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Full-Text Articles in Education

A Shared Vision? Exploring The Perceptions Of Principals And Teachers Regarding The Middle School Concept, Shawn A. Faulkner, Chris Cook, Ryan Alverson, Mike Dicicco Dec 2023

A Shared Vision? Exploring The Perceptions Of Principals And Teachers Regarding The Middle School Concept, Shawn A. Faulkner, Chris Cook, Ryan Alverson, Mike Dicicco

Middle Grades Review

From decades of recommendations, middle school advocates have recommended various organizational structures and instructional practices to meet the specific educational needs of young adolescents. Several notable national studies have sought to assess and report the status of implementation of these recommended practices, though largely from the perspective of the building principal. The purpose of this study was to examine both teachers’ and principals’ perceptions concerning the middle school concept. Based on responses of over 1,600 teachers and principals from all 50 states, findings indicate support for components of the middle school concept related to curriculum and instruction as well as …


A Distributed Leadership Perspective For Critical Consciousness In Middle Grades, Kenneth M. Bond, Daniel P. Tulino Dec 2023

A Distributed Leadership Perspective For Critical Consciousness In Middle Grades, Kenneth M. Bond, Daniel P. Tulino

Middle Grades Review

In middle-grades settings, students are cultivating critical consciousness to apply general knowledge of equity to their local context(s) (Nojan, 2020). As educators work to foster environments that allow middle-grade students to cultivate critical consciousness, expectations have shifted in the area of leading for equity. We have outlined a leadership framework we believe will advance the collective critical consciousness with examples for middle-grade contexts. Our focus is working toward equitable outcomes through one’s sociopolitical development and creating ways to further the collective critical consciousness of the entire school community through a distributed leadership perspective. Through this lens, our hope is to …


Three Rs For Middle Level Education: The 2022 Ncpomle John Vanhoose Lecture, David C. Virtue Jun 2023

Three Rs For Middle Level Education: The 2022 Ncpomle John Vanhoose Lecture, David C. Virtue

Middle Grades Review

The author contends the most prominent challenges and conditions facing middle level education now and in the near future point to three imperatives for the field: middle level education must be relevant, resilient, and robust. After conceptualizing the field of middle level education as an interdisciplinary, applied field of study concerned with the formal education of young adolescent learners in school settings, the author discusses each of the three imperatives and provides recommendations for scholars to move forward alongside professionals in middle level schools and classrooms to achieve a bright educational future for young adolescents.


Understanding Middle School Teachers’ Levels Of Efficacy To Meet The Needs Of Young Adolescents, Erika Daniels Dec 2022

Understanding Middle School Teachers’ Levels Of Efficacy To Meet The Needs Of Young Adolescents, Erika Daniels

Middle Grades Review

Middle school students are in even more need of social and emotional support due to the cognitive, social, and emotional changes occurring at this stage of their development (Caskey & Anfara, 2014), and their teachers are key players in providing what is needed. Unfortunately, there are few Institutions of Higher Education that offer programs or coursework focused on young adolescents’ unique and specific needs (Howell, et al., 2016). This contrast with calls for school contexts that are intentionally designed to support young adolescents (Bishop & Harrison, 2021) and raises questions about whether and how middle school teachers are prepared to …


Critical Representation: Mattering & Belonging For Students Of The Global Majority, Rebecca E. Haslam Dec 2022

Critical Representation: Mattering & Belonging For Students Of The Global Majority, Rebecca E. Haslam

Middle Grades Review

Critical representation in literature and curricula requires an emancipatory agenda and examination of the ways in which people of diverse racial, cultural, linguistic, and other socially marginalized identities are portrayed, an assessment of how relevant, affirming, and accurate those representations are, and a consideration of the impact on a child’s sense of self and ‘other.’ This essay includes sample audit criteria for critical representation highlighting five sections: Storyline & Sense of Justice; Affirmation & Self-Worth; Relationships Among People; Author/Illustrator Background; and Language & Terminology, all with a focus on ‘mattering’ and holistic wellbeing of students of the global majority. Audit …


We're Back, Live And Unplugged: Non-Digital Gameplay For Review And Fun, Shawn M. Thorgersen Mr. Sep 2022

We're Back, Live And Unplugged: Non-Digital Gameplay For Review And Fun, Shawn M. Thorgersen Mr.

