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The purpose of this study was to determine whether teaching students about the structure of a text would be associated with improved reading comprehension. Science texts were used with the intention of adding to what is known about content-area reading comprehension. To investigate the effects of teaching science text structure, a reading comprehension program called Comprehending Science Texts with Structure (CSTS) was developed and tested using an true experimental design. Importantly, the study was conducted in China with Mandarin-speaking students, with whom there has been a great shortage of reading research. The CSTS program is a 15-lesson reading comprehension program designed to teach middle school students how to comprehend science texts by using three text structure strategies, namely asking generic questions (GQs), using graphic organizers (GOs), and summary writing (SW). A total of 88 sixth grade students participated in this study and were randomly assigned to either the CSTS intervention group or the content-only control group. After the completion of the CSTS program, students’ text structure knowledge and reading comprehension were measured using researcher-designed measures of the comprehension of both science and generic text. The generic text was used in order to investigate near-transfer effects. Far transfer was measured post-intervention through the use of two standardized reading tests, one taken from a state assessment and the other from the PISA reading test. Results from multivariate analyses of covariance indicated that, overall, students in the treatment group significantly outperformed their counterparts in the control group after controlling for pretest reading skill and science knowledge. Specifically, students who received the CSTS intervention showed significant acquisition of science texts structure knowledge and also significantly outperformed the controls in the comprehension of science texts. The results also demonstrated the near-transfer effects of the CSTS from science texts to generic texts; here, students in the treatment group significantly gained generic text structure knowledge and also significantly outperformed the controls in the comprehension of generic texts significant. A far-transfer effect, however, was not found, as the two groups did not show a statistically significant difference in performance on the post-test standardized reading comprehension tests.

The purpose of this study was to determine if middle school student scientific understanding could be predicted by the variables: standardized 5th grade score in science, standardized 5th grade score in mathematics, standardized 5th grade score in reading, student attitude towards science, socioeconomic status, gender, and ethnicity. The areas of the comprehensive literature review were trends in science learning and teaching, research in the K-12 science education arena, what factors have influenced K-12 science education, scientific understanding, what research has been done on K-12 scientific understanding, and what factors have influenced science understanding in the K-12 arenas. Based on the results of the literature review, the researcher of this study examined a sample of middle school 8th grade students. An Attitude Towards Science Survey (SATS) Simpson & Oliver (1990) and a Survey of Scientific Understandings (Klapper, DeLucia, & Trent, 1993) were administered to these 116 middle school 8th grade students drawn from a total population of 1109 who attend this middle school in a typical county in Florida during the 2010- 2011 school year. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to test each sub-hypothesis and to provide a model that attempted to predict student scientific understanding. Seven null sub-hypotheses were formed to determine if there were significant relationships between student scientific understanding and the abovementioned variables. The results of the tests of the seven null sub-hypotheses showed that the sub-hypothesis that involved socioeconomic status was rejected, which indicated that the socioeconomic status of a family does influence the level of scientific understanding of a student. / Low SES students performed lower on the scientific understanding survey, on average, than high SES students. This study can be a source of information for teachers in low-income schools by recognizing potential areas of concern for low-income students in their science classrooms. The study is also a guide for administrators in developing science curriculum that is designed to remediate critical science content. Recommendations, further research, and implications for stakeholders in the science education process are then identified in order to focus on the concerns that these stakeholders need to address through a needs assessment. / by Joshua Matthew Strate. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

A teacher may say, "I have twenty years of experience," but just what does it mean? This study suggests explanations for the meaning of "Experience," not by looking at the number of years in a classroom, but at what teachers did in those years that could make the teaching experience equivalent to years of personal growth and development. Three Middle Level Science teachers' experiences were observed over two separate units of instruction. Teachers were engaged in conversations before, during and after every observation, such that their talk gave meaning to teaching. The teachers, early in their units, experienced tensions (stresses and anxieties) that affected their planning and implementation of teaching. The study determined that the teachers' learning experiences and personal growth were directly related to how they met the challenge of tensions. One teacher with very little science knowledge met the challenge of tensions in teaching by integrating her new science knowledge with her English and History knowledge and repertoire. She developed new practices that increased her energy and confidence in such a way that became self-sustaining experiences and growth. Two other teachers, despite science backgrounds, were less successful in meeting the challenge of tensions in teaching. Each found that the contents of the selected units required study and preparation, yet the teachers acquired information rather than truly learning the new subject matter. These teachers, in meeting the tensions of teaching, felt their energies wane, which reduced their dedication and effectiveness. As a result, neither teacher experienced personal growth. The negative experiences resulted in each teacher becoming more entrenched in a lecture mode of teaching to escape the tensions that existed. Learning new subject matter can produce tensions leading to experiences which affect teaching and potential for teacher growth. Incremental amounts of growth are possible, but only if a teacher responds positively to and meets the challenge of tensions in teaching, minute by minute, class by class. / Graduation date: 2003

