Currently, most students with disabilities (SWDs) receive a majority of their education in the general education classroom (U.S. Department of Education, 2019). This inclusive practice reflects educational and accountability requirements described in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) and the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015). To address these requirements, schools seek service delivery models that support SWDs and close achievement gaps (Murawski & Goodwin, 2014). In this study, the researcher investigated the lived experiences of highly effective middle school teachers using co-teaching as a service delivery model to support SWDs in the general education classroom. The researcher used a phenomenological qualitative approach for this study. The research was conducted in a large urban district in the western United States. The researcher conducted face-to-face interviews with individual teachers with three pairs of co-teachers assigned to a co-teach model in a middle school mathematics classroom. The researcher was also able to observe one planning session between one pair of co-teachers. Using a spiral analysis procedure, three themes emerged from the interview and observation data as well as six subthemes. The three themes were (a) collaboration of lesson development, (b) student learning, and (c) parity. The researcher described the themes using thick, rich descriptions, provides a connection between research and the findings, and suggests recommendations for future research.

This corpus-based, qualitative descriptive study examines the vocabulary in digital science resources for middle school students in the United States. In brief, two corpora, each of approximately 2.7 million tokens, were assembled: the Digital Science Corpus (DSC) and the Digital Fiction Corpus (DFC). The 3,456 digital science resources included in the DSC were selected based on the findings of a detailed survey of 91 U.S.-based middle school teachers. In this study, AntWordProfile (Anthony, 2021), AntConc (Anthony, 2019), and WordSmith Tools (Scott, 2020) were used to (a) lexically profile the corpus to determine the vocabulary load of vocabulary in the corpus, (b) lexically profile the corpus to estimate the extent to which a combination of well-known word lists (GSL+AWL+ EAP Science List, the top 570 AVL word families, GSL+MSVL for Science) might help students to reach text coverage that could result in reasonable comprehension of the texts in the corpus (i.e., lexical coverage), and (c) create a Digital Science List (DSL) that captures the most frequent words types in the corpus. The word types in the DSL were validated with the Digital Fiction Corpus (DFC), a corpus formed from an approximately equal number of tokens as the DSC but gathered from fiction novels. The findings of this study show that the top 570 word families in the AVL (Gardner & Davies, 2014) provide 75% more lexical coverage in the digital corpus than the 570 word families in the older AWL (Coxhead, 2000) (10.07% vs. 5.76%). To reach a threshold of 95% coverage that is conventionally deemed to facilitate minimal reading comprehension (Laufer, 2020), middle school (MS) students must recognize the first 6,000 most frequent BNC/COCA (Nation, 2012) word families plus proper nouns or the first 11,000 most frequent BNC/COCA word families without proper nouns. Furthermore, to reach 98% coverage for optimal reading comprehension of digital science texts requires recognizing words within the 19,000 most frequent word families in the BNC/COCA plus proper nouns. In contrast, the GSL, AWL, and EAP Science List with far fewer word families ( < 3,000) offer a striking 88.35% lexical coverage across the corpus, while the GSL and the MSVL for Science with fewer than 2,500 word families offer a remarkable 87.79% lexical coverage across the corpus. The DSL produced from this research identified 412 types based on seven corpus-based and judgment-based criteria. The lexical profiling analysis of the DSL across the DSC revealed that the DSL provides 8.64% lexical coverage. While the DSL can be used as a teaching and learning tool in middle school classrooms, this list is specifically helpful for second language (L2) because it contains 136 general high-frequency types with a specialized meaning (e.g., dating, work, etc.). The study addresses methodological, theoretical, and pedagogical implications so that middle school learners can gain better support in their science vocabulary development and achieve better science reading comprehension of digital science texts.

