Middle School Reform Research Articles

Study on the Status Quo and Cultivation Strategies of English Teachers' Classroom Discourse Competence of English Normal Students

The English education reform in primary and middle schools poses a great challenge for English teacher trainees as future front-line teachers. They not only need to master subject-specific knowledge and educational expertise , but also need to have a concept that English subject has played an important role in cultivating students’ holistic development. In this context, English teachers with accurate and expressive pronunciation can serve as role models for students, but also lay a solid foundation for beginners' pronunciation. The standardized and appropriate teachers' classroom discourse in achieving teaching objectives and developing various teaching activities should be emphasized, and the research on the strategies on the cultivation of English teachers' classroom discourse competence among English majors in normal universities, also known as English normal students, need to be carried out. In view of this, this paper first clarify the overall objectives of the English curriculum in primary and middle schools, which is the main theoretical basis of this paper, and then explores the effective strategies for cultivating English normal students' classroom discourse competence, based on the observation and analysis of English teachers' classroom discourse proficiency.

Relationship between Socio-Economic Status, Interpersonal Communication, and School Climate with Parental Involvement in Early Childhood Education

Relationship between Socio-Economic Status, Interpersonal Communication, and School Climate with Parental Involvement in Early Childhood Education

Early Adolescents’ Adjustment at School: A Fresh Look at Grade and Gender Differences

This study examined group differences by grade (fifth graders in elementary school and sixth graders in middle school) and gender in academic (behavioral and emotional engagement, academic self-concept, and worry) and socio-emotional adjustment (self-esteem, social satisfaction, social self-concept, and worry). Self-report data were collected from 1,003 students in the fall and spring of the school year (51.2% female, 36.7% Black, 47.2% White, 7.5% Hispanic, 5.7% Asian, 3% Other). Grade differences were null or favored fifth graders for academic adjustment. Grade differences were null or favored sixth graders for socio-emotional adjustment. Gender differences were null or favored girls for academic and socio-emotional adjustment; however, girls reported more worry in both domains. Change over time generally disfavored girls leading to the emergence of, or increases in, gender gaps by spring. The discussion considers early adolescent development and the need for continued attention to middle school reform regarding academic adjustment and gender differences.

Collaborative resistance to digitized instruction in a rural middle school

How can middle-level educators improve reading achievement when digitized texts and tests manage their instruction? Experienced Osage Middle School reading teachers and school administrators addressed this question as they examined their Istation reading curriculum, and higher education faculty partners were invited to portray this work. Teaching to standardized tests, assigning low interest texts, and even digitizing controlled reading instruction were accepted practices at Osage Middle School. This portrait of reform illustrates how these practices were successfully resisted and reconstructed in just one academic year. The Osage educators’ resistance was portrayed in three stages. First, the school’s accepted literacy practices were named as digitized managed events that diminished educator authority. Then co-investigations of new reading instruction deconstructed these accepted practices. Eventually the new reading instruction practices transformed the school’s reading curriculum. Possibilities for further research suggested by the Osage Middle School reform portrait include examining the invisibility of low achieving readers, investigating the paradoxes of managing controlled instruction, and testing the utility of collaborative educator inquiry.

Examining Montessori Middle School through a Self-Determination Theory Lens: A Mixed Methods Study of the Lived Experiences of Adolescents

This study examined the influence of enrollment on the development of self-determination in a Montessori middle school. Bounded by self-determination and student voice theory, this research was designed to give voice to students, add to the discourse on middle school reform, and provide the perspective of the student to the critique of middle level education.Based on the analysis of narrative major themes indicated the importance of autonomy and relatedness. Students valued the ability to choose the order of their tasks and the tasks they could choose to demonstrate understanding as well as the ability to re-take tests. These changes require a paradigm shift to a student-centered learning environment.

