Lynn & …

Preparing Middle Grades Candidates For Edtpa In Uncertain Times, Holly H. Pinter, David C. Virtue

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

Teacher candidates in North Carolina must earn a passing score on the edTPA assessment to get certified. The middle grades education program at Western Carolina University integrates aspects of the edTPA assessment throughout pre-student teaching coursework and field experiences to prepare candidates for this high-stakes assessment. Some of the edTPA practice assignments serve as key assessments that help the middle grades program faculty evaluate the program and make decisions about curriculum. The pivot to remote and blended learning formats on campus and in partner middle level schools affected the implementation of the edTPA-related assignments. The authors share some of the …

Integrating Social Studies Education With Mathematics: Pre-Service Teachers’ Use Of The Pyramids Of Giza To Plan A Stem Lesson, Randa Elbih, Elyssa Miller, Grace Sheldon, Mackenzie Wilson

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

Pre-service teachers (PSTs) often struggle to teach STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) content effectively due to lack of training on how to plan a STEM lesson in meaningful ways as well as which subjects to integrate. This dilemma often results in an avoidance of STEM methodology altogether. This paper describes a productive method for training PSTs to successfully teach STEM lessons by using Social Studies content to integrate with Mathematics and Science, and provide context and connection to real world applications. Along with providing a STEM lesson, the article demonstrates the critical role social studies can play as the …

Fostering And Maintaining Relationships: Teacher Education During Covid-19, Jessica Vanvalkenburgh, Aaron R. Gierhart

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

This article expounds how our pedagogical practices have changed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these effects others have contended with in the education community. The authors share pedagogical strategies they have found to be effective in terms of building and supporting relationships with teacher candidates. They suggest using digitally-mediated teaching and learning strategies, staying connected with students, and badge-based assessment and feedback approaches to build and support relationships with students; examples of the instructional design and implementation strategies are described. The authors propose that when looking forward, teachers at any level may benefit from providing students …

Home Literacy Initiatives Of Middle School Families During The 2020 Quarantine Period: Transformation In Education?, Elizabeth S. Stewart, Jeasik Cho, Mellinee Lesley, Julie Smit

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

The coronavirus pandemic changed everything almost overnight for students and their families. The purpose of this qualitative case study, thus, was to investigate the views of families about the sudden change in education for their middle school children, particularly literacy practices, during the pandemic. Drawing upon Bourdieu’s theoretical framework of cultural capital, coupled with socioeconomic status, funds of knowledge, and crisis management, we conducted interviews with 4 parents. Using the in vivo coding data analysis method, we identified some key preliminary findings: all-day-happy-hour, the strange disconnection between teachers and parents, and soft and hard approaches to school-home literacy. Participants revealed …

Introduction, Amanda Wall

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

Introduction

The articles in this issue of Current Issues in Middle Level Education reflect different experiences of middle level educators particularly as we continue to adapt to new realities given the coronavirus pandemic.

Elizabeth Stewart, Jeasik Cho, Mellinee Lesley, and Julie Smit interviewed a small group of parents about their experiences supporting their children’s literacy learning at home in the early weeks of the pandemic in 2020. Their research provides insights and ideas from a parent perspective.

As teacher educators, Jessica VanValkenburgh and Aaron R. Gierhart adjusted their practices and approaches to teaching science methods for middle grades and elementary …

Supporting Virtual Instruction In Rural Kentucky: Google Apps, Lesia Lennex

Department of Middle Grades and Secondary Education Research & Publication Archives

Fall 2020 marked the first fully virtual semester for P-12 classrooms across the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Teachers were faced with challenges such as the digital divide, device access, and materials access (Prichard Committee, 2020). Toward improving the success of our teacher education candidates to teach in virtual environments, a task force was formed to investigate the use of Google Classroom, a free learning management system (LMS) which allows third-party creation, distribution, and collection of common P-12 classroom artifacts (Clark, 2020), Google Apps for Education (GAFE), and Google Level I certification. Teachers (N=427) and school administrators (N=66) in 22 counties in …

Lesson Plan Template For Clinical Practice, Teaching Performance Assessment, And In-Service Teaching, Karen Escalante

Teacher Education and Technology Faculty Publications

Becoming an effective teacher takes time, preparation, purposeful planning and deep knowledge of your students and the content / curriculum. Purposeful lesson planning supports you in your development as an educator and it works to ensure PK-12 students are being taught to think and engage with the content area, with the ultimate goal of transferring that knowledge to global understandings and patterns.

