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

Middle School Teachers' Perceptions Of Bullying And Their Practices In Reporting Bullying Incidents, Katherine Eileen Blust

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Student self-report surveys showed bullying behaviors were problematic among students in one Midwest middle school. Despite implementing a version of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, students continued to self-report bullying behaviors that occurred on school property during school hours. It is crucial that educators are proactive in intervening and preventing bullying to establish a safe environment for academic success. The purpose of this study was to describe teachers' perceptions of bullying behaviors and their practices in reporting bullying incidents. Bandura's social learning and Locke's social contract theories served as the study's framework. Teachers were asked to describe behaviors they perceived …

Analysis Of Middle Level Trade Books With Gender And Sexual Minority Content, Jena Borah

Masters Theses

Middle school is often the time students become aware of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and in many schools, perceived nonheteronormative behavior is penalized through bullying. One way schools can reduce bullying and increase successful learning environments is to include trade books that feature gender and sexual minorities. State and national standards set expectations for social and emotional learning as well as critical analysis of high quality reading materials. This research analyzed trade books from the 2013 and 2014 Rainbow Lists which were chosen by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association as …

Applying The Technology Acceptance Model To Predict And Explain Elementary And Secondary Preservice Teachers' Continuance Behavioral Intentions And Pedagogical Usage Of Twitter To Build Professional Capital: A Structural Equation Modeling Inquiry, Nandita Gurjar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to predict and explain elementary and secondary preservice teachers' continuance behavioral intentions and pedagogical usage of Twitter, a web based social networking, microblogging platform, to build professional growth and capital. The objective of the research study was to examine preservice teachers' beliefs associated with the specified constructs that formed the latent variables of the hypothesized research model; these latent variables were then measured with their associated indicators or manifest variables, and the relationship between the manifest variables was examined through the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) process. A non-experimental empirical research study was conducted …

Critical Thinking To Justify An Answer In Mathematics Classrooms, Angelique E. Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students' critical thinking in mathematics was a concern for grade 5 through 8 teachers at a Title 1 public school in the northeastern United States because of the students' poor performance on constructed response questions on the state's mathematics exam. In this exam, students were required to justify their answers in writing. When teachers recognize the connection between writing and critical thinking, they can devise strategies to help students develop mathematical literacy. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how 5th through 8th grade mathematics teachers use the GoMath mathematics literacy program to teach the critical thinking …

A Study Of Teachers' Challenges With The Inclusion Of Middle And High School Students With Autism, Marcie Anne Goodrow

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Middle and high school general education teachers in the school district in this bounded case study

were facing challenges with meeting the needs of students who have autism in the current inclusion

program. The purpose of this study was to understand teachers' challenges with components of the

inclusion program and serving students with autism in the general education classroom. The

conceptual framework was Villa and Thousand's 5 system-level best practices for successful

inclusive education. A purposeful sampling procedure was used to select 4 general education

teachers who were teaching autistic students in an inclusive setting; this sample included 2 middle …

Teachers' Perceptions Of Manipulatives During Middle School Math Instruction, Angela L. Vizzi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a Colorado school district, school personnel and parents were concerned that middle school math proficiency levels were low for 2011-2014 and math teachers were not using manipulatives in their classes to increase math performance. The district's math coordinator did not foresee providing specific professional development (PD) for math manipulative use to address these concerns. Without this PD, math teachers may be ill-quipped to teach math concepts when using manipulatives, which, in turn, could lead to further poor math performance. The purpose of this qualitative bounded collective case study was to explore middle school teachers' perceptions of PD and perceived …

Exploring The Transition Of First-Generation Mexican American Students From Grade 8 To High School, Mary C. Curry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The dropout rate for first-generation Mexican Americans students in American schools has increased in the past decade. The purpose of this study, as reflected in the central research question, was to explore the factors that influenced the decision of first-generation Mexican American students to transition to high school or drop out after Grade 8. The research design was a phenomenological case study. The conceptual framework was based on current research surrounding first-generation Mexican American student dropout questions. In addition, how the concepts of family and community involvement and relationships between the home and school have an impact on the first …

Impact Of Professional Development In Response To Intervention On Secondary Teachers' Efficacy, Crystal Joy Spence

