scholarly journals Effects of Place-Based Socioscientific Issues on Rising Middle School Students’ Evidence-Based Reasoning and Critical Thinking on Hydraulic Fracking

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wardell POWELL
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Socioscientific Issues ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
School Students ◽  
Hydraulic Fracking

Using Socioscientific Issues to Enhance Evidence-Based Reasoning Among Middle School Students

2019 ◽  
pp. 150-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wardell Anthony Powell ◽  
Danielle Fuchs
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Socioscientific Issues ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
School Students ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Enrichment Program ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Argumentation Quality

This study investigated the implementation of a socioscientific issue curricular unit that was designed to enhance evidence-based reasoning among middle school students. Forty-three middle school students (11-12 years old; 20 males, 23 females) from a summer enrichment program operated by a non-profit organization in the northeastern United States participated in this study. The duration of this curricular unit took place over five consecutive 1-hour period blocks. The researchers utilized qualitative procedures to analyze students' abilities to engage in evidence-based reasoning and the impact it might have on students' argumentation quality on whether the air we breathe makes us sick. Comparison of the findings from pre-test and post-test indicate that students were able to use evidence-based reasoning to enhance their argumentation quality. The results from this investigation suggest that perhaps the use of socioscientific issues as a critical pedagogical tool does enhance students' abilities to engage in evidence-based reasoning.

Teaching Middle School Students With Learning Disabilities to Comprehend Text Using Self-Questioning

2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 276-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurice M. Joseph ◽  
Kelsey M. Ross
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Effective Strategy ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
School Students ◽  
Reading Text ◽  
Progress Monitor

Middle school students with learning disabilities often struggle to gain meaning from text. Engaging in self-questioning is an effective strategy for comprehending text, however, middle school students with learning disabilities often do not naturally engage in self-questioning before, during, or after reading. These students may also have difficulty generating questions to ask themselves while reading text. This article presents evidence-based methods and specific instructional scaffolds for teaching middle school students with learning disabilities to generate questions on their own before, during, and after reading. A discussion of how to progress monitor students’ acquisition of self-questioning will also be provided.

scholarly journals Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School Promotes Student STEM Interest

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-128
Author(s):  
Pauline Mosley ◽  
Gerald Ardito ◽  
Lauren Scollins
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Cooperative Learning ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
School Students ◽  
Stem Interest ◽  
Experimental Group

The principal purpose of this investigation is to study the effect of robotic cooperative learning methodologies on middle school students’ critical thinking, and STEM interest. The semi-experimental inquiry consisted of ninety four six-grade students (forty nine students in the experimental group, forty five students in the control group), chosen by their principals. A critical thinking test was administered to evaluate the cognitive skills and STEM interest of the students. Instruction was implemented in two formats: cooperative learning and problem-based learning. The experimental group utilized robotic cooperative learning while the control group utilized problem-based learning.  After four sessions of both instruction types with both groups the findings reveal that critical thinking of students is enhanced significantly by robotic cooperative learning (P<0.01).

Impact of Socioscientific Issues on Middle School Students' Character and Values for Global Citizenship

2021 ◽  
pp. 56-91
Author(s):  
Wardell A. Powell ◽  
Mark H. Newton ◽  
Dana L. Zeidler
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Socioscientific Issues ◽  
Wilcoxon Test ◽  
School Students ◽  
Instructional Unit ◽  
Global Citizens ◽  
Animal Cloning ◽  
Public Middle School ◽  
Ecological Worldview

This chapter demonstrates the impact of an animal cloning socioscientific issues instructional unit on a group of middle school students' abilities to use their ecological worldview, social and moral compassion, and sense of socioscientific accountability to determine the permissibility of animal cloning. Seventy-seven 7th grade students at a public middle school in the Southeastern region of the United States participated in this investigation. Results from a non-parametric two-tailed Wilcoxon test indicated the students' social and moral compassion (Z = -2.505, p = .012) and socioscientific accountability scores (Z = -2.381, p = .017). In contrast, the results did not demonstrate a statistically significant difference between students' pre and post ecological worldview (Z = -1.185, p = .236). Qualitative analyses of the data revealed several interesting trends and themes discussed in the chapter. The findings from this investigation support the use of SSI as key pedagogical strategies in promoting character and values for global citizens among middle school students.

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