Adolescent Literacy and Textbooks: An Annotated Bibliography

A companion report to Carnegie's Time to Act, provides an annotated bibliography of research on textbook design and reading comprehension for fourth through twelfth grade, arranged by topic. Calls for a dialogue between publishers and researchers

Student experiences of technology integration in school subjects: A comparison across four middle schools

This research examined student perspectives on their in-school, subject specific, technology use in four U.S. public schools. Considering students’ perspectives may provide a significant reframing of adult-created rhetoric of the utopian power of digital technologies for changing teaching and learning. A survey and focus group interviews were administered to 6th and 7th students (n=1,544) in four public middle schools, with varying demographics, that rely on local funding. These four schools revealed moderate use of many well-established digital technologies, such as word processing, presentation software, and quiz games. Students voiced outright hatred for teacher-directed PowerPoint-supported lectures, the most prominent technology activity students experienced, yet reported enjoying creation activities. The students in the rural school with a Hispanic-majority and high economically disadvantaged population reported much lower technology use. Discussion frame the digital inequities in the four schools and emphasizes the need for awareness and inclusion of students’ digital experiences to form any trajectory toward establishing digital equity and learning in schools

VIEWS OF TEACHERS AND 7TH GRADERS ON AN ENRICHED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT DESIGNED FOR IMPROVING MATHEMATICAL REASONING

The purpose of the present study is to reveal the views of middle school mathematics teachers and students regarding a learning environment designed around different methods for improving Mathematical Reasoning (MR). The study was conducted with 27 seventh grade students studying at a randomly selected state school in a city center in Turkey, the teacher who instructs these students’ mathematics courses, and another mathematics teacher employed at the school. For eight weeks (32 class hours in total), the students were instructed on the subjects of fractions and integers through educational games, concrete materials, cartoons, computer-assisted applications, association with daily life, and collaborative group argumentation. Data for the study were collected through interviews conducted with participants, observations of the teachers, and diaries kept by the students throughout the implementation process. The data were analyzed using a content analysis technique. Evidence was found that this environment improved the MR of students, provided effective and permanent learning, and increased attendance at lessons, but the teachers and the students also agreed that it had different effects in terms of classroom management such as noise, control over the classroom, lack of exam marks, not taking notes, time problems, and effects on students’ success in their central exams. It is also possible to say that, with the help of open-ended high-level problems, students tried to provide solutions instead of focusing on choices for answers, and thus they used more MR skill. Article visualizations

Exploring Current Practice of Using Technology to Support Collaborative Argumentation in Science Classrooms

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how middle school science teachers enact the practice of using technology to support collaborative argumentation in their science classroom. This study employed qualitative case study and drew on data sources of interviews and observations. This study identified two themes. Six teachers regarded scientific argumentation as an important science practice, but five of them integrated this practice into their science class without formally introducing it. All teachers integrated different forms of technology to engage students in scientific argumentation. In this study, the findings suggested there is a need to provide professional development for teachers to learn about scientific argumentation. The findings can be used as a basis for the design and development of professional development training experiences for in-servic

Teachers' and students' views and attitudes towards a new mathematics curriculum: A case study

The education system in Portugal is in the midst of a period of intensive reform. This paper describes the findings of a qualitative case study focusing on the views and attitudes of teachers and students participating in a pilot curriculum development programme stressing active methodologies and group work, conducted by the Ministry of Education In particular it discusses their views and attitudes about mathematics, mathematics teaching and curriculum innovation. The teachers were found to struggle with a contradiction: whilst they approved the new orientations, which were seen as adequate and innovative, they complained strongly about the design and implementation of the programme Students had a generally positive attitude towards mathematics, although there were differences among them. The 7th graders were satisfied with their mathematics classes and with the new curriculum. The 10th graders did not consider the changes as significant in themselves, but expressed concern for their academic progress

Investigation of the Effect of the Simulation Method on Academic Achievement in Science with 7th graders in Science Course

This study aimed to investigate the effect of the simulation method on the academic achievement of the 7th-graders in secondary school in the science course. The %252339%253BLight%252339%253B unit was selected as a subject. The research was carried out with the participation of 98 students (Experiment, n %253D 52 and Control, n %253D 46) at a secondary school in the city center of Çanakkale in the spring term of 2013-2014 academic year. It was an experimental study with the pretest-posttest control group. This study collected data with the Science Academic Achievement Test (SAAT) developed by Benli, Sarıkaya and Kayabaşı (2012). Since the validity and reliability studies of the SAAT were conducted in Çanakkale, it was recalculated and found suitable in terms of validity and reliability. In the control group, the constructivist approach was employed while in the experimental group, the simulation method was implemented. The pretest results showed no significant differences between the experimental and control groups in terms of academic achievement. When the SAAT posttest scores of the students in both groups, that is, in the control and experimental groups, were examined, the average score in favor of the experimental group was found to be higher. At the end of the study, when the SAAT posttest scores of the students in both groups were examined, the average score in favor of the experimental group was found to be higher

A systematic review of experimental researches on the learning fields of numbers and operations in middle schools: The case of Turkey

The numbers and operations learning field in the mathematics curriculum is very important regarding the number of gains and course hours. In this review, experimental studies related to the sub-learning fields of the number and operations learning field were reviewed according to methodological characteristics and Turkey's demographic. 90 theses and 23 articles published between the years 2006-2021 were reviewed through a systematic literature review. "Fractions" was the most investigated sub-learning field both in theses and articles. Regarding dependent variables, academic achievement and attitude towards mathematics were the most studied variables in both theses and articles. All sub-learning fields of the number and operations learning field, which occupy an important place in the secondary school mathematics curriculum, were reviewed. Different aspects of the most and least studied learning fields were discussed. The results are expected to shed light on the academicians researching the secondary school mathematics curriculum. It is suggested that the researchers should focus on less-studied subjects of the 8th-grade curriculum and fill the areas deemed incomplete

The Development and Validation of Science Virtual Test to Assess 7th Grade Students' Critical Thinking on Matter and Heat Topic

An efficient way to improve the quality of education in critical thinking is developing the better tests. The test has been shifted towards the use of computer-based procedures. Lack of specific topic of critical thinking tests in science and the advanced of technology made the researcher intended to develop and validate a test to measure students' critical thinking in the matter and heat topic based on computer for seventh grade junior high school. Generally, the process of developing and validating the test consists of 5 steps: (1) content analysis; (2) constructing multiple choice items; (3) readability test and expert validation; (4) limited tryout; and (5) larger application. Based on larger application, it is obtained the reliability value, difficulty level, discriminating power and distractor quality. The method that used in this research was descriptive. The subject was 117 students of public Junior High School in Kabupaten Bandung. The instrument validation resulted 30 items that represent 8 elements and 21 sub-elements to measure students' critical thinking based on Inch in matter and heat topic. The instrument is further called as Science Virtual Test Matter and Heat (SVT-MH). The alpha Cronbach (α) is 0.642 which means that the instrument is sufficient to measure students' critical thinking matter and heat topic. The result also shows the profile of students in critical thinking is 73% categorized as ‘moderate', while students respond the positive impression towards the use of SVT-MH.KeywordsScience virtual test, critical thinking, matter and heat, readability test, validity, reliability, students' impressio