Middle Grades Review

During the COVID-19 pandemic, middle grades students spent months isolated and, in many cases, learning remotely from teachers who were themselves scrambling to adapt to new technology. While addressing these experiences will require a multifaceted approach from stakeholders, teachers can help reintroduce students to their classrooms with student-centered, socially interactive, analog-based games intended to reinforce learning and boost engagement. This practitioner paper presents a context and a model for such play based on a popular public domain game that allows for team play, creativity, inculcation, and, frankly, fun while reviewing for mastery. The model affords teachers an extremely low-budget, student-crafted …


Teacher Candidates Collaborate To Create Place-Based Integrated Curriculum, Amanda Wall, Taylor Norman Dec 2021

Teacher Candidates Collaborate To Create Place-Based Integrated Curriculum, Amanda Wall, Taylor Norman

Middle Grades Review

A small group of middle level teacher candidates collaborated to create place-based integrated curriculum. These candidates and the authors, two teacher educators, selected two local sites, visited them together, and debriefed these visits. State and national standards as well as guidelines for integrated curriculum (e.g., Beane, 1997; Nesin & Lounsbury, 1999) informed the process. Through interpretive phenomenology analysis (Smith et al., 2009), we analyzed place-based learning as a catalyst for collaboration. Teacher candidates recognized possibilities with place-based learning to draw on local cultural, historical, and natural resources in ways that are relevant to students and their communities. We offer implications …


America’S Middle Schools: Examining Context, Organizational Structures, And Instructional Practices, Ryan Alverson, Mike Dicicco, Shawn A. Faulkner, Chris Cook Dec 2021

America’S Middle Schools: Examining Context, Organizational Structures, And Instructional Practices, Ryan Alverson, Mike Dicicco, Shawn A. Faulkner, Chris Cook

Middle Grades Review

The education of the young adolescent has consistently posed a challenge to the educational community. While the general belief is this age group (10-15-year-old children) would benefit from a specialized educational approach, historically, both the junior high school model of the early 1900s and the more current middle school concept have struggled to be fully implemented and embraced by the educational community. With almost a decade passing since the last national survey focused on middle grades schools (McEwin & Greene, 2010, 2011), researchers seek to reassess the context, organizational structures, and instructional practices of middle schools in the United States. …


Toward A Critical-Pbl: Centering A Critical Consciousness In The Middle Grades, Jaclyn Caires-Hurley, Margarita Jimenez-Silva, Rachel Harrington Dec 2020

Toward A Critical-Pbl: Centering A Critical Consciousness In The Middle Grades, Jaclyn Caires-Hurley, Margarita Jimenez-Silva, Rachel Harrington

Middle Grades Review

The dual pandemic of 2020 that includes racism and COVID-19 demonstrates the need for students to become socially responsible and critically conscious world citizens. Students in the middle grades are developing their sense of identity while concomitantly trying to understand the complex world around them. While many teachers understand the need for critical pedagogy, many still struggle to find time to teach rigorous content standards while integrating social justice education. In this article, we propose the four pillars of Critical-Problem Based Learning (Critical-PBL). Using critical standards, critical problems, critical content, and critical discourse, we offer a framework to support teachers …


Fighting Back Against Anti-Asian Xenophobia: Addressing Global Issues In A Distance Learning Classroom, Dara Nix-Stevenson, Laura Shelton, Jennifer Smith Dec 2020

Fighting Back Against Anti-Asian Xenophobia: Addressing Global Issues In A Distance Learning Classroom, Dara Nix-Stevenson, Laura Shelton, Jennifer Smith

Middle Grades Review

This practitioner essay will outline a project designed by a team of three critical educators at The Experiential School of Greensboro (TESG), a new grassroots charter school in Greensboro, North Carolina. In this essay, we will describe the social context of TESG, discuss how we built towards addressing complicated topics related to systemic racism, and outline the ways we addressed anti-Asian racism and xenophobia in a remote learning context during the COVID-19 pandemic.


