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Eric.ed.gov – Can Formal-Informal Collaborations Improve Science Literacy in Urban Middle Schools? The Impact of Urban Advantage. IESP Policy Brief 03-11

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This brief presents findings from a study on Urban Advantage (UA), a collaboration between the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), other New York City informal science institutions, and the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) to improve the science literacy of NYC public school students. The analysis draws on a rich longitudinal database, containing student- and school-level data for all NYC public schools and students from 2004-05 to 2009-10. Results indicate that these collaborations can have a positive impact on student achievement and science learning. Key findings include: (1) Students at UA schools outperform students at non-UA schools. In 2006- 07, the third year of the program, 44.2% of students at UA schools are proficient on the Intermediate Level Science Test (ILS) exam, compared to… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Caring and Motivating Middle School Classrooms. Issue Brief

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Since 2009, the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities (JGC) at Stanford University has worked in partnership with the Redwood City School District (RCSD) to gain a deeper understanding of classroom practices that promote motivation and achievement in middle school. Each spring, all middle school students in the district complete a survey about their motivational beliefs and their classroom experiences. The 2011 survey incorporated a new set of questions designed to capture students’ perceptions of classroom practices that convey care and support. This focus emerged from conversations with teachers and administrators and reflects RCSD’s commitment to building supportive classroom communities that emphasize effort and improvement. This research suggests that all middle school students in the district can benefit from practices that communicate care for… Continue Reading

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tandfonline.com – A Case Study Exploring Learning Experiences in a Science Summer Camp for Middle Level Students From Taiwan and the United States

tandfonline.com har udgivet en rapport under søgningen “Teacher Education Mathematics”: Abstract Abstract The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how young adolescents participated in various activities in a science summer camp. A total of 26 Taiwanese students and 16 U.S. students participated in a one-week “Argue like a Scientist” summer camp. Based on the design features of project-based learning, this science summer camp aimed at engaging the students in collaborative scientific argumentation about alternative energies and involved them in various activities related to alternative energies such as a field trip to an ethanol plant and a hands-on project building a solar car. All activities, including the students’ collaborative argumentation, were recorded. Their post-camp surveys were also collected. Three themes emerged from the data analysis. First, regardless of cultural… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Learning in Linguistically Diverse Middle School Classrooms: The Role of the Classroom Peer Network

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The literature suggests there is much to be gained from exploring the role of the peer network in linguistically diverse “mainstream” middle school classrooms (i.e., classrooms that include English language learners alongside fluent English-speakers). The present study uses social network analysis to examine whether between-classroom and between-student variation in cross-language-status integration in the classroom peer network may contribute to between-classroom and between-student differences in learning. Data from a larger mixed-methods study at a linguistically diverse middle school in the southeastern United States are analyzed to test two hypotheses: (1) Classrooms with more linguistically integrated peer networks (i.e., those in which the network of friendships in the classroom is less segregated by ELL status) will show greater growth in classroom mean standardized test scores across the school year;… Continue Reading

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tandfonline.com – Exploring the Impact of a Community School Reform Initiative on the Literacy Achievement of Middle Level English Language Learners

tandfonline.com har udgivet en rapport under søgningen “Teacher Education Mathematics”: Abstract Abstract Inequitable learning opportunities are a leading contributor to the persistent literacy achievement gaps evident between historically marginalized students and their more affluent peers. This study investigated the impact of a community school reform effort in an urban middle school. The community school initiative focused on meeting the complex academic and non-academic needs of newcomer (i.e., immigrant and refugee) students and families. The researchers compared the community school students to a propensity score-matched group and found that the community school students significantly outperformed the comparison group in English language arts (ELA) from Grade 6 to 8 and had significantly fewer course failures in Grade 8. Results of this study also indicate the promising contributions community school wrap-around services lend… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Understanding the Meaning of Rural within a Middle School Mathematics Professional Development and Research Project in Nebraska. Working Paper No. 40

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Improving teacher quality in P-12 mathematics is a national need, and many universities and schools are working to address it. With the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF), twelve math and science institutes across the country are helping P-12 teachers strengthen their capacity to support students’ learning. These NSF Institutes operate under the leadership of STEM university faculty, representing colleges of arts and science as well as colleges of education. The strategy is to build capacity by improving teachers’ content knowledge, pedagogy, and leadership skills. One such venture is The Math in the Middle Institute Partnership (M2) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). As part of their efforts to understand the place of rural in M2, the research team systematically interviewed the 63 rural participants from… Continue Reading

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tandfonline.com – Increased Metacognition About Health and Learning in a Middle School-based Health Promotion Project Using an Action-oriented Research Model

tandfonline.com har udgivet en rapport under søgningen “Teacher Education Mathematics”: ABSTRACT ABSTRACT Health is a resource for pupils’ learning. Including health in the curriculum and teaching will enable pupils to understand the connection between health and learning. Action research has proved to be effective from a learning perspective. Our purpose was to explore whether, and how, using action-oriented research methods in a middle school-based health promotion project contributed to metacognition about health and learning. The design was an action-oriented research model using reflection forums: a support group; a project group; and two focus groups of pupils and teachers. The latent content analysis resulted in three categories: (1) Professional aspects; (2) Educational aspects; and (3) Structural aspects, with adherent subcategories. The discussion presents a synthesis of findings about metacognition, with Structural… Continue Reading

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tandfonline.com – “I Want Them to Feel Safe and to Feel Loved”: Collaborating to Teach Social Studies for Middle Level Emergent Bilingual Students

tandfonline.com har udgivet en rapport under søgningen “Teacher Education Mathematics”: Abstract Abstract This case study explored how a social studies teacher and a TESOL teacher collaborated to teach an eighth-grade civics and economics course in a diverse classroom with Latinx emergent bilingual students. The researcher employed a theoretical framework of culturally and linguistically relevant citizenship education (CLRCE), which includes five pedagogical principles: pedagogy of community, pedagogy of success, pedagogy of making cross-cultural connections, pedagogy of building a language of social studies, and pedagogy of community-based participatory citizenship. The goals of the study were to identify and understand the perspectives and decision making of the teachers’ pedagogy for Latinx youth. Findings revealed the importance of an effective collaborative relationship and using varied pedagogical strategies to support the growth and success of… Continue Reading

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tandfonline.com – Reducing the Achievement Gap: Middle Grades Mathematics Performance and Improvement

tandfonline.com har udgivet en rapport under søgningen “Teacher Education Mathematics”: Abstract Formulae display:?Mathematical formulae have been encoded as MathML and are displayed in this HTML version using MathJax in order to improve their display. Uncheck the box to turn MathJax off. This feature requires Javascript. Click on a formula to zoom. Abstract Over the past 30 years, numerous policies have focused on closing the achievement gap in the United States. Despite this emphasis on mastery and proficiency, students continue to perform below expectations. We use standardized math test performance to explore whether schools have been able to eliminate the achievement gap across middle-level education (students aged 12 to 14 in school years 6 through 8), and whether it’s possible to maintain consistent improvement within a school. Additionally, we examine how… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Alignment of the easyCBM Middle School Mathematics CCSS Measures to the Common Core State Standards. Technical Report #1208

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Within a response to intervention framework, teachers regularly base important instructional decisions on the results of formative assessments. The validity of these decisions depends, in part, upon the validity of the inference of students’ skills drawn from the formative assessment. If formative assessment items do not genuinely measure the skills they purport to measure–that is, if they are misaligned with their content standards–then the resulting inferences may be threatened. Alignment is thus critical, given the potential practical repercussions of misalignment (e.g., students denied needed interventions). In the following technical report, we report on the alignment of a randomly selected sample of roughly half the easyCBM CCSS middle school math items with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Results suggest a high degree of alignment, with 87% of… Continue Reading