Rich Radcliffe

Improving Reading in a Middle School Science Classroom

A new strategy for content-area reading instruction was successfully introduced by these authors.

Strategies to Prepare Middle School and High School Students for College and Career Readiness

Abstract Trends among adolescents continue to be discouraging in terms of career and college readiness based on National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) achievement reports and high school graduation rate data. In response, this article presents five goals and eight strategies we have engaged in during a seven-year research study focused on building college and career readiness among adolescents. During our final year of helping students build college and career readiness, we found associated improvements in their academic-related perceptions, beliefs, and strategies; positive personal achievement and goal orientation; rising perceptions of college; improving trends in academic performance; and stronger perseverance in high school when compared to a control group. Because the students in this study have not completed their high school senior year, we do not have data that predict their college acceptance or career readiness.

Preservice Teachers Are Creating a College Culture for At-Risk Middle School Students

Abstract This mid-point report from a seven-year study about building a college culture investigates how a multifaceted approach including mentoring, technology, campus visits, parent involvement, and tutoring impacts at-risk middle school students’ college aspirations and eventual success gaining college acceptance. Based on NAEP report data, many young adolescents may not be adequately prepared for postsecondary education and workforce success. This longitudinal study follows a student cohort (n = 50) starting in their sixth grade year, uses a quasi-experimental design including three comparison groups, and collects data from surveys, interviews, written reflective statements, and student academic measures to evaluate efforts and outcomes of building a college culture. Midpoint findings suggest that experiencing college life through campus visits and vicariously through mentoring experiences with preservice teachers may be linked to improvements in at-risk middle school students’ perceptions of college. Digital story-writing projects and on-campus writing marathons helped these students gain insight on their academic and career futures. Different strategies have been implemented to increase parental participation in building a college culture. Because many of these students need higher grades, the project shifts emphasis during year three to academic tutoring by preservice teachers as the students enter eighth grade.

Writing Marathons Help Build Middle School Students’ College Aspirations and Strengthen Their Literacy Skills

Abstract Young adolescents’ low scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) force the question of whether these students will be ready for college in four years. Our efforts to build a college-going culture emphasize strengthening students’ writing skills by using preservice teachers to lead writing marathons for at-risk middle school students on university visits. Structured interviews, surveys, and written reflections reveal that what students write about changes with age, their motivation to write varies, and their college aspirations and perceptions become more positive after completing several annual writing marathons on a college campus. The writing marathon structure makes the college visit truly meaningful to students, and it provides a compelling incentive to write by supporting characteristics of middle school students, as defined by the National Middle School Association (National Middle School Association [NMSA] 2003). The marathon model focuses on four key elements: setting, timing, small groups, and writers’ level of commitment.