Sixth-grade Classes Research Articles

STEAM Education for Critical Consciousness: Discourses of Liberation and Social Change among Sixth-Grade Students

Abstract In this case study, we present opportunities science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education provided to a sixth-grade class. We collected observational and interview data in a language arts and a science class over 1 year. We used the liberation social psychology (LSP) framework to understand students’ discourses and discussions as they drew from science, engineering activities, and language arts ideas. Further, LSP allowed us to explore students’ engagement in critical reflection of social, racial, and other discrimination. The data analysis showed that STEAM education promoted the integration of science ideas, engineering design, social and critical consciousness. We found STEAM education supported discourses of critical reflection, racism, and social discrimination in class. Finally, we argue that STEAM education in Asia-Pacific and Global South countries has to be about critical consciousness, social change, and liberation of underrepresented groups and immigrants for more inclusive, sociopolitically conscious, and democratic STEAM education experiences.

A Hawaii public education programme for rat lungworm disease prevention.

Education is essential for lowering cases of Angiostrongyliasis in Hawaii. A professional development course on rat lungworm disease (RLWD) prevention was offered to Hawaii K-12 teachers during the 2018-2019 school year. Fourteen teachers, 11 from Hawaii Island and three from Maui, representing grades K, 2, 6-8, and 10-12, completed workshops and activities and received course credit. Teachers reached 652 students and educated 86 teachers and staff and approximately 900 community members including parents. A pre-course survey showed 55% of teachers agreed to a basic understanding of rat lungworm and its impact on Hawaii; this increased to 100% post-course. A sixth-grade class was the first to document the arrival of a highly competent intermediate host of the rat lungworm in a new location, an important discovery that initiated community awareness and control efforts. Six, 1-day workshops were held in 2018-2019, each on one of the main Hawaiian Islands. These were attended by 106 participants including teachers, community educators, and interested individuals from agencies, non-profits, businesses and the private sector. Of participants surveyed, 100% responded the workshop improved their overall understanding of RLWD. Efforts are being made to continue these programmes.

A Educação Física nos Anos Finais do Ensino Fundamental: Desafios, experiências e possibilidades para o ensino das lutas na escola

Este relato de experiência parte das aulas de Educação Física com duas turmas do 6º ano do Ensino Fundamental em uma escola situada no Município de Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro. Teve como objetivo compreender a partir das estratégias didáticas organizadas pelo professor das turmas como os jogos de oposição podem contribuir no desenvolvimento de uma proposta introdutória para o ensino das lutas. Usou - se a observação participante com Gil (2002) e as imagens como registro. Entendeu-se que os jogos de oposição foram ferramentas do processo de conhecimento, abordagem e proposta da temática luta no contexto das turmas do sexto ano. Como resultados, a ludicidade, as atitudes e valores trabalhados sobressaíram na verbalização dos alunos, reflexões nas rodas de conversa e nos grupos dos seminários, bem como as estratégias fundamentadas na dinâmica e regras dos jogos que possibilitaram a introdução de elementos e movimentos de diversificadas lutas.

The Effectiveness of Safe Surfing Intervention Program in Reducing WhatsApp Cyberbullying and Improving Classroom Climate and Student Sense of Class Belonging in Elementary School

Schools have prioritized fighting cyberbullying by implementing intervention programs. Yet few interventions have been studied for their effectiveness in reducing cyberbullying and improving socio-emotional aspects in the classroom. This study reports the results of the Safe Surfing intervention program designed to reduce cyberbullying in WhatsApp classmate discourse. Data were collected in the 2017-2018 school year from 533 students in 25 fourth- to sixth-grade classes (50% females) in six elementary schools in Israel. Two of the schools served as the control group. Results indicated a significant decrease in WhatsApp cyberbullying victimization and a significant improvement of classroom climate and student sense of class belonging in the experiment group. This compared with a significant increase in cyberbullying and a significant decrease in classroom climate and student sense of belonging in the control group. Educational implications are discussed. The findings demonstrate the achievements of the anti-cyberbullying intervention program, alongside the threats of avoiding intervention.

