Browsing by Subject "Middle school"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A Story of African American Students as Mathematics Learners
    (Ismail Sahin, 2014-07-01) Morton, Crystal Hill
    Educational systems throughout the world serve students from diverse populations. Often students from minority populations (i.e. racial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic) face unique challenges when learning in contexts based on the cultural traditions and learning theories of the majority population. These challenges often leave minority populations labeled as incompetent, unmotivated, and cognitively deficit. In the United States, African American female students are among minority populations who are often positioned as deficit when compared to the majority White population. This study investigates middle school African American female perceptions of themselves as learners and students’ knowledge of the meaning of ratio, proportionality, and how to apply and explain their application of proportionality concepts by examining written problem solving strategies over a three-year period. Students’ responses are analyzed according to the strategies they used to reach their final solution. The categories of strategies include no-response, guess and check, additive build up with and without a pictorial representation, and multiplicative. The majority of students in this study 86.5%, 69.2%, and 68.6% did not attempt or demonstrated no understanding in year one, two, and three respectively. Additionally, participants reported positive dispositions about themselves as mathematics learners.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Best Practice Program for Low-Income African American Students Transitioning from Middle to High School
    (2009) Gentle-Genitty, Carolyn
    On the basis of systematic evaluation of three program databases, totaling 246 programs, this article provides a discussion on a best practice program for low-income African American students transitioning from middle school to high school in urban school settings. The main research question was “Of the programs touted as best practice, is there one that could produce positive middle school transition outcomes for low-income African American students in urban school settings?” To allow for the examination of as many programs as possible that targeted African American students, no subcategories of African American students were made, for example, low income. Using specific exclusion criteria, the author chose four programs as best practice (School Transitional Environmental Program [STEP]; Skills, Opportunity, and Recognition; Positive Action through Holistic Education; and Fast Track). These four programs were further evaluated with an eight-point inclusion criteria. The results suggested that STEP was the best best practice program, from those examined, for working with low-income African American transitioning from middle school to high school.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Flipping the Script: An Initial Exploration of Flipped Learning as an Enhanced Alternative to Traditional Physical Education Lessons
    (MDPI, 2022-11-17) Killian, Chad M.; Espinoza, Sarah M.; Webster, Collin A.; Long, Belden; Urtel, Mark; Mays Woods, Amelia; D’Agostino, Emily M.; Kinesiology, School of Health and Human Sciences
    Background: Physical activity (PA) is related to a variety of positive outcomes for youth and physical education (PE) represents a primary school-based environment where students can engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Limitations exist in secondary schools with low socio-economic status, where MVPA engagement is generally below the recommended 50% of lesson time. Growing evidence suggests that using a flipped learning approach (FLA) may naturally enhance PE lessons as outlined by The Theory of Expanded, Extended, and Enhanced Opportunities for Youth Physical Activity Promotion. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the impact of the FLA to traditional instruction on student MVPA, lesson context, and teacher involvement during middle school PE lessons. Methods: Participants were 56 male students from two 7th-grade classes from a low-SES, suburban school. This study employed the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT). Data were examined through descriptive statistics. Linear regression models were used to predict SOFIT outcomes as a function of FLA versus traditional instruction. Results: Students in the FLA class spent significantly more class time in MVPA (p < 0.01). Regression models predicted participants in FLA classes would spend 55% more class time in MVPA (p < 0.01). After adjusting for covariates, models showed students in FLA classes would spend almost 18 more minutes in MVPA than students in traditional classes (p < 0.01). Discussion/Conclusion: The FLA may be a practical lesson enhancement strategy to increase student MVPA and improve PE opportunities for students in low SES schools when compared to the use of traditional instruction. The results of this study demonstrated positive potential of using FLA in PE but should be considered within the context of their limitations. Further examination of the FLA is warranted.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The role of trauma and positive youth development in polysubstance use among rural middle school students: a latent class analysis
    (BMC, 2022-12-14) Zervos, Andrew P.; Hensel, Devon J.; James, Rebecca; Hunt, Abby; Ott, Mary A.; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Background: Rural youth often begin developing polysubstance use and other risk behaviors during middle school. However, little polysubstance use research focuses on rural middle school youth. Our research uses Latent Class Analysis to understand existing patterns of rural middle school polysubstance use and risk and protective factors associated with polysubstance use. Methods: We used survey data from a rural middle school pregnancy prevention program (N = 2,708). The survey included measures of demographics, lifetime substance use, trauma (adverse childhood experiences and bullying victimization) and aspects of youth development (parent communication on drugs and alcohol, parent connectedness and school connectedness). We used latent class analysis to produce participant polysubstance use profiles and multinomial regression to examine associations between polysubstance use, demographics, trauma and aspects of youth development. Results: We categorized our participants into four latent classes. Our analysis classified 2.2% of participants as Regular Polysubstance users, 6.9% as Polysubstance experimenters, 19% as Vape + Alcohol experimenters and 71.9% as Non-Users. More adverse childhood experiences were associated with greater risk of polysubstance use and experimentation. Bullying was positively associated with greater risk of vape and alcohol experimentation. Higher reported parental and school connectedness were associated with lower risk of high frequency polysubstance use. Higher reported school connection was also associated with lower risk of polysubstance experimentation. Conclusion: Rural substance use prevention programs should begin during middle school, as polysubstance use development is common among rural middle schoolers. These programs should be trauma informed and focus on connectedness as a modifiable factor to reduce risk of polysubstance use development.