visions and practices in middle school education whittney smith, ed.d. [email protected]
TRANSCRIPT
“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
“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