A School-Based Intervention for Mental Illness Stigma: A Cluster Randomized Trial

To determine the effectiveness of a school-based curriculum, Eliminating the Stigma of Differences (ESD), in improving attitudinal and/or behavioral contexts regarding mental illness in schools and increasing the likelihood that youth seek treatment for mental health problems when needed. We conducted a cluster randomized trial in sixth-grade classes from 14 schools in 2011 and 2012 with follow-up at 6-month intervals through 24 months (2012-2015). Using a fully crossed 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design, we compared ESD to a no-intervention control and to 2 comparator interventions: (1) contact with 2 young adults with a history of mental illness and (2) exposure to antistigma printed materials. We implemented interventions in classrooms in an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse school district. There were 416 youth who participated in the follow-up, and 312 (75%) of these participated for the full 2 years. Outcome measures were knowledge and positive attitudes, social distance from peers with mental illness, and mental health treatment seeking. Youth assigned to ESD reported greater knowledge and positive attitudes and reduced social distance (Cohen's d = 0.35 and 0.16, respectively) than youth in the comparator interventions and no-intervention groups across the 2-year follow-up. Youth with high levels of mental health symptoms were more likely (odds ratio = 3.51; confidence interval = 1.08-11.31) to seek treatment during follow-up if assigned to ESD than if they were assigned to comparator interventions or no intervention. ESD shows potential for improving the social climate related to mental illnesses in schools and increasing treatment seeking when needed. ESD and interventions like it show promise as part of a public mental health response to youth with mental health needs in schools.

Reading and writing difficultiesin third and sixth-grade students: a cross-sectional survey.

In southern Italy and, specifically, in the region of Campania, many surveys show that the average of students with reading difficulties is much higher than in northern Italy and abroad. On the other hand, specific learning disorders (SLDs) in Campania are much less certified. Since there are no etiological reasons that can explain this apparent inconsistency, an objective of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the extent of reading/writing difficulties in students from a province of Campania and then to assess the ability of teachers to identify such difficulties in their students. Of a total of 241 enrolled students, 155 (64.31%), including 73 from primary school and 82 from secondary school, belonging to 5 schools in the province of Salerno (Italy), took part in the survey. Students' reading and writing skills were assessed through standardized tests. The tests results were then compared with teacher judgments and context-related variables. At the reading test, 28.7% of primary school and 13.4% of lower secondary school students fell below the 5th percentile for age. Results of the writing test were even more significant: almost half of the students of both levels of education performed below the 5th percentile. Teacher judgments showed higher agreement with standardized assessments in primary (88%, K of Cohen = 0.68) than in secondary school (78%, K = 0.23). Reading and writing difficulties were common in our sample. While reading skills tended to improve with age, writing difficulties apparently persisted to some extent in third and sixth-grade classes. The accuracy of teacher judgments on reading skills is relatively high, but teachers seem to hardly report reading difficulties "requiring attention". Although less "severe" than others, such difficulties should be taken into account, mainly because of their potential developmental trajectories.

Dalle bacchette da calcolo cinesi al metodo Fangcheng: un percorso di trasposizione culturale nella scuola secondaria di primo grado

We proposed, to a class of sixth-graders, a path of discovery of Chinese mathematical tradition and its typical problems, akin to system of equations, to be solved with counting rods and the ancient method Fangcheng. The proposed methodology is laboratory didactics, using artifacts such as rods and scales as well as audio-video supports. According to the theory of the semiotic analysis of artifacts (Rabardel, 1999; Bartolini Bussi, Mariotti & Ferri, 2005) and the theory of cultural transposition (Bartolini Bussi, Sun & Ramploud, 2013; Mellone & Ramploud, 2015), we intend to demonstrate the potential of a formative use of ancient instruments and counting techniques, ailing from a different cultural, historical and geographical context. The aim is to rethink first, and then boost, students’ awareness about addition and subtraction algorithms while also directing them toward the use of pre-algebraic methods based upon the concept and principles of equivalence.