Examining Middle School Core Teacher Knowledge And Practices In Stem Education, Rachel Brill-Lee

All Theses And Dissertations

Many educational institutions reported challenges with achieving student success in STEM disciplines and attribute these challenges to the lack of knowledge and education among educators on how and what to teach regarding STEM education (Stehle & Peters-Burton, 2019). This qualitative case study explored how core subject teachers outside STEM/CTE education in one middle school in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States view, understand, and integrate STEM education and skills into their curriculum. The study used a combination of Likert surveys and semi-structured interviews to identify themes that may contribute to challenges many educational institutions are experiencing in regard to …

Music Is The Intervention: The Intersections Of Music As A Therapeutic Activity In At-Risk Youth, Gladys H. Gonzalez Landaverde

Senior Honors Theses

Across the United States, public schools face many discrepancies in the quality and caliber of education that a student can expect to receive. While schools try to address the vast needs of students, many children and adolescents are unfortunately faced with choosing between prioritizing their education and the circumstances faced outside of the school day. The discrepancies in schooling range from the quality in the commonly accepted core curriculum like English and mathematics to the opportunities offered outside of traditional academia like music. Unfortunately, at-risk students are unlikely to have access to music education in the same ease as their …

An Analysis Of Early Career Educator Experiences And The Impact Of Teacher Recruitment Initiatives, Induction Programs, And Retention Efforts In One School District, John Liddon Pope

Dissertations

The K-12 public education system faces a teacher shortage dilemma of unprecedented proportions. At the onset of the school year, out-of-field teachers, underqualified teachers, or long-term substitutes often fill instructional vacancies, causing many students to begin the school year with uncertainty. Recruiting, training, and retaining highly qualified teachers is critical to student success. The purpose of this study was to analyze early career educator experiences and the impact of teacher recruitment initiatives, induction programs, and retention efforts in one school district, explore common practices in recruitment, induction, and retention in other school districts, and develop strategies and actions to mitigate …

Is There More Than One Way? Examining Alternative Pathway Teacher Effectiveness Through The Experiences And Perceptions Of Principals In Urban, Low-Socioeconomic Schools In Oklahoma, Julianne Hennessy Denton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teacher quality continues to be recognized as one of the strongest predictors of student success and school improvement. The quality of an educator is also critical to being able to address the growing achievement and opportunity gap in schools and communities that are marked by concentrated poverty. Therefore, principals are under significant pressure to recruit, train, support, and retain highly qualified teachers, so all students have access to quality education. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to generate knowledge of alternative pathway teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom from an administrative point of view, specifically in urban, low socioeconomic, …

Pornography: Social, Emotional And Mental Implications Among Adolescents, William K. Canady

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This presentation will explain the historical development of pornography. It will highlight four segments: 1- Porn’s impact on brain development of reward pathways, ultimately increasing the appetite for more porn. 2- Porn can be a false substitute for real intimacy, resulting in decreased sexual satisfaction with a real person and increased verbal and physical aggression. 3- Porn promotes sex trafficking, promotes multiple sex partners and reduced STD prevention. 4- A review of interventions available to assist clients in navigating a lifestyle away from pornography.

Taking Time To B.R.E.A.T.H.E.: Strategies For Strengthening Staff And Student Well-Being, Joelle Hood

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

When students and staff experience chronic stress, it negatively impacts their motivation, performance, and wellbeing, Participants in this engaging workshop will walk away with simple research-based practices from the fields of Mindfulness and Positive Psychology, that they can utilize with both themselves and students to reduce stress and anxiety, improve attention and performance, and strengthen overall physical and psychological well-being.

Review Of Teaching In Rural Places: Thriving In Rural Classrooms, Schools, And Communities, Rachelle Kuehl

Virginia English Journal

This is a book review of Teaching in Rural Places: Thriving in Classrooms, Schools, and Communities, a first-of-its-kind textbook geared for preservice teachers interested in teaching successfully in rural schools.

Is Your School An A.S.S.E.T.?: Focusing On School Mental Health And Equitable Instruction, Emily Meeks Focused Minds Education Group, Taneesha Thomas

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This workshop provides Educators classroom resources that can be used within existing curriculum frameworks to enhance the mental health literacy of both students and teachers.

The session suggests strategies to implement strategic, systemic and sustainable changes which promote academic growth, resiliency and wellness.

Teaching Students About Trauma, Stress, And Brain Regulation, Kathy J. Van Horn

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

All students are impacted by stress and can improve learning through understanding the brain and brain regulation. For students who have experienced trauma this information is critical to their success. This presentation will provide guidelines, ideas, and strategies for teaching students key trauma-informed principles including strategies for physical, emotional, and cortical regulation. These principles and strategies can be taught to students individually or through group and classroom settings. Practical ideas and examples will be given along with feedback and lessons learned from the students we have taught.

Criticism, Praise, And The Red Pen: The Role Of Elementary School Teachers On The Enduring Efficacy Of Writing Instructors, Julie Kimble

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

A teacher’s own early experiences with writing, whether positive or negative, have a significant effect on the students that they teach, especially those who go on to become teachers. In a graduate education and reading program at a public university in the southern United States, we ask our teachers through a writing biography assignment to explore these memories of their earliest writing experiences and determine how those experiences fit into their current teaching careers. For this qualitative project, the researcher analyzed essays that were submitted for a “Writing Autobiography” assignment for this graduate level writing class for educators. This study …

A Qualitative Study Of Middle School Science Teachers’ Perceptions Of The Transition To Online Instruction During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Brian S. Ward

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this study was to explore the unique lived experiences of four middle school science teachers from North Carolina and South Carolina during and following the transition from in-person to online instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four predominant themes were identified from individual, semi-structured interviews of the teachers: technology change; organizational change; changes in curricula, delivery, and student interaction; and career and personal changes. The teachers in this study described the challenges and opportunities experienced during the rapid transition in March 2020 to virtual teaching and learning. The teachers’ lived experiences seamlessly aligned with the stages of …