Intermediate-grade teachers often express concerns about meeting the Common Core State Standards for Reading, primarily because of the emphasis on deep understanding of complex texts. No matter how difficult the text, if teachers demand little of the reading, student meaning making is not challenged. This article offers a tool for teachers to…

Multilevel mediation analyses test whether students' mid-year reports of classroom experiences of autonomy, relatedness with peers, and competence mediate associations between early in the school year emotionally-supportive teacher-student interactions (independently observed) and student-reported academic year changes in mastery motivation and…

Based on the study of seventy-four middle school children of mostly Filipino and part Hawaiian heritages, this article explores the relationships of children's thinking styles, play preferences, and school performance. Using the Group Embedded Figures Test, the Articulation of the Body Scale, and written responses to three questions, the authors…

This yearlong ethnographic case study investigated higher and lower track adolescents' experiences with core content-area (social studies, science, and math) writing in one urban working-class district. Teacher, student, and administrator interviews; field notes; and students' written work comprised the data set. The findings from this…

The authors conducted a synthesis of studies of reading comprehension interventions for middle school students (Grades 6-8) identified with a learning disability. They identified 12 studies between 1979 and 2009 with treatment and comparison designs and 2 single-participant studies. Findings from the studies indicate large effect sizes for…

The research is clear on the importance of student connectedness to school. Adolescents who feel connected to school and perceive the adults there to be caring are more likely to be academically and socially engaged. Middle school is a critical time for students to feel connected to school, but these grade levels present greater challenges to…

Utilizing critical and sociocultural approaches to teaching and learning, this article presents data from seven middle grade students at a Title I school regarding their experiences in a student-constructed learning group. Findings reveal students' desires and abilities to constructively participate in work with others that runs contrary to common…

This research investigates the effectiveness of integrating Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) into the junior high school biology teaching. This research adopts a quasi-experimental design and divides the participating students into the conventional ICT-integrated learning environment and IWB-integrated learning environment. Before teaching, students…

The purpose of the study was to investigate the metacognitive abilities of students with LD as they engage in math problem solving and to determine processing differences between these students and their low- and average-achieving peers (n = 73). Students thought out loud as they solved three math problems of increasing difficulty. Protocols were…

This article shares thoughts about motivating young adolescents from the perspective of middle level students. The most compelling thread to emerge from the interviews with students was the fact that teachers matter. Teachers have a direct and significant impact on students' motivation to achieve. This article identifies three ways in which…

In a larger study on teachers' beliefs about science teaching, one component looks at how school environmental context factors influence inquiry-based science instruction. Research shows that three broad categories of school environmental factors (human, sociocultural, design) impact inquiry-based teaching in some way. A mixed-method, sequential,…

A key promise of narrative-centered learning environments is the ability to make learning engaging. However, there is concern that learning and engagement may be at odds in these game-based learning environments. This view suggests that, on the one hand, students interacting with a game-based learning environment may be engaged but unlikely to…

This study explores the impact of classroom placement on students' self-determination, perception of social support from teachers and classmates, and student-teacher relationships. Participants included 51 middle school and high school students receiving special education services under the ID (intellectual disabilities) category, along with 12…

Recent concerns over global ecology have led to a renewed call for effective environmental education. Since traditional methods of teaching environmental education tend to focus on local issues and perspectives, educators are faced with the problem of providing a more global view of ecological issues. Little research exists exploring the…

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of presentation formats of worked examples and the interaction effects between the presentation formats of worked examples and the prior knowledge of learners. An investigation with 97 middle school students working in four conditions (CPWE, CWE, PWE, and the control group) was conducted. The…