The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of a co-curricular program on the behavior of seriously emotionally disturbed (SED) middle school students. Co-curricular activities are any school-based activities that give students an opportunity to blend the various aspects of their academic learning with personal actions. This was an action research study conducted in a middle school special education program. The participants were 10 middle school students identified as seriously emotionally disturbed. These students participated in the planning and evaluation of their involvement in co-curricular activities during this year long study. Participant observations, interviews, student and staff journals, and documentary evidence provided data for the development of case records. The study generated the following results: Participation in co-curricular activities increased the sense of belonging for these students at this middle school. Seriously emotionally disturbed students reported that adult mentors significantly influenced their level of success. Seriously emotionally disturbed students had higher grade point averages and better attendance and fewer disciplinary issues during this study. During co-curricular activities, these students demonstrated leadership, thinking, communication, and cooperative learning skills that were not apparent in the regular classroom settings. Seriously emotionally disturbed students responded favorably to a solution-focused model of education. Parents reported that their students engaged in more leisure activities involving peers outside school, and were easier to live with at home. Students identified the privilege of participating in co-curricular activities as motivating them to minimize their past use of counter-productive social strategies during interactions with peers and adults. Latino students found it difficult to participate in activities with Anglos if other Latinos did not view the activity as acceptable. The primary implication of this research for schools is that co-curricular programs appeared to increase the sense of belonging for middle school SED students which influenced more positive social and academic behaviors. / Graduation date: 1999

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 307-339).

The intention of this study was to explore the relationships between Thai middle school girls' and boys' attitudes and beliefs about mathematics and mathematics achievement, future mathematics coursework intentions, and career interests. Participants in this study were 523 students who were enrolled in The Chiang Mai University Demonstration School during the first semester of the 1999 school year. In order to measure the students' attitudes and beliefs about mathematics, a questionnaire was developed from the Fennema-Sherman Attitudes Scale (Mulhern & Rae, 1998) and Indiana Mathematics Beliefs Scale (Kloosterman & Stage, 1992). Students' mathematics achievement was obtained from their final mathematics grades at the end of the semester. Students' future mathematics coursework intentions questionnaire was developed from Throndike-Christ's (1991) study. Finally, students' career interests questionnaire was rated according to Goldman and Hewitt's (1976) science/math continuum. The findings revealed that Thai middle school students had positive attitudes and beliefs about mathematics. The students had good mathematics achievement and demonstrated a moderate likelihood to take optional future mathematics coursework. Many students were interested in careers related to mathematics and science fields. Focusing on grade level, those students in higher grades expressed lower motivation, confidence in learning mathematics, and mathematics achievement. On the other hand, they showed stronger beliefs about mathematics as a male domain and the usefulness of mathematics and had stronger interests in careers related to mathematics and science fields than students in lower grades. Overall, no gender differences in motivation and confidence in learning mathematics surfaced. However, gender differences favoring boys were found in students' beliefs about mathematics as a male domain, the usefulness of mathematics, the importance of understanding concepts in mathematics, and increasing mathematical ability by effort. Boys also indicated more willingness to take optional mathematics coursework and displayed stronger interests in careers related to mathematics and science fields. The only gender difference favoring girls was mathematics achievement. The regression findings revealed that attitudes and beliefs about mathematics variables were predictive of students' mathematics achievement, future mathematics coursework intentions, and career interests. / Graduation date: 2000

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2002. / Title from title page screen, viewed Aug. 13, 2004. Dissertation Committee: Deborah J. Curtis, Kathleen Marie Crawford (co-chairs), Robert L. Fisher. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-119) and abstract. Also available in print.

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