Readers Write: October 2001

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-69
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
School Students ◽  
Special Operations ◽  
Square Roots ◽  
The Future ◽  
Eighth Grade Students ◽  
One Year ◽  
Fine Publication

I WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT ON THE “Four Fours” letter that appeared in the February 2001 issue (p. 340). I have assigned this problem several times in the course of teaching middle school students and have always been impressed with the results. One year, I challenged the students to generate the numbers between 0 and 100 using only four 4s and the basic operations, as well as factorials, square roots, and exponents. (I had not heard of the “next to” operation that was discussed in the letter but will allow its use in the future.) In the letter, Barry D. Cohen writes that he does not believe that 19 can be made using any of the regular or special operations and suggests that it requires the use of .4. I was not sure how to generate 19 with .4, but one of my eighth-grade students was able to generate it in this manner: 19 = 4! −(4 + 4/4). This student was unable to find solutions for a few other numbers between 0 and 100, including 35, 37, 43, and 51, and several in the 70s and 80s. I would love to hear if anyone has results for these numbers. Thank you for putting out such a fine publication.

scholarly journals Effect of Vigorous Physical Activity on Executive Control in Middle-School Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (20) ◽  
pp. 3949 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. Phillips ◽  
James C. Hannon ◽  
Bradley B. Gregory ◽  
Ryan D. Burns
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Middle School ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Vigorous Physical Activity ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
School Students ◽  
Eighth Grade Students ◽  
The U.S

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the acute effect of vigorous physical activity on executive control in eighth grade students from the U.S. Participants were eighth grade students (N = 68; 26 girls, 42 boys) recruited from one middle school located in the Mountain West region of the U.S. Two groups of participants were assigned to receive either a vigorous physical activity or a sedentary condition within a counter-balanced cross-over design using a 2-week washout. Both groups were administered Trails Making Tests A (TMT-A) and B (TMT-B) at 20- and 25-min post-treatment, respectively. Mixed design ANOVA tests with repeated measures examined differences between treatments on TMT-A and TMT-B performance and the modifying effect of sex. Students who completed the physical activity condition displayed a faster time to completion on the TMT-B compared to students who completed the sedentary condition (Mean difference = −6.5 s, p = 0.026, d = 0.42). There were no differences between treatment groups on TMT-A and no sex × treatment interactions (p > 0.05). This pilot study suggests that vigorous physical activity may improve executive control in middle-school students and adds to the existent literature that continues to examine the emerging link between physical activity and cognition in school-based settings.

The Effect of Instructional Time Frequency on Middle School Students' Mathematics Achievement Scores

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 705
Author(s):  
Allison L. Temple ◽  
Shereeza F. Mohammed
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Mathematics Instruction ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
Instructional Time ◽  
School Students ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Achievement Data ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Eighth Grade Students

To achieve the goal of 100% proficiency for all students in mathematics, a middle school in a large urban public school district in Omaha, Nebraska increased the frequency of instructional time in mathematics instruction for a group of seventh and eighth grade students. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in the performance of seventh and eighth grade students on the Nebraska State Accountability Mathematics Assessment (NeSA-M) using different frequencies of mathematics instruction, provided daily versus every-other-day. The Continuous Improvement Theory and Bloom’s Mastery Learning model were used as frameworks to investigate math achievement.  A quantitative causal-comparative study was conducted using ex post facto achievement data. The analysis included the comparison of the mean differences in NeSA-M scores for seventh and eighth grade students using an independent samples t test. This analysis was completed to see if block scheduling frequency daily versus every other day was effective with student achievement for each grade level. There were unexpected results from this study as the two grade levels demonstrated different effects from the influence of increased instructional time on the growth of middle school students’ NeSA scores.

The Effectiveness of Equipment Provisions on Rural Middle School Students’ Physical Activity During Lunch Recess

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-295
Author(s):  
Hyeonho Yu ◽  
Pamela H. Kulinna ◽  
Shannon C. Mulhearn
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Visual Analysis ◽  
Leisure Activity ◽  
Environmental Intervention ◽  
School Students ◽  
Baseline Phase ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Eighth Grade Students

Background: Environmental provisions can boost students’ discretionary participation in physical activity (PA) during lunchtime at school. This study investigated the effectiveness of providing PA equipment as an environmental intervention on middle school students’ PA levels and stakeholders’ perceptions of the effectiveness of equipment provisions during school lunch recess. Methods: A baseline–intervention research design was used in this study with a first baseline phase followed by an intervention phase (ie, equipment provision phase). A total of 514 students at 2 middle schools (school 1 and school 2) in a rural area of the western United States were observed directly using the System for Observing Play and Leisure Activity in Youth instrument. Interviews were conducted with stakeholders. Paired-sample t tests and visual analysis were conducted to explore differences in PA levels by gender, and common comparison (with trustworthiness measures) was used with the interview data. Results: The overall percentage of moderate to vigorous PA levels was increased in both schools (ranging from 8.0% to 24.0%). In school 2, there was a significant difference in seventh- and eighth-grade students’ moderate to vigorous PA levels from the baseline. Three major themes were identified: (1) unmotivated, (2) unequipped, and (3) unquestionable changes (with students becoming more active). Conclusions: Environmental supports (access, equipment, and supervision) significantly and positively influenced middle school students’ lunchtime PA levels.

