Middle School Curriculum Research Articles

Incorporating Cyber Principles into Middle and High School Curriculum

Although many practicing teachers have not experienced teacher preparation programs that teach cyber security (Pusely & Sadera, 2011) or are familiar with cyber principles (Author), embedding these ideas into instruction in a variety of content areas is essential for promoting cyber literacy and citizenship. This study explores a professional development program that provided middle and high school teachers across disciplines with opportunities to explore, first as learners and then as educators, cyber citizenship and programming concepts with explicit connections to the cybersecurity principles and concepts. Participating teachers experienced inquiry-based learning, focused classroom discourse, and collaborative learning that centered on GenCyber Cybersecurity First Principles and GenCyber Cybersecurity Concepts (GenCyber, 2019). Results indicated the professional development enabled teachers to iteratively reflect on best practices in cyber education while learning and applying the content of GenCyber Principles within the context of their own field of study.

Redesign or relabel? How a commercial curriculum and its implementation oversimplify key features of the NGSS

AbstractThe adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) requires many teachers to drastically change their classroom instruction. Curricular materials offer a tool to support this transition, but there are questions about the degree to which available curricula truly reflect the shifts required by the NGSS. This study proposes a framework of four key elements of NGSS design that can be used to analyze both curriculum and instruction for alignment to the NGSS. The four key elements include phenomenon‐based, three‐dimensional, supports student epistemic agency, and coherent. We used this analytic framework to analyze one commercially available middle school curriculum and its implementation in two classrooms. We found that the curriculum and instruction oversimplified the complex vision of science learning required by using natural phenomena primarily as hooks or examples, creating lessons in which students engaged in core ideas and science practices but separately in service of different goals, placing the cognitive load on the teacher to do most of the sensemaking rather than the students, and having the teacher, rather than the students, build coherence between the lessons. Our work suggests that future curriculum should focus on asking students to tell a how and why story around a phenomenon to support three‐dimensionality, student epistemic agency, and coherence. Furthermore, future work should explore how educative elements can highlight and illustrate the vision of NGSS‐aligned instruction and the use of well‐aligned curricula in a variety of settings including curriculum‐based professional development.

2015 개정 가정과 교육과정의 『인간발달과 가족』영역과 국가 지속가능발전목표(K-SDGs)와의 관련성 분석1)

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the human development & family domain of 2015 revised Home Economics Curriculum in secondary education and the Korean Sustainable Development Goals (K-SDGs). The 2015 proclamation of the ministry of education on the human development & family domain of home economics curriculum, 17 Korean Sustainable Development Goals and 122 targets were reviewed. The major findings were as follows. First, the human development & family domain were found to be relevant to 5 out of 17 K-SDGs including Goal 3 (guarantee healthy and happy life), Goal 4 (promotion of education), Goal 5 (promote gender equality), Goal 10 (resolve inequality) and Goal 16 (human rights, justice, and peace). Second, core concepts development and relations in both middle and high school curricula were related to Goal 3 and 5. Goal 10 and 16 were only related to the middle school curriculum, and Goal 4 was to the high school curriculum. This study provides information preparing for the achievement of the sustainable development goals in secondary school by identifying specific goals in the K-SDGs relevant to the human development & family domain.

Missing the sociopolitical: examining discourses of writing in a US high-performing, urban middle school

PurposeThis paper aims to examine two teachers’ beliefs and practices on teaching writing at an urban, high-performing middle school to determine: What discourses of writing are being taught in an urban, high-performing US public middle school? What factors prevent or enable particular discourses?Design/methodology/approachDrawing on case study methods, this study uses a single-case design with two seventh-grade teachers at a high-performing urban school as embedded units of analysis. Data collection took place over one semester. Data sources included observations and interviews with the two teachers, an interview with an administrator and multiple instructional artifacts, including unit and lesson plans. Observational data were analyzed using a priori code for writing discourses (Ivanic, 2004) and interview data were analyzed for factors affecting instruction using open, axial and selective coding.FindingsBoth teachers enacted extended multi-discourse writing instruction integrating skills, creativity, process, genre and social practices discourses supported by their beliefs and experience; colleagues; students’ relatively high test scores; and relative curricular freedom. However, there was minimal evidence of a sociopolitical discourse aligned with critical literacy practices. Limits to the sociopolitical discourse included a lack of a social justice orientation, an influx of low-performing students, a focus on raising test scores, data-focused professional development and district pacing guides. Racism is also considered as an underlying structural factor undermining the sociopolitical discourse.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough generalizability is limited because of the small sample size and the unique context of this study, two major implications are the need to layer discourses in writing instruction while centering critical pedagogy and develop teacher beliefs and knowledge. To support these two implications, this study suggests developing university-school partnerships and professional development opportunities that create a community of practice around comprehensive writing instruction. Future research will involve continuing to work with the participants in this study and documenting the effects of providing theory and tools for integrating the sociopolitical discourse into middle school curricula and instruction.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the field of literacy education’s understanding of internal and external factors limiting the sociopolitical discourse in a high-performing, urban middle school in the USA, an understudied context.

