The Ingenuity program was designed to "provide Baltimore's brightest middle school students with a free, highly accelerated, and challenging mathematics and science curriculum" (Ingenuity Project, 2014). It started in 1993 at two middle schools, one on the east side of Baltimore and the second on the west, but as of SY 2014-15 the…

This report details Louisiana's participation in Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) programs and services from December 2013 through November 2014. Appropriations from member states support SREB's core operations and general services. SREB leverages the long-standing commitment of member states to attract external funding for an array of…

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the authors' interaction-engagement approach in facilitating online courses, which focused on a guided inquiry approach to build understanding of core science concepts using hands-on experimental science investigations. The graduate-level courses were taught during 2005 through 2010, entirely online. The…

Background/Context: Explanations for the relatively low numbers of Latinas pursuing higher education have tended to focus on socialization into traditional gender roles. However, recent scholarship has challenged this view, suggesting that gender roles--particularly among recent immigrants--are mutable and subject to constant renegotiation.…

This article describes how teachers effectively manage learning through active engagement of all students throughout each class period. A case study is presented which demonstrates how students learn through active and reflective engagement with ideas, the environment, and other learners (National Middle School Association, 2010). The case study…

Throughout the history of education, it has been noted that teachers are influential people in lives of children (Applegate & Applegate, 2004; Daisey, 2010; Gambrell, 1996; Ruddell, 1995). Children spend one-third (or more) of the day with teachers; and as they enter into adolescence, children come in contact with more and more teachers during…

Environmental education must be better integrated into K-12 curriculum to advance environmental literacy. Producing a citizenry that can understand and address the complex environmental issues facing the world today and in the future is essential to sustainable life on this planet. Using the Middle School Environmental Literacy Survey, 6th grade…

This study examined the relationships of college knowledge and parent education level with these college-going beliefs: (a) self-efficacy, (b) outcome expectations, (c) likelihood both to go to and graduate from college, (d) choice intentions, and (e) educational goals. Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) provided the…

This article investigates the impact of scaffolded feedback instruction provided through an undergraduate methods course. Because of a desire for preservice teachers to have online teaching experience and due to low performance scores in assessment on the edTPA, a project was created which partnered preservice teachers with middle-grades students.…

This study characterizes how a cohort of 33 middle and secondary mathematics preservice teachers' inferential reasoning changed while enrolled in a statistics course designed for future teachers. Changes in inferential reasoning from pre- to post-assessments are analyzed and further elucidated by midcourse clinical interviews conducted with a…

Although there is an abundance of research on middle school counseling, college readiness and belonging, there is a gap in the research regarding middle school students and attempts to correlate their sense of belonging to college-going beliefs. Research identifies eighth grade as a critical time in a student's education in which they make…

In this research a number of strategies including physical experiences, physical stories and lab school with guided reflection were used with pre-service physical education teachers in an attempt to foster more critical and inclusive approaches to teaching physical education in the middle years. The strategies were used to illustrate the complex…

The purpose of the study reported in this article was to investigate the instructional discourse of two middle school choral music teachers videotaped during a total of 24 classroom visits. The findings indicate that teacher attention to complete sequential units of instruction (teacher presentation, student interaction, teacher feedback) may…

Successful teachers strive to ensure that their students learn to their maximum abilities. Is action research a valuable way for graduate students to review their effectiveness as teachers? Do students learn more through varied teaching strategies and techniques? The authors examined graduate students' perceptions of action research projects…

Middle school teachers teach energetic, curious adolescents rigorous content at a time in their lives when many changes are occurring. Those entering the teaching profession as middle school teachers must be prepared for this unique environment. This study examines 16 pre-service middle school teachers' developments as they participate in a…