Transforming Teaching through Arts Integration

Author(s): Snyder, Lori; Klos, Patricial; Grey-Hawkins, Lauren | Abstract: Transforming Teaching through Arts IntegrationAI Implementation Results: Middle School Reform through Effective Arts Integration Professional Development In four years, Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) increased sixth and seventh grade student achievement on the Maryland State Assessment (MSA) by 20% at Bates Middle School, a low performing school that had been targeted for restructuring by the state. This improvement positively correlates with the implementation of the arts integration Supporting Arts Integrated Learning for Student Success (SAILSS) model funded through the Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination (AEMDD) grant. This model, offered to teachers across all content areas, incorporates extensive professional development opportunities including: an intensive weeklong workshop for teachers with artists followed by a two-week teaching lab with students; participation in an cohort to achieve an arts integration post-baccalaureate certificate,; and extensive trainings, conferences and workshops at local, regional, and national schools, museums, arts institutes, and higher education facilities. Qualitative and quantitative data collected by AACPS was assessed through a quasi-experimental design from the treatment and comparison schools utilizing the following instrumentation: state and local standardized testing, School-level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ), Arts Integration: Classroom Observations for Middle Schools (AICOM), arts integration logs and parent, student, and teacher surveys. Through this study we found that in addition to increasing student achievement on statewide assessments, implementing this arts integration model positively correlates with a 77% decline in discipline referrals, and overall positive change in school climate based on teacher, staff, student, and parent perception.

Effective middle school teacher teams: a ternary model of interdependency rather than a catch phrase

The introduction of middle schooling in Australia has brought about changes to the working conditions of many teachers including finding themselves in teacher teams. The formation of such teams has been identified as critical to Australian middle school reform with teacher teams underpinning several of the fundamental components of a middle school philosophy. For teachers, however, changing their previous practice is a challenging task. Imposed changes often demand new knowledge and skills that teachers are unlikely to have met in their own education or developed in their preceding classroom work. However, changes in teaching practices must be complemented by changes at the school level. That is, individual learning must be supported by concurrent organisational learning. Using structured interviews and participant as observer field notes, this study focused on identifying factors at individual, team and school levels that could enable or hinder the successful implementation of teaching teams. At an individual level, we found that it took time for teachers to learn and perfect the necessary new forms of instruction. At a team level, team processes were shown to need administrative support (i.e. resources both human and physical), and at a school level, the norms and customs that shape a school’s culture were shown to either promote or frustrate teaming practices.

Jumping the hurdles: establishing middle school teams

Small learning communities are an integral feature of middle schooling practice. Across Australian education systems, the creation of small teaching ‘teams’ responsible for the same group of students has been a strategy frequently adopted to develop small learning communities. Recently, the formation of these teams has been identified as a critical issue for middle school reform. Successful formation of a middle school teaching team requires a commitment by administration (top-down) and team members (bottom-up) to establishing a structure and culture of teamwork. A year-long study into the formation and subsequent development of middle school teaching teams highlighted the need for schools introducing team practices to consider the cultural aspects of the wider school community that are needed to support and maintain teams over time. That is, the culture of the school should support team practices by providing such necessary supports as time and resources (i.e., training and administrative support). Along with analysis of individual semi-structured interviews, participant and observation notes, literature on evidence-led theory of organizational culture provides an understanding of the challenges of establishing a teaming culture in Australian middle schools.

Reforming the Middle Years Curriculum in an International School: A Naturalistic Inquiry

