Investigation of 8th Grade Students’ Mathematics Anxiety

The aim of this research study is to determine how students define their anxiety about learning mathematics, to determine the symptoms of anxiety and to define how anxiety occurs. The phenomenology research design was used in the study. A semi-structured interview form was used as a data collection tool in the research. The data were analyzed through the content analysis. The study group of the research consists of four male and four female 8th graders in two public secondary schools in Uluborlu district of Isparta. According to the results, students predominantly defined mathematics anxiety as frightening/scary. Also, students identified the symptoms of mathematics anxiety mostly as the theme of physical/physical symptoms. Students stated that sociological, psychological and philosophical dimensions were effective in the emergence of mathematical anxiety. Some students expressed common views on the sociological dimension-psychological and psychological-philosophical dimension. The effects of mathematics anxiety have been examined under two titles as the effects related to the psychological and sociological dimensions. While the effects related to the psychological dimension are discussed in terms of course achievement and effects on themselves, the effects related to the sociological dimension are discussed in terms of their effects on their relationship with their family and friends.

Using Process Evaluation Results to Compare Peer and Adult Leader Delivery of the Paws (Peer-Education about Weight Steadiness) Club Program

To date, there is limited published literature on process evaluation of adolescent health promotion programs. In this paper, we describe the methods and results of PAWS Club process evaluation over 2 years of implementation to compare the effectiveness of delivery by peer and adult leaders. PAWS (Peer-education About Weight Steadiness) Club was a 12-week healthy lifestyle program, delivered to 6th and 7th graders by peer and adult educators, using cluster randomized controlled design. Peer educators were 8th graders in the program schools and adult educators were staff/teachers in the program schools. Trained university students filled out fidelity logs at each session led by peer and adult educators to assess program delivery. The fidelity logs included questions to collect information about the number of participants, duration of the session, percent of activities completed, and if lessons started on time, lesson objectives were clearly stated, lesson objectives were emphasized, demonstrations were visible to participants, all activities were completed, the leader was familiar with lessons, the leader maintained an appropriate pace, the leader kept participants on track, and the leader asked if participants had any questions. Adult educators had a higher mean performance for all questions compared to peer leaders. Significant differences were observed for emphasizing lesson objectives (p = 0.005), making demonstrations visible to participants (p = 0.031), being familiar with the lesson plan (p = 0.000), maintaining an appropriate pace (p = 0.000), keeping participants on track (p = 0.000), and asking if participants had any questions (p = 0.000). Significance was set at p < 0.05. Findings from the current study have implications for designing and conducting a process evaluation of complex healthy lifestyle programs with adolescents in schools. Additional training of peer educators may be needed to enhance program delivery.

Constructing the “Competent” Pupil: Optimizing Human Futures Through Testing?

In the last decade, the German transition system has witnessed the large‐scale introduction of so‐called “analysis of potentials” (<em>Potenzialanalysen</em>) in secondary compulsory schooling. In most German Länder, 8th graders must participate in a two‐day assessment center which combines psychometric testing with observations of their social and professional competencies in pre‐specified tasks. The programmatic aim of these assessments is to “introduce pupils early to choosing a job” (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung [BMBF], 2017, p. 2) as well as to enhance the propensity of pupils to “take responsibility for their own future” (BMBF, 2017, p. 9). In the context of the German school‐to‐work system, the introduction of these new forms of diagnostics bear witness to a new preventive political rationality that aims at reducing the entry age into upper secondary education, reduce the recourse to so‐called “transition measures” and optimizing transitions into an apprenticeship market that is characterized by structural inequalities and “mismatch” between pupils’ job aspirations and the offers in apprenticeship places. However, little is known on the role of competency testing devices for the construction of further trajectories and aspirations and their role in the reproduction of inequalities in transitions from school to work. Based on an in‐depth analysis of policy documents and competency profiles (the documents handed out to the pupils after undergoing testing), the article reconstructs the political rationale for the introduction of the so‐called <em>Potenzialanalysen</em>. Based on a Foucauldian framework, we show how pupils are constructed as “competent” subjects. We show that competency assessments are part and parcel of a political rationality that aims at the promotion of a specific (future‐oriented, optimized, self‐regulated) relation to one’s own biographical future on the side of the pupils. Our results demonstrate that competency profiles construct the process of choosing a job as an individualized project of the self and that they invisibilize structural barriers and power relations. In doing so, competency assessments potentially contribute to the reproduction of inequalities in post‐secondary education through delegating “cooling out” processes from institutional gatekeepers to the interiority of persons.

The Correlation between the Teacher's Oral Feedback and the Students' Writing Motivation

This study aims to determine the correlation between the teacher’s oral feedback and the students’ writing motivation. This study is quantitative research with a correlation method. The researcher conducted this study at SMPN 2 Kasihan. The population of this study included all of the 8th graders. The sample of this study consists of 93 students. To gain the data, the researcher distributed the questionnaires to the students. The data analysis technique used in this research used Rank Spearman Correlation, with SPSS version 23 for the windows program. The result of the research showed that there is a correlation between the teacher’s oral feedback and the students’ writing motivation. It is evidenced by the Rank Spearman correlation test results with the significance value of 0.000, where it is <0.05.