Bridging intersecting literacy practices in a 6th grade iPad classroom

This article discusses youth’s new literacy practices emerging from their out-of-school experiences (e.g. gaming, blogging, and producing music- and game walkthrough videos), and shows examples of how these practices permeate the classroom walls. Social semiotic multimodal analyses of four students’ planet books and their talks around these will be used to exemplify what happens semiotically in the translation of meanings and designs across modes and across sites. The analyses resulted in the following findings: The students’ knowledge production in school incorporates interest-driven literacy practices. Their use of avatars, emojis and expressive fonts, typically stemming from various affinity spaces (Gee, 2005), serves as resources with which to visually mark their writer-identities, and opens dialogical spaces. The sixth-graders re-create and re-combine multimodal representations mediated by overlapping in- and out-of-school contexts. As such, the students’ texts challenge textbook conventions and the semiotic registers in science. The students also demonstrate digital literacy practices that are embedded across home and school domains. Writing with iPads eases the cross of multimodal representations and digital proficiencies and enables children to bridge intersecting literacy practices.

Vaccination contre les papillomavirus humains : intentions vaccinales des parents d’élèves bas-normands après campagne d’information au cours de l’année scolaire 2015–2016

In 2015, the vaccine against human Papillomavirus (hPV) was recommended in France for children from 11to 14years-old. This study assessed the knowledge of parents from Normandy about this vaccine and measured the impact of an information campaign on their intent to have their children vaccinated. Parents from Normandy with children in sixth-grade class, aged 10to 11, during the 2015-2016school year were included. The secondary schools were selected in collaboration with academic institutions. The intent to have their child vaccinated was measured with a questionnaire distributed to children in April 2016and collected from May to June 2016by school nurses. Among the 16selected secondary schools, 1428questionnaires were distributed and 864 (60.5%) were collected regardless of the gender of the child. Among the 439girls, 85.9% were not vaccinated against hPV. The intent to vaccinate was higher when the parent who responded was the mother (P<0.001). Among the parents who took note of the information booklet, 73.7% found this information useful. There was a significant association between the knowledge about the vaccine against hPV and the intent to vaccinate (P<0.001). The percentage of vaccinated girls was significantly higher when their parents were informed (10.9% versus 3.2%). We noticed a significant rise of the intent to vaccinate children when information booklets were distributed (P<0.001). The vaccination rate after specific information about vaccination against hPV was significantly higher. The information campaign has thus a significant positive impact.

초등교사의 표현 영역 지도의 어려움 및 개선방안 탐색

The purpose of this study was to identify the difficulties of elementary school physical expression activity classes and to explore ways to improve them for effective teaching practice. To this end, a class of sixth graders in elementary school was selected as an example as a single case study method. Twenty-seven students, including the homeroom teacher (15 boys and 12 girls), were selected as participants in the study to examine the difficulties of the expressive activity class through class observation, in-depth interview, focus group interview, etc. Studies identified the teacher’s difficulties as ‘a situation in which a teach must teach something he or she does not’, ‘not having the opportunity to acquire knowledge and functions related to expressive activities’, ‘a class environment that makes it impossible to teach expressive areas’ and ‘a reality that does not need to teach expressive areas’. As an improvement ways for effective practice of expression activity class, it was presented with cooperation with dance teachers, support of the professionalism of elementary teachers, preparation of the environment that enables to teach an expression area, and motivation of teachers to into teaching an expression area.