scholarly journals Investigation of Middle School Students’ Math Self-Efficacy Perceptions and Math Problem Posing Attitudes

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Sena Görgün ◽  
Canses Tican
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Attitude Scale ◽  
Problem Posing ◽  
Attitude Score ◽  
School Students ◽  
Math Problem ◽  
8Th Grade ◽  
Eighth Grade Students

The main purpose of the current study is to investigate middle school students’ math self-efficacy perceptions and math problem posing attitudes. The sample of the study is comprised of 990 fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade students attending middle school in the Fethiye district of the city of Muğla. As the data collection tool, the “Math Self-efficacy Perception Scale” and the “Math Problem Posing Attitude Scale” were used. In the analysis of the data collected through the qualitative research method, frequencies, percentages, independent-samples t-test, one-way variance analysis, post-hoc tests (Scheffe and Dunnett’s C) and correlation analysis were used. As a result, it was found that the middle school students’ math self-efficacy perceptions and math problem posing attitudes are over the medium level. The middle school students’ self-efficacy perceptions were found to be varying significantly depending on gender. The middle school students’ problem posing attitudes were found to be varying significantly depending on gender. The math self-efficacy perceptions and math problem posing attitudes of the 5th and 6th grade students were found to be significantly higher than those of the 7th and 8th grade students. A medium, positive and significant correlation was found between the middle school students’ mean math self-efficacy perception score and their mean math problem posing attitude score.

Class Clowns: A Study of Middle School Students

1978 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Bowman Damico ◽  
William W Purkey
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Teacher Ratings ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
School Students ◽  
Attitude Measures ◽  
School Attitude ◽  
Peer Nominations

From a sample of 3,500 eighth-grade pupils, 96 class clowns were identified by peer nominations on a sociometric form. These pupils were compared to a randomly selected sample of 237 nonclown classmates on the bases of teacher ratings and student self-esteem and school-attitude measures. Clowns were found to be predominantly males. Clowns were seen by their teachers to be higher than nonclowns in Asserting, Unruliness, Attention Seeking, Leadership, and Cheerfulness, and to be lower in Accomplishing. Clowns report lower attitudes toward teacher and principal than do nonclowns and see themselves as leaders and as being vocal in expressing ideas and opinions in front of their classmates.

Students Perspectives Of Bullying In Schools

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonni Gourneau
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Review Literature ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
Short Messages ◽  
Bullying In Schools

Bullying has proven to be a major problem in our society, one that can no longer be ignored. Unfortunately, every day children of various ages leave schools feeling scared, sad, anxious, and embarrassed, which greatly interferes with their ability to learn and to enjoy their childhood. This paper will review literature on bullying as well as the typical characteristics of the bully, the bullied, and the bystander. This paper will also describe a 2011 bullying survey and program that was presented to 500 middle school students by the author. In the Anti-Bullying Presentation, students were given short messages that could easily be remembered in the future when confronted with bullying situations. For example the scars that bullying leaves are like tattoos, everyone comes to school with a bag of chips; some bags are full and some only have crumbs left, everyone can make a decision on what kind of person they want to be in life, or what shirt they want to wear in life, etc. The term pro-respect was also emphasized with the students. If bullying is ever going to be a thing of the past, parents, students, and teachers must collaborate to overcome this epidemic of a lack of empathy for others feelings amongst todays youth.

scholarly journals “Building Hope for the Future”: A Program to Foster Strengths in Middle-School Students

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susana C. Marques ◽  
Shane J. Lopez ◽  
J. L. Pais-Ribeiro
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Future

scholarly journals Effects of a Concept-Based Physical Education on Middle School Students’ Knowledge, Motivation, and Out-of-School Physical Activity

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yubing Wang ◽  
Ang Chen
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Middle School ◽  
Physical Education ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Autonomous Motivation ◽  
Education Curriculum ◽  
School Students ◽  
Eighth Grade Students ◽  
Static Group ◽  
Out Of School

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the extent to which a concept-based physical education curriculum, specifically the Science of Healthful Living (SHL) curriculum, influenced middle school students’ knowledge, motivation for physical education (PE) and physical activity (PA), and out-of-school PA. Methods: A static group comparison design was adopted to analyze the differences on fitness knowledge, autonomous motivation for PE and PA, and out-of-school PA between eighth-grade students who studied the SHL curriculum (the experimental condition, n = 168) and their peers who studied a multiactivity PE (the control condition, n = 226) 1 year earlier. Results: The students who studied the SHL curriculum demonstrated significantly higher levels of knowledge (p < .05, Cohen d = 0.81), autonomous motivation toward PA (p < .05, Cohen d = 0.20), and out-of-school PA (p < .05, Mann–Whitney U effect size = 0.01) than students who had experienced the multiactivity PE. The students in both conditions were equally motivated in their respective PE courses. Conclusion: The SHL curriculum is effective in promoting students’ PA behavior outside of the school.

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