Learning method preferences in a steel drum classroom: Exploring a learner-centered pedagogy through composition, peer teaching, and student-led Modern Band projects in a middle school setting

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-282
Author(s):  
Christine A. Guzzetta
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Video Recording ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Learning Preferences ◽  
Peer Teaching ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
School Students ◽  
Friendship Groups ◽  
Learner Centered ◽  
Steel Drum

This action research discovers the learning preferences of middle school students enrolled in an advanced steel drum class in central Florida, specifically their attitudes toward the learner-centered approach while composing and learning music. Sixteen participants compare the traditional teacher-led formal instruction to student-led informal learning across three projects: composition, peer teaching, and student-led small group with the introduction of Modern Band instruments. Students are given creative freedom to choose their own friendship groups, instruments, and songs. Ease, enjoyment, and success rates are measured through questionnaires, video recording, field notes, and interviews. Student preferences toward teacher-directed and peer-directed learning change throughout the study, from student-led learning to teacher-led instruction as the tasks become more difficult. In addition, preferred learning techniques of the steel drum are found to be reading notation, listening to the music, and demonstrating how to play the instrument through kinesthetic means. Music teachers can successfully implement a more learner-centered classroom by planning lessons that are in line with student ability and background knowledge, while incrementally increasing challenges.

Gender Differences in Health Risk Behaviors and Physical Activity Among Middle School Students

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsu-Yin Wu ◽  
Sherry E. Rose ◽  
Joanna M. Bancroft
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Middle School ◽  
Gender Differences ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Risk Behaviors ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Health Risk Behaviors ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
School Students

Adolescence is a period of accelerated growth and change, bridging the complex transition from childhood to adulthood. This period offers adolescents an opportunity to begin planning for their futures and to adopt healthy attitudes about risk behaviors that can continue into adulthood, thus setting the stage for a lifetime of desirable health behaviors. This study used the Youth Risk Behavior Survey on middle school students and examined the gender differences of health risk behaviors among 674 8th-graders from an urban setting. The results showed that males were more likely to be involved in fights, to initiate alcohol use, and to participate in physical activity; whereas females were more likely to try to lose weight with unhealthy practices, such as fasting and laxatives. School nurses are in a prime position to promote adolescent health in the school setting by providing health-related services and teaching to help students initiate and maintain healthy lifestyles.

The i2Flex Transformation of a Commemorative Event to a Service-Learning Experience

2021 ◽  
pp. 589-615
Author(s):  
Christina Bakoyannis ◽  
Sevasti Koniossis
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
School Students ◽  
Advisory Program ◽  
Teachers And Students

The American Community Schools (ACS) Athens Middle School was able to transform a one-day commemorative event known as United Nations Day into long-term service-learning using i2Flex principles and methodologies. The i2Flex blended learning component enabled teachers and students to overcome time limitations and empowered students to take ownership of their service. Utilizing i2Flex strategies can prove meaningful for long term student character development, innovation, and critical thinking skills required in the 21st century. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs or Global Goals) guided the development of the Moodle course shell and a lasting service-learning experience for middle school students. The authors also discuss how the transformation of United Nations Day into authentic service-learning shaped an advisory program in the middle school and what implications it can further have in a school setting.

scholarly journals Interest in Dialogic and Non-Dialogic Teacher Talk Situations in Middle School Science Classroom

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 1531-1546
Author(s):  
Kalle Juuti ◽  
Anni Loukomies ◽  
Jari Lavonen
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Science Classroom ◽  
Video Recording ◽  
Experience Sampling ◽  
School Science ◽  
Teacher Talk ◽  
Rank Test ◽  
Student Interest ◽  
School Students

