This paper investigates the mentoring practices of 16 cooperating teachers as they prepared student teachers to integrate technology into teaching and learning activities. Data were gathered from multiple sources during a semester of student teaching. A complex variety of contextual and conceptual factors influencing the integration of technology…

This study compared two approaches for teaching sixth-grade middle school students to solve math problems in math, technology education, and special education classrooms. A total of 17 students with disabilities and 76 students without disabilities were taught using either enhanced anchored instruction (EAI) or text-based instruction coupled with…

The purpose of this study was to describe the social interactions of students with and without disabilities in a general physical education (GPE) program. Participants were a girl with Down syndrome and mental retardation, a boy with severe juvenile scoliosis, and their 16 classmates (9 females, 7 males) without disabilities at a rural middle…

We examined the relationship between dispositional (trait) aggression and administrative reports of school aggression among 100 adolescent male participants from an urban middle school. Aggression was fairly common among the sample; 58 boys had a record of school aggression, and many of those were repeat offenders. Our hypothesis that those higher…

The purpose of this study was to examine problem-based learning (pbl) and how students in the middle grades math and science classroom perceived its effectiveness. Analysis of student perceptions of changes in their learning processes and self-efficacy was analyzed through student interviews. Data identified the components of changes in students'…

There are effective conflict transformation programs available for students at the middle level. What is missing is a program designed to have an enduring message, that is, a message that is both positive and vivid. Project WIN provided a positive message by teaching students how to create a justice-based community in their classrooms and the…

One goal of professional development is to improve student achievement through improved teacher practice. The middle school philosophy, which supports the rationale that student learning is inextricably interwoven into the fabric of an active learning environment, contains many promising practices that "mirror" what is often considered to be high…

The purpose of this study was to investigate beginning teacher attrition and the factors of collaboration and school setting (urban, suburban, and rural). Quantitative data were collected from present and former teachers in a Midwest state using the researcher-created Collaboration Survey. Building principals and central office staff supplied…

In response to the 2000 Virginia state writing prompt, eighth grade students wrote a letter of advice to a sixth grader coming to middle school for the first time. A purposeful sample of more than 10,000 writing responses was collected. Content analysis of a random sample of 350 responses revealed themes of advice for students negotiating the…

The student population in contemporary public middle schools is growing increasingly more diverse. While heterogeneously grouped classrooms are consistent with middle school philosophy as well as recommendations from leading middle school advocacy groups, many teachers in these settings seem to downplay the differences among the students and…

Collaborative ventures between families and schools can result in children being successful both academically and in life (Henderson & Berla, 1994; Jackson & Davis, 2000; Mapp, 1997). The most successful predictor of student achievement is an encouraging home environment, high expectations from parents, and parental involvement (Epstein, 2001;…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 calls for improving test scores of minority students in third through eighth grades, making middle level schools a key venue for closing the racial gap in achievement. This study, by analyzing data on the 15,000 eighth graders who took the 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics,…

Professional learning communities have become one of the most talked about ideas in education today. Many K-12 schools are working to become professional learning communities in the hope that student learning will improve when adults commit themselves to talking collaboratively about teaching and learning and then take action that will improve…

This review of research generates principles for the design of instructional programs that foster critical-thinking dispositions. The dispositional aspect of critical thinking may be considered part of attitudinal memory, readily activated if sufficiently strong. We describe evidence suggesting that ill-structured problem-solving can provide…

In this manuscript, the author explores the question, What does research suggest for middle level readers? To answer it, she conducts a synthesis of empirical studies published between 1990 and 2001 that appeared in journals linked to the author's professional membership (i.e., "Research in Middle Level Education" ("RMLE"), "Reading Research…