Art Technology Integration: Digital Storytellying as a Transformative Pedagogy in Primary Education

AbstractThe emergence of new media provides new tools for promoting critical thinking and creativity in an environment that encourages collaboration, co‐authoring and sharing ideas and artworks with audiences. Embedding new media in art lessons and integrating art with other disciplines not only promotes visual competence but also transversal competences necessary for the future lives of children. Despite the many benefits that this process entails, there is still no broad integration of new media in art lessons or art integration through technology in primary schools, as teachers are often oblivious of the new possibilities and means of engaging children. However, there is a need to embrace today’s dominant culture of communication if we really want to prepare children for the future. This article is about art technology integration in the primary classroom. It discusses ways of studying important real‐life issues with children and of bridging the gap between school life and daily life. It reports on two case studies with sixth grade classes (11–12 years old) that engaged in a stop motion animation project to communicate messages that were important to the children. Children shared powerful stories, anchored in real‐life contexts and developed critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity skills. The findings contribute to the discussions about arts integration that are grounded in empirical qualitative data. The implications of the study move beyond the art subject itself and highlight how generalist teachers can embrace interdisciplinarity and art integration, and view art as transformative pedagogy in the curriculum.

Community Cultural Wealth Pedagogies: Cultivating Autoethnographic Counternarratives and Migration Capital

Pedagogies employing critical traditions have increasingly been used to ameliorate achievement disparities and centralize issues of power in the education of Students of Color. In this study, I trace a teacher’s journey—new to critical pedagogies—as she learned about community cultural wealth and incorporated family histories as counterstorytelling curricula with her sixth-grade class of immigrant students in California’s Central Valley. I examine the pedagogical implementation with examples of students’ meaning making. The teacher and students demonstrated what I am advancing as migration capital—or knowledges, sensibilities, and skills cultivated through the array of migration/immigration experiences to the United States or its borderlands. This study highlights the potential of community cultural wealth pedagogies and as pedagogical tools to counter deficit narratives with Latina/o immigrant youth.

뇌기반 진화적 접근법에 따른 초등 과학 야외학습에서 인지적 영역의 적용․확장 단계 활동에 대한 과학 창의성 평가 방식별 차이 분석

This study analyzed the scientific creativity on Cognitive-Furthering stage activities according to methods of assessment in science outdoor learning by a brain-based evolutionary approach. The brain-based evolutionary approach was originally developed based on the human brain structure and function involved in scientists’ activities and the evolutionary attributes of the science itself and the brain functions. Samples of the study were composed of 3 classes of sixth graders(67) of N elementary school in Seoul, Korea. The comparison group used textbook- based and teachers’ guidebook-based instruction. Experimental group A learned by a brain-based evolutionary approach, and Experimental group B learned science outdoors and in the classroom through the brain-based evolutionary approach. The major results of the study are as follows. First, for test of scientific creativity, a statistically significant difference among comparison group and experimental groups was not found. When the assessment standard was given to the assessors, the standard deviation of scientific creativity of the students decreased. Second, according to the students’ self assessment scores, 7.4% of them believed that creativity comes from originality. In contrast, 5.9% of the students believed creativity comes from being useful to all in life. The rest of the students believed that originality and being useful in life are two important characteristics that are needed in order to fulfill scientific creativity. Third, The students’ self assessment scores on originality and scientific creativity also showed a statistically significant difference among the students who showed a high level of interest, the students who showed a medium level of interest and the students who showed a low level of interest. In the teachers’ assessment of originality, a statistically significant difference was found among the students who received high, medium and low achievement scores. On the basis of the results, the implications for the research in scientific creativity and the science teaching and learning in school are discussed.

