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Descriptors:
Artificial Intelligence; Computer Simulation; Computer Mediated Communication; Intelligent Tutoring Systems; Pretests Posttests; Instructional Effectiveness; Learning Processes; Feedback (Response); Metacognition; Science Education; Scientific Concepts; Concept Mapping; Middle School Students; Scaffolding (Teaching Technique); Grade 8; Computer Assisted Instruction; Instructional Design; Comparative Analysis

Abstract:
Betty's Brain is an open-ended learning environment in which students learn about science topics by teaching a virtual agent named Betty through the construction of a visual causal map that represents the relevant science phenomena. The task is complex, and success requires the use of metacognitive strategies that support knowledge acquisition, causal map construction, and progress monitoring. Previous research has established that middle school students struggle at such tasks without proper scaffolding and feedback. In Betty's Brain, this feedback is provided by Betty and Mr. Davis, another virtual agent designed to provide guidance and suggestions as students work. This paper discusses our implementation of contextualized conversational (CC) feedback, and then presents the results of an experimental study exploring the effects of this feedback in two 8th-grade science classrooms. The results illustrate some advantages of the CC feedback in comparison with a baseline dialogue mechanism that presents similar strategies in a non-conversational, non-contextualized form. While both groups showed significant pre-to-post test learning gains, the difference in learning gains between the groups was not statistically significant. However, students who received CC feedback more often performed actions in accordance with the advised strategies, and they created higher quality causal maps. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Middle School Students; Interaction; Problem Solving; Mathematics Instruction; Synchronous Communication; Visual Aids; Computer Mediated Communication; Discussion; Computer Assisted Instruction; Multimedia Instruction; Multimedia Materials; Content Analysis; Discourse Analysis; Cooperative Learning; Instructional Effectiveness; Learning Processes

Abstract:
In this paper we examine how two groups of middle school students arrive at shared understandings of and solutions to mathematical problems. Our data consists of logs of student participation in the Virtual Math Teams (VMT) system as they work on math problems. The project supports interaction both through chat and through a virtual whiteboard. We have examined in detail, the sequential work these students do to constitute and specify "the problem" on which they are working in the ways they produce whiteboard objects and text postings. Solutions emerge as students come to understand the problem on which they are working. This understanding is achieved through gradual respecification of the math problem on which they are working. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Creative Development; Elementary School Students; Middle School Students; Preadolescents; Adolescents; Creative Thinking; Age Differences; Organizational Climate; Educational Environment; Elementary Schools; Middle Schools; Path Analysis; Elementary School Teachers; Middle School Teachers

Abstract:
The major objectives of this study were to determine the characteristics of creativity development of Chinese children, the creative organizational climate of Chinese schools, and the relations among them. The results provided evidence that the creativity scores of children in elementary school were significantly higher than those of children in middle school. The teachers' evaluation of the creative organizational climate of the elementary school was significantly higher than that of the middle school. When the two variables were analyzed together, both the creative organizational climate of schools and the creative thinking development of children decreased during the children's development. Moreover, the creativity and climate scores were highly correlated, and the results from a path analysis suggested that a school's creative organizational climate has a significant impact on all seven dimensions of creativity measured in this study. (Contains 2 tables, 4 figures and 2 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Item Response Theory; Morphemes; Semantics; Reading Comprehension; Word Frequency; Vocabulary Development; Reading Ability; Adolescents; Reading; Literacy; Middle School Students; Models; Literacy Education; Grade 7; Grade 8; Vocabulary; Raw Scores; Correlation; Syllables

Abstract:
The current study uses a crossed random-effects item response model to simultaneously examine both reader and word characteristics and interactions between them that predict the reading of 39 morphologically complex words for 221 middle school students. Results suggest that a reader's ability to read a root word (e.g., "isolate") predicts that reader's ability to read a related derived word (e.g., "isolation"). After controlling for root-word reading, results also suggest that the remaining variability in derived-word reading can be explained by word and reader characteristics. The significant word characteristics include derived-word frequency and root-word frequency but not morpheme neighborhood size, average family frequency, number of morphemes, or semantic opaqueness. The significant reader characteristics include morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge but not reading comprehension. Only phonological and orthographic-phonological opaqueness interacted with the effect of root-word reading, suggesting that students were less able to apply root-word knowledge when the root word changed phonologically (with or without an orthographic change) in the larger derived word. Discussion is included regarding how findings from this study inform the development of models of word reading for adolescents. (Contains 3 tables, 3 figures, and 2 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Self Efficacy; Intervention; Reading Instruction; Grade 7; Reading Motivation; Reading; Reading Achievement; Adolescents; Middle School Students; Correlation; Measurement; Reading Teachers; Language Arts; Control Groups; Experimental Groups; Structural Equation Models; Reading Comprehension