This qualitative, ethnographically informed case-study examines how social, psychological, and organizational factors of a culture impact writing instruction and practice within an English Language Arts middle school class. In order to explore possible reasons for stagnant writing instruction in middle schools, two research questions guided this study: (RQ1) What do the components of writing instruction look like in one middle school class?, and (RQ2) How does one middle school ELA class exhibit identity distinction, writing development, and discourse surrounding writing instruction? I examined how one middle school class exhibits identity distinction among students and teachers within writing, development of writing, and discourse surrounding writing instruction and practice. Data were collected through observations, field notes, interviews, and cultural artifacts (i.e., lesson plans, student data, student work samples, and district curriculum) over a five week period for a total of 18 data collection days (16 of which were observations). Observations were conducted in one seventh grade teacher's class period and lesson planning meetings. The seventh grade teacher, students, and Testing Coordinator were interviewed for member checking sessions pertaining to observations and student work. Semi-structured interview verbatim transcripts were audio recorded and transcribed, after which the following themes emerged: understanding of writing instruction, understanding of writing workshop, confidence in students' writing abilities, establishing spaces for student engagement, feedback on student writing, and teacher and student identities. Also included are recommendations for establishing a positive writing culture through improved middle school writing instruction.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the lived experiences and views of fourth- and fifth-grade math teachers who implemented project-based learning (PBL) addressed the needs of their at-risk students in urban schools. The researcher examined the use of PBL in mathematics-impacted instruction, seeking to understand teacher beliefs related to the influence of exposure to PBL experiences on students' academic outcomes. When deliberately planned and embedded into teaching, the implementation of PBL helps students retain content, improve attitudes about learning, and improve their ability to collaborate with others (Cervantes et al., 2015). A literature review was conducted to explore PBL and its relationship with constructivism, growth mindset, and cooperative learning and the degree to which these teaching methods affect student learning. A growth mindset enables students to consider inquiry, exploration, and student collaboration (Larmer et al., 2015). Also present in PBL are cooperative learning activities, which Slavin (2015) found encouraged students to work together on projects that required the inclusion and student application of content standards. Qualitative research methodology using the phenomenological method was implemented in this study. The study investigated the lived experiences of fourth and fifth-grade math teachers who implemented PBL in urban schools. The researcher interviewed teachers who have participated in project-based learning with their students. Results and discussion are included for the research question as well as implications of the findings, recommendations, and suggestions for future research.

High-quality and effective professional development is necessary and "…should be made available to all teachers" (Borko, 2004, p. 3). This dissertation focuses on teacher professional development (PD) and an exploration into the meaning teachers attribute to a PD experience. Stemming from interdisciplinary questions such as, how do we align PD to meet teachers' needs and expectations? and how do teachers learn?, this study aims to examine the experiences and meanings of specific sixth grade ELA teachers in their participation in District PD, a district-led PD series using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). IPA stems from qualitative and ontology research perspectives and captures the context of human experience, phenomena, and life. After thorough analysis of each participant interview transcript and reflection, the results of this dissertation shed light about the reality of the District PD experience for each of the three participants. Moreover, these findings indicated five themes: Teacher Embodiment, the District PD Experience, the Meaning of PD, the Success and Value of District PD, and Unexpected Findings. These themes demonstrated the need for teachers to be heard, their epistemological beliefs to be acknowledged, their meanings of a PD experience, and the design of PD that enhances task value, expectancies for success, and cost across all PD experiences. Results suggested the flexibility of IPA and its application to current PD practices of teachers' experiences and meaning. Implications and recommendations such as, a prescreening survey given to future participants would aid the development of an aligned PD for teacher participations and collecting data across all four sessions of District PD would better inform this phenomenon. Further research into teacher PD and IPA across other disciplines are also presented and discussed. These include researching participatory research approaches, a longitudinal study of District PD over a course of two years, and the intersectionality of teacher PD, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, and Expectancy Value Theory (EVT).

The objective of the study was to research the impact 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) has on Title 1 middle school students in Seminole County. A mixed methods design was used to interview and survey teachers working for the after-school program, and student data was collected to assist in identifying the impact of the program. Initially, interviews were conducted to research the implementation of the program. Following interviews, willing participants completed the survey sent out to all middle school teachers who work for 21st CCLC. The survey investigated how the vision of the program was presented to staff and students. Data was then collected from middle school students attending the program from 2015 to 2017. The data collected was used to research whether there was a correlation between students' attending the after-school program and their Florida State Assessment (FSA) scores as well as their grade point average (GPA) in school. Qualitative data was collected and coded from teachers. There was a variance between each site on the implementation and vision of the after-school program as stated by the grant. Student data displayed that there was no correlation between students' attending the program and FSA scores. There was a correlation between students' GPA and their attendance at the after-school tutoring program. Further investigation is necessary to research larger sample sizes outside of Seminole County.

