Education Commons^™

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

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.

The Pandemic As Pedagogical Provender: A Response To “The Global Pandemic As Learning Opportunities About The World: Extending School Curriculum”, Mary Beth Schaefer

Middle Grades Review

In this article, Mary Beth Schaefer responds to Bogum Yoon’s essay, “The Global Pandemic as Learning Opportunities about the World: Extending School Curriculum,” published in Middle Grades Review (2020). Schaefer situates Yoon’s ideas for integrative curriculum within core philosophies of the middle grades movement and challenges the field to take up Yoon’s suggestions to engage all middle grades students in integrative global investigations of the pandemic; furthermore, Schaefer suggests that educators might use these investigations as a way to initiate conversations with middle grades students and educators in other countries to facilitate international discourses and global perspectives.

Funds Of Knowledge And Global Competence In Urban Middle Schools, Jalene Tamerat

Middle Grades Review

Global competence—a necessary attribute in an increasingly interconnected world—describes having the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to act creatively and collaboratively on important global issues. In urban settings comprised of racial, ethnic, and/or linguistic-minority students, especially, a logical but seemingly underutilized facilitator of global competence would be instruction that draws from students’ funds of knowledge—the home-based practices central to a household’s functioning and well-being. In this study, 30 Boston-area teachers were interviewed using a semi-structured protocol to draw out their understandings of students’ funds of knowledge and their awareness of how these funds of knowledge might be used to further the …

A Review Of Trends In The Scope Of International Scholarship In Middle Level Education, 1989–2019, David C. Virtue, Cheryl R. Ellerbrock, Katherine M. Main

Middle Grades Review

Middle level education as a field of study has expanded during the last thirty years to include a growing, international knowledge base. The primary purpose of this review essay is to highlight trends in the extent to which refereed scholarship in the field of middle level education has reflected international content and perspectives during the last thirty years. To accomplish this task, the authors conducted a chronological review of the major refereed publications of the Association for Middle Level Education, Adolescent Success, and the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Middle Level Education Research (MLER) SIG as well as Middle Grades …

Learning Locally, Understanding Globally, Amy B. Demarest

Middle Grades Review

No abstract provided.

Do We Need Global Education In The Middle?, Kathleen Malu

Middle Grades Review

Do we need global education in the middle? This essay explores the answer to this question using various lenses. A brief overview of the history of global education within the middle school movement is presented as are the relevant goals from This We Believe (NMSA, 2010) and definitions of related terms. Using four dimensions of development—physical, intellectual, moral, and social-emotional—readers are asked to reflect as members of the middle level community and as individuals on their own understandings about the need for global education. The essay ends with recommendations for advancing global education, the author’s response to the question, and …

Global Education In Middle Grades: Editorial Remarks, Bogum Yoon

Middle Grades Review

No abstract provided.

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.

Leveraging Community Partnerships To Engage Digitally Foreign Learners In Response To Covid-19, W. Keith Burgess, Jimmeka L. Anderson

Middle Grades Review

This practitioner perspective discusses how creating and leveraging community partnerships in response to COVID-19 enhanced remote learning with science curriculum in an urban middle school with digitally foreign learners. The term digitally foreign learners was coined by the authors to contextualize the experiences of students with limited digital learning both at home and in school as a result of the digital divide. By developing a partnership with the nonprofit organization, I AM not the MEdia, Inc., along with parents and an external educator, the authors describe how a classroom blog site was created that enhanced remote learning engagement with …

Gender Engagement Differences With Remote Learning: A Middle Level Teacher's Perspective, Matt Chandler

Middle Grades Review

This essay shares the perspective of a sixth grade teacher working with students during a period of remote learning. Gender engagement data from multiple classrooms is presented. In addition, other research is cited to raise questions and concerns about student engagement equity during a period of remote learning.

“Making The Unusual Usual:” Students’ Perspectives And Experiences Of Learning At Home During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Mary Beth Schaefer, Sandra Schamroth Abrams, Molly Kurpis, Madeline Abrams, Charlotte Abrams

Middle Grades Review

This child-parent research is a student-led inquiry into three adolescent girls’ experiences of learning during the age of COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandate. In this collaborative autoethnography, a research team of five (three adolescent researchers—two of whom are sisters—and their respective mothers) met via videoconference to engage in five rounds of inductive and deductive data collection and analyses. Findings capture the three adolescents’ experiences of new teaching methods in new learning spaces: (1) the physical space of “Doing School at Home-How it feels;” (2) the negotiations undertaken by the girls called “Improvisation and a School Mindset;” and (3) the need to respond …

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 …

Middle Level Teachers Quarantine, Teach, And Increase Self-Efficacy Beliefs: Using Theory To Build Practice During Covid-19, Heather Rogers Haverback

Middle Grades Review

During COVID-19, almost all schools have been transformed into something unlike what they were before. Teaching that was done in person is now done virtually, with little to no preparation. Middle level teachers may have been confident in how to teach their content in the classroom; however, this confidence may differ when teaching virtually. Using the four sources of self-efficacy theory, I analyze the importance of self-efficacy and how teachers can use the COVID-19 pandemic to build their self-efficacy beliefs while teaching during this unique time.

