Visions and Practices in Middle School Education

Whittney Smith, Ed.D.wsmithatc@gmail.com

Getting to know you… and them!

“Learning How to Kiss a Frog”

• Long legs,• Greasy,• Awkward, and…• Never seemingly knowing where they are

going

• They will eventually move out of this stage as long as someone is willing to “kiss them!”

Who are we talking about?

• 10 – 15 year olds – Period of the Most Rapid & Profound Change!– Patterns of thinking – need for concrete,

experiential learning– Movement toward reproductive maturity - physical,

emotional, and social concerns– Body Image Concern – crucial period for developing

healthy personal habits– Desire for Peer acceptance – allegiance shifts from

adults to peers

What makes a middle school (different)?

“… Intellectual growth means much more than increasing competence in the academic content of the curriculum.

We must endeavor to stimulate in the child a love for learning, an attitude of inquiry, a passion of truth and

beauty, a questioning mind. The learning of right answers is not enough… beyond answers alone, we

must help children ask the right questions, and discover their answers through creative thinking, reasoning,

judging, and understanding.”

- Dr. William Alexander (1963)

This We Believe:Keys to Educating Young Adolescents

Culture and Community

Characteristics

Leadership and

Organization Characteristics

Curriculum, Instruction,

and Assessment

Characteristics

Importance of Middle Level Education

Young Adolescents

Major Goals of Middle Level Education

Essential Attributes and Characteristics

Structures

Philosophy &Management

Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment

Technology

Communication &

Community Course

Objectives

Structures

• Teaming

• Advisory

• Looping

• Schedule Structures

“Chalk Talk”

• What do you know about…?– Teaming– Advisory– Looping– Scheduling Structures

• http://www.nsrfharmony.org/system/files/protocols/chalk_talk_0.pdf

Teaming

• Interdisciplinary teaming (Teacher Teams)• Common planning time for teachers• Flexible scheduling (Student Teams)• More teacher support and collaboration in

this model• Commitment to success for all students and

each other• Consistency – Common Expectations!

Advisory• An advisory program is an arrangement whereby one adult

and a small group of students have an opportunity to interact on a scheduled basis:– Promote student-teacher relationships– Address general self-esteem and competence beliefs – Provide social exchange and peer recognition in a safe environment– Link parents and school– Mediate between academic and social concerns

• Activities can focus on building a group identity and name , creating a theme and displaying it on a bulletin board, creating a T-shirt to be worn on spirit days, completing a community service project, or friendly competition via an intramural program to build a sense of team identity ; activities to foster “Growth Mindset,” etc.National Middle School Association

Looping• Looping can be defined as a teacher remaining

with a group of students over multiple years.Pros ConsRelationships with students Relationships with students

Relationships with parents and families Students adapt less to change – “comfortableness”

Understanding student needs / personalization

Teachers can get too comfortable - complacency

Promotes teacher innovation / Increased student risk taking

Less exposure to different teaching / learning methods

Classroom management Teachers are less skilled and comfortable at every level

Schedule Structures

Sample 8th Grade Schedule