A project developed a program for improving deficient student-to-student listening skills. The targeted population consisted of 18 seventh-grade middle school students in a culturally diverse, lower middle class community in a near-western suburb of Chicago. The problem of deficient listening skills was evident through teacher observation and…

A study examined whether the frequent use of advance organizers in the content areas would significantly improve the reading comprehension of junior high school compensatory education students. For ten weeks a group of 16 students was exposed to the continuous use of advance organizers (structured overviews, previewing, questioning, and…

Three readability formulas were applied to chapters from six textbooks to determine (1) if there was a significant difference in readability of three consecutive textbook editions of a seventh grade and of an eighth grade text over a 12-year period (1968-1980), and (2) whether eighth grade students would perform equally to the same content from a…

This thesis investigates the sensitivity of junior high/middle school students to statements depicting verbal and physical sexual harassment. The independent variables that were investigated included gender, grade level, age, size of district, grades received, participation in sports, birth order, developmental level, and self-esteem. Students…

The effectiveness of the online card catalog at Sailorway Middle School in Vermilion (Ohio) was studied. The library became fully automated in 1991. The participants were 76 sixth, 90 seventh, and 70 eighth graders (102 males and 134 females), ranging in age from 12 to 14 years. A survey determined the degree of effectiveness of the online card…

The Adolescent Development course, implemented to facilitate the growth of adolescents, is presented in three parts: the first addresses the student's self-concept and provides skills for effective management of relationships; the second focuses on student learning style and improving academic achievement skills; the final part consists of a…

The Teachers Achieving Success with Kids (TASK) mentorship program was designed to improve the attendance, discipline, academic achievement and attitudes of at-risk students attending an urban middle school. In order to develop positive relationships, 25 teacher-student pairs met each day away from the classroom setting and engaged in one hour…

This action research project evaluated a program to improve student motivation, attendance rate, percent of homework returned, and student academic growth. The targeted population was a seventh-grade class in a middle school in north central Illinois. The problem of inadequate student motivation was documented by means of attendance rates,…

A practicum program was developed and implemented to increase parental involvement, teach parents how to help their children, reverse parents' and students' negative attitudes toward mathematics, and enhance mathematics performance of at-risk seventh-grade students. The objectives of the program were to increase parental involvement by 40 percent,…