Middle School Students’ Mechanistic Explanation About Trait Expression in Rice Plants During a Technology-Enhanced Science Inquiry Investigation

We examined the sophistication of middle school students’ mechanistic explanations of genetics phenomena and how they interact with a technology-based explanation tool as they articulate and organize their ideas about the phenomena. We coordinated curriculum and assessment design frameworks to develop a middle school curriculum unit that engages middle school students in the interrelated science practices of using models and constructing scientific explanations of the trait expression mechanism in rice plants. In order to more clearly distinguish between groups of students, specifically partial mechanistic and mechanistic explainers, we conducted a design-based research study that examines the relationships among the explanation tool’s design, how students use the tool, and the sophistication of their scientific explanations. This study, using a refined version of the curriculum unit and explanation tool, revealed significant differences between partial mechanistic and mechanistic explainers in their use of the explanation tool. The findings inform the design of technology-based scaffolds for scientific modeling and explanation and design principles for gathering formative evidence of students’ proficiency with these practices.

수학 학습을 위한 3차원 코딩 환경의 개발 및 활용

In this study, we developed a 3D coding learning environment for integrated learning of mathematics and CT, and presented a teaching-learning plan that can be used in theme selection activities of the free-semester. First, based on the design theory of constructionism, we developed a 3D game-making environment <MathCraft> that can build structures with small cube blocks and implement interactive game elements through coding. Using this concept, we developed free-semester teaching-learning content in the form of game-making that included mathematics learning elements in the middle school curriculum and applied it to 40 students and 20 math teachers. As a result, the developed environment and free-semester program provided students with valuable learning opportunities in mathematics and CT, and had positive impact on improving the affective characteristics of mathematics and coding. Based on the application results, the learning environment and teaching-learning content were corrected and supplemented. Based on the research process and the results, implications for the integrated education of mathematics and CT using coding are suggested.

The effects of learner and teacher characteristics on academic achievement in middle school curriculum

The effects of learner and teacher characteristics on academic achievement in middle school curriculum

Implementasi Kebijakan Sistem Zonasi pada Penerimaan Peserta Didik Baru di Sekolah Menegah Pertama Kabupaten Langkat

To overcome the problem of education quality, the government issued a zoning system policy on New Student Admissions. This study aims to described the implementation of zoning system policies and constraints faced in implemented the new student admission zoning system policy at the junior high school level in Langkat District. This study used a qualitative approach with a case study method. The subjects of this study were the Middle School Curriculum Head, Middle School Curriculum Staff, Head of Elementary Education, Deputy Head of Student Affairs, Deputy Principal The technique of collecting data used observation, interviews, and documentation. The results of the study are as follows: (1) The implementation of the zoning system in the PPDB at the junior high school level in Langkat District has been carried out for two years aimed at equitable distribution of quality education in schools in the Langkat Regency, so far the implementation of the zoning system in Langkat has been effective because the potential of students begins to be evenly distributed in the Langkat Regency. (2) The constraints faced in the implementation of the zoning system are the lack of understanding of the zoning of the socialization of the zoning system because of the different backgrounds of parental education. Efforts are made to overcome these obstacles, namely to disseminate the zoning system early as clearly as possible.