Success Plan For The Online Learning Experience: Student Engagement, Teacher Accessibility, & Relationships, Ruchelle Combs Jun 2020

Success Plan For The Online Learning Experience: Student Engagement, Teacher Accessibility, & Relationships, Ruchelle Combs

Middle Grades Review

Online teaching in the time of COVID-19 is a new and sometimes scary experience for even the most seasoned educator. It is certainly apparent that many students are struggling to make this instantaneous adjustment. Teachers have a duty to mitigate this stress as they continue to provide relevant instruction. Based on my experience, this can be achieved by fostering student engagement, staying highly accessible, and maintaining the relationships that were formed face-to-face in the conventional classroom.


The Global Pandemic As Learning Opportunities About The World: Extending School Curriculum, Bogum Yoon Jun 2020

The Global Pandemic As Learning Opportunities About The World: Extending School Curriculum, Bogum Yoon

Middle Grades Review

The purpose of this essay is to offer middle grades educators with suggestions on promoting students’ global perspectives by using the international pandemic as a main topic during and after the COVID-19 crisis. The outbreak of the coronavirus has affected individuals’ lives and education around the world including the United States. This phenomenon invites educators to work with students for deepening their understanding about the interconnected world as global citizens. Yet, education about the world is severely lacking. There is little in-depth discussion on how educators can help young adolescents to learn this interconnected world concept by using the current …


Teacher Education In The Time Of Covid-19: Creating Digital Networks As University-School-Family Partnerships, Tracey S. Hodges, Cailin Kerch, Melisa (Lisa) Fowler Jun 2020

Teacher Education In The Time Of Covid-19: Creating Digital Networks As University-School-Family Partnerships, Tracey S. Hodges, Cailin Kerch, Melisa (Lisa) Fowler

Middle Grades Review

As COVID-19 has suddenly transformed the landscape of learning in the United States, teachers are doing what they do best: figuring out how to effectively respond to support their students on their own. However, by creating digital networks that include university-school-family partnerships, the reach of teachers and teacher educators can increase. Teacher educators can provide support, systems, and strategies to maneuver the additional stressors and challenges posed by teaching during COVID-19. In this essay, we discuss how university-school-family partnerships mitigate the impacts of trauma, augment digital learning, and provide support for a variety of instructional scenarios happening in homes. Our …


In A Spirit Of Curiosity, Concern, Collaboration, And Humility: Considering The Work Of Middle Grades Education In The Context Of A Pandemic, Kristie W. Smith, Kristina N. Falbe Jun 2020

In A Spirit Of Curiosity, Concern, Collaboration, And Humility: Considering The Work Of Middle Grades Education In The Context Of A Pandemic, Kristie W. Smith, Kristina N. Falbe

Middle Grades Review

When we envision the ideals of middle school, we so often think about the importance of physical setting. Physical setting helps to create a material space for so many of the tenets of the middle school mindset. For example, “a successful (middle) school for young adolescents is an inviting, supportive, and safe place---a joyful community that promotes in-depth learning and enhances students’ physical and emotional well-being. In a school (with a material, physical setting), human relationships are paramount.” (National Middle School Association, 2010, p. 33). With the outbreak of Covid-19 and pandemic conditions forcing so many to shelter-in-place, our collective …


Covid-19, Middle Level Teacher Candidates, And Colloquialisms: Navigating Emergency Remote Field Experiences, Brooke B. Eisenbach, Paula Greathouse, Caroline Acquaviva Jun 2020

Covid-19, Middle Level Teacher Candidates, And Colloquialisms: Navigating Emergency Remote Field Experiences, Brooke B. Eisenbach, Paula Greathouse, Caroline Acquaviva

Middle Grades Review

COVID-19 challenged teacher educators and teacher candidates in ways we could have never imagined. Colloquialisms regarding the move from educator preparation to practice shifted from common truths to dynamic considerations in light of the pandemic and transition to emergency remote teaching and learning. In this essay, we share our experiences working with middle level teacher candidates during the COVID-19 pandemic. We identify the ways in which our teacher candidates rose to the challenge and demonstrated critical thinking, creativity and compassion beyond our prior expectations of rising middle level educators amidst a time of unprecedented change and uncertainty.