AbstractPrevious research has shown that dialogic teacher talk not only supports students’ understanding but also raises their interest. However, there is little, if any, research on the connection between dialogic talk and student interest in classroom situations. To investigate this connection, we collected video observations and experience sampling data. In total, 87 middle school students aged 14 to 16 participated in the study. Data were collected from the classes of six science teachers, and three lessons were video recorded in each teacher’s classroom. During the lessons, students were asked several times to express their interest in the situation through the experience sampling method (ESM). The measurements took place in situations where the teacher either talked with the students or talked to the whole group of students. The talk situations were categorised as dialogic or non-dialogic, based on the video recording. On a five-point scale of interest, the median value was 3.3 in non-dialogic talk situations and 3.5 in dialogic talk situations. We hypothesised that students’ interest would be higher in dialogic talk situations than in non-dialogic talk situations. The hypothesis was tested with a related samples Wilcoxon signed rank test, and the results supported the hypothesis (Z  =  −  2.62; p  <  0.05). The results suggest that dialogic talk may trigger students’ interest in science learning.

Effectiveness of Basic Life Support Training for Middle School Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 262-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sami Aloush ◽  
Ahmad Tubaishat ◽  
Mohammed ALBashtawy ◽  
Mohammad Suliman ◽  
Intima Alrimawi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Basic Life Support ◽  
Life Support ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Real Life ◽  
School Students ◽  
Middle School Children ◽  
Bystander Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ◽  
Educational Course ◽  
Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation improves survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a basic life support (BLS) educational course given to 110 middle school children, using a pretest posttest design. In the pretest, students were asked to demonstrate BLS on a manikin to simulate a real-life scenario. After the pretest, a BLS training course of two sessions was provided, followed by posttest on the same manikin. Students were assessed using an observational sheet based on the American Heart Association’s BLS guidelines. In the pretest, students showed significant weakness in the majority of guidelines. In the posttest, they demonstrated significant improvement in their BLS skills. BLS training in the middle school was effective, considering the lack of previous skills. It is recommended that BLS education be compulsory in the school setting.

scholarly journals English teachers' and lecturers' perceptions of reflective practice through video recording at the teacher certification program

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 670-689
Author(s):  
Sitti Fatimah ◽  
Yuli Tiarina ◽  
Fitrawati Fitrawati ◽  
Asri Sekar Mira
Keyword(s):  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Teacher Certification ◽  
English Language ◽  
Video Recording ◽  
Language Education ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Peer Teaching ◽  
Certification Program ◽  
School Students ◽  
English Language Education

Considering the long-recognized contribution of reflective practice on teachers’ continuous professional development, this article casts new light in reporting English teachers’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the needs to implement reflective practice through video recording during peer teaching in the Indonesian Teacher Certification Program. This needs analysis is conducted as the preliminary step of the Research and Development (RD) project and the data will be taken as the basis for the development of reflective practice model with video recording in peer teaching. The perceptions of the needs were collected through a closed and open-ended questionnaire distributed to two groups of respondents. The first group consisted of pre- and in-service English teachers who participated in the PPG (Pendidikan Profesi Guru) Program, or Teacher Certification Program, during the course of 2018 and 2019; and are now teaching secondary school students within the provinces of West and North Sumatra, Aceh, Jambi, and Riau. The second group was lecturers at the English Language Education Program (ELEP) of Universitas Negeri Padang teaching at the PPG Program. The findings show that most teachers believed that reflective practice using video recording enabled them to see their teaching strengths and weaknesses and, in return, would be able to improve students’ learning outcomes. Similarly, all lecturers also believed that the needs of reflective practice assisted by digital technologies are highly important. In general, the perceptions of these two groups of respondents demonstrate the crucial needs of implementing reflective practice with video recording during peer teaching in the PPG Program.

Asthma Education for Middle School Students and Staff

2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lenore “Lennie” Harris
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Education Program ◽  
School Setting ◽  
School Personnel ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Physical Education Teachers ◽  
School Students ◽  
Asthma Education ◽  
Extensive List

In recent years, the number of middle school students identified with asthma has increased dramatically. In addition, physical education teachers were concerned about the lack of class participation among many of these students. Students with asthma had little knowledge about the respiratory system or how to control their asthma. After overcoming certain barriers, an asthma education program was developed for the middle school students. The primary objective was to promote self-management of asthma and provide resources as needed. In addition, an asthma education program was presented to school personnel to enhance their ability to assist students with asthma and allergies in the school setting. Included in this article is an extensive list of resources about asthma.