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2012, a southeastern state mandated that all school districts employ the response to intervention (RtI) tiered approach model to meet the needs of struggling students. RtI was implemented at the study site; however, secondary teachers were not confident in their abilities to implement RtI. Researchers have found that a teacher's sense of efficacy can impact student academic outcomes. Professional development on implementing RtI was provided for teachers in the study school. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of explicit RtI professional development on the perceived self-efficacy of secondary teachers and their ability to impact student …

Internet Technology As A Means Of Delivering Reading Instruction In The Content Areas, Kimberly Rose Pintok

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Due to students not meeting minimum proficiency levels in reading, a central Florida middle school that was rated an A school for 4 years consecutively dropped to a B rating during the 2012-2013 school year and was 10 points away from dropping to a C rating in the 2013-2014 school year. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe classroom implementation of Internet technology in a middle school classroom in an attempt to address the steady decline in reading scores. Guided by Piaget, Dewey, and Vygotsky's social constructivist view of education, this study explored if and how teachers used …

The Influence Of Middle School Teacher-Student Relationships On Future Academic Decisions Of African American Males, Andrea R. Williams-Baugh

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible effects of middle school teacher-student relationships on students’ future academic decisions after dropping out of high school. With a national dropout rate of 30% and in some urban areas of 50%, among poor black minority youths, it is crucial that educators strongly consider the possibility that teacher-student relationships may play a vital role in the future decision-making or planning of middle school students (Kafele, 2012). Middle school research suggests that indicators of student disengagement can be traced back as early as elementary school when student reading and math scores begin …

Journaling The Art Of Teaching: Multimodal Responding For Narrative Inquiry, Cynthia M. Morawski, Jennifer Rottmann, Elizabeth Afrakomah, Emili Balatti, Meg Christens, Laura Kellar

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Research underscores the integral role that teachers’ recurring narratives play in their everyday teaching agendas. Like the students in their classrooms, teachers comprise a diverse group of individuals representing a myriad of ways to learn and teach, stemming from such factors as pedagogical approaches, prior life experiences, and familial relationships. Applying multimodal learning to response journaling expands teacher candidates’ opportunities to address the role that narratives play in developing their daily repertoires of practice in language arts. Hence, further investigation is needed to expand the range of practices available for fostering teacher narrative inquiry. Methodologically supported by action research in …

The Instructional Technology Resource Teacher: A Descriptive Case Study Of Deployment, Use, And Perceptions, Mary Sepelyak

Theses and Dissertations

This case study describes one professional development approach to support technology integration at all public schools in one large county in central Virginia. Using data obtained from daily time logs, the frequency of Instructional Technology Resource Teacher (ITRT) use by classroom teachers was analyzed. Descriptive statistics were used to describe overall percentage of ITRT use, the various types of professional development requested by teachers, the consistency of those activities over time, and if the frequencies of activities varied as a function of school level, Title I status at the elementary level, or subject area taught by teachers at the secondary …

Secondary-School Department Chairpersons’ Perceptions Of Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Jonathan K. Greene

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The concept of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) provides a framework for understanding the professional demands of secondary-school teachers in facilitating student learning. Teachers develop their PCK both formally in preservice and inservice education and informally with their colleagues. Teacher leaders, such as the secondary-school department chairs, can work with colleagues to promote professional growth. The purpose of this study was to understand how secondary-school department chairs understood PCK and perceived their role in promoting the PCK growth of their department colleagues. A qualitative research design using in-depth, semi-structured interviews involved 15 participants from one school district in the southeast of …

Effective Professional Development For Teachers : Read-Alouds In The Middle Level, Kelly Ann Behmer

Graduate Research Papers

Teacher read alouds are common practice in the elementary level, but they are rarely seen in the middle level. This paper addresses the importance of read alouds, with evidence from the literature, followed by the development of an effective professional development process for working with teachers at the middle level in developing instruction that includes read alouds. The goal of this professional development plan is to teach teachers of all subject areas in the middle level school how to conduct read alouds so they will know how to incorporate them into their specific subject area to enhance their students' learning.

The Inclusion Of False, Falsified, And Falsifiable Data That Favor An Evolutionary Worldview In The High School Science Curriculum Of Public And Private Schools In The Philippines, Jerry F. Smith

Christian Perspectives in Education

This paper examines a curricular issue in general within public and private high schools in the Philippines. This paper presents six known and documented errant points found in textbooks that promote an evolutionary worldview and are commonly found in local high school biology textbooks. The proposed solutions present several questions designed to facilitate formation of the readers’ own views regarding this phenomenon.

