Study and teaching (Middle school)

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between children's enjoyment and perceived competence in physical education (PE) and the effects these factors may have on physical activity participation outside of school. Fifth through eighth grade (n = 100) school children completed questionnaires pertaining to their enjoyment in PE, perceived competence in PE, and physical activity participation outside of school. Results indicated a positive significant relationship between enjoyment in PE, and perceived competence in PE (p<0.01). Children with higher perceptions of competence in school PE, reported greater physical activity participation outside of the school environment (p<0.002). Enjoyment in PE had no statistical significance in determining physical activity participation outside of school (p>0.05). Understanding the factors which influence physical activity participation can help inform future policies and strategies aimed at providing developmentally appropriate experiences, ultimately providing intrinsic motivation to seek out, and sustain, regular physical activity strategies aimed at providing developmentally appropriate experiences, ultimately providing intrinsic motivation to seek out, and sustain, regular physical activity participation.

This study described, analyzed, and compared the internal and external factors that prevented or fostered the implementation of a cognitive tool, GeoGebra, in the mathematics practices of 12 middle school teachers who had completed a master's degree program in mathematics successfully. Through the application of a case study approach as a systematic method for the analysis of qualitative data, and under a social constructivist framework, the study examined different factors such as concerns of teachers; their beliefs about technology, mathematics as a subject, math teaching, and learning; external factors such as resources and school support; their TPACK development; and their instrumental orchestration approach through classroom observations. Among the major findings, the study revealed that the personal concerns of the teacher users of GeoGebra included the desire to continue learning the new features of the software, as well as the desire to connect themselves with others in common endeavors for the benefit of other teachers and, ultimately, the students... There was a consensus among the teacher users that they had to strike a balance between their professional goals and the available resources.

With more and more focus on accountability, algebra achievement has become a major focus of math curriculum developers. In many states, students are expected to pass standardized Algebra achievement tests in order to satisfy graduation requirements. The purpose of this study was to identify teacher qualities and teaching qualities linked to teacher effectiveness in 7th-grade Algebra I Honors. This study examined two aspects of teachers, teacher quality and teaching quality. Teacher quality refers to the characteristics that teachers possess and teaching quality refers to what teachers do in the classroom to foster student learning. For this study, teacher quality included teacher professional preparation characteristics and teacher knowledge. Also, aspects of teaching quality that promote conceptual understanding in Algebra were examined. The difference between more and less effective teachers in this study lies in teaching quality, what teachers do in the classroom, as opposed to teacher quality, what those teachers bring with them to the classroom. The findings of this study indicate that elements of teaching quality are more indicative of teacher effectiveness than elements of teacher quality among teachers in the study. Although there was some evidence of a relationship between elements of teacher quality and teacher effectiveness, there were clear differences in teaching quality among more effective and less effective teachers in this study.

The purpose of this descriptive quantitative and basic qualitative study was to examine fifth and eighth grade science teachers' responses, perceptions of the role of technology in the classroom, and how they felt that computer applications, tools, and the Internet influence student understanding. The purposeful sample included survey and interview responses from fifth grade and eighth grade general and physical science teachers. Even though they may not be generalizable to other teachers or classrooms due to a low response rate, findings from this study indicated teachers with fewer years of teaching science had a higher level of computer use but less computer access, especially for students, in the classroom. Furthermore, teachers' choice of professional development moderated the relationship between the level of school performance and teachers' knowledge/skills, with the most positive relationship being with workshops that occurred outside of the school. Eighteen interviews revealed that teachers perceived the role of technology in classroom instruction mainly as teacher-centered and supplemental, rather than student-centered activities.

The purpose of this study was to determine if middle school student scientific understanding could be predicted by the variables: standardized 5th grade score in science, standardized 5th grade score in mathematics, standardized 5th grade score in reading, student attitude towards science, socioeconomic status, gender, and ethnicity. The areas of the comprehensive literature review were trends in science learning and teaching, research in the K-12 science education arena, what factors have influenced K-12 science education, scientific understanding, what research has been done on K-12 scientific understanding, and what factors have influenced science understanding in the K-12 arenas. Based on the results of the literature review, the researcher of this study examined a sample of middle school 8th grade students. An Attitude Towards Science Survey (SATS) Simpson & Oliver (1990) and a Survey of Scientific Understandings (Klapper, DeLucia, & Trent, 1993) were administered to these 116 middle school 8th grade students drawn from a total population of 1109 who attend this middle school in a typical county in Florida during the 2010- 2011 school year. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to test each sub-hypothesis and to provide a model that attempted to predict student scientific understanding. Seven null sub-hypotheses were formed to determine if there were significant relationships between student scientific understanding and the abovementioned variables. The results of the tests of the seven null sub-hypotheses showed that the sub-hypothesis that involved socioeconomic status was rejected, which indicated that the socioeconomic status of a family does influence the level of scientific understanding of a student.

The purpose of this research was to explore middle school leaders' perceptions of the reasons girls' enrollment levels in science courses during high school declines and if the advice given to middle school girls may be perpetuating the diminished enrollment of girls in science courses as they move from middle school to high school. The study explored the contributions of expectancy and role theory using a qualitative method. Data analysis found that cultural influences on middle school girls' career goals emerged as a significant influence on school leaders' perceptions. Instructional methodology and cultural, gendered assumptions of women in science were found as themes in middle school leaders' perceptions that further shaped the advice to girls to enroll in high school science courses. The study provided information that clarified how middle school leaders can maintain the academic pathway for girls in science as well as recommendations for further study.