Middle School Grades Research Articles

Examining sources of language production switch costs amongst Tibetan-Chinese-English trilinguals

ABSTRACT The present study tested whether the switch costs of production-based language switching tasks by trilinguals are due to competition from outside language schemas or from within language systems. We recruited 90 Tibetan-Chinese-English trilinguals in 10th grade in a Tibetan middle school in China to name digits and number words using different stimuli valence. The study was divided into three experiments, one for each combination of two languages possible amongst Tibetan, Chinese and English. We observed the switch cost symmetrical patterns in the three experiments. The results suggest that the sources of switch cost are partially from outside competition between language schemas and partially from within language system. These results may contribute to our understanding of the language control mechanism between production-based and comprehension-based language switching tasks and language control mechanism of trilinguals with three orthographically different languages.

The effects of a newcomer program on the academic achievement of English Learners

AbstractSchool districts serving newcomer English Learners (ELs) generally offer short‐term intensive English programs designed to teach foundational language skills and guide students’ integration into the U.S. school system. Despite the growing popularity of newcomer programs, however, there is limited rigorous evidence of their efficacy. In this paper, we present evidence on the causal effect of an intensive English program on the academic achievement of newcomer EL students. Access to the program is determined by a test score cutoff which we leverage to employ a regression discontinuity design. On average, students who are eligible for the program in elementary grades experience a boost in their academic achievement for up to 3 years following initial eligibility. Conversely, newcomer EL students who are marginally eligible for intensive English language instruction in middle school grades see a decline in achievement that tends to exacerbate over time.

부모의 부정적 양육태도가 청소년의 공격성에 미치는 영향

This study’s purpose was to prove the mediating effect of the grit and the social withdrawal within the direct path which the parents' negative parent attitude have effected to the aggression of an adolescent. For archiving this research purpose, this study have selected a total of 2,384 cases who were third grade in middle school(a year of 2020) from Korea Youth Pannel Survey(KYPS) 3th wave applicable in the year 2018 as an analysis target. And this study have applied Structural Equation Modeling(AMOS 18.0) as an core analysis method, sobel test for demonstrating the indirect effect of the mediating path. Base on the above research method, this study have established the research results as below. First, this study have found out the direct effect between the parents' negative rearing attitude and the aggression of an adolescent. Second, this study have proved the indirect effects of the grit and the social withdrawal. Through the presented research results, this study have suggested the practical implication reducing the aggression of an adolescent and the suggestion for the prior study.

과학 영재 특성 구인과 과제 수행 단계의 연관성

In this study, it was assumed that it was necessary to separately investigate the characteristics of gifted students in science at each stage in the process of performing a task, rather than a single characteristic. For this purpose, the affective characteristics of gifted children, which are traditionally emphasized, such as motivation, passion, and task concentration, were assumed to be characteristics that are uniquely emphasized at each stage of task performance, such as beginning, progress, and completion. Afterwards, each category was matched to the task performance stage, and then the relationships within and between categories were investigated. These results showed that the affective characteristics of the gifted students in science had correlations within categories. However, the correlation of questions between categories was relatively high between the motivation category and the passion category, but the correlation between the motivation and task concentration categories was low. This means that each characteristic in the task concentration category is more unique than those in other categories. This pattern appeared similarly in all grades of middle school, with relatively more distinct results in the third grade. The correlation between the characteristics of each stage investigated in this study indicates that it continues meaningfully while students perform learning tasks regardless of grade in middle school.

