Education Commons^™

Fostering Student Agency To Build A Whole Child, Whole School, Whole Community Approach, Holly Henderson Pinter, Lisa Bloom, Amie Broyhill, Kim K. Winter

Middle Grades Review

In this practitioner perspective, we explore the concept of student agency through the implementation of a student government association in a laboratory middle school. Interviews with a social studies teacher and her students offer perspectives of the impact of student voice and choice for student experiences. We describe three major lessons learned through this implementation process: students learn to have healthy conflict and cooperative skills; students learn the appropriate processes to enact change in a democratic society; and students learn to conduct service for their peers, school, and community.

Recovering Lost Local History: The Daily Record Project, Jeremy Hilburn, Tana Oliver, Leyna Varnum, Donyell L. Roseboro

Middle Grades Review

This practitioner perspective describes a collaboration between students and teachers at three middle schools, along with community partners, to recover and digitize news stories from The Daily Record, an African American owned newspaper that was attacked and burned in the 1898 Wilmington coup d’état.

Montessori Middle School: The Erdkinder, Luz M. Casquejo Johnston

Middle Grades Review

Montessori Education is over a century old. Since its inception, Montessori schools have been opened worldwide. While most are pre-schools serving three to six-year-old children, many people aren’t aware that Montessori spoke and wrote about middle level education before her death in 1952. Her concept for the Erdkinder, an intentionally designed learning environment for the adolescent ages twelve to fifteen, is described in this essay.

Conceptualizing Democracy As Preparation For Teaching For Democracy, Karynne L. M. Kleine, Christina J. Lunsmann

Middle Grades Review

In this essay, a broad spectrum of the work of influential educational scholars was examined in order to identify crucial components of teaching for democracy. Synthesizing the literature with their experiences as middle level teachers and teacher educators, the authors determined those conceptions that would be most fruitful for moving in-service teachers to enact the more “muscular” concepts that foster civic participation and social justice. This collaboration resulted in the identification of four democratic practices as a foundation for designing a course on teaching for democracy. These included amplification of the voices of historically marginalized people, recognition that those in …

This Is What Democracy Looks Like: Some Thoughts On Democratic Schools, James A. Beane

Middle Grades Review

No abstract provided.

Democracy In Middle Grades Education: Editorial Remarks, Penny A. Bishop, James F. Nagle

Middle Grades Review

No abstract provided.

The Art Of Science; An Exploration Of Art Integration In A Science Classroom, Melissa M. Hunkins

Middle Grades Review

This Practitioner Perspective examined how art integration in a science classroom affects student engagement and scientific understanding. The study took place over one school year in a 7th and 8th grade science classroom, with a total of 57 students and a focus group of eleven students. Collaboratively, the science teacher and a teaching artist designed purposeful integration of art into two science units and developed a culmination project where students connected their science learning throughout the year to a self portrait. Findings indicated that art integration increased engagement and understanding and allowed students to visually express their learning. However, supports …

“Wonder” Through The Eyes Of Empathy: A Middle Grades Teacher’S Guide, Bobette Bouton

Middle Grades Review

This Practitioner Perspective provides brief definitions to the three main components of empathy (cognitive, affective, and behavioral) and outline the importance of incorporating empathy education into the classroom, specifically looking at the areas of diversity, social skills, and moral development. In addition, the paper provides teachers with discussion questions, prompts, and a “how to” guide to assist students in exploring each character through the eyes of that individual, while also helping to build empathy as they read and discuss the book. The objective of this paper is to help teachers think more deeply about how to use literature to encourage …

Picturing Teacher Agency: Developing Upstanding Heuristics In A Middle Grades Social Studies Methods Course, Jennifer L. Gallagher, Jennifer Farley

Middle Grades Review

This paper presents a multi-case study of teacher candidates in a pre-service middle grades social studies methods course. The research aimed to understand how the middle grades teacher candidates viewed their future as upstanders with agency in middle grades settings. The focus of the research was on heuristic representations that the teacher candidates created to illustrate how they understood their role in supporting the democratic aims of middle grades social studies. Qualitative data was collected and analyzed through chordal triad of agency theory (Emirbayer & Mische, 1998). The findings indicate that preservice teachers best understand their future as change agents …

The Status Of Middle Schools In The Southeastern United States: Perceptions And Implementation Of The Middle School Model, Ryan Alverson, Mike Dicicco, Shawn A. Faulkner, Chris Cook