Assessment of Foods Associated with Sodium and Potassium Intake in Japanese Youths Using the Brief-Type Self-Administered Diet History Questionnaire

The identification of sodium and potassium intake in youths is an important step to preventing the increase of blood pressure in childhood. We examined food intake and estimated mineral intake using a brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire (BDHQ) to test its validity as a comparison with urinary excretion in Japanese youths. The subjects were 5th and 8th graders (n = 2377), who completed the BDHQ and permitted the use of their overnight urine specimens. Sodium intake was poorly associated with sodium excretion (Rho = 0.048), and the coefficients of dietary potassium and a sodium-to-potassium molar ratio were 0.091–0.130. Higher soybean paste (miso) intake and pickles were significantly associated with higher sodium excretion (p ≤ 0.005). However, these foods were positively associated with potassium excretion (p = 0.002–0.012), and not associated with an excreted sodium-to-potassium ratio. Fruits and dairy products were positively associated (p ≤ 0.048), whereas beverages were negatively associated with potassium excretion (p ≤ 0.004). The association of the sodium-to-potassium ratio was opposite to that of potassium (p ≤ 0.001). The choice of foods, potassium, and the sodium-to-potassium ratio assessed using the BDHQ are available as part of health education for youths, but the assessment of sodium intake in population levels should be carefully conducted.

Cross-age peer tutoring in a technology-enhanced STEAM project at a lower secondary school

The present investigation examined cross-age peer tutoring in the context of organising a technology-enhanced STEAM project aimed at bringing elements of maker culture to a lower secondary school. We examined how 8th graders tutored 7th graders in programming skills. The participants were peer tutors (n = 15) studying in a technology-oriented class, along with their teachers (5) and the researchers (2). By interviewing the tutors, we studied skills that the tutors had experienced as being essential to overcoming the challenges encountered. To trace the tutors’ social support network and the sharing of expertise, we asked the participants to draw a personal social network map. Three key tutors were identified, whose centrality in the network was socially validated by the number of peer tutors seeking their advice. Two case studies of key tutors’ learning networks were carried out. The findings revealed that the tutors needed versatile technological, social, pedagogical, and reflective know-how in the project. It is concluded that cross-age peer tutoring provides significant support for implementing practices of making and STEAM education at school.

Mitigation of Natural Disasters as Efforts to Minimize Unwanted Impacts in Baleendah Sub-District, Bandung Regency, Indonesia

The Flood disaster is a natural event, one of which is caused by overflowing rivers. This disaster often occurs in the Majalaya area, Bandung Regency. Geographical conditions close to the Citarum River flow and the plains lower than the surrounding area causes this area to be flooded especially during the rainy season. Through the Community Service Program with the topic "training and simulation of natural disaster mitigation as an effort to minimize unwanted impacts in Majalaya sub-district" aims to increase the knowledge of the surrounding community regarding the impact of flood disasters and efforts to reduce the impact through mitigation efforts. This activity is aimed at 8th graders of SMP Negeri 1 Majalaya by using the presentation method using WhatsApp group media. This activity begins with giving questionnaire I which functions as a pre-test and ends with questionnaire II which functions as a post-test. The questionnaire was given at the beginning and at the end to see to what extent the material gave influence and new knowledge to students of SMP Negeri 1 Majalaya. The results of the questionnaire show that prior to counseling on flood disaster mitigation, the sample was categorized as having good knowledge of 87% and having poor knowledge of 13%. After counseling about flood disaster mitigation using PowerPoint media and games there was an increase in knowledge, the sample with good knowledge was 98% and those with poor knowledge were 2%. Based on the results of the pre-test and post-test, this activity proved successful in increasing the knowledge of SMP Negeri 1 Majalaya regarding flood mitigation.

COMPARISON OF SCHOOL BASED-COOPERATIVE PROBLEM BASED LEARNING (SB-CPBL) AND CONVENTIONAL TEACHING ON STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS SCIENCE

This study examined the effect of the SB-CPBL on Jordanian 8th-grade students’ attitude towards science. A quantitative quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group was employed in this study. 120 8th-graders, divided into two groups, were involved in this study. Two groups (60 students, 30 males, and 30 females) were designated as the experimental group; they used the SB-CPBL module for six weeks, while two groups (60 students, 30 males, and 30 females) were designated as the control group and taught conventionally. The validity and reliability of the measurements used, comprising four sub-scales with 40-items, were already robust. The statistical comparison between the groups showed a significant improvement in the SB-CPBL students’ attitudes towards learning science compared with their conventionally-taught counterparts. The findings also confirmed the insignificant effects of gender vis-à-vis attitudes towards science. The results concluded the effectiveness of SB-CPBL approach in improving students’ attitudes towards science in school settings. Keywords: cooperative learning, cooperative problem-based learning, problem-based learning, students’ attitudes towards science