Predictors of Academic Self-Efficacy of University Students: Grades, Learning Disabilities and ADHD

Academic self-efficacy (ASE) is a key concept for academic success as individuals with high ASE are, among other things, ambitious, see problems as challenges, focus on solving tasks, therefore have higher class participation and persevere in difficult tasks. Learning disabilities (LD) and ADHD have been found to be related to academic success, specifically the aspect of taking tests and demonstrating knowledge. Studies of ASE in LD and ADHD students have shown it to be lower in those populations. Most research has focused on ASE as a precursor to academic success. Therefore, we wanted to investigate the opposite, namely how prior academic experiences predict ASE. 287 Croatian students, fifty-three of whom had LD and/or ADHD, participated in the online study. ASE in the learning process and in achieving the desired learning outcomes was lower in the LD/ADHD group. Regression analysis showed that failing an exam, university and middle school grades were significant predictors for both ASE facets, with LD/ADHD diagnosis being a significant predictor only for ASE in achieving the desired learning outcome. Previous negative experiences with testing in the LD/ADHD group and overall relatively recent academic experience have a significant role in students’ ASE. Given the importance of academic self-efficacy, the practical implications of these findings point to the importance of supporting students with LD and ADHD during their education.

랜덤포레스트를 활용한 초⋅중학생 독서실행 영향 요인 탐색

Objectives The purposes of this study factors affecting elementary and middle school students’ reading practice were explored using the random forest technique. Methods For this purpose, data from the 13th year (sixth grade of elementary school) and the 14th year (first year of middle school) of the Korean Children's Panel were used. Using reading practice as a response variable and 111 explanatory variables from household, parent, child, and school/private education surveys, factors affecting their reading practice were explored based on the importance index, and a partial dependence plot (PDP) was used. We used this to understand the relationship of influence. Results As a result of examining the top 10 Mean Decrease Accuracy (MDA) predicting reading performance, in the case of 6th grade elementary school students, the results were achievement pressure, learning activities, teacher relationship, strict rules and directive atmosphere, overall happiness, academic stress, peer relationships, and school rules. , physical self-image, and self-esteem appeared in that order. In the case of first-year middle school students, the order was learning activities, achievement pressure, school rules, peer relationships, overall happiness, academic stress, strict rules and directive atmosphere, teacher relationship, physical self-image, and teacher support. Conclusions Factors that affect elementary and middle school students' reading practice are generally more influenced by the school environment than their parents, and the fact that parents' achievement pressure, school adaptation, and strict rules and directive atmosphere are predicted to affect reading practice. It can be seen that coercion has an effect to some extent. As for other variables, there was a difference in what was predicted by ‘self-esteem’ in the 6th grade of elementary school and ‘teacher’s support’ in the 1st grade of middle school.

외국 교육과정 자료 및 공학 도구 사례 분석을 통한 사분위수 지도 방안 탐색

Objectives This study examined elementary and secondary school level curriculum materials from major contries and technological tools and attempted to derive pedagogical implications for teaching the concept of quartile in mathematics education in Korea. Methods To this end, this study collected primary and secondary curriculum data from nine representative countries and examined how each country deals with quartiles from various aspects. In addition, 13 types of technologicla tools were selected for analysis and then it was confirmed which quartile calculation method each technology follows. Results As a result, most countries first introduced the concept of quartile in the 8th and 9th grades of middle school. In addition, it was confirmed that the concept of quartile was included in the ‘spread of data’ or ‘measure of dispersion’ section. Also, it was confirmed that the method of stating the definition of quartile in most countries' curriculum materials is common, and the method of calculating quartile is also the same as M2. Meanwhile, differences were identified in the way each technology defines the calculation of quartile, but when analyzed by dividing them into three categories according to the purpose of use, several common characteristics were discovered. Conclusions Based on the results of this study, suggestions for quartile instruction were presented in mathematics classes and the writting of middle school textbooks according to Korea's 2022 revised mathematics curriculum.

Does Attitude towards Grammar Affect High-Level Reading Comprehension Skills?

