The Boy's Forum: An Evaluation of a Brief Intervention to Empower Middle-School Urban Boys

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. O'Neil ◽  
Clewiston Challenger ◽  
Sara Renzulli ◽  
Bryce Crapser ◽  
Emily Webster
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Brief Intervention ◽  
Urban Boys

scholarly journals Reappraising academic and social adversity improves middle school students’ academic achievement, behavior, and well-being

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (33) ◽  
pp. 16286-16291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey D. Borman ◽  
Christopher S. Rozek ◽  
Jaymes Pyne ◽  
Paul Hanselman
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Brief Intervention ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Well Being ◽  
School Students ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Grade Point

The period of early adolescence is characterized by dramatic changes, simultaneously affecting physiological, psychological, social, and cognitive development. The physical transition from elementary to middle school can exacerbate the stress and adversity experienced during this critical life stage. Middle school students often struggle to find social and emotional support, and many students experience a decreased sense of belonging in school, diverting students from promising academic and career trajectories. Drawing on psychological insights for promoting belonging, we fielded a brief intervention designed to help students reappraise concerns about fitting in at the start of middle school as both temporary and normal. We conducted a district-wide double-blind experimental study of this approach with middle school students (n = 1,304). Compared with the control condition activities, the intervention reduced sixth-grade disciplinary incidents across the district by 34%, increased attendance by 12%, and reduced the number of failing grades by 18%. Differences in benefits across demographic groups were not statistically significant, but some impacts were descriptively larger for historically underserved minority students and boys. A mediational analysis suggested 80% of long-term intervention effects on students’ grade point averages were accounted for by changes in students’ attitudes and behaviors. These results demonstrate the long-term benefits of psychologically reappraising stressful experiences during critical transitions and the psychological and behavioral mechanisms that support them. Furthermore, this brief intervention is a highly cost-effective and scalable approach that schools may use to help address the troubling decline in positive attitudes and academic outcomes typically accompanying adolescence and the middle school transition.

Adolescent Students Who Stutter: A Qualitative Exploration of School Experiences

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 1327-1336
Author(s):  
Tiffany R. Cobb ◽  
Derek E. Daniels ◽  
James Panico
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Middle School ◽  
Peer Relationships ◽  
Speech Therapy ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Image Data ◽  
School Experiences ◽  
Adolescent Students ◽  
Therapy Decision ◽  
Qualitative Phenomenological

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which adolescent students who stutter perceive their school experiences. Method This study used a qualitative, phenomenological research design. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 7 adolescent students who stutter (3 in middle school and 4 in high school). Participants were interviewed about their school experiences, including the effects of stuttering on academics, learning, teacher relationships, peer relationships, speech therapy experiences, and self-image. Data analysis consisted of transcribing interviews and analyzing them for emerging themes. Results Findings revealed that participants described a variety of experiences around the school setting. Participants reported less favorable middle school experiences. Middle school participants reflected more on teasing, bullying, and feelings of embarrassment, whereas high school participants revealed that teachers, staff, and peers were receptive and accepting of them and their stuttering. All participants reported that their speech therapy helped with classroom participation. Conclusions As a result of the participants' varied experiences, it is important to listen to and incorporate the voices of students who stutter into school, classroom, and therapy decision-making practices.

The Effect of Vocabulary Intervention on Text Comprehension: Who Benefits?

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 562-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawna Duff
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Text Comprehension ◽  
Classroom Instruction ◽  
Vocabulary Instruction ◽  
Clinical Intervention ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Vocabulary Intervention ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Difference

Purpose Vocabulary intervention can improve comprehension of texts containing taught words, but it is unclear if all middle school readers get this benefit. This study tests 2 hypotheses about variables that predict response to vocabulary treatment on text comprehension: gains in vocabulary knowledge due to treatment and pretreatment reading comprehension scores. Method Students in Grade 6 ( N = 23) completed a 5-session intervention based on robust vocabulary instruction (RVI). Knowledge of the semantics of taught words was measured pre- and posttreatment. Participants then read 2 matched texts, 1 containing taught words (treated) and 1 not (untreated). Treated texts and taught word lists were counterbalanced across participants. The difference between text comprehension scores in treated and untreated conditions was taken as a measure of the effect of RVI on text comprehension. Results RVI resulted in significant gains in knowledge of taught words ( d RM = 2.26) and text comprehension ( d RM = 0.31). The extent of gains in vocabulary knowledge after vocabulary treatment did not predict the effect of RVI on comprehension of texts. However, untreated reading comprehension scores moderated the effect of the vocabulary treatment on text comprehension: Lower reading comprehension was associated with greater gains in text comprehension. Readers with comprehension scores below the mean experienced large gains in comprehension, but those with average/above average reading comprehension scores did not. Conclusion Vocabulary instruction had a larger effect on text comprehension for readers in Grade 6 who had lower untreated reading comprehension scores. In contrast, the amount that children learned about taught vocabulary did not predict the effect of vocabulary instruction on text comprehension. This has implications for the identification of 6th-grade students who would benefit from classroom instruction or clinical intervention targeting vocabulary knowledge.

Mental Contrasting of Future and Reality

2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 138-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriele Oettingen ◽  
Doris Mayer ◽  
Babette Brinkmann
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Brief Intervention ◽  
Middle Level ◽  
The Other ◽  
Metacognitive Strategy ◽  
Mental Contrasting ◽  
Low Expectations

Mental contrasting of a desired future with present reality leads to expectancy-dependent goal commitments, whereas focusing on the desired future only makes people commit to goals regardless of their high or low expectations for success. In the present brief intervention we randomly assigned middle-level managers (N = 52) to two conditions. Participants in one condition were taught to use mental contrasting regarding their everyday concerns, while participants in the other condition were taught to indulge. Two weeks later, participants in the mental-contrasting condition reported to have fared better in managing their time and decision making during everyday life than those in the indulging condition. By helping people to set expectancy-dependent goals, teaching the metacognitive strategy of mental contrasting can be a cost- and time-effective tool to help people manage the demands of their everyday life.

Traumatic experiences and associated symptomatology in Asian American middle school students.

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-223
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Davies-Mercier ◽  
Michelle W. Woodbridge ◽  
W. Carl Sumi ◽  
S. Patrick Thornton ◽  
Katrina D. Roundfield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Traumatic Experiences ◽  
School Students

Selection into, and academic benefits from, arts-related courses in middle school among low-income, ethnically diverse youth.

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 415-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Winsler ◽  
Taylor V. Gara ◽  
Alenamie Alegrado ◽  
Sonia Castro ◽  
Tanya Tavassolie
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Ethnically Diverse ◽  
Academic Benefits ◽  
Diverse Youth
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