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

Listen To The Voices: A Reflection On How 2020 And Covid-19 Have Affected Lives, Sara Abi Villanueva, Alexandra C. Daub, Alejandra Y. Martinez

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Throughout the last few months of 2019, stories of a new and deadly virus were on every news channel around the world. Many Americans saw it as foreign news, others worried about the virus’ spread, and some felt that it would be contained quickly never making it past the Atlantic or Pacific. By March of 2020, COVID-19 made its way to the United States, forcing a new normal of quarantining, remote-learning/teaching, and teleworking. Graduate students and educators of Professional Opportunities Supporting Scholarly Engagement (POSSE), a College of Education program focused on research and contributing to the educational field of discourse, …

Educators In The Time Of Covid: Metamorphosis Of A Profession And Of A People, Sara Abi Villanueva, Brett S. Nickerson, Mayra A. Garcia, Claire Murillo, Regina J. Bustillos, Qiana S. O’Leary

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

The following is a collection of reflections written by six educators ranging from K–Higher Education. In this feature, these educators share their experiences of living and educating during the 2020–2021 COVID-19 pandemic. Once compartmentalized and only used when needed, their separate roles and identities had to merge to meet educator, spousal, and parental demands. The first text by Brett Nickerson shows how his life as husband and father collided with his profession as an assistant professor at a university when his wife, a dedicated nurse, was called to help others in need. The second testimonial is by Mayra Garcia, a …

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, …

Teacher Leadership In The Context Of Chinese Education, Chudi Zhou, Qian Yang, Ying Dong, Xiaoying Wang

Dissertations

In response to addressing the increasing requirements to enhance the competencies of students and teachers, as well as the quality of schools in the global environment, the need for fostering teacher leadership has been proposed by many scholars and practitioners. School context is regarded as an important influence on the successful development of teacher leadership. While many studies related to teacher leadership have been reported in Western countries, a limited number of studies have been reported within the Chinese educational context. We also observed that among the limited studies, there was a lack of empirical research on how schools provide …

Looking Back To Look Forward: An Interview With John Swaim On The Making Of This We Believe, Nancy B. Ruppert, John Swaim

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

In the early 1980s, John Swaim was the president of the NMSA Board of Trustees. John Lounsbury, then editor of The Middle School Journal, collaborated with John Swaim and the Board of Trustees to commission the writing of the original document, This We Believe. In the spring of 2020 [Author] contacted John Swaim to tell the story of how This We Believe was conceived. They collaborated using an interview format. The most recent version of The Successful Middle School: This we believe (Bishop & Harrison, 2021) was also recorded with input from leaders in middle level education providing preservice and …

Integrating Mathematics, Science, And Literacy Into A Culturally Responsive Stem After-School Program, Shelli L. Casler-Failing, Alma D. Stevenson, Beverly A. King Miller

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

This manuscript shares the implementation of an after-school literacy in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) program designed for middle grade students to increase their interest in science and mathematics learning. This program was conducted at our local Boys and Girls Club facilities where students learned about four science topics (renewable energy, water cycle, Newton’s laws, and natural disasters). Students participated in culturally responsive reading and writing activities incorporating culturally relevant books, journal writing, hands-on projects, and a culminating science fair presentation on a topic of their choice. The authors determined that using literature, particularly culturally responsive picture books and …

“A Brave Group Of People”: Teacher Candidates’ Perceptions Of Teaching In Middle School, Bettie Perry, Jori S. Beck, Kaavonia Hinton

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

We set out to create a middle grades program and to inform the field about the perceptions of our teacher candidates on teaching middle school. To accomplish these twin goals, we sought to better understand our teacher candidates’ perceptions of teaching middle school and how these perceptions might be changed if necessary. Our review of research included three themes to frame this work: (a) middle school philosophy, (b) motivations to teach, and (c) middle school teacher preparation. We chose an emergent, qualitative research design to cull rich data from diverse stakeholders including open-ended survey data. We found an overarching deficit …

Introduction To The Issue, Amanda Wall

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

The articles in this issue explore different possibilities for the education of young adolescents. There is one research study, and there are two descriptions. Perry and colleagues wrote about information they collected as they planned to propose a new middle grades program. Teacher candidates’ perceptions about middle grades students and teachers are included. These perceptions informed recommendations for teacher education programs.