Research on the Application of Cultural Resources Based on Yi Language in Chinese Curriculum of Middle School

<p>The language and culture of each nation is the crystallization of the excellent culture of the Chinese nation. Each nation's culture has its own unique characteristics. It reflects the soul spirit and life yearning of Chinese nation. The Chinese curriculum of China is created by all nationalities. Its content contains all the traditional Chinese cultural ideas and spiritual yearning. The content of Chinese subject is an important cultural carrier of the Chinese nation. However, the current Chinese teaching ignores the inheritance and guidance of Yi language and culture. This paper analyzes and discusses the application of cultural resources of Yi language in Chinese curriculum of middle school, and finally comes to a conclusion.</p>

A Pilot Study of Physical Fitness / Literacy in the Middle School Curriculum Using an Active Learning Paradigm: The THINK Program

A Pilot Study of Physical Fitness / Literacy in the Middle School Curriculum Using an Active Learning Paradigm: The THINK Program

국제 공인 교육과정 IB의 초·중학교 수학 교육 내용과 방법

International Baccalaureate(IB) that has been well known as international curriculum has been used by many countries and schools all around the world. The schools usually use IB with their own national curriculum. This study analyzed primary and middle school mathematics contents and teaching and learning methods of IB. As a result, mathematics contents of PYP are similar with Korean primary mathematics curriculum. However, in middle school level, some of mathematics contents of MYP are included in elective subjects in Korean high school. It indicates that the level of mathematics contents of MYP is higher than those of Korean middle school curriculum. In addition, PYP takes a transdisciplinary teaching approach and MYP takes an interdisciplinary teaching approach, so they teach multi subjects with one main theme. They also take learner-centered inquiry oriented teaching method. On the basis of the results, we discussed some implications for Korean mathematics curriculum and textbooks in regard to interdisciplinary integration and the form of curriculum document of IB. We also suggested the necessity of in-depth case study on IB certified schools.

Understanding food processing and systems: Pilot testing a standards‐aligned middle school curriculum

AbstractConsumer confidence and trust, as it relates to the food system, is one of the most sensitive areas within consumers’ understanding of food. Surveys have shown that a large majority of people would like to learn more about agriculture and food manufacturing, with young people being among those most eager for more information about where their food comes from. Food‐focused educational resources often go unused due to teachers’ lack of familiarity with the subject area, the pressures of standardized testing, and lack of alignment to state content standards. Building on the success of the Hands On Classrooms platform that developed and validated curricula with high adoption rates by teachers and a demonstrated impact on student knowledge and self‐efficacy, a new curriculum on food system and food processing was developed and pilot tested. Two teachers from rural Virginia and Tennessee participated in the study. Both teachers received online professional development prior to implementation. Students were given pretests and posttests to measure (a) what impact does the curriculum have on students’ knowledge of food systems and processing and (b) to what extent does the curriculum have an impact on student's self‐reported skills related to these topics? A total of 87 students completed the assessments and showed significant improvements from pretest to posttest on both knowledge (p < .001) and skills (p < .001) related specifically to where food comes from and how it is processed, content that is typically not covered in middle school curriculum. Further research can be undertaken to measure the impact on others in different geographic and socioeconomic areas to provide additional data to validate the program.

Primary Prevention of Obesity: Moving Towards an Active Learning Model

The current review focuses on the importance of primary prevention of obesity in youth. In several elementary school programs such as Texas I-Can and the Physical Activity Across the Curriculum initiatives, physical activities are integrated into the academic lessons to help offset sedentary time during seated learning while also increasing academic performance. The purpose of such programs is to attenuate gains in body mass index and adiposity while increasing physical activity levels. In some cases, increases in physical activity were translated to after-school and weekend activities. In other cases, improvements in time on task and academic courses were also observed. In schools monitoring BMI, those increasing physical activity levels > 75 min/wk evidenced significant decreases in BMI. At the middle school level, programs such as Planet Health and another novel middle school curriculum in the sciences, resulted in beneficial changes in health behaviors and metabolic risk factors. These changes were accompanied by decreases in adiposity, particularly in girls. In the most recent translational health in nutrition and kinesiology (THINK) program, a stand-alone curriculum featuring hands-on clinical experiences rooted in STEM education, resulted in significant gains in physical fitness and curricular-based knowledge with favorable but non-significant decreases in adiposity. These studies illustrate the importance of implementing innovative programs that may increase academic performance while also empowering students to increase physical activity and improve metabolic health, both of which are often accompanied by favorable reductions in adiposity. Physically active interventions that are integrated into the academic curriculum may be the best direction to take in the primary prevention of obesity. More randomized clinical trials are needed to determine the extent to which such active interventions significantly reduce adiposity in youth.