Abstract:
This study modeled the interrelationships of reading instruction, motivation, engagement, and achievement in two contexts, employing data from 1,159 seventh graders. In the traditional reading/language arts (R/LA) context, all students participated in traditional R/LA instruction. In the intervention R/LA context, 854 students from the full sample received Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI) while the remainder continued to receive traditional R/LA. CORI emphasizes support for reading motivation, reading engagement, and cognitive strategies for reading informational text. Seven motivation constructs were included: four motivations that are usually positively associated with achievement (intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, valuing, and prosocial goals) and three motivations that are usually negatively associated with achievement (perceived difficulty, devaluing, and antisocial goals). Reading engagement was also represented by positive and negative constructs, namely dedication to and avoidance of reading. Gender, ethnicity, and income were statistically controlled in all analyses. In the traditional R/LA context, a total network model prevailed, in which motivation was associated with achievement both directly and indirectly through engagement. In contrast, in the intervention R/LA context, a dual-effects model prevailed, in which engagement and achievement were separate outcomes of instruction and motivation. The intervention R/LA context analyses revealed that CORI was associated with positive changes in motivation, engagement, and achievement relative to traditional R/LA instruction. The discussion explains why there were different relations in the two instructional contexts and demonstrates the importance of simultaneously examining both positive (affirming) and negative (undermining) forms of motivation and engagement. (Contains 2 tables, 3 figures, and 1 note.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Physical Activities; Middle School Students; Intervals; Performance; Testing; Age Differences; Gender Differences; Student Motivation; Physical Fitness

Abstract:
Histograms of push-ups and curl-ups from a sample of more than 9,000 students show periodic spikes at five and 10 unit intervals. This article argues that these spikes are related to focal points, a game theoretic concept popularized by Nobel Laureate Thomas Schelling. Being focal on one test makes one more likely to be focal on the other. Focal students (whose push-up score is a multiple of 5 and whose curl-up score is a multiple of 10) behave differently from their non-focal peers. They are more likely athletic, older, and male. Focal students, on average, did 2.2 more push-ups, 1.7 more curl-ups, and ran the mile 15 seconds faster than non-focal students, even controlling for these covariates of performance. By contrast, being focal on a single activity did not produce a statistically significant mile time difference. Students who systematically stop at focal outcomes appear differentially motivated toward physical activity performance. (Contains 1 table and 4 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Academic Achievement; Females; Ethnography; Disproportionate Representation; Middle School Students; Science Instruction; Science Education; Science Activities; Communities of Practice; Expertise; Case Studies; Grade 6; Grade 7; Grade 8; Clubs; Science Achievement

Abstract:
The underrepresentation of girls from nondominant backgrounds in the sciences and engineering continues despite recent gains in achievement. This longitudinal ethnographic study traces the identity work that girls from nondominant backgrounds do as they engage in science-related activities across school, club, and home during the middle school years. Building a conceptual argument for identity trajectories, the authors discuss the ongoing, cumulative, and contentious nature of identity work and the mechanisms that foster critical shifts in trajectories. The authors argue that the girls view possible future selves in science when their identity work is recognized, supported, and leveraged toward expanded opportunities for engagement in science. This process yields layered meanings of (possible) selves and of science and reconfigures meaningful participation in science. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure, and 1 note.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Academic Aspiration; Immigrants; Self Efficacy; Self Concept; Barriers; Hispanic American Students; Acculturation; College Attendance; Resilience (Psychology); Correlation; Gender Differences; Mothers; Educational Attainment; Age Differences; Ethnicity; Measures (Individuals); Middle School Students; High School Students; Regression (Statistics)

Abstract:
Emerging immigrant communities differ from established communities in terms of needs and available resources. Students in these emerging communities may still be acculturating to new contexts and establishing their ethnic identities, which may impact their ability to engage in planning for the future. The current study examines what impact these cultural identity variables, in addition to perceptions of barriers to college entrance, would have on educational aspirations and college-going self-efficacy beliefs of Latino adolescents. Findings from 171 middle- and high school Latino students from immigrant families indicated that public ethnic regard and resilience to barriers were positively associated with college-going self-efficacy, and Anglo orientation had a trend-level effect, while perceived barriers were negatively related to that outcome. Private ethnic regard and person-based barriers were negatively associated with educational aspirations. Generation status, gender, mother's education, and age were control variables. Implications for research and practice are provided, focusing on perceived barriers and self-efficacy beliefs. (Contains 2 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Curriculum Based Assessment; High Stakes Tests; Reading Achievement; Achievement Tests; Reading Tests; Reading Fluency; Middle School Students; Grade 7; Correlation; Scores

Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between oral reading fluency and performance on a statewide reading achievement test for middle grades students. Participants in this study were 75 seventh grade students. One month before the students were administered the state test, each student read three probes from their current basal reader to determine an oral reading fluency rate. The Ohio Grade 7 Reading Test scores were correlated with oral reading fluency rates to determine the extent of the relationship between the results. Results support the use of oral reading fluency assessment as a valid tool for identifying students at risk of not passing the statewide reading achievement test. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
High Schools; Public Schools; School Districts; Urban Education; At Risk Students; Screening Tests; Grade 9; Intervention; Time Management; Credits; Computation; Probability; Dropout Research; Identification; Prediction; Middle School Students; High School Students

Abstract:
This article describes the development of early warning indicators for high school and beyond in the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) by the Value-Added Research Center (VARC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, working in conjunction with staff from the Division of Research and Evaluation at MPS. Our work in MPS builds on prior early warning work by using both preexisting and new district data sets to build predictive models for identifying students at elevated risk of an entire series of adverse outcomes in high school and beyond, beginning with grade 9 retention and continuing into postsecondary education. This early warning work in MPS makes at least 2 significant contributions to the existing base of research: (a) broadening the set of outcomes that early warning work can predict; and (b) investigating new ways of conveying early warning information to practitioners, such as probability estimates for each outcome and the "total quality credits" (TQC) measure. (Contains 4 tables, 6 figures, and 5 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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