The Effects Of An Overnight Environmental Science Education Program On Students' Attendance Rate Change For Middle School Years, Jennifer Elizabeth Basham

Dissertations and Theses

Programs that engage middle students in participatory, real-world, and hands-on field based instruction can be a powerful asset to the educational experiences for students; motivating and inspiring some to appreciate and value school in a different way. Overnight environmental science programs have a unique opportunity to support students by creating experiences where students can participate in learning in vastly different ways from what they may engage with in the traditional 4-walled classroom, while concurrently developing a relationship with the natural world. Decreasing educational budgets and increased need to substantiate educational programs in terms of their impact on students has added …

Comparison Of Beginning Teachers' And Experienced Teachers' Readiness To Integratetechnology As Measured By Tpack Scores, Heather S. Fontanilla

Dissertations

Despite a growing awareness of the importance of technology in education, increased investment and attention to preparing teachers to integrate technology into the classroom, research shows that technology continues to fail to live up to its potential for transforming education. As schools move from standards based testing to implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), an expectation exists that teachers will be using technology to transform their teaching practices. There is also an expectation that schools are providing students with 21st century skills, including the use of technology. In exploring the reasons teachers are not using technology effectively, much …

Stepping Out With The Fop: Literacies Of Embodiment And Becoming In Youth Drama, Treavor Bogard

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Drawing upon perspectives of New Literacy Studies, characterization and gender performativity, this interpretive case study used Multimodal Inter(Action) Analysis and ethnographic methods to examine how a queer youth, Michael, embodied the fop character type as he acted in a youth theatre troupe. The study examines Michael’s embodiment of the fop as a composition process in drama that evoked discourses of queer masculinity and the performativity of selves becoming. Embodied composing of characterizations in the troupe, and specifically the fop, were multimodal designs that intertwined with Michael’s self-cultivation and self-efficacy as a queer youth.

The Tale Of Two Middle School Literacy Coaches: Implications For Building Coaching Capacity, Tina Edwards

Dissertations

This study examines the day to day practices of two middle school literacy coaches. My intention is to capture how coaches continue to build their capacity. Data were gathered through multiple sources, in the form of interviews, observations, a focus group, field notes, reflection journal and artifacts. I then analyzed the data to look for themes. Three major themes emerged through this research and several implications are made for literacy coaches, principals, district leadership, professional development providers, university programs and school systems.

Improving The Accuracy Of Middle School Students' Self-Assessment, Peer Assessment, And Mathematics Achievement., Elizabeth Popelka

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the documented advantages of formative assessment (FA) strategies in elevating student achievement, much of the relevant research is dated and undermined by questionable design and inattention to K-12 settings. In order to fill these voids, this quantitative study tested the effect of a self- and peer-assessment-training instructional sequence, developed with recommendations from past research and employing explicitly described assessment measures and criteria, on middle school students’ assessment accuracy and subsequent mathematics achievement. The researcher hypothesized a correlation between measurable growth in assessment accuracy and gains in achievement, as well as a reciprocal effect of self- and peer-assessment ability. The …

Gatekeepers For Gifted Social Studies: Case Studies Of Middle School Teachers, Teresa Michelle Bergstrom

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This is a multiple case study of the ways middle grades social studies teachers, as curricular-instructional gatekeepers, may make decisions to provide their gifted students with purposeful differentiated instruction. More specifically, this study explores what teachers believe they should do to instruct gifted students, in what ways teachers prepare and adapt curriculum and instruction for gifted students, and how instruction for gifted learners can take place in a middle school social studies classroom. Through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and supportive visual evidence, six middle grades (6-8) social studies teachers disclosed in what ways they differentiate their middle grades social studies …

Deaf Children’S Science Content Learning In Direct Instruction Versus Interpreted Instruction, Kim B. Kurz, Brenda Schick, Peter C. Hauser

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

This research study compared learning of 6-9th grade deaf students under two modes of educational delivery – interpreted vs. direct instruction using science lessons. Nineteen deaf students participated in the study in which they were taught six science lessons in American Sign Language. In one condition, the lessons were taught by a hearing teacher in English and were translated in ASL via a professional and certified interpreter. In the second condition, the lessons were taught to the students in ASL by a deaf teacher. All students saw three lessons delivered via an interpreter and three different lessons in direct ASL; …