Grammar is a learning area that functionally contributes to effective language skills. The aim of grammar instruction is the acquisition of the four basic language skills based on Turkish language rules. Reading skill, a lingual comprehension skill, aims accurate structuring of the ideas of the author of a text by the reader. The present study aimed to determine the possible effects of the attitudes towards grammar on high-level reading comprehension skills (HLRCS) based on certain variables (gender, final Turkish language course grade, and parental education level). In the current quantitative study, data were collected with the Grammar Attitude Scale and the High-Level Reading Comprehension Test (HLRCT). The study group included 427 8th grade middle school students. In the study, the regression analysis conducted to determine the causality between the Grammar Attitude Scale and HLRCT scores, revealed significant findings. Grammar attitude explained 4% of the variation in the HLRCT scores. Grammar attitude improved the achievements in high-level reading comprehension.

The Effect of Teaching the Secondary School 7th Grade Cell and Division Unit with Concept Map on the Academic Success of Students

This study aims to determine the effect of teaching the “Cell and Divisions” unit in the science course with concept maps on the academic achievement of 7th grade middle school students. In order to achieve the stated purpose, a mixed method approach using an explanatory sequential design was used. The study group of the research consisted of 30 middle school students studying in the 7th grade. Convenience sampling method was used in sample selection. In this five-week long implementation, the control group was taught by the teacher according to the current science curriculum in the textbook, while the experimental group was taught a lesson enriched with concept maps. Quantitative data were obtained with the Science Attitude Scale (SAS) and the Cell and Divisions Achievement Test (CCDAT). The “Semi-structured Interview Form” developed by the researchers was used as a qualitative data collection tool. Descriptive statistics, Mann Whitney U test and Wilcoxon Signed Rank test were used to analyze quantitative data. Qualitative data were analyzed descriptively by content analysis method. In the post-application analysis results, while there was no statistically significant difference between the pretest results of the control and experimental groups, statistically significant results were found in favor of the experimental group in the post-test academic achievement scores. Interviews with the students revealed that concept maps contributed significantly to their learning.

The relationship between climate change anxiety and pro-environmental behavior in adolescents: the mediating role of future self-continuity and the moderating role of green self-efficacy

BackgroundClimate change is seriously affecting human survival and development, and the anxiety caused by it is becoming increasingly prominent. How to alleviate people’s climate change anxiety, improve the ecological environment, and promote the formation of green lifestyles among people, especially young people, is an important topic that deserves to be explored. This study examined the relationship between climate change anxiety and pro-environmental behaviors and the underlying psychological mechanism in the adolescents.MethodsThis study explored the crucial role of future self-continuity (FSC) between climate change anxiety (CCA) and pro-environmental behaviors (PEB) in adolescents and examined the moderating role of green self-efficacy (GSE). In this study, a total of 1,851 middle and high school students from five schools were selected for questionnaire survey.ResultsThe results showed that (1) in both middle and high school grades, there was a significant negative correlation between climate change anxiety and pro-environmental behaviors; future self-continuity was significantly positively correlated with pro-environmental behaviors; green self-efficacy was negatively correlated with climate change anxiety and positively correlated with pro-environmental behaviors; (2) climate change anxiety negatively predicted pro-environmental behaviors, and compared with middle school grades, high school grade adolescents’ climate change anxiety was significantly predicted pro-environmental behaviors. Future self-continuity mediated the relationship between climate change anxiety and pro-environmental behaviors in both grades. (3) green self-efficacy moderated the second half of the pathway of the mediation model only in middle grades. Specifically in middle school, future self-continuity did not significantly predict pro-environmental behaviors at low green self-efficacy level, but positively predicted pro-environmental behaviors at high green self-efficacy level. In high school, future self-continuity did not significantly predict pro-environmental behaviors in either high or low green self-efficacy level.ConclusionThis study suggests that there is a moderated mediation model between adolescents’ climate change anxiety and pro-environmental behaviors, with different mediating and moderating effects among adolescents in various grades. This is of great significance in alleviating climate anxiety among adolescents and cultivating their pro-environmental behaviors.

