This paper contains an instructional unit designed to create space in the classroom for open and honest conversations about racism through enhancing the literature circle format with the incorporation of critical literacy and emotionally-responsive teaching. The unit utilizes strategies that are research-based and referenced in the paper. Detailed…

The purpose of this research was to examine the effectiveness of the dialectical journal as a tool for teaching critical thinking skills, and to assess middle school teachers' perception of critical thinking. Two groups of middle school students were split into one control and one experimental group. Both groups took a critical thinking test…

The purpose of this action research study was to restructure and implement an effective middle school advisory model. This was conducted at a Middle School in Painesville Township, Ohio consisting of approximately 800 students. In order to meet Adequate Yearly Progress and adapt to the changes of the 21st century, a way to help the school progress…

Social media has permeated almost every aspect of the lives of anyone who utilizes the internet. Teachers and students are no exception. Students are most likely to use social media sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. This research focuses on best practices related to augmenting school curriculum to utilize these tools to increase student…

In response to low achievement in mathematics at a middle school, an ethnomathematic approach was used to teach coordinate planes. Whether there were achievement differences between students taught by the culturally sensitive approach and those taught by a traditional method was studied. Data were collected from the coordinate planes unit…

The purpose of this study was to determine how physical education teachers and coaches could best help students/athletes increase sprint speed, investigating whether running speed over short distances could be improved significantly through resistance training or specificity training for middle school age students. A total of 70 7th- and 8th-grade…

The purpose of this paper is to determine the effects of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program for middle school students (N=95). The evaluation of the data shows that sixth grade students' test scores did improve after receiving D.A.R.E. instruction. However, a two-tailed t-test indicated that the fifth, sixth, seventh, and…

Background: Educational guidelines and reforms focused on literacy, including No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), have contributed to a music education culture and climate focused on language literacy rather than on the core content literacies inherent in music itself. Purpose: The purpose of this…

The purpose of this study was to determine if there would be a significant difference in the achievement levels of two groups of eighth-grade Algebra I students when one group receives instruction from a non-traditional (Saxon) method of instruction, and the other receives instruction from a traditional method (Fair and Bragg text). The study was…

A study investigated the correlation between students' learning styles and their academic achievement on report cards and standardized tests. Subjects were 58 fifth-grade students in a suburban middle school. The "Learning Style Inventory" by Brown and Cooper was administered to this population, and students' academic averages and…

A survey was conducted to examine the reading interests of middle school students. Subjects were sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students in a metropolitan, public middle school located in a southeastern state. It was hypothesized that the data would reveal statistically significant categories of reading interest, and would reveal significant…

The intent of this study is to determine whether or not teaching students how to use available calculators can improve their mathematics test scores. The study involved 89 seventh and eighth grade students. These students were randomly divided into three separate groups which included two experimental groups and the control group. The control…

A study examined the effects that a metacognitive strategy, self-questioning prediction, had on the improvement of reading comprehension. The sample included 17 eighth-grade students in a South Amboy, New Jersey middle school. The Gates MacGinitie Reading Comprehension Tests were administered as both pre- and posttests. There were three weekly…

This study was conducted in order to investigate the effect of verbal reinforcement on the study behavior of eighth grade students. Twelve middle school students participated. The target students were observed fifteen minutes a day, three days per week. Study behavior was noted with a check or a zero. If the subject was participating in class the…

Canada is experiencing a dramatic growth in interest in and implementation of the middle school concept. Currently needed is information on the specific characteristics of the middle school as it develops in Canada and information validating the practices that are accompanying restructure efforts. This study investigated the relationship between…