Teachers are asked every day to teach a variety of subjects to their students, but it is often challenging to find enough time in the day to teach every subject. Often, social studies is the subject that gets left out of the curriculum. The purpose of this project was to examine the research behind thematic units and determine their role as a strategy to teaching social studies in the intermediate grades classroom. I researched thematic units including how to create them and their benefits and challenges. Using the research, I then made a resource for teachers to create their own thematic unit. This resource includes the steps to use to create a unit and how to find quality children’s literature to use in the unit. It also includes how to plan the unit and examine the standards then brainstorm ideas for lessons in the unit. Titles of children’s literature that relate to the thematic unit are included. The resource also includes a sample social studies thematic unit that teachers can use as a guide to create their own units.

Georgia school districts have been concerned with the social and academic outcomes of looping middle school students. School district administrators need research-based findings to determine the effectiveness of middle school looping programs which place middle school students and teacher(s) together for 2 or more consecutive years. The purpose of this quantitative study was to analyze standardized testing data and perceptions of 240 middle school students. This study was grounded in the social development theory as it pertains to the academic and social outcomes of adolescent middle school students. The research questions for this study focused on social experiences, conduct, and achievement on standardized tests of looping and nonlooping middle school students. Self-report data were collected through a researcher-designed survey containing Likert-type scale response items. Self-report data, Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) and Georgia 8th Grade Writing Assessment scores were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square testing, mean comparisons, and the ANOVA one-way test for variance. The findings indicated (a) that looping has a positive impact on the social experiences perceived by middle school students, but (b) has no measurable impact on student conduct, and (c) a positive correlation between reading, writing, and math achievement on standardized tests and the degree of looping participation. The implementation of the looping design in American middle schools will provide positive social change by increasing academic achievement and positively influencing the social well-being of middle school students. School reform advocates must focus their efforts on promoting the looping design, and school leaders must break away from the traditional middle school concept and select a more appropriate design to better meet the needs of adolescent learners.

Researchers have theorized that student achievement and its contingent effects on self-efficacy are important factors in art education. There is, however, a paucity of research addressing this relationship, which in turn affects students' and educators' levels of success. Accordingly, this study was an investigation of the relationship between art education and self-efficacy in middle school students and tested the constructivist theory, as embodied in Bandera's theories on the foundations of self-efficacy beliefs. This pretest-posttest control-group true experimental design tested the relationship between the independent variable, art education and the dependent variable, self-efficacy in middle school students. The instrument, Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales (PALS), was employed to gather data from a treatment group (n = 60) receiving art education and a comparison-control group (n = 60) who had never taken middle school art. These quantitative data were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA. Inferential statistics yielded nonsignificant findings for the treatment group except on 1 of 14 scales, the Self-Presentation of Low Achievement Scale. Both descriptive and inferential data reinforced that levels of self-efficacy remained in the low to moderate range throughout the testing period for all participants. These reported self-efficacy profiles provided pathways for facilitating social change by driving the development of guidelines for middle school curriculum programs that support and assess the development of adolescents' self-efficacy. Furthermore, results pointed to the need for additional empirical studies that will help educators and communities better understand the relationship between art education and overall academic achievement.

International research on bullying suggests that bullying is pervasive in schools and the workplace. Most researchers concur that bullying behavior is a disruptive factor to the social and educational well-being of students. Previous research, grounded in social and family systems theory, has indicated those who bully tend to be involved in self-destructive and delinquent behaviors. Additionally, in the only-large scale study on bullying behaviors, 29% of the 10th-grade student body admitted to being bullied that school year. Further, in a new study conducted by the Josephson Institute of Ethics, half of all high school students reported that they have bullied another student. In spite of these studies, there remains a paucity of information in the literature regarding what distinguishes bullies from other students in terms of family factors such as family size, family composition, and birth order. Little has been conducted on which variables in the home contribute to being labeled a bully. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationships that exist between reported middle-school bullying and each of the above-named family variables. This study examined archival data from a standardized bully questionnaire completed by middle school students. A correlational analysis approach of the bully subscale score and family factors indicate that having a small family size and living with both parents are associated with a lower probability of engaging in bullying behavior. This research yields insight on relationships between bullying behaviors and family variables. Implications for social change included better assessment of, identification of risk factors of bullying behaviors which can lead to a more comprehensive model of bullying strategies that includes broadening our understanding of bullies as being part of a family system versus as an isolated individual.