The Effect of Physical Education Teacher Physical Appearance on Student Physical Activity

The purpose of this study was to examine how perceptions of a physical educator's physical appearance affected student physical activity levels through the use of pedometers. It was hypothesized that students with a fit-appearing teacher would have higher step counts than students with an overweight-appearing teacher. Both male and female students (N = 142) from fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade physical education classes wore pedometers during physical education class. Initially, students completed a Figure Rating Scale that rated a set of two cartoon figures in order to determine weight bias. A Zumba lesson was taught by one female guest teacher who wore a fat suit for half of the classes and no fat suit for the other half of the classes separately. Following the lesson, students completed a Student Attitude Questionnaire regarding the guest teacher and asked to record step count from their pedometer. A 3 x 2 x 2 ANCOVA data analysis revealed a statistically significant grade x group interaction (F [2,129] = 6.48, p = .002, ETA = .091). The covariate Student Attitude Questionnaire showed statistical significance (F [1, 129] = 9.23, p = .003, ETA = .067). The results of this study showed that the fourth graders had a higher step/min. in the group with the fit-appearing teacher and lower step/min. in the group with the overweight-appearing teacher. However, it was the opposite with the sixth graders, as the group with the fit-appearing teacher had lower step/min. than the group with the overweight-appearing teacher. The results of this study indicate that a fit teacher appearance may have a greater direct relationship with fourth-grader physical activity, but fit-appearing teachers may actually relate to lower levels of physical activity in sixth graders. These phenomena may be influenced by preactivity weight bias in children.

Praxis of Resilience &amp; Resistance: “We can STOP Donald Trump” and Other Messages from Immigrant Children

In 2018 there have been constant anti-immigrant rhetoric, policies, and enforcement. Most recently, Trump referred to immigrant children as “future criminals” who needed to be kept in prison-like detention centers and “tender age facilities” (Min Kim, 2018). Meanwhile, the 4.5 million children of immigrants already in the US continue to face possibilities of family separation due to this enforcement-focused political system (Suárez-Orozco et al., 2015). The goal of this article is to provide insight into the lives of one of the most vulnerable and fastest growing populations in the U.S.—immigrant children. As a researcher and educator, I developed an art-centered methodological and pedagogical tool that can serve those working with immigrant children and vulnerable populations. Over a two-year period, I used artistic tools such as drawings, storyboards, Teatro Campesino’s actos, and various techniques from Theater of the Oppressed (Boal, 2000) to work with children of immigrants in a sixth-grade class of English Language Learners (ELL) in Los Angeles. Through educational, artistic, and anecdotal components of their work, these children created a world where they could resist and fight Trump and share that victory by utilizing the transformative imaginary of art.

Conhecimentos declarativos técnico-táticos de handebol manifestados por estudantes em aulas de Educação Física

Os objetivos deste estudo foram identificar e analisar os conhecimentos declarativos técnico-táticos de handebol manifestados por estudantes quando observam e analisam jogos de handebol. O estudo, assentado na abordagem qualitativa, utilizou entrevista e observações de aula para a coleta dos dados. Os participantes foram 30 estudantes de uma turma de sexto ano. Os resultados demonstraram uma série de manifestações de conhecimentos declarativos técnico-táticos do handebol, como o conhecimento das regras básicas necessárias para jogar; o entendimento da dinâmica do jogo (posicionamento em quadra) e a compreensão do jogo oficial da modalidade. Assim, foi possível verificar que os estudantes acessaram, mobilizaram e manifestaram o conhecimento declarativo técnico-tático acerca do handebol, dentre esses conhecimentos: o conhecimento das regras básicas (que dão a possibilidade de conseguir jogar); os objetivos do jogo necessários para o entendimento de seu funcionamento; as características especificas do handebol, bem como aquelas que podem ser transferidas para outros esportes.