Exploring Current Practice Of Using Technology To Support Collaborative Argumentation In Science Classrooms, Pi-Sui Hsu, Saurav Mukhopadhyay, Rakez Al-Ararah Apr 2020

Exploring Current Practice Of Using Technology To Support Collaborative Argumentation In Science Classrooms, Pi-Sui Hsu, Saurav Mukhopadhyay, Rakez Al-Ararah

Middle Grades Review

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how middle school science teachers enact the practice of using technology to support collaborative argumentation in their science classroom. This study employed qualitative case study and drew on data sources of interviews and observations. This study identified two themes. Six teachers regarded scientific argumentation as an important science practice, but five of them integrated this practice into their science class without formally introducing it. All teachers integrated different forms of technology to engage students in scientific argumentation. In this study, the findings suggested there is a need to provide professional development …


Moving From Inaction To Action: Challenging Homo- And Transphobia In Middle School English Language Arts, Henry (Cody) C. Miller, Kathleen M. Olmstead, Kathleen Colantonio-Yurko, Amy Shema, Natalie Svrcek Apr 2020

Moving From Inaction To Action: Challenging Homo- And Transphobia In Middle School English Language Arts, Henry (Cody) C. Miller, Kathleen M. Olmstead, Kathleen Colantonio-Yurko, Amy Shema, Natalie Svrcek

Middle Grades Review

What happens when teachers have opportunities to engage in LGBTQ-affirming practices but choose not to? In the following paper, the authors present a vignette from a middle school context and consider ways to challenge silences to support LGBTQ students in middle school English classrooms. The authors provide discussion and resources to help teachers engage in LGBTQ affirming practices with middle school students.


Conceptualizing Democracy As Preparation For Teaching For Democracy, Karynne L. M. Kleine, Christina J. Lunsmann Dec 2019

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 …


Picturing Teacher Agency: Developing Upstanding Heuristics In A Middle Grades Social Studies Methods Course, Jennifer L. Gallagher, Jennifer Farley Sep 2019

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 …


Career Exploration At The Middle School Level: Barriers And Opportunities, Samantha Godbey, Howard R. D. Gordon Sep 2019

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.


Research And Practice In Transition: Improving Support And Advocacy Of Transgender Middle School Students, Rebecca K. Lewis, Sabrina F. Sembiante Apr 2019

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 …


Walking The Talk: Promoting Middle School Philosophy By Embracing Student Voices, Rick Marlatt Dec 2018

Walking The Talk: Promoting Middle School Philosophy By Embracing Student Voices, Rick Marlatt

Middle Grades Review

This practitioner perspective responds to recent scholarship calling for reinvigorating middle level education by suggesting that the purposeful inclusion of student voices in collaborative learning activities can help educators champion the academic and social growth of early adolescents. The recent practicum experience of a preservice candidate who prioritized the voices of her students illustrates the promotion of democratic education, innovation, and social justice in middle level education.


The Education Of Escobar Cruz: Sports, Identity And Masculinity In Middle School, Eligio Martinez Jr. Dec 2018

The Education Of Escobar Cruz: Sports, Identity And Masculinity In Middle School, Eligio Martinez Jr.

Middle Grades Review

Some assert that middle school should be the stage in an individual’s educational trajectory where they begin to make plans for the future. For many young men of color, middle school becomes a stage where they begin to get off track academically. This is the story of Escobar Cruz, a young Latino male student, and his navigation through the 7th grade attempting to figure out who he is and who he wants to become. Escobar must choose between listening to his English Language Arts teacher or his peers and soccer coach and make decisions that will impact his future. Masculinity …


Drawing On The Layers Of A Partnership To Prepare Middle Level Teachers, Margaret Rintamaa, Penny B. Howell Dec 2017

Drawing On The Layers Of A Partnership To Prepare Middle Level Teachers, Margaret Rintamaa, Penny B. Howell

Middle Grades Review

The University of Midwest (UM) and the University of Metro Midwest (UMM) are located approximately 90 miles from each other in a central Midwestern state. They are the only two research-intensive institutions in the state, and both have middle level teacher education programs preparing candidates in school-embedded clinical sites. Both teacher preparation programs are guided by the requirements from accrediting bodies, AMLE Teacher Preparation Standards, (AMLE, 2012) and the missions of our institutions. In this essay, we will describe our collaborative partnership and how two teacher educators from two institutions utilize school-embedded clinical sites to connect and prepare middle level …


Opening The Classroom Door - A Survey Of Middle Grades Teachers Who Mentor Preservice Teachers— Lessons From Clinical Partnerships And Implications For Practice, Steven L. Turner, Carie C. Greene Sep 2017