Troublemakers: Young people as unruly activists in an anti-trans US school context

This piece of comics-based research (CBR) tells the story of young people’s activism and adult lassitude in progressive US communities where the transgender and nonbinary youth had seemed well supported, but were in fact targeted by school staff at two middle-grade schools. While there ensued various forms of protest and activism, adults encouraged children to engage in adult-curated, docile forms, such as making chalk art on the sidewalk in front of the middle school, or writing letters to administration. Many young people refused these forms and instead used “unruly” forms of activism. These included defacing school spaces and other means of disrupting institutional functioning. They saw adult-curated docile activism as a frustratingly inert treatment. Even in such a clear situation, many adults seemed still more uncomfortable with unruly activism, cast as “troublemaking” than with adult transgressions, and refused to see the children as anything other than improper. This comic describes children’s unruly activism in the context of adult violence and adult-curated docile activism as a form of control—and reflects on adult discomfort as a fulcrum of complex power. Reflections on reframing all child “misbehavior” as radical action conclude the comic narrative.

Kids SIPsmartER reduces sugar-sweetened beverages among Appalachian middle-school students and their caregivers: a cluster randomized controlled trial

BackgroundHigh consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) is a global health concern. Additionally, sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is disproportionately high among adolescents and adults in rural Appalachia. The primary study objective is to determine the intervention effects of Kids SIPsmartER on students’ SSB consumption. Secondary objectives focus on caregivers’ SSB consumption and secondary student and caregiver outcomes [e.g, body mass index (BMI), quality of life (QOL)].MethodsThis Type 1 hybrid, cluster randomized controlled trial includes 12 Appalachian middle schools (6 randomized to Kids SIPsmartER and 6 to control). Kids SIPsmartER is a 6-month, 12 lesson, multi-level, school-based, behavior and health literacy program aimed at reducing SSB among 7th grade middle school students. The program also incorporates a two-way text message strategy for caregivers. In this primary prevention intervention, all 7th grade students and their caregivers from participating schools were eligible to participate, regardless of baseline SSB consumption. Validated instruments were used to assess SSB behaviors and QOL. Height and weight were objectively measured in students and self-reported by caregivers. Analyses included modified two-part models with time fixed effects that controlled for relevant demographics and included school cluster robust standard errors.ResultsOf the 526 students and 220 caregivers, mean (SD) ages were 12.7 (0.5) and 40.6 (6.7) years, respectively. Students were 55% female. Caregivers were mostly female (95%) and White (93%); 25% had a high school education or less and 33% had an annual household income less than $50,000. Regardless of SSB intake at baseline and relative to control participants, SSB significantly decreased among students [-7.2 ounces/day (95% CI = -10.7, -3.7); p < 0.001, effect size (ES) = 0.35] and caregivers [-6.3 ounces/day (95% CI = -11.3, -1.3); p = 0.014, ES = 0.33]. Among students (42%) and caregivers (28%) who consumed > 24 SSB ounces/day at baseline (i.e., high consumers), the ES increased to 0.45 and 0.95, respectively. There were no significant effects for student or caregiver QOL indicators or objectively measured student BMI; however, caregiver self-reported BMI significantly decreased in the intervention versus control schools (p = 0.001).ConclusionsKids SIPsmartER was effective at reducing SSB consumption among students and their caregivers in the rural, medically underserved Appalachian region. Importantly, SSB effects were even stronger among students and caregivers who were high consumers at baseline.Trial registrationClincialtrials.gov: NCT03740113. Registered 14 November 2018– Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03740113.

