A pre- and posttest research design was used to ascertain whether instructional approaches used by technology teachers affected the attitudes of 155 seventh-grade students toward technology. It also determined whether males and females responded differently to these instructional approaches. A validated attitudinal instrument, the Pupils'…

This report describes an assessment of substance abuse among Portland (Oregon) Public School students in grades 7 and 10, determining the relationship between early and later substance use for planning and development of alcohol and drug education, prevention, and intervention. The survey was administered in 17 middle schools, 10 high schools, and…

This action research project evaluated a program to reduce inappropriate behavior and maximize prosocial skills. The program involved development and implementation of cooperative learning, weekly prosocial lessons, a conflict resolution program, and a community service project. The target population consisted of 240 seventh and eighth grade…

This paper reports on a practicum that was designed to improve the behavior of at-risk youth. It targeted seventh- and eighth-grade students who attended a 12-week middle school violence prevention program which utilized a multisensory approach in conjunction with group counseling. This practicum included an educational component for parents and…

In 1999, Fairmont State College (FSC) received a U.S. Department of Education grant to implement Project GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) in nine primarily-rural counties of West Virginia. GEAR UP encourages disadvantaged youth to have high expectations, stay in school, and take academically rigorous…

This article describes an investigation with a class of seventh graders to determine what impact the study of traditional literature would have on their narrative writing. The classroom teacher emphasized the narrative structure of the traditional literature genre by prompting his students to respond both orally and in writing with their thoughts…

The effectiveness of the online card catalog at Sailorway Middle School in Vermilion (Ohio) was studied. The library became fully automated in 1991. The participants were 76 sixth, 90 seventh, and 70 eighth graders (102 males and 134 females), ranging in age from 12 to 14 years. A survey determined the degree of effectiveness of the online card…

Studies suggest that the transition to middle school is associated with a decline in motivation and performance for a number of children. This longitudinal study examined changes in motivation in English and mathematics across and after the transition from elementary to middle school. Of particular interest were changes in personal goal…

Free time is the natural medium through which youngsters express themselves and develop motor, cognitive, and social skills. Nevertheless, free play on the playground is rarely used in the school as a means of enhancing students' motivation to learn. This study uses play as an application of Premack's principle (D. Premack, 1965) to the classroom.…

To address middle school students' lack of motivation for recreational reading, the practicum reported here integrated activities designed to improve student attitudes toward reading into a middle school reading program. A target group of 75 students in sixth and seventh grades grouped homogeneously in remedial, average, or enrichment classes…

This document describes a study that examined several factors to determine their influence on student social bonding to school, to peers, and to teachers. The study focused on factors related to students' personal and social backgrounds, school organization, and students' relationships with teachers and peers. Specifically, the researchers sought…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of an online learning environment on student computer use, classroom/school activities, and parental involvement. An online learning environment was created with the goals of giving students access to a variety of software programs from home and school, facilitating home-school connectivity, and…

Draws on classroom observations, interviews, and writing portfolios to contend that competing demands in modern classrooms can lead to environments that sabotage the teaching of argumentative and persuasive writing. Concludes that the epistemology fostered by classroom talk and other activities was inimical to the complex rhetoric the teacher was…

We evaluated the impact of RIPP-7, a seventh grade violence prevention curriculum designed to strengthen and extend the effects of the sixth grade RIPP-6 curriculum. Classes of seventh graders at two urban middle schools serving predominantly African-American youth where RIPP-6 had been implemented the preceding school year were randomized to…

Recent studies have documented a decline in academic performance and motivation as students move from elementary to middle level schools. This paper expands these studies in three ways: (1) by examining the classroom-level differences among middle school students' motivation to see if motivational constructs vary by classroom; (2) by exploring the…