Casler-Failing and colleagues reported on their collaboration with a local Boys and Girls Club to enhance STEM experiences for young adolescents. The authors selected several topics of instruction to engage young adolescents in hands-on STEM learning with culturally relevant …

Educators' Perceptions Of Middle Level Education In A State Without A Middle Level Teacher Credential, Rong-Ji Chen, Erika Daniels, Roxanne Greitz Miller, Moses Ochanji, Ben Seipel, Acacia M. Warren

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Over forty U.S. states offer teacher licensing specifically in preparation for teaching middle grades students. California is not included in this number, nor do California teacher licenses (i.e., multiple subjects, single subject, and special education) require teacher preparation coursework specific to meeting the needs of early adolescents. This descriptive study presents results of an exploratory survey of California educators with middle grades experience (n=48) regarding their ability to identify essential attributes and characteristics of successful middle schools in California, their perceptions of young adolescents’ needs and responsive teaching practices, and their current opinions of middle level education in California. Findings …

Middle Level Teacher Recruitment: Challenging Deficit Narratives, Christina Lunsmann, Jori S. Beck, Kaavonia Hinton, Bettie F. Perry

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Perceptions of middle level learners vary, and unfortunately, some are deficit-oriented, labeling young adolescents as “hormonal” and “erratic” without a deep understanding of their emotional and physical development or the knowledge and skills that they bring to a classroom. In this paper, we provide empirical evidence for this deficit narrative—including the marginalization of middle level learners—from interviews conducted with teacher candidates in elementary, middle, secondary, and K-12 programs in two different states. Three themes around perceptions of teaching middle grades students are shared: adult needs and interests, resistance to student agency, and challenging the deficit narrative. We posit that developing …

Perceptions Of Classroom Management Coaching At District A Independent School District, Ashley L. Brittain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study addressed teacher retention and research-to-practice gaps in the literature related to classroom management coaching and what types of teacher support are the best and why. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of teachers, campus administrators, and campus intervention coaches regarding District A Independent School District’s campus intervention coach model. This study attempted to understand better the perceptions of how the campus intervention coach model influences teachers’ decisions to remain in the profession; how teachers, campus administrators, and campus intervention coaches perceive the campus intervention coach model’s effectiveness in reducing the percentage of …

Enhancing Preservice Teachers’ Intention To Integrate Engineering Through A Cross-Disciplinary Model, Francisco Cima, Pilar Pazos, Jennifer Kidd, Kristie Gutierrez, Stacie Ringleb, Orlando Ayala, Krishnanand Kaipa

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

Although elementary educators recognize the importance of integrating engineering in their classrooms, many feel challenged and unprepared to teach engineering content. The absence of effective engineering instruction in teacher preparation programs leaves future educators unprepared for this challenge. Ed+gineering is an NSF-funded cross-disciplinary model between education and engineering aimed at increasing preservice teachers’ preparation, confidence, and intention to integrate engineering into their teaching. Ed+gineering partners education and engineering students in cross-disciplinary teams within the context of their respective university courses. As part of their coursework, the teams plan and deliver culturally responsive engineering lessons to elementary school students under the …

Recognizing And Sustaining #Blackgirlmagic: Reimagining Justice-Oriented Approaches In Teacher Education, Tia C. Madkins

Occasional Paper Series

As our global public health, race, and education crises continue to converge, PK-12 teachers must engage justice-oriented pedagogies. This historical moment highlights BIPOC children’s dehumanizing experiences, yet Black girls’ educational lives remain invisible. To address these issues within teacher education, scholars suggest teachers need to develop critical consciousness and reject deficit views of students, especially Black girls. Therefore, I discuss how we can support educators and teacher educators in recognizing and sustaining #BlackGirlMagic (i.e., Black girls’ and women’s universal awesomeness and brilliance). We can prepare educators to celebrate the diversity of Black girlhoods and disrupt monolithic views of who Black …

Supporting Students With An Autism Spectrum Disorder In Engineering: K-12 And Beyond, Jennifer L. Kouo, Alexis Hahn, Sarah Morton, Jay Gregorio

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Individuals with disabilities, including individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. With the importance of STEM skills in future employment and other disciplines, effective instructional strategies must be identified to enhance early and sustained access to STEM for students with ASD. However, the literature identifying effective STEM-specific supports and practices for this population of students is sparse and regarding engineering, there are no empirical studies that focus on teaching engineering skills to students with ASD. Therefore, the article aims to provide an overview of the available literature on the perspectives …

Culturally Responsive Teaching, Amy D. Davis, Alexis Jones

Together We RISE (Making Excellence Inclusive)

In December of 2020, The Illinois State Board of Education approved the Culturally Responsive Teaching Standards to promote a more sensitive approach to matters of race, gender, and sexual orientation in the school curriculum. This presentation will highlight the key components of the newly adopted standards and prepare future educators to teach in classrooms with diverse populations. Participants will understand cultural and community diversity, systems of oppression, examine their own belief systems, and learn how to incorporate students’ experiences, cultures, and community resources into their instruction.