점그래프와 상자그림의 교수학적 분석: 통계적 추리 지도를 위한 교육적 효용성 고찰

This study analyzes the characteristics of dot plots and box plots that have been identified to be effective in developing the understanding of distribution and variability. Moreover, the study examines the use of dot plots and box plots in statistical teaching and learning and discusses the utility in Korean mathematics curriculum. With respect to the results obtained, the dot plot is firstly expected to bridge the gap between the elementary and middle school curriculum since the dot plot has a very simple system that can be used to construct and express a distribution by dealing with numerical data even at the elementary school level. Secondly, box plots aid in comprehensive understanding of distribution concepts and summary concepts. These concepts are expected to help establish links of statistical content elements that are currently perceived segmentally within the middle school curriculum. Third, dot plots and box plots provide an experience of an informal inferential reasoning for data sets at the elementary and middle school levels, and are expected to be a springboard for learning formal statistical reasoning that will be addressed later in high school.

An Analysis of Contents related to Work and Job in Moral Education Curriculum of Middle School

An Analysis of Contents related to Work and Job in Moral Education Curriculum of Middle School

How Middle School Curriculum in Chongqing Portrays Chinese Socialism

This project is contextualized in Shijing Xu and Michael Connelly’s (2013-2020) SSHRC Partnership Grant Project, Canada-China Reciprocal Learning in Teacher Education and School Education. The goal of the SSHRC Partnership Grant Project is to compare Canadian and Chinese education in such a way that the cultural narratives of each provide frameworks for understanding and appreciating educational similarities and differences (Xu & Connelly, 2017). The overall goal centers on reciprocal learning in teacher education between Canada and China. Xu and Connelly (2017) emphasize research that focuses on centering the voices of teachers in both Canada and China. This work seeks to help the project by providing data about China’s politics curriculum to create a better understanding of China’s education system, and to gain some insight into the hopes and dreams of Chinese politics teachers.

Teaching middle school physics in Observer-dependence approach: pedagogical and curricular aspects

Physics curriculum of middle school and high school is based on the classic perspective of the 19th century and avoids dealing with the concept of observer (frame of reference). This by far holds regarding the curriculum of middle school, as even though it includes numerous observer-dependent concepts (location, trajectory, displacement, velocity, force, energy, work), it entirely excludes observer and observer dependent description of reality, and they are not taught as such.This tradition apparently draws on the assumption that students are incapable of learning observer dependent concepts because that requires an account with multiple answers valid for different observers. For that reason it is considered to be as a sort of advanced subject matter that should be treated at higher education level.We empirically checked this convention and discovered that 9th grade students succeeded in applying frame of reference dependence to their accounts of daily experiences. For example, they were able to construct graphs expressing dependence of displacement, distance, and velocity on time in the perspective of different inertial frames of references. The results clearly indicate that integrated observer-dependent concepts in middle school promises substantial educational and pedagogical benefits (e.g. wider space of learning, intuitively and meaningful learning, students’ engagement and adequate image of science).

Evaluation of the Economic Theme in Historical Curriculum in Middle School in Providing Entrepreneurial Spirit Generation

This study aims to assess the mastery of students who study the historical subjects based on the economic title and study the ability of students to absorb the various entrepreneurial concepts. The concept of entrepreneurship can be achieved properly by students because the theme or the economic title is described in various aspects of its importance and also the weakness by the teacher who teaches the subject of history. Through the economic title that contained in the historical curriculum, various economic activities that have become historical materials are taught by historical teachers. The finding shows that there is a lack in the context of the ability of students to study the economic theme as most respondents only master the historical facts and use less of these facts to see the importance of learning the economic themes in historical learning. There are respondents who just state that with a business can generate wealth. However, respondents are less likely to say about raw materials that can be created on different forms of goods through creative ideas. The conclusions from this study found that students studying historical subjects have not reached the level of analysis and evaluated historical facts leading to the mastery of various concepts, especially entrepreneurship. The implication of the study requires that teachers, especially history subject to be taught at school level, not only emphasize historical facts. It is important so that among the student whose studying economic themes in historical subjects in constructing various meanings of career as entrepreneurs in the future.