The Impact of Formative Assessment on the Success and Response Rate in a 6th Grade Physical Education Badminton Unit

ABSTRACTFormative assessment can raise standards of achievement. In physical education, when formative assessment was incorporated into instruction, students performed better in terms of skills and were more on-task. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of formative assessment on success and response rate of a sixth grade badminton unit. Specifically, this study aims to study how formative assessments impact response and success rates of the more skilled, average skilled and lower skilled students in a badminton unit in physical education. Sixteen students from two sixth grade classes took part in this study. One class served as the treatment group, where the teacher incorporated formative assessments in her teaching, while the other class served as the control group. The current study found that students in the treatment group were more on-task than the students in the control group based on the response rate. Students in the treatment group had higher response rate, and this difference was statistically significant. Although the treatment group showed a 10% higher mean success rate, the results were statistically insignificant. This study confirmed students were more on-task and had a higher response rate when formative assessments were incorporated into the lesson.

“Move over, I will find Jerusalem”: Artifacts in game design in classrooms

Abstract When game design is conducted in classrooms as a learning activity, the students usually have digital, as well as traditional, artifacts available. This article looks at how students organize the use of different artifacts when creating computer games about historical topics. The data informing this article consist of video data collected from one sixth-grade class and one seventh-grade class in Norway. A sociocultural perspective is used to show how the students use a combination of different artifacts as resources in the game design process, focusing on how students take epistemic stances and how the artifacts are given different epistemic status. The students jointly construct knowledge that they then integrate into computer games using artifacts such as textbooks, world maps, Google, and timelines. The article shows how designing games about historical topics is a complex process in which students use artifacts as the basis for knowledge claims and storytelling, and students need to negotiate and balance their own design preferences with historical accuracy and the expectations of the classroom setting.

Syrian mothers, why to accept or to refuse HPV vaccine for their teen girls

Background: Cervical cancer (CC) ranks the eighth most frequent cancer among Syrian women with crude incidence rates 1.4 per 100, 000 populations per year. This study aimed to test the acceptance of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among mothers of schoolgirls in sixth-grade class.&#x0D; Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted through a structured and self-administrated questionnaire. A total of 400 Syrian mothers of schoolgirls were selected randomly by the cluster sampling method in Aleppo city, Syria, in 2011. Significant variables from univariate analysis were included in an enter technique multiple logistic regression analysis.&#x0D; Results: The response rate was 86%. If the vaccine was free, 282 (81.7%) mothers would accept the vaccine for themselves and 236 (68.4%) for their daughters, respectively. However, the acceptance rate grossly decreased to 24.6% and 15.1%, respectively, if the vaccine was not provided free. The high cost of the HPV vaccine and lack of knowledge were the significant barriers for mothers' acceptance of the HPV vaccine. Protection of daughters and the trust with health authority were the main encouraging reasons to accept the HPV vaccine. Findings from logistic regression analysis revealed that the employed mothers (odds ratio = 2.4; 95% CI: 1.3–4.4), with a positive history of gynecological examination (OR = 2.1; 95% CI: 1.6–2.9) and having sound knowledge (OR = 2.4; 95% CI: 1.0–5.7) are independent factors related to the acceptance of the HPV vaccine for their daughters.&#x0D; Conclusion: The results from this study suggest that mothers from different cultural backgrounds, including Syrian mothers, are holding different beliefs on privacy and health that may affect their willingness to accept the HPV vaccine.

Effects of three basic dimensions of instructional quality on students’ situational interest in sixth-grade biology instruction

Previous research defined and evaluated three basic dimensions of instructional quality: classroom management, supportive climate, and cognitive activation. This study examined their effects on students' situational interest in videotaped biology instruction from German sixth-grade classes. Additionally, we evaluated the mediating effects of cognitive activation on classroom management and supportive climate using multilevel analyses. Each of the 28 biology classes in our sample had three lessons videotaped while the topic botany was being taught. The three basic dimensions of instructional quality were separately examined using respective rating manuals. Multilevel analyses showed positive total effects of all the three dimensions on students' situational interest. The results also revealed empirical evidence that cognitive activation mediated both the effects of classroom management and supportive climate on students' situational interest. As our findings indicate subject-specific characteristics are necessary to foster students’ situational interest, we suggest further studies for deeper examination and analysis of these characteristics.