Middle Grades Review

For more than 100 years, education communities have debated how best to educate the young adolescent. Proponents of both the junior high school model and the current middle school model have advocated for a specialized approach to educating adolescents that emphasizes the developmental needs of students. To accomplish this, various organizational structures and instructional approaches are recommended. This survey study examines the perceptions of these middle school practices and the implementation of those practices in middle schools in the Southeastern region of the United States. We note several key trends in our results and highlight key differences in perception of …

Career Exploration At The Middle School Level: Barriers And Opportunities, Samantha Godbey, Howard R. D. Gordon

Middle Grades Review

In this essay, we discuss issues related to the integration of career exploration in our nation’s middle schools. We discuss the theoretical and empirical basis for career exploration at the middle school level and identify selected barriers to its effective implementation, namely with regards to career advising and parent involvement. We also propose new directions for practice and research as we work to counteract these barriers.

Understanding The Developmental Nature Of Young Adolescents: Editorial Remarks, James F. Nagle, Penny A. Bishop

Middle Grades Review

No abstract provided.

Empowering Students To Take Control Through Student Leadership Teams, Andrea Gratton, Kyle Chadburn

Middle Grades Review

As our educational system becomes more focused on personalizing learning for students, it is increasingly important for educators to empower students to take an active role in their learning and their communities. In this practitioner perspective, two educators reflect on the process of establishing student leadership teams in their school, and on the research that supports such efforts toward developing systems of student agency and self-advocacy in education.

Chip: Community Historical Interest Projects, Joe Rivers

Middle Grades Review

This practitioner perspective presents a process in which state-wide initiatives can be used as tools for creating place-based, project-based collaborations between students and local organizations within the community. Vermont is focusing on Content Proficiencies, Transferable Skills, Flexible Pathways and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support. CHIP is an effort to combine these initiatives and offer students meaningful school work that provides a real service for, and connects students with, the local community.

Middle Level Education Aims For Equity And Inclusion, But Do Our School Websites Meet Ada Compliance?, John A. Huss

Middle Grades Review

An often-overlooked component of a middle school website is the necessity for that website to be accessible to those with disabilities, while following the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 of the Workforce Rehabilitation Act. In support of the belief that support the belief that inclusive education and respect for diversity should be integrated throughout the school, this study investigated the accessibility of middle school websites in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio by selecting a random sample of 150 schools and analyzing their homepages using WAVE (Web Accessibility Versatile Evaluator), which reports accessibility violations by annotating …

Implications Of Trauma-Sensitive Practices At The Middle Level, Lauren Dotson Davis

Middle Grades Review

This essay provides a broad overview of adverse childhood experiences and their impact on the middle level learner. Through a literature review, the author finds points of intersection between current research on traumatized students, best practices for classroom and school-wide procedures, and tenets of the middle level philosophy.

Research And Practice In Transition: Improving Support And Advocacy Of Transgender Middle School Students, Rebecca K. Lewis, Sabrina F. Sembiante

Middle Grades Review

In this essay, our purposes are to inspire particular avenues of future research addressing Transgender students, in middle school in particular, and to inform the professional development of teachers in support of these Transgender youth. In relation to the ways in which research can more authentically represent Transgender identity, we argue for the use of Transgender theory as a guiding framework for research addressing Transgender students, issues, and needs. We also describe the particular affordances of qualitative, ethnographic, and phenomenological studies in capturing the unique and highly personal experiences and realities of Transgender individuals, and specifically, in middle school. We …

Making Middle Grades Education More Accessible And Engaging: Editorial Remarks, James F. Nagle, Penny A. Bishop

Middle Grades Review

No abstract provided.

Acknowledgements, The Vermont Connection Executive Board 2018-2019

The Vermont Connection

No abstract provided.

Forward, Dr. Susan R. Jones

The Vermont Connection

No abstract provided.

New Connections

The Vermont Connection

No abstract provided.

Build, Resist, Be Resilient, And Rebuild: Advising As A Womxn Of Color, Alexa R. D. Erb

The Vermont Connection

Racial battle fatigue, cultural taxation, and the challenge of practicing self-care in the midst of tumultuous racial campus climate are all powerful forces that affect how Advisors of Color show up in their relationships with college students. Through scholarly personal narrative, the author conceptualizes the role of building, resistance, resilience, and rebuilding through their journey as a Womxn of Color advising student groups at a predominantly white institution.

