Gifted students represent an under-served population in the education system, especially at the middle school level. These students require special attention in regard to their social and emotional needs. The first section of this paper explores the literature pertaining to the education of gifted middle school students and the definition and role…

This study of middle and high school students' attitudes about school and gangs on Guam is part of a larger study of the island's expanding youth gang problem. The quantitative component of the study examined data from 3 different surveys of 655 middle school and high school students, examining the incidence of gang membership and attitudes about…

Intended as a guidebook for middle level educators as they seek to institute educational experiences appropriate to the adolescents in their programs, this book discusses the issues and assets of middle school education in rural settings. Chapter 1 of the book is an introduction, discussing the concept of middle school as applied to small rural…

This feasibility study explored the automated data collection, scoring, and reporting of children's complex problem-solving processes and performance in Web-based information-rich environments. Problem solving was studied using realistic problems in realistic contexts demanding multiple cognitive processes in the domain of environmental science.…

This document presents the McREL Middle School Advisement Program, a program designed to provide middle school students with an environment in which they can adjust to new school responsibilities and grow and develop in positive ways. The program is organized into nine modules. Within modules are activities which consist of a Teacher Guide and,…

Decades of research indicate that when parents take an active part in their children's education, it has a positive impact on their children's academic achievement, attitudes toward learning and school, confidence as a learner, and social behavior. Parents can also help children develop the lifelong learning skills and attitudes they will need in…

A practicum was implemented over an 8-month period to improve the literacy development of sixth-grade poor readers in a regular classroom. The primary goals were to empower sixth-grade classroom teachers in supporting literacy development, to strengthen the communication bond between parents and teachers, and to increase parental involvement in…

Students' motivation was studied within specific academic content areas using a goal theory framework. The relationships between motivational orientation and cognitive processes within and across content areas are also considered. Six-hundred sixth and seventh graders, approximately 90% white, from two suburban middle schools participated.…

The purpose of this study, conducted at Mohawk Alternative Middle School (Columbus, Ohio) was: (1) to identify student attitudes about dance and the place of dance in education; (2) to determine the effects of specific cooperative learning structures on the ability of individual students to create their own movement studies; (3) to identify…

Law-related education (LRE) has been shown to produce positive changes in student attitudes toward school, parents, the police, and deviant behavior. Project NEXUS, a rural Appalachian program designed to address dropout prevention and predelinquent factors, was implemented in Ellijay (Georgia) Middle School. A group of 25 students, chosen because…

In fall 1993, administrators and faculty at the Crabappple Middle School in Roswell, Georgia, implemented the Multi-Age Team (MAT) program, creating multi-age teams of sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students. The projects' main goal was to enhance self-esteem. Additional goals included implementation of interdisciplinary, thematic instruction;…

Each of the seven chapters in this guide presents current research with practical applications for the middle-level teacher and integrates these instructional approaches with the developmental needs of the young adolescent. After a foreword by David H. Reilly, chapter 1 provides a general overview of current cognitive research and its…

Current middle-school standards require students to operate at levels of literacy never before expected of 10- to 14-year-olds. This monograph, written for teachers, addresses literacy development in middle-school students, stressing the crucial role of teachers. It suggests that teachers must change the core of educational practice and examine…

Asserts that middle school education is a conceptually unique process requiring changed teacher roles, a curriculum of exploration rather than skill development, and student grouping based on developmental factors rather than by age or subject matter. (CFR)

The Skills Reinforcement Project was designed to increase basic mathematics and language arts skills of disadvantaged and minority youth. Forty-five minority and economically disadvantaged sixth graders who participated in a 110-hour program made statistically greater gains in mathematics than 45 comparison sixth graders and nonsignificant gains…