The Pivotal Significance Of Attentiveness To Standards And Assessment In South Carolinian School Libraries, Joanna Tine

South Carolina Libraries

The Pivotal Significance of Attentiveness to Standards and Assessment in South Carolinian School Libraries provides an overview of the history of the initial development of librarian standards and an in-depth look at the South Carolina Standards of Learning, the American Association of School Librarians’ Standards for Learners, and the International Society for Technology in Education Standards for Students. Information on the organizations’ covered standards is supplied, along with a brief examination of their potential application within school libraries. Additionally, a synopsis of South Carolina’s ADEPT Performance Standards for Classroom-Based Teachers, TE21 CASE Benchmarks, and South Carolina’s CTE Standards is provided. …

Principals’ Perceptions Of The Importance Of Teacher Certification In Rural Christian Schools, Ronda L. Dry

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The literature associated with principals' perceptions of certified/uncertified teachers within private Christian schools is limited, specifically in rural communities. Therefore, little is known about principals’ perceptions of the importance of teacher certification in rural Christian schools. The purpose of the study was to evaluate principals’ perceptions concerning the pedagogical practices of certified teachers as compared to the pedagogical practices of teachers who are not certified. Specific to this study, teacher certification was defined as certification earned through the state or certification through a school-accrediting organization. A total of 82 principals were surveyed and asked to identify their perceptions of the …

Supporting And Retaining Early Career Mathematics Teachers Using An Online Community Of Practice, Paula Jakopovic, Travis Weiland, Maria Campitelli, Lorraine Males, Lisa Amick

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

This study reports on efforts over several years to design and implement a yearlong intervention intended to support secondary mathematics teachers in their early years of teaching. The intervention is designed to retain early career mathematics teachers in the professions by engaging them in the development of meaningful professional relationships with a school-based mentors, and by creating an online community of practice for support with other professionals. The intervention itself consists of early career teachers and their mentors participating in monthly professional learning activities such as online meetings, videoconferencing panels with experts, and collaborative reading and discussing timely, purposeful, and …

Discovering The Importance Of Engagement In A Virtual Learning Experience For K-12 Educators, Kristen A. Condella

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to discover how a virtual learning opportunity using various digital tools influenced professional development for teachers in a rural school district. The qualitative study was conducted through virtual interviews and participant lesson plan submissions and was aligned with the Technology Integration Matrix. The case study included participation in a virtual professional learning opportunity for K-12 educators on the topic of digital tool use, with an interview at completion focusing on engagement and implementation of learned tools as a result of the virtual learning experience. Participant submission of lesson plans were reviewed to …

Middle And High School Experiences That Lead First-Generation College Students To Select A Stem Major, James A. Byrum

Theses and Dissertations

Careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields are increasing but the number of qualified individuals to fill these positions are not meeting the demand. One way to increase the number of qualified STEM employees is to garner the interest of students from underrepresented groups in the STEM fields. One of these underrepresented groups are first generation college students (FGCS). Understanding what experiences led FGCS to pursue a degree in a STEM field may help attract more students to STEM and help meet the demand of filling future STEM jobs.

In this study, FGCS in the Opportunity Scholars Program …

An Artificial Intelligence Tool For Accessible Science Education, Jacob D. Watters, April Hill Dr., Melissa Weinrich Dr., Cary Supalo, Feng Jiang Dr.

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

One of the most important issues in accessible science education is creating a laboratory workspace accessible to blind students or students with visual impairments (VI). Although these students are often provided access to the science lectures, they are usually denied full participation in hands-on laboratory work. Current solutions to this problem focus on providing special accommodations such as asking sighted lab partners to complete the hands-on work. Although the accessibility of laboratory devices in modern science education has been improved in recent years, students with VI often remain passive learners. In this work, we developed a new artificial intelligence tool, …

Making Scientific And Technical Materials Pervasively Accessible, Jason J.G. White

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

In this paper, the question is explored of what policies, standards and practices are desirable to ensure that hardware, software and publications in the sciences and associated disciplines are created from the outset to be accessible to people with disabilities. Insight into this question can be obtained by considering the unique accessibility challenges that these materials pose, including complexities of notation, language, and graphical representation.

Having analyzed what sets this problem apart from broader issues of accessibility, the advantages and limitations of current international standards are reviewed, and contemporary developments in standards and policies are considered from a strategic perspective. …

The Perceptions Of Teachers Of Students With Visual Impairments On Students With Visual Impairments And Graphing: How To Teach, Ashley N. Nashleanas Ph.D.