The Energy Field Approach

Energy is an important crosscutting concept across middle and high school grades. However, studies show that students struggle understanding this concept. To address this problem, we started a design-based research project called “the energy field approach” (EFA). This project develops a teaching learning sequence (TLS) for high schools (grades 10-12). The design follows the model of educational reconstruction and builds on a clarification of the scientific content as well as on knowledge about students’ conceptions and misconceptions on the relevant topic. The result is a teaching concept and TLS that can be used by teachers for energy instruction. As a key feature, it traces traditional energy forms back to only kinetic energy and field energy. This simplifies the surface structure of the energy concept and makes sense of the meaning of energy forms like for instance chemical energy that have been “blackboxes” in traditional energy instruction before. This makes students more likely to draw back on energy ideas when reasoning about phenomena. The TLS is cyclically evaluated and re-designed by conduct and qualitative analysis of teaching experiments according to the method of probing acceptance. Results show that the concept and TLS are helpful for students to combine ideas about energy and fields and analyze processes from an energy perspective. The concept is found to be useful for a “deeper understanding” in the students’ perception. Further studies still have to be conducted to investigate the effects in a bigger setting and on further learning.

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF STORYTELLING A SHORT STORY TO IMPROVE MIDDLE SCHOOL SUNDANESE STUDENTS' SPEAKING SKILL

Speaking is one of the most important skills in learning English. However, a lot of students are good in reading, writing, and also listening but they are weak in speaking. The purpose of this study was to implement storytelling a short story in students learning process to improve students speaking skill. While storytelling is usually associated with telling a long story, even so this study used short stories. This study used a qualitative method and to perform the research, two sessions were held. The first session was to find out students prior speaking skill and the second session was held after the research was conducted to find out the effectiveness of implementing storytelling a short story to improve students speaking skill. The researchers also used observation and interview to find out students challenge in speaking English. This study involved the second grade middle school of SMP IT Nurul Ittihad. The initial findings revealed that students’ score in the second session was higher than in the first session. It can be concluded that there are improvements in students speaking skill.

تأثير وسيلة بطاقة الصورة في حفظ المفردات العربية لطلاب الصف الثامن في المدرسة المتوسطة الإسلامية الحكومية ٩ بيسسير سلاتان

The problem of this research is the students' interest in memorizing Arabic vocabulary decreased because the Arabic language teacher did not use the picture card teaching aids, but the Arabic language teacher used the blackboard method. Which causes a lack of students' understanding in memorizing Arabic vocabulary, which causes a decrease in students' scores in learning the Arabic language. The objectives of this research are to find out the effect of the picture card method in memorizing Arabic vocabulary in the eighth grade of the state Islamic middle school 9 Becisir Salatan. In this research, the researcher used an empirical researchtrue experimental kind ofpretest-postest control group design. The research population is the eighth grade students, and they number 54 people, and the research sample is the eighth grade students (1) in the experimental class, and they number 24 people, and the eighth grade (2) the control class, and they number 30 people. Sample selection method random sampling. The research tools used in this research are testing and documentation. for data analysisThe researcher usedT-test. The results of the search is The value of the pre-test and the value of the post-test were indicated with significance (sig-2 tailed) p = 0.000 &lt;0.05. So there is Positive effect of the picture card method in memorizing Arabic vocabulary in the eighth grade of the state Islamic intermediate school 9 Becisir Salatan.

A Needs Analysis Study on Interdisciplinary Gender Equality Education: Turkish Context

The purpose of this research was to identify the needs for gender equality education. For this purpose, the views of mathematics, science and information technology teachers on the current situation of gender equality in schools were determined. In addition, the awareness of sixth, seventh and eighth grade middle school students on gender equality was examined. This study was a descriptive research conducted in a qualitative context. In data collection, interview form on teachers’ views and written view form on students’ awareness about gender equality were used. Research data were collected in the spring semester of the 2017-2018 academic year. The deductive analysis method was used in the analysis of the data. In line with the results of the research, it is thought that an interdisciplinary gender equality education will be beneficial to improve students' awareness.

