Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas State University-San Marcos, 2006. / Vita. Appendices: leaves 150-166. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-175).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas State University-San Marcos, 2006. / Vita. Appendices: leaves 150-166. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-175).

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<p> The purpose of this qualitative, multi-case study is to identify the traits three middle school classroom teachers share, which seemingly enable them to successfully engage their students in performance-based activities and assessments. This study investigates the research behind the use of performance tasks, authentic learning and assessment and connects the data gleaned from observations and interviews with participants and administrators to the literature review. Data analysis and summations connect performance tasks to authentic learning but also identify more subjective traits such as relationship building, riskiness in instructional methodology, and the innate skills of a teacher, which appear to enhance students&rsquo; learning experiences. Students observed in the classrooms are asked not only to <i>know</i> content and cultivate an appropriate skill base, but also asked to <i> use</i> that knowledge and those skills to solve real-world problems. Data from the three participants not only illustrates the findings of other relevant research, but characterizes the types of teachers who inspire students to perform on a more complex level in order to solve complex problems.</p>

This investigation is concerned with the problem of determining whether or not a significant difference exists between attitudes of junior high school female athletes and non-athletes toward physical education.

The purpose of this thesis is to develop a rationale for a theatre program in the middle school.

DIFFERENTIATING READING INSTRUCTION FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS IN AN INCLUSIVE MIDDLE SCHOOL: COMPARING TEACHER KNOWLEDGE AND APPLICATION This qualitative case study uses observations and interviews to examine the practice of differentiation by twelve collaborative middle school reading teachers in a school that has shown a decrease in the achievement gap for students with disabilities on end of year tests on state standards. Observations and interviews were analyzed to determine the teachers’ knowledge and application of differentiated instruction. The results showed that four of the six teams possessed a comprehensive knowledge of the practice of differentiation and the data available to assist in planning lessons. Some differentiation was observed in each of the six classrooms.

Abstract THE MIDDLE SCHOOL TRANSITION IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS: STUDENT PERCEPTIONS By Eileen Irby Atkinson, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010 Director: Cheryl Magill, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Leadership Students transitioning into the middle school often experience difficulty adjusting to their new environment. During this transition, declines in academic motivation, academic achievement, and connectedness have been noted. Most research on this transition has taken place in public school settings. This research investigated the impact of the middle school transition in a private school setting. This study examined students’ perceptions of the middle school transition as it related to the connectedness students perceived to their new school, those individuals whom students perceived as most helpful during their transition, academic motivation and achievement following the transition, and perceived helpfulness of transition activities conducted by the school. In addition, the study examined significant differences of the transition experience based on gender and race. Five hundred and two private middle school students in 35 private schools in Virginia completed a paper and pencil survey in which they responded to 47 questions regarding their transition into middle school. It was found that students generally felt connected to middle school, and the number of extracurricular activities in which a student participated did not appear to correlate significantly with connectedness. Most new middle school students did not perceive their transition experience as difficult. Middle school teachers, parents and friends appeared to be the most helpful to students during their transition. As compared to elementary school, newly transitioned middle school students were more academically motivated, and academic achievement showed a slight improvement in middle school. Students reported that visits made to the middle school as an elementary student were most helpful to their transition, and that the summer orientation and tour were also found to be helpful. Males perceived parents, middle school teachers and elementary school counselors as more helpful to their transition than did females, who considered friends most helpful. Parents were perceived as most helpful to the transition by Asian students. Caucasians reported higher academic achievement in middle school than African American students, and African American students perceived their academic achievement as higher than that of Hispanic students. African American students, more than any of the other groups represented, believed that the information given to the middle school by the elementary school was very helpful to their transition. Native American students, and students identifying their race as “Other” felt that the assignment of an older middle school buddy was more helpful to the transition than did Caucasian or Hispanic students. In terms of the relative contribution of the variables to the prediction of ease of transition, the number of transition activities has the greatest influence, followed by level of support from others, perception of connectedness to middle school, and middle school academic performance.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