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Many gaps exist in what is known around teaching students with visual impairments (SVI) about how to use graphs (Rosenblum et al., 2018; Rosenblum & Herzberg, 2015; Zebehazy & Wilton, 2014a;2014b;2014c). When teachers first experience a student with a visual impairment, some of the questions that come to mind are: How can I be sure this student understands what I am saying about these graphs I show on the board? Will this student be able to keep up? The study herein, based on findings from Author (2018), serves as a guide for teachers to consider in the case that SVI …

Build Your Own Body Mod: Empowerment Through Prototyping And Design, Anaiss Arreola, Katherine R. Ganim

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

When you don’t have a hand, what could you have instead? This article introduces the impact of inviting youth with disabilities to learn tools and technology to design their own solutions and advocate for their own future. This approach to programming is rooted in a mindset of designing WITH, not FOR. Not only are design outcomes improved when users are incorporated into the process, but this approach has been shown to improve confidence in creating one’s own solutions. These programs include hands-on “design-your-own-body-mod” workshops, as well as a budding inclusive design consultancy led by youth with disabilities. Through this programming, …

Voices Of Teacher Graduates: Preparation For Black Mattering In Schools, Loyce E. Caruthers, Jennifer Waddell, Bradley Poos, Ashley N. Smith

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

The Institute for Urban Education (IUE) began in 2005, following unitary status of Kanas City Public Schools in 2003, as a four-year undergraduate urban teacher preparation program to prepare students to interrupt school-centered practices of Eurocentric identity and antiblackness. A program feature entails recruitment of high school students from urban communities and scholarships to support fulltime preparation without employment distractions. Graduates commit to teach for a minimum of four-years in an urban school. Our investigation incorporated BlackCrit with in-depth interviews to capture the experiences of nine graduates in the schools where they teach or engage in school leadership. While testimonials …

A Mixed Methods Analysis Of The Relationship Between Independent Study Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence And At-Risk Students Academic Success, Stephanie Niemeyer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to determine the relationship between independent study charter schoolteachers’ emotional intelligence (EQ) scores, as measured by the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT), and the number of credits earned in a learning period by their students. An additional purpose was to describe how independent study high school teachers perceive their ability to model the EQ attributes of self-awareness, self-regulation, internal motivation, empathy, and social skill (Goleman, 2006) influences student credit completion.

Methodology: This study used a mixed methods approach to collect quantitative and qualitative data from highly qualified independent …

Pandemic Schooling: Lessons In Equity, Advocacy, And Racial Justice, Donna Rivera

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

It was my fourth year of teaching at a Brooklyn elementary school when the COVID-19 pandemic forced school buildings, and the entire city, to enter a world of lockdown and quarantine. New York City was an early epicenter of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, and the virus quickly revealed severe racial and socioeconomic disparities across the city. A disproportionate number of cases, serious illnesses, and death has been experienced by low-income Black and Latinx communities. At the same time, 2020 also ushered in a national racial reckoning following the May murder of George Floyd.

In this thesis, I will provide a …

Exploring The Factors Affecting The Development Of Reading Habits Among Children, Zaheer Ahmad, Dr. Muhammad Tariq, Qaiser Iqbal, Tahira Akbar Sial

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study explores the factors affecting the reading development of middle schools' students studying in private schools. A quantitative study with the help of survey design was conducted on parents whose children were enrolled in 6^th to 8^th grades in private middle schools of Lahore, Pakistan. The research findings indicated that excessive use of screens such as mobile, TV, and electronic games are the major problems parents face in the promotion of reading habits among children. The other difficulties include the excessive curriculum textbooks, lack of interest by parents, high cost of reading material, lack of school-level practices, …

Cellphilming And Building Solidarity With Queer Youth To Speak Back To Historical Erasures In New Brunswick Social Studies Classrooms, Casey Burkholder

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

New Brunswick, Canada’s K-12 Social Studies curricula erases the myriad histories and experiences of the province’s LGBTQ+ communities. Building on these erasures, this study analyzes how six queer, trans, and non-binary young people (aged 14-17) created cellphilms (cellphone + mobile film production) in response to these absences. In the study, I ask: How might engaging in media and art production with young people—and screening and exhibiting these productions in online and community spaces—work to counter dominant forms of apathy and denial, and support youth to claim a stake in creating solidarities, belonging, and community-making? What is required for youth-produced media …

A Collaborative Autoethnography On Challenging Sociohistorical Constructions Of Gender In Teacher Education, Marie-Helene Brunet, Mark Currie

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

In early 2019, we developed a workshop that examines changing representations of masculinities and femininities through advertisements from today and from 30 years ago. We employ a pedagogy of discomfort (Boler, 1999) and challenge participants—whether students, teacher candidates, or seasoned educators—to historicize and critique how they co-construct sociohistorical representations and performativity of gender (Butler, 1990). Our hopes are that participants begin deconstructing how and which understandings of gender became normalized to them, as well as how they perpetuate or disrupt “masculinities” and “femininities”. Through regular debriefing, we realized that we do not merely facilitate but also actively participate in each …