ImageSTEAM: Teacher Professional Development for Integrating Visual Computing into Middle School Lessons

Artificial intelligence (AI) and its teaching in the K-12 grades has been championed as a vital need for the United States due to the technology's future prominence in the 21st century. However, there remain several barriers to effective AI lessons at these age groups including the broad range of interdisciplinary knowledge needed and the lack of formal training or preparation for teachers to implement these lessons. In this experience report, we present ImageSTEAM, a teacher professional development for creating lessons surrounding computer vision, machine learning, and computational photography/cameras targeted for middle school grades 6-8 classes. Teacher professional development workshops were conducted in the states of Arizona and Georgia from 2021-2023 where lessons were co-created with teachers to introduce various specific visual computing concepts while aligning to state and national standards. In addition, the use of a variety of computer vision and image processing software including custom designed Python notebooks were created as technology activities and demonstrations to be used in the classroom. Educational research showed that teachers improved their self-efficacy and outcomes for concepts in computer vision, machine learning, and artificial intelligence when participating in the program. Results from the professional development workshops highlight key opportunities and challenges in integrating this content into the standard curriculum, the benefits of a co-creation pedagogy, and the positive impact on teacher and student's learning experiences. The open-source program curriculum is available at www.imagesteam.org.

High School Follow-Up of the Dating Matters® RCT: Effects on Teen Dating Violence and Relationship Behaviors

Teen dating violence (TDV) is a significant public health problem that can have lifelong consequences. Using a longitudinal, cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT), this study examines whether the Dating Matters comprehensive prevention model, implemented in middle school, prevented TDV and negative relationship behaviors and promoted positive relationship behaviors in high school (9th–11th grades), when compared with a standard of care intervention. Dating Matters includes programs for sixth to eighth grade youth and their parents, training for school staff, a youth communications program, and policy and data activities implemented in the community. Self-report survey data were collected from students in 46 middle schools that were randomly assigned to condition within site. Students completed two surveys (fall and spring) in each middle school grade and a single survey in the spring of each high school grade. This study examined self-reported TDV perpetration and victimization, use of negative conflict resolution strategies, and positive relationship skills in the high school follow-up. While varying patterns emerged, latent panel models demonstrated significant program effects for all outcomes. Dating Matters students reported 19% reduced risk for TDV perpetration, 24% reduced risk for TDV victimization, 7% reduced risk for use of negative conflict strategies, and 3% more use of positive relationship skills, on average across time and cohort, than standard of care students. On average, Dating Matters, implemented in middle school, continued to be more effective at reducing TDV perpetration, TDV victimization, and use of negative conflict resolution strategies in high school than an evidence-based comparison program.Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01672541.

The effectiveness of circular organization in a variable exercise style in learning some basic skills of handball

&#x0D; The study aimed to know the effectiveness of the educational units prepared by the method of circular organization in a variable exercise method in learning some basic skills handball, as the researcher used the experimental method by designing the experimental and control groups with pre and post tests, on a sample of the first grade middle school students, numbering (36) students Distributed to the two groups equally, the results of post-test showed that there are significant differences statistically significant between the results of the two groups and for the benefit of the experimental group. Learn some basic skills hand reel.&#x0D; &#x0D;

청소년의 스마트폰 과의존이 학업무기력에 미치는 영향

Objectives The purpose of this study is to confirm whether the smartphone dependence of adolescents has an impact on academic helplessness and to verify of direct effects and moderating effects in according to social support.&#x0D; Methods The research was conducted to the adolescents who were third grade middle school students with 152 subjects in G metroplitan city. For data processing, SPSS 21.0 program was used. The research methood is used to measure reliability by Cronbach's α, frequency analysis, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and moderated regression analysis.&#x0D; Results The results of this study are as follows: Smartphone Dependence and social support revealed direct influence on academic helplessness. Moreover, the social support checked the moderating effect of do smartphone dependence on academic helplessness.&#x0D; Conclusions Adolescents with smartphone dependence reported a greater level of academic helplessness and having social support resources reduced the effects of smartphone dependence resulting in lowered level of academic helplessness.&#x0D;