Teaching Through Collective Trauma In The Era Of Covid-19: Trauma-Informed Practices For Middle Level Learners, Shantel D. Crosby Lmsw, Phd, Penny B. Howell Edm, Edd, Shelley Thomas Mat, Edd

Middle Grades Review

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on education and the ways in which teachers engage their students. Given the individual and collective traumatic nature and impact of this global health crisis, we provide specific strategies for addressing the needs of young adolescents while teaching remotely. Specifically, we posit that middle level educators should embed trauma-informed practices, focused on restoring safety and modeling adaptive behaviors, into their remote instructional practices. Recognizing that the COVID-19 crisis has a collective traumatic impact, affecting the lives and wellbeing of students and teachers alike, we also discuss the importance of self-care, providing strategies …

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

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

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.

Middle Grades Education In The Age Of Covid-19: Editorial Remarks, James F. Nagle, Penny A. Bishop

Middle Grades Review

No abstract provided.

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

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.

Applying Equity Literacy’S Four Abilities To Middle Schools For The Benefit Of Students Experiencing Homelessness, Matthew J. Moulton

Middle Grades Review

In this essay, I use the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001 to define homelessness and describe its prevalence in United States public schools. I present readers with statistics about student homelessness and situate Gorski’s equity literacy within the progressive, equity-oriented foundations of the middle school movement and as a means by which stakeholders could begin to address homelessness in their contexts. After presenting the four abilities of equity literate educators, I apply the abilities to the nuances of student homelessness in the middle grades.

I Found A Democratic School, Finally: A Response To “This Is What Democracy Looks Like: Some Thoughts On Democratic Schools”, Gary Weilbacher

Middle Grades Review

This article is a response to “This is What Democracy Looks Like: Some Thoughts on Democratic Schools” by James A. Beane, published in Volume 5, Issue 3 of the Middle Grades Review. The article provides a brief description of the author’s time in a private community school founded on democratic practices. He also recalls the interest in democratic schooling instilled by the 1990s movement tied to integrative curriculum. The author believes that it is time to revisit conversations around democratic schools and is hopeful that Beane’s article can help stimulate those discussions.

We Are All Unschoolers Now, Kathleen R. Kesson

Middle Grades Review

No abstract provided.

Teaching And Learning For Our Times: Editorial Remarks, James F. Nagle, Penny A. Bishop

Middle Grades Review

No abstract provided.

Acknowledgements, The Vermont Connection Executive Board 2019-2020

The Vermont Connection

No abstract provided.

New Connections

The Vermont Connection

No abstract provided.

(Dis)Connection Through Language: Interrogating Buzzword Culture In Student Affairs, Arnelle Faye Sambile

The Vermont Connection

No abstract provided.

They’Re Crying In The All-Gender Bathroom: Navigating Belonging In Higher Education While First Generation And Nonbinary, Jo D. Wilson

The Vermont Connection

Maintaining the sociocultural and interpersonal supports needed

to succeed in higher education as a first-generation student can

be very difficult due to a lack of familiarity with what brings

success. When this identity intersects with a nonbinary gender

identity, it further complicates higher education’s challenges and

may make solutions impossible to come by. My experience sits at

the intersection of these two identities and their gradual collision

and connection with success in higher education. Through this

narrative, I seek to unpack potential difficulties and nuances

for the increasingly diverse body of first generation students and

bring attention to the barriers …

Start With The Self: Modelling Constructive Self-Statements And Growing With Others, Benedicto B. Llave

The Vermont Connection

I explore in this paper the importance of starting with the self

to model constructive self-statements and create both individual

and collective healing. My intended audience within this paper

is student affairs professionals of color who exist in predominantly

white institutions (PWIs) of higher education. I ground this paper

in my lived experiences as a queer and 1st generation student

affairs graduate student of color at a PWI. Within my writing, I

detail practices that help me manifest constructive self-statements,

to share with other student affairs professionals of color to practice

healing self-statements for themselves. Lastly, I conclude with

the …