What I Taught My Stem Instructor About Teaching: What A Deaf Student Hears That Others Cannot, Annemarie Ross, Randy K. Yerrick

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Overall, science teaching at the university level has remained in a relatively static state. There is much research and debate among university faculty regarding the most effective methods of teaching science. But it remains largely rhetoric. The traditional lecture model in STEM higher education is limping along in its march toward inclusion and equity. The NGSS and Common Core reform efforts do little to help university science teachers to change their orientation from largely lecture-driven practice with laboratory supplements. While it is impossible to address all diverse student groups, the need for accommodations tend to be overlooked. As a Deaf …

Learning From Finland: A Book Review, John M. Winslade

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

A review of Pasi Sahlberg’s (2015) Finnish Lessons 2.0: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland (2^nd Edn.).

The Creative Commodity: A Study Of Improvisation In Middle And High School Choral Classrooms In Florida, Caitlynn M. Ensley

Selected Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of improvisation in middle and high school choral classrooms. Specifically, the researcher sought to answer the following questions: (1) To what extent are middle and high school choral directors using improvisation activities in their classrooms? (2) How do the Core Arts Standards impact the value choral music educators’ assign to improvisation? (3) What challenges do choral music educators encounter when attempting to implement improvisation? (4) What do choral music educators believe would help them effectively use improvisation in their classrooms?

A researcher-designed questionnaire was sent to 105 middle and high …

Using Group Video Self-Modeling In The Classroom To Improve Transition Speeds With Elementary Students, Matthew T. Mcniff

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Video self-modeling has been proven to be an effective intervention for individuals with a variety of disabilities and behavioral issues. Very few studies have addressed the impact of video modeling on behaviors that are displayed by groups of students and no studies have tackled the issue of group behaviors with video self-modeling as an intervention. This study focused on analyzing the effects of video self-modeling on students in an elementary classroom in order to increase the speed at which the students lined up and transitioned. Further, the study addressed the question of whether the intervention had a differential impact on …

Examining Inclusive Programming In A Middle School Library: A Case Study Of Adolescents Who Are Differently- And Typically-Able, Clayton A. Copeland, Karen W. Gavigan Dr.

Faculty Publications

Numerous national and international studies have shown the importance of school libraries and librarians in students’ educations, including literacy skill development and academic achievement. However, published research investigating school library accessibility and services from the perspectives of students who are differently-able are extremely limited, as are studies of inclusive library programming, or programming serving both typically-able and differently-able students. This case study examines inclusive library programming with adolescents in a middle school library. Findings indicate that the impact of inclusive school library programming was meaningful and often extended beyond the library’s walls. Inclusive library programming resulted in skill development among …

Deaf Children’S Science Content Learning In Direct Instruction Versus Interpreted Instruction, Kim B. Kurz, Brenda Schick, Peter C. Hauser

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

This research study compared learning of 6-9th grade deaf students under two modes of educational delivery – interpreted vs. direct instruction using science lessons. Nineteen deaf students participated in the study in which they were taught six science lessons in American Sign Language. In one condition, the lessons were taught by a hearing teacher in English and were translated in ASL via a professional and certified interpreter. In the second condition, the lessons were taught to the students in ASL by a deaf teacher. All students saw three lessons delivered via an interpreter and three different lessons in direct ASL; …

How Do We Know A Good Teacher (1948), Barbara Biber, Agnes Snyder

Bank Street Thinkers

In engagingly simple language, the authors illustrate the many facets of personality and knowledge that make up good teachers and good teaching. They also detail the many reasons why evaluating good teaching is so difficult.

The Insider Perspective: Insights On Diversity From Award-Winning Diverse Authors, Jackie Marshall Arnold, Mary-Kate Sableski

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

There is perhaps no better source to speak about diverse literature than the “insider” authors who have been writing it for years. We were fortunate to speak with three accomplished authors of diverse books for children who invite students into their books—Pat Mora, Kadir Nelson, and Janet Wong. Invited to participate in phone and e-mail interviews based on their reputation for publishing diverse books, each author shares his or her perspective on this timely topic.