scholarly journals A Meta-Analysis of Middle School Students’ Science Engagement

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leanna B. Aker ◽  
Arthur K. Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Cognitive Engagement ◽  
Operational Definition ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
School Students ◽  
Science Engagement ◽  
Definition Of

The extent to which middle school students are engaged in required science courses is an elusive but increasingly documented phenomenon. Anecdotal and empirical evidence alike raise concern with a perceived decline in science engagement reported by students as they transition into the middle school setting. Even what it means to be engagé is not thoroughly agreed on. Though an agreed-on operational definition of engagement is still nascent, an emerging consensus on a three-faceted model of student engagement exists in the research literature (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004). Thus, a synthesis of existing primary research of early adolescents’ science engagement under this emerging conceptualization is warranted. The results of this meta-analysis indicate that instructional methods, class characteristics and competence predictors comprise the strongest relationship with self-reported science engagement in early adolescence. These predictors also show the strongest relationship with affective and cognitive engagement sub-types. Though affective and cognitive engagement were well-represented in primary studies, behavioral engagement was under-represented in student self-reports.

scholarly journals Non-suicidal self-injury in Shanghai inner bound middle school students

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. e100083
Author(s):  
Fang Zhang ◽  
Paula F Cloutier ◽  
Hongmei Yang ◽  
Wenjing Liu ◽  
Wenhong Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Emotional Disorders ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
School Mental Health ◽  
School Setting ◽  
School Students ◽  
Study Objective ◽  
Self Injury ◽  
Behavioural Characteristics

BackgroundNon-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behaviour is very common among adolescents. Its prevalence and behavioural characteristics may vary according to regional and cultural differences. Investigation of NSSI locations and diagnosis of adolescents with NSSI are relatively lacking in China.AimsThe study objective was to determine the prevalence and features of NSSI among middle school students in Shanghai.MethodsThe participants were from grade 6 to 8 selected from three junior schools in Jing’an District. Consenting students completed the Ottawa Self-Injury Inventory to determine the prevalence and characteristics of NSSI. Those who indicated NSSI within the past month were administered the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents to assess for emotional disorders.ResultThe result shows 510 participants (21.7%; mean age 13.51 (0.97) years old; 56.7% female) reported at least one instance of NSSI during the previous 12 months. NSSI was significantly more common in girls than boys (24.9% vs 18.5%; χ2=14.03, p=0.00). Commonly reported reasons for NSSI were for internal and external emotion regulation (87.9%, 82.3%) and social influence (57.8%). Anxiety disorders were the most common (28.9%) disorder associated with NSSI.ConclusionThe rate of NSSI of middle school students in Shanghai inner bound is similar to those reported in North American and European youth. It is essential that school mental health professionals are aware of how to manage NSSI within the school setting.

scholarly journals Elementary School EFL Learning Experience: A Needs Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1515-1525
Author(s):  
Emnijeta Ahmetović ◽  
Vildana Dubravac
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Grade Level ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learning Preferences ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
School Students ◽  
New Words ◽  
Learner Centered ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Learning English

Regular curriculum modifications and the shift from a teacher-centered to a learner-centered paradigm in educational institutions are meant to enhance the teaching-learning process and fulfill learners' needs as successfully as possible. This study aimed to examine learners' attitudes towards learning English, their needs/wants, learning preferences, strategies, and lesson topics. Moreover, it also investigated the differences in learning preferences based on grade level.  The data were gathered from a survey administrated to 200 elementary school students in Central Bosnia and Herzegovina. The findings illustrated that the participants generally have a positive attitude towards learning English with more significant extrinsic reasons motivating them to learn it. Regarding students' needs, the analysis revealed that overall, students found writing the most challenging and speaking the most desirable language skill. Furthermore, the majority of the participants reported that they like to learn by reading texts or stories, finding the discussion in the classroom the most annoying classroom activity. While learning vocabulary by translating new words is regarded as the most beneficial method, doing written exercises at school presents the most significant way of acquiring grammar. Moreover, the study identified a significant influence of a grade level on the preferred ways of learning English.

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