Analysis on Reflection Characteristics of the Key Competencies Proposed by the OECD Education 2030 in the 2015 Revised Home Economics Curriculum

본 연구는 OECD Education 2030 프로젝트에서 제시하고 있는 핵심역량의 반영 특성을 2015 개정 가정과 교육과정에서 분석하고자 하였으며 연구결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 핵심역량 범주에서 일반적인 특징은 기능, 태도, 가치 영역은 46.5%로, 학습 개념 프레임워크 영역은 17%, 역량 개발사이클 영역은 24.2%, 복합 역량 영역은 12.5%로 나타났다. 전체적으로 교육과정 항목에서 성취기준(59%), 성격(16.1%), 교수 · 학습 평가 방향(9.4%), 내용체계(8%), 목표(7.6%) 순으로 반영되었으며 학습 개념 프레임워크의 역량은 성취기준에 가장 많이 반영되었다. 둘째, 핵심역량 항목은 중학교 교육과정에서 행동, 문제해결, 의사소통, 존중, 창의적 사고, 갈등해결, 공감, 비판적 사고, 자기관리, 학생 주체성 순으로 나타났다. 고등학교 교육과정에서 행동, 공감, 문제해결, 예측, 글로벌 역량, 자기관리, 학생주체성, 지속가능 발전을 위한 리터러시, 반성, 비판적 사고 순으로 나타났다. 셋째, 열지도를 통해 3, 4단계에 해당되는 역량의 반영 정도가 높게 나타나 핵심역량의 효과적인 실천을 계획하고 지원할 필요가 있었다. 본 연구를 통해 미래를 위한 학습 안내자의 역할로 OECD에서 강조하는 핵심역량과 가정교과 역량 간의 상호관련성을 파악하고 실천 교과로서 개인의 총체적인 역량 함양을 도울 수 있어야 할 것이다.The purpose of this study was to analyze the characteristics reflected in the 2015 revised home economics curriculum for the key competencies presented in the OECD education 2030 project. The results indicate that first, in general, about 46.5% of the competencies could be classified into the skill, attitude and value category; 17% into the learning concept framework category; 24.2% into the competency development cycle category; and 12.5% into the complex competency category. Overall, the competencies of the OECD learning framework are found to be reflected primarily in the achievement standards(59%), followed by characteristics(16.1%), teaching-learning and assessments orientation(9.4%), content system(8%), and goals(7.6%). Second, the key competencies were reflected in the middle school curriculum, more often in the descending order of action, problem-solving, communication, respect, creative thinking, conflict resolution, empathy, critical thinking, self-regulation, and student agency. In the high school curriculum, the competencies were reflected more often in the descending order of action, empathy, problem-solving, anticipation, global competence, self-regulation, student agency, literacy for sustainable development, reflection, and critical thinking. Third, the heat map shows that the competencies corresponding to the third and fourth levels are most frequently reflected in the curriculum. Therefore, it is advisable to develop effective plans to execute and support the reflection of key competencies in the curriculum. Through this study, home economics educators are expected to understand the inter-connectivity between the key competencies emphasized by the OECD learning framework and the competencies of home economics as a practical subject, and to scrutinize how to help individual students develop their overall competencies and be prepared for the future.

Modular and extensible lesson on optical fibre communication for youths

Optical fibre communication enables the global internet, but few youths ever learn about how it works, even at a basic level, until tertiary education. While some middle school curricula might include simple geometrical optics concepts like reflection and refraction, they often lack contextual linkage to worldwide telecommunications. Through our studies, we have found that students are more engaged in the learning process when the material directly relates to real life. To address this gap, and moreover to tackle the issue of the STEM skills shortage, we have designed a self-contained lesson to introduce youths to this topic. It is modularised into three parts, beginning with using light to communicate Morse code, and then covering advanced themes such as multiplexing and fibre guidance based on total internal reflection. The modules can be taught sequentially or individually depending on educational level. They emphasise a more phenomenological than theoretical approach and include hands-on activities using easily obtainable materials. We outline the lesson and pedagogical guidelines for classroom settings, as well as evaluate actual classes run. This lesson can be flexibly implemented in formal classes or through educational outreach programmes.