3 Questions for an Online Learning Leader

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Drake
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Elementary Education ◽  
Vice President ◽  
Problem Posing ◽  
School Students ◽  
Bachelor Of Science ◽  
Rehabilitative Services ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The University

Dr. Jill Drake is both Professor in the College of Education and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of West Georgia. In the latter role, she currently oversees academic programming and assessment, transfer agreements, and internal curriculum approval processes. Jill has experience teaching face-to-face and online courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels in educational foundations, early childhood, and elementary education. Her research focuses on assessment in K-5 mathematics education, problem posing, and teaching mathematics to diverse populations. Internationally recognized for her research on problem posing, Dr. Drake has published two mathematics activity books for high school and middle school students. Prior to her appointment at the University of West Georgia, Jill was an educator at the early childhood, elementary, and middle school levels. She completed a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, a Master of Education in K-12 School Counseling, and a Specialist in Health and Rehabilitative Services at Florida State University. She holds a Doctorate of Education in Curriculum and Supervision from the University of Georgia and completed a postdoctoral program in math education at the University of West Georgia.

scholarly journals Investigation of Middle School Students’ Math Self-Efficacy Perceptions and Math Problem Posing Attitudes

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Sena Görgün ◽  
Canses Tican
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Attitude Scale ◽  
Problem Posing ◽  
Attitude Score ◽  
School Students ◽  
Math Problem ◽  
8Th Grade ◽  
Eighth Grade Students

The main purpose of the current study is to investigate middle school students’ math self-efficacy perceptions and math problem posing attitudes. The sample of the study is comprised of 990 fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade students attending middle school in the Fethiye district of the city of Muğla. As the data collection tool, the “Math Self-efficacy Perception Scale” and the “Math Problem Posing Attitude Scale” were used. In the analysis of the data collected through the qualitative research method, frequencies, percentages, independent-samples t-test, one-way variance analysis, post-hoc tests (Scheffe and Dunnett’s C) and correlation analysis were used. As a result, it was found that the middle school students’ math self-efficacy perceptions and math problem posing attitudes are over the medium level. The middle school students’ self-efficacy perceptions were found to be varying significantly depending on gender. The middle school students’ problem posing attitudes were found to be varying significantly depending on gender. The math self-efficacy perceptions and math problem posing attitudes of the 5th and 6th grade students were found to be significantly higher than those of the 7th and 8th grade students. A medium, positive and significant correlation was found between the middle school students’ mean math self-efficacy perception score and their mean math problem posing attitude score.

scholarly journals Implementing Engineering and Sustainability Curriculum in K-12 Education

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie L. Robinson ◽  
Jennifer A. Mangold
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Students ◽  
Industrial Ecology ◽  
School Students ◽  
Engineering Project ◽  
Engineering Discipline ◽  
Applied Design ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Sustainability Curriculum ◽  
The University ◽  
Engineering Projects

Introducing students to engineering concepts in early education is critical, as literature has shown that students’ degree of comfort and acceptance of science and technology is developed very early on in their education. While introducing engineering as a potential profession in K-12 classrooms has its own merits, it has also proven itself to be useful as a teaching tool. Engineering can lend itself to concepts that can engage students in critical thinking, problem solving, as well as the development of math and science skills. In engineering higher education there has been an increased focus on industrial ecology and sustainability in order to help students understand the environmental and social context within today’s society. The authors of this paper discuss the importance of these attributes when introducing engineering to K-12 students. Engineering and sustainability are not two mutually exclusive concepts, but sustainability should be considered throughout the practice of the engineering discipline. The ADEPT (Applied Design Engineering Project Teams) program at the University of California, Berkeley was established to design and deploy a standards-based engineering curriculum for middle schools and high schools (grades 6–12) designed to integrate mathematics and science concepts in applied engineering projects, inspire secondary students, and strengthen the classroom experience of current and future faculty in math, science, and engineering. This paper discusses the importance of introducing engineering and sustainability in K-12 classrooms. Example modules that were developed through the ADEPT program are presented as well as a set of recommendations that were designed as a guideline for educators to incorporate engineering and sustainability in K-12 classrooms. While the module discussed here was designed for middle school students, the curriculum and criteria recommended can be adapted to primary and secondary education programs.

An Analysis of Arithmetic Problem Posing by Middle School Students

1996 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 521-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward A. Silver ◽  
Jinfa Cai
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Problem Posing ◽  
School Students ◽  
Complex Problems ◽  
Analysis Scheme ◽  
Mathematical Problems ◽  
Problem Description ◽  
Problem Solvers ◽  
The Relationship

The mathematical problems generated by 509 middle school students, who were given a brief written “story-problem” description and asked to pose questions that could be answered using the information, were examined for solvability, linguistic and mathematical complexity, and relationships within the sets of posed problems. It was found that students generated a large number of solvable mathematical problems, many of which were syntactically and semantically complex, and that nearly half the students generated sets of related problems. Subjects also solved eight fairly complex problems, and the relationship between their problem-solving performance and their problem posing was examined to reveal that “good” problem solvers generated more mathematical problems and more complex problems than “poor” problem solvers did. The multiple-step data analysis scheme developed and used herein should be useful to teachers and other researchers interested in evaluating students' posing of arithmetic story problems.