Seeing Me In The Story: Representation Of Multiracial Characters In Multimedia, Harvey M. Vincent

The Vermont Connection

In 2015, I discovered Saga, a graphic novel series that chronicles a science fiction story of war, family, and forbidden love. This series resonated with me because it is the first piece of pop culture that I invested in with a leading character whose racial identity is similar to my own. I discovered three multiracial characters in different forms of media set within the United States: Lincoln Clay from the videogame Mafia III, Lara Jean Covey from the movie To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and Miles Morales from Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man. As both a student affairs professional and …

A Is Not For Ally: Affirming Asexual College Student Narratives, Catherine Meyer

The Vermont Connection

The college experience is often hypersexualized, presenting students as collectively sexually active and interested in sex. Such hypersexualization creates a culture that assumes the presence of sexual attraction, which massively excludes students who identify on the asexual spectrum. This exclusion becomes amplified when asexual students go to their campus LGBTQIA+ centers for support and discover that their “A for asexual” has been stolen by the people who claim to be their allies. As a result of this erasure, asexual college students are unable to make sense of their identity in an environment that does not recognize the ways of being …

Moving From Access To Success: How First-Generation Students Of Color Can Build Resilience In Higher Education Through Mentorship, Bianca Natalie Ramos

The Vermont Connection

In recent years, the enrollment of first-generation students of color in higher education has increased across the nation, reflecting a slight improvement in college access for them. However, first-generation students of color continue to face a variety of challenges which impede their social and academic success and contribute to low retention rates at the university. In this article, I propose a holistic approach to mentorship to support first-generation students of color in their transition to college. I start this article with my scholarly narrative as a first-generation student of color and how my mentors played an important role in helping …

But You Speak Great English! Challenging The Dominant Narratives Of The International Student, Musbah Shaheen

The Vermont Connection

Student affairs scholarship and practice take a deficit-based approach to understanding the experience of international students at U.S. colleges and universities. In this article, I reframe the challenges that international students face from a resiliency-based viewpoint, highlighting the strengths of international students and focusing on what institutions could do better to serve their needs. By challenging assumptions about international students, I hope to inspire student affairs professionals to adjust their programs and services to support the inherent resilience of international students, rather than reinforce stereotypical notions of what it means to be an international student in the U.S.

In The Middle Of Self-Care: A Mid-Level Professional’S Journey To Rebuilding Resilience, Brandin L. Howard

The Vermont Connection

In American culture, there seems to be a glorification of “being busy” (Bellezza, Paharia, & Keinan, 2017). Going into my eighth year of working in student affairs and thanks to a new support system and unfortunate health changes, I am now learning the importance of integrating self-care more into my professional and personal life. Through this personal narrative, I hope that my journey with self-care as a mid-level professional helps others begin to start seeking self-care for themselves.

Addressing Hxstorical Amnesia: Proactively Combating Hxstorical Amnesia As A Means Of Healing In Higher Education, Arnelle F. Sambile, Brie L. Hornig

The Vermont Connection

In a political context characterized by the desire to “Make America Great Again,” the romanticization of the past and the erasure of narratives of marginalized communities affect how students experience and navigate higher education. Institutions of higher education were built on systems of colonization and imperialism and continue to benefit from the legacy of domination and subordination; this hxstory shapes student learning. The authors introduce hxstorical amnesia, its effects on student development, and methods of actively combating hxstorical amnesia in higher education. The authors explore ways to heal from hxstorical amnesia through community-care, cogenerative dialogues, and Sentipensante Pedagogy. By discussing …

Challenging The Model Minority Myth As A First-Generation College Student, Jimmy Huynh

The Vermont Connection

First-generation Asian American college students must be resilient to

overcome the many challenges they face in their college experience. Because

these students are first-generation students of color and are also

Asian American, they experience unique challenges and complexities.

First-generation students of color often navigate the college experience

with families who have little to no context surrounding higher education,

may have varying levels of college readiness upon entry, and frequently

encounter financial challenges and other barriers to education. At the

same time, Asian American students must grapple with high expectations

set by society because of the model minority myth. How are …

Future Scenario: Praxis In Critical Race Theory In Higher Education And Student Affairs, Payne Hiraldo

The Vermont Connection

Critical Race Theory (CRT) evolved as a response to the lack of change

in racial disparities within the United States jurisprudence. This article

provides a historical understanding of CRT, beginning with a synopsis

of the tenets that form part of CRT. The article will then give an

understanding of what leadership style supports the implementation of

CRT. Finally, it will provide the reader with strategies to apply CRT

in the work environment through self-work, intercultural competence

and restorative practices.