QR codes are now encountered in many areas of life. QR codes have started to be used in education as well, serving as a bridge between today's world and the digital world. In the current study, it is aimed to reveal the opinions of students and parents about the use of QR codes, which are rapidly becoming widespread in our daily life, in…

Economic literacy is critical for success in one's career and life. Such literacy has never been more relevant than today due to supply-chain issues causing product shortages, surging inflation, and rising interest rates. Discovery learning through active learning materials discussed in this article were employed with fifth and sixth-grade…

We explored factors affecting outdoor classroom design by assessing attitudes and drawings from 73 sixth graders from a single middle school. Females had more favorable attitudes about the value of outdoor classrooms, were more motivated to build an outdoor classroom, and had stronger attitudes about outdoor classrooms benefiting wildlife.…

Metacognitive monitoring skills are crucial for middle school students to improve academic performance and promote self-regulation. The current study examined the effect of social interaction on metacognitive monitoring training assessed by calibration accuracy measures and performance on comprehension items. Sixth-grade students (N = 84) assigned…

Student investment in learning is often stronger when learning incorporates student choice, "real-world" authenticity, and creativity. This action research study investigated the impact of a particular tool for emphasizing these elements in learning: a free-choice, or "Genius Time," project in which middle school students in an…

Few studies examine the effects of behavior-specific praise (BSP) in secondary classrooms, and there is limited research examining the rate of BSP that is needed to improve classwide appropriately engaged behavior (AEB) and reduce disruptive behavior (DB). Using a multiple baseline design with an embedded A/B/C/A/C condition sequence…

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the applications of learning together and group investigation methods at different intervals on the features of cooperative learning model. The study sample comprised the sixth, seventh and eighth grade students studying in a public middle school. In the first year of the application,…

Multicultural education aims for social justice and a democratic society in that education should eradicate structural inequality and unequal power among majority and minority groups. These critical aims of multicultural education have been toned down when it comes to practice. In many parts of the world, multicultural education is often…

Classroom membership is essential in today's classrooms as students need to feel safe and secure in their participatory roles. Allowing a student's voice is essential in allowing them the opportunity to communicate with their peers. In this study, the author looked at how the use or non-use of the iPad (as a form of assistive technology) affected…

Coding is increasingly popular in schools around the world and is often taught by non-specialist teachers as an integrated task with other subject areas. In this article, we explore the relationship between computer science (CS) concepts and students' multimodal expression in a coding animated narrative (CAN) task in the context of an integrated…

Drawing on a year of participant observation in an untracked, diversifying middle school, I examine how sixth graders positioned themselves and were positioned by others as "smart" or "not smart." I focus on peer interactions during cooperative small group instruction, identifying the material, relational, and ideational…

In this study, we examine evidence of transfer from reading instruction to students' learning of language arts and historical content as demonstrated by their independent writing and growth in background knowledge. We taught a unit in a sixth-grade language arts classroom in which students learned about design elements of graphic novels (e.g.,…

PowerTeaching is an evidence-based, structured cooperative learning program. It aims to prepare students to meet the stringent demands of new state math standards, both the knowledge standards and the 21st-century skills standards, such as around communication and collaboration. Awarded a scale-up grant in 2012 by the federal government, the…

This study aims to better understand Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) in middle school science teaching by revealing the perceptions of sixth-grade students in a public school in Turkey about POGIL. In the research conducted as a case study, the data were collected through interviews with 12 students who were taught the Particle…

"Personalized Learning in the Middle Grades" shows how teachers in grades 5--8 can leverage the use of personalized learning plans (PLPs) to increase student agency and engagement, helping youth to establish learning goals aligned with their interests and assess their own learning--particularly around essential skills that cut across…