The purpose of this study is to understand the professional and structural, political and cultural factors that present challenges to the implementation of assessment reform in science classrooms. An analysis of recent science education literature and national science education reform documents suggests that change in schools is a complex process that does not happen overnight and is subject to the influence of many professional and structural attributes (Berliner, 2006; Brooks, 2005; Cuban, 1990; Duschl, 1990; Gess-Newsome, Southerland, Johnston & Woodbury, 2003; Southerland & Hutner, in press; Tyack & Cuban, 1995). Structural components include school culture; bell schedule, administration policies and mandates, standards, curriculum and accountability measures. Professional components involve teachers' epistemic views of science, their pedagogical conceptions and their conceptions of assessment along with knowledge necessary to translate these conceptions into practice (Barnett & Hodson, 2001; Gess-Newsome & Lederman, 1999; Gess-Newsome et al., 2003; Mortimer & Scott, 2003; Shulman, 1986). Education literature suggests both of these components, professional and structural components, shape how teaching takes place, thus, what students learn in science classrooms (Brickhouse, 2006; Duschl, 1990; Gallagher, 2006; Gess-Newsome & Lederman, 1999; Gess-Newsome et al., 2003; Southerland & Hutner, in press). Assessment plays a significant role in efforts to bring about improvements in the educational system (Brickhouse, 2006; Davis, Genc & Aydeniz, in press; NAS, 2006; NRC, 2001; 2005; Southerland & Hutner, in press). Assessment serves multiple purposes. Assessment can be used to support learning (Abell & Volkmann, 2006; Bell & Cowie, 2001; Black & William, 1998; Brookhart, 2006; Davis et al., in press; Klassen, 2006; Shepard, 2000), to monitor the effectiveness of a particular curriculum (NAS, 2006; NRC, 2005), to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of instruction (Bell & Cowie, 2001; NAS, 2006; NRC, 2001; Shepard, 2000), and to evaluate the efficiency of the school system (Davis et al., in press; Linn, 2000; Popkewitz, 2000). Although assessment can serve multiple purposes, the confusion over learning and achievement as manifested in political initiatives that aim to bring about improvements to the educational system through standardized testing has reduced the role of assessment in educational reform to accountability (Abell & Volkmann, 2006; Brickhouse, 2006; Darling-Hammond, 2003; Davis et al., in press; DeBoer, 2002; Delandshere, 2002; Southerland & Hutner, in press; Stiggins, 2004). Several science educators, who view learning as more than just what is revealed through a single standardized test, find this approach to educational reform problematic (Abell & Volkmann, 2006; Brickhouse, 2006; Davis et al., in press; DeBoer, 2002; Southerland & Hutner, in press). These scholars maintain that the increasing focus on ensuring high test scores has pressured teachers to reduce the role of assessment to the accountability purposes and the content of science teaching to students' acquisition of only the knowledge and skills necessary for passing the test. Although the pressure that the standardized tests generate influences what teachers assess in students' learning and how they go about assessing what they teach (Brickhouse, 2006; Darling-Hammond, 2003; Popham, 2006; Stiggins, 2004), other factors may also influence how teachers come to assess students' learning. For instance, teachers' conceptions of assessment may fail to reinforce the goals of science education reform documents. Furthermore, teachers' epistemic views of science and their pedagogical conceptions may also have an impact on what teachers assess and how they go about assessing students' learning in science. Finally, research indicates that the political and cultural structures have an impact on teachers' conceptions and practices of assessment (Berliner, 2006; Darling-Hammond, 2003; Southerland & Hutner, in press; Stiggins, 2004). It follows that characterizing the challenges of enacting assessment reform in science classroom includes exploring science teachers' professional knowledge base (epistemic views of science, pedagogical conceptions and their conceptions of assessment), and influences of the cultural and political structures. In this study, I focus on characterizing three high school science teachers' conceptions and practices of assessment to develop an in-depth understanding into the problems with the implementation of assessment reform in science classroom. In addition to three teachers' conceptions and practices of assessment I analyzed the major science education reform document such as NSES (NRC, 1996) as well as policy initiatives such as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). My dissertation reveals that although the political and cultural structures of the school system influence what teachers teach in science classrooms and how they go about assessing students' learning in science, the fundamental challenge to the implementation of assessment reform in science classroom is teachers' naïve pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) base. Furthermore, although my findings suggest a nested relationship between science teachers' epistemic views of science, their pedagogical conceptions and their conceptions of assessment, there is no relationship between science teachers' teachers' epistemic views of science, their pedagogical conceptions, their conceptions of assessment and their assessment practices. This is partly due to the influence of the political and cultural structures of the school system and partly due to teachers' naïve understanding of the nested relationships between various constructs (epistemic beliefs, pedagogical beliefs, assessment beliefs), that make up their conceptual ecology (Southerland, Johnston & Sowell, 2006). In my conclusions I argue that in order for the assessment reform to take place in science classrooms, teacher educators must help pre-service and in-service teachers to develop a sophisticated PCK base. This involves helping teachers to develop sophisticated epistemic views of science, sophisticated pedagogical conceptions, and sophisticated conceptions of assessment. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Middle and Secondary Education in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: June 6, 2006. / Assessment Reform, Science Education, Assessment of Learning, Standardized Testing, v / Includes bibliographical references. / Nancy T. Davis, Professor Directing Dissertation; John Dorsey, Outside Committee Member; Sherry Southerland, Committee Member; Penny J. Gilmer, Committee Member.