Listening to Middle School Students' Algebraic Thinking

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 156-161
Author(s):  
John P. Smith ◽  
Elizabeth A. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
Algebraic Thinking ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Core ◽  
K 12

NO PART OF THE K–12 MATHEMATICS curriculum is more fluid and controversial than introductory algebra. Content and assessment issues lie at the core of this debate: What algebra skills and understandings are important? What kind of evidence suggests that students possess these skills? Neither question can be answered in simple terms; in fact, no single “right” answer may exist for either one.

Take Time for Action: Perimeter or Area? Which Measure Is It?

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-23
Author(s):  
Michaele F. Chappell ◽  
Denisse R. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Past ◽  
Fundamental Understanding ◽  
K 12

During the past twenty years, documents have recommended that the mathematics curriculum include measurement for all grades, K–12 (NCTM 1980, 1989). Indeed, students interact daily with measurement in their physical environment, for example, by finding the distance from home to school, their height and weight, and wall space for posters. Adolescents bring to the classroom varied conceptions of measurement, which may be in the form of basic applications or general formulas. All too often, a fundamental understanding of these ideas is sacrificed while students learn general formulas. This situation is particularly true for attributes of perimeter and area. To what extent do middle school students possess a conceptual understanding of these measurement concepts?

scholarly journals Building mathematical knowledge in an authentic mobile phone environment

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wajeeh Daher
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Mathematical Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Analysis Model ◽  
School Students ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Authentic Activities

<blockquote>Although many researchers have examined knowledge building in traditional settings and distance learning, few have examined middle school students' building of mathematical knowledge using mobile phones. The present study uses two well-known models of knowledge building to carry out the examination: the interactive analysis model of knowledge building phases developed by Gunawardena, Lowe and Anderson (1997) and the six themes model of knowledge building characteristics developed by Scadamalia and Bereiter (2006). The findings show that the middle school students participating in this research went through all the knowledge building phases suggested by Gunawardena, Lowe and Anderson (1997). They further experienced other knowledge building phases that fit the authentic context in which they learned. Participants advanced their knowledge of ideas as a community, collaborating to carry out authentic activities using mobile phones. They demonstrated constructive and critical use of information in general and of authoritative information in particular. Participants worked as mathematicians, especially during the second part of the experiment, when they suggested real world phenomena to explore using the mobile phone. My conclusion suggests learning mathematics by carrying out authentic activities using mobile phones, to encourage and enrich the mathematics knowledge building of students in K-12.</blockquote><p> </p>

scholarly journals Exploring Indian Middle School Students’ Conceptions of the Environment Using the Draw-an-Environment Test

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 152-178
Author(s):  
Leslie Elizabeth Sprong ◽  
Sonya N. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Northeast India ◽  
Future Research ◽  
School Students ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Quality environmental education (EE) is key for supporting sustainable development and use of resources. Educators in rural India face considerable challenges to teach EE in K-12 school settings. This study took place in Assam in Northeast India where non-governmental organization (NGO) educators are working to develop an EE program for students in rural areas. To reveal students’ perceptions of the environment, researchers administered the Draw-an-Environment Test (DAET) to 277 middle school students in government schools. Analysis of students’ drawings of the environment revealed that while students recognized humans have an impact on the environment, they did not fully understand the impact could often be negative and drawings did not necessarily reflect the reality of the local environment. Implications for how these findings can be used to develop responsive EE curriculum that challenges and extends students’ conceptions of the environment and the need for future research are discussed.

The SOAR Strategies for Online Academic Research

2016 ◽  
pp. 68-104
Author(s):  
Carolyn Harper Knox ◽  
Lynne Anderson-Inman ◽  
Fatima E. Terrazas-Arellanes ◽  
Emily Deanne Walden ◽  
Bridget Hildreth
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Real World ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Real ◽  
Instructional Needs ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
The University

Students often struggle when conducting research online, an essential skill for meeting the Common Core State Standards and for success in the real world. To meet this instructional challenge, researchers at the University of Oregon's Center for Advanced Technology in Education (CATE) developed, tested, and refined nine SOAR Strategies for Online Academic Research. These strategies are aligned with well-established, research-based principles for teaching all students, with particular attention to the instructional needs of students with learning disabilities. To support effective instruction of the SOAR Strategies, researchers at CATE developed a multimedia website of instructional modules called the SOAR Toolkit. This chapter highlights the real world importance of teaching middle school students to conduct effective online research. In addition, it describes the theoretical and historical foundations of the SOAR Strategies, instructional features of the SOAR Toolkit, and research results from classroom implementations at the middle school level.

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