Opening The Classroom Door - A Survey Of Middle Grades Teachers Who Mentor Preservice Teachers— Lessons From Clinical Partnerships And Implications For Practice, Steven L. Turner, Carie C. Greene

Middle Grades Review

Mentor teachers that participate in school-university clinical experiences have a unique opportunity to support preservice middle grades teachers’ development and improve the schooling of young adolescents. This article investigates an early clinical experience and presents data from a survey of 38 middle school teachers who served as mentor teachers. Findings address how middle grades teachers view their role as mentors, their perceptions of the clinical experience as a collaborative learning partnership, and concludes with suggestions to improve clinical experiences for preservice middle grades teacher candidates.


Our History Clips: Collaborating For The Common Good, Beatrice N. Bailey Edd, Nora Mcmillan Sep 2017

Our History Clips: Collaborating For The Common Good, Beatrice N. Bailey Edd, Nora Mcmillan

Middle Grades Review

This case study reveals how middle school social studies teachers within a professional development program are encouraging their students to use multiple disciplinary literacies to create Our History Clips as they also work toward developing a classroom community of engaged student citizens.


Taking It To The Streets: Teaching Methods And Curriculum Courses On-Site With Partner Schools, Amanda Wall, Christine Draper Mar 2017

Taking It To The Streets: Teaching Methods And Curriculum Courses On-Site With Partner Schools, Amanda Wall, Christine Draper

Middle Grades Review

Our introductory middle grades course meets on-site in a partner school. This context for the course derives from an overall emphasis on partnerships in our College of Education. Meeting on-site affords teacher candidates more continuity in a middle level classroom so that they can observe young adolescents and middle level teaching. At the early stage of our program, this course meeting on-site helps prepare teacher candidates to contribute positively to schooling for young adolescents.


“You Want Me To Do What?” The Benefits Of Co-Teaching In The Middle Level, Ellis Hurd, Gary Weilbacher Mar 2017

“You Want Me To Do What?” The Benefits Of Co-Teaching In The Middle Level, Ellis Hurd, Gary Weilbacher

Middle Grades Review

Exemplary middle schools use interdisciplinary teaming which often involves some level of co-planning, co-teaching, and co-assessing. In addition to this collaborative foundation, federal mandates for supporting students have led to frequent co-teaching between special educators, bilingual/bicultural specialists, and regular classroom teachers. Given that middle level educational frameworks, current inclusion practices, and demands for differentiation are all dependent upon teachers working together, increasing the presence of co-teaching within middle level teacher education program is both pragmatically sound and connected to foundational theories of middle level education. Middle school teachers and university faculty members who engage in co-teaching with teacher candidates can …


Teaching In The Middle Grades Today: Examining Teachers’ Beliefs About Middle Grades Teaching, Mike Dicicco, Chris M. Cook, Shawn A. Faulkner Dec 2016

Teaching In The Middle Grades Today: Examining Teachers’ Beliefs About Middle Grades Teaching, Mike Dicicco, Chris M. Cook, Shawn A. Faulkner

Middle Grades Review

Since the beginning of the middle school movement in the mid-1960s, middle level advocates have called for a school experience for young adolescents grounded in adolescent development that engages students in meaningful learning (Eichhorn, 1966; Alexander & Williams, 1965). The aim of this exploratory multi-case study was to understand middle level teachers’ beliefs about middle level instruction in the current educational environment. To gain this understanding, researchers asked ten current middle grades teachers with varying levels of experience to discuss their beliefs regarding their primary purpose as a middle grades teacher, the current status of middle level teaching, their best …


“Where I’M From”: Utilizing Place-Based Pedagogy And Multimodal Literacy In A Graduate Children’S Literature Class, Stephanie M. Bennett Jun 2016

“Where I’M From”: Utilizing Place-Based Pedagogy And Multimodal Literacy In A Graduate Children’S Literature Class, Stephanie M. Bennett

Middle Grades Review

In this study, I examined integrating place-based education pedagogy and multimodal literacies into a graduate level children’s literature class. The findings suggest including place-based education pedagogy allows middle level graduate students to connect to geographically-based children’s literature. The findings also propose that incorporating multimodal texts into classroom assignments expands graduate students perceptions of text. Implications for implementing the assignment into 4-8 grade classes is discussed.