This dissertation reports on the experiences of a small group of teachers and administrators as they endeavoured to reform the middle years curriculum of an international school in Japan. This single case study is based primarily upon the observations of the researcher, a middle school teacher at the school and a key participant in the reform process. This study is positioned in the naturalistic paradigm which allows for the accumulation of sufficient knowledge to lead to a holistic understanding of middle years curriculum reform within this context. Reforming the middle years of schooling has received renewed attention in recent years. A new paradigm is emerging about the nature of schooling in this significant stage of life that is now recognised as crucial to the formation of attitudes, values, and habits of mind that shape the individual‘s identity and development as an adult. Despite the growth and status of international schools, very little is known about the nature and processes of middle years curriculum reform in this context. The central aim of this study was to provide a detailed and authentic account of the process of curriculum reform that can validate, guide and extend the current body of knowledge on middle years curriculum reform and is meaningful and useful to educators in the international school context. Three dimensions of reform emerged in this study: the process of reform, identified as a multidimensional and interconnected process that ventured through six identifiable phases; the product of the reform, the Humankind Curriculum, was found to have its core features grounded in shared understandings of effective middle schooling; and the dynamics of change, which revealed a professional learning community as the catalyst for change, with the interplay of relational trust, leadership, interpersonal relationships and collaboration as empowering the capacity for reculturing the middle school. While the findings contribute to the current body of knowledge on middle school reform in the international school context, they also provide direction for further discussion, exploration and research.

“Under pressure I fall back to being a teacher…” confronting contending desires for schooling and teaching in a middle school reform project

This article examines a Victorian high school’s implementation of a new Year 9 program which was intended to interrupt a traditional academic curriculum and to create an imagined oasis of care and personal development for students. It explores ways in which (1) the existing culture and context of the school continues to frame the subjectivities of teachers, students and parents in relation to the new program, (2) the attempt to preserve a competitive academic traditional orientation alongside an alternative approach is a central dilemma for this school, and (3) the new relationships between teachers and students are experienced by them as an interplay of pleasure and surveillance, connection and discipline. The article argues that the conflicts and pressures experienced by the teachers and students are not simply local and contingent ones but indicative of wider tensions in current Australian education policy.

Troubling teacher talk: The challenge of changing classroom discourse patterns

The middle years are a crucial stage of schooling where the range in student achievement widens and progress for some students slows significantly (Cairney, Buchanan, Sproats & Lowe 1998, Hill & Russell 1999). Despite moves towards middle school reform and improved literacy standards, there remains a gap in literacy provision for young adolescent learners, particularly those defined as ‘educationally disadvantaged’ or ‘at risk’ (DEETYA 1998, Masters & Forster 1997). Many literacy intervention programs offered to underachieving adolescents fail to articulate to mainstream curriculum and assessment practices, or to scaffold students adequately in meeting the literacy demands of an increasingly abstract and specialised curriculum (Christie 1990, Unsworth 2001). These often lead to a differentiated and limited curriculum which may compound educational disadvantage and maintain stratified outcomes. This article investigates a mainstream and intervention literacy pedagogy designed to improve the outcomes of disadvantages learners while at the same time accelerating the progress of all students in the middle years.

Comprehensive School Reform in Middle Schools: The Effects of Different Ways of Knowing on Student Achievement in a Large Urban District

Comprehensive school reform (CSR), a federally funded program, is designed to raise student achievement via the implementation of whole school reforms. Unfortunately, although close to 400 CSR models have been adopted by schools nationally, there is relatively limited empirical evidence from rigorous research studies regarding the effectiveness of CSR in general or of specific models in particular. Of additional importance is the extent to which CSR models can demonstrate positive effects over time. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects on student achievement and attendance, in an urban school district in Kentucky, of the Year 3 implementation of the Different Ways of Knowing (DWoK) for the Middle Grades model. Results indicated that achievement results on both the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills and Kentucky Core Content Test were significantly superior for the DWoK schools relative to matched control schools; no positive impacts on student attendance occurred for Year 3. The implications of the study lies in revealing that learner-centered CSR models that integrate the arts with the core curriculum can produce observable achievement gains in both normed- and criterion-referenced tests.

Reforming Middle Schools: Focus on Continuity, Social Connectedness, and Engagement

This article provides a brief historical context and analysis of current middle school reform efforts to promote student engagement by facilitating social relationships. International comparisons of perceived social climate are presented to assess whether sense of belonging and support are lacking in American schools. Research documenting associations between student engagement and relationships with teachers and fellow students, in turn, sheds light on when and why social connectedness matters. The article concludes with discussion of future reform goals and alternative strategies to