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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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tandfonline.com – Teachers as Curriculum Designers: Inviting Teachers into the Productive Struggle

tandfonline.com har udgivet en rapport under søgningen “Teacher Education Mathematics”: Abstract Abstract This exploratory, embedded single study examined the experiences of middle grades teacher design teams over 10 months as they were immersed in the development of interdisciplinary curriculum units using a backward design framework. The teachers were supported by a researcher-practitioner partnership and situated in a middle level school structure that valued teachers’ engagement with curriculum design. Most notably, we found that the teachers experienced productive struggle throughout their design process and, as a result, shifted their pedagogical design capacity from adapting or offloading to improvising their curriculum. These findings are particularly significant to middle grades education because of the importance of curricular learning experiences for young adolescents that are challenging, exploratory, integrative, and diverse. Teachers can better create these… Continue Reading

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tandfonline.com – Middle Grades Mathematics Teachers’ Mixed Perceptions of Content-Focused Professional Development

tandfonline.com har udgivet en rapport under søgningen “Teacher Education Mathematics”: Abstract Abstract The purpose of this study was to understand how and why middle grades mathematics teachers did or did not fully participate in sustained, content-focused professional development. Qualitative data were collected from middle grades teachers who demonstrated varying levels of participation. The teachers identified opportunities to engage in novel ways with mathematics content as effective in improving their own mathematics understanding and, consequently, their own instruction. Participants who were more critical of the professional development felt the mathematics content was often beyond their specific grade-level. Factors identified as affecting teachers’ participation in the training included administrative support and school-related responsibilities. Offering content-focused professional development designed to reflect the structures and characteristics established in research to most effectively provide teachers… Continue Reading

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tandfonline.com – Middle Grades Principal Credentialing: A Vanishing Requirement

tandfonline.com har udgivet en rapport under søgningen “Teacher Education Mathematics”: Abstract Abstract Limited research explores how school administrators learn the leadership skills, knowledge, and dispositions that will support young adolescents, particularly how administrators are prepared and credentialed to lead middle grades schools. The purpose of this research was to examine which states offered and/or required administrator credentials specific to middle grades and why states do or do not offer or require such credentialing. Analysis of the data indicates that states are moving away from specific credentialing for middle grades school administrators, with only one state still offering such a credential. Although state credentialing officers indicated the value of a specific middle grades principal credential, the need for flexibility for districts and credential candidates was the overarching reason for eliminating or… Continue Reading

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tandfonline.com – The Efficacy of Context Clue Strategy Instruction on Middle Grades Students’ Vocabulary Development

tandfonline.com har udgivet en rapport under søgningen “Teacher Education Mathematics”: Abstract Abstract This study compares the effectiveness of context clue strategy instruction to wide reading practices in terms of their impact on the vocabulary knowledge of students who read at frustration level. The participants were 44 sixth-grade students from a middle grades school. Students were randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions. The experimental condition students were trained to use context clues to infer meaning from context using a direct instruction method. A contextual vocabulary test consisting of 30 multiple-choice items was used to assess the students’ understanding of the word meanings in context. The results indicated that the experimental condition demonstrated higher levels of improvement in the vocabulary knowledge than the control condition (which practiced a wide reading strategy.… Continue Reading

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tandfonline.com – The High Tide Raises All Ships: Middle Grades Teachers’ Perspectives on School Belonging in Early Adolescence

tandfonline.com har udgivet en rapport under søgningen “Teacher Education Mathematics”: ABSTRACT ABSTRACT Middle grades students have developmental needs that are unique from those of younger children and those in late adolescence. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how middle grades teachers create a sense of belonging with their students and the ways in which their knowledge of early adolescent development influences that process. Self-determination Theory, Stage-Environment Fit Theory, and the Model of Academic Engagement provided a framework for a qualitative investigation that involved interviews with five middle grades teachers. Participants emphasized four themes including the importance of an increased emphasis on community building activities, a need for modeling positive attitudes, the ability to encourage positive peer relationships, and making course content relevant to students’ lives. Implications for… Continue Reading

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tandfonline.com – Service Learning in the Middle Grades: Learning by Doing and Caring

tandfonline.com har udgivet en rapport under søgningen “Teacher Education Mathematics”: Abstract Abstract Although service learning has been documented as a promising pedagogy for middle grades learners, it remains the exception rather than the rule in many middle schools. This qualitative study examined fifth grade students’ experience of a service-learning class. Using the tenets of service learning and experiential learning theory as the theoretical framework, we describe the findings of the study, identifying the importance of a culture of “doing” and problem solving; an integrated curriculum that was based in caring for others; a joyful environment in which to learn; and opportunities for competence and independence. We present the findings in relation to the theoretical framework and discuss the implications of this research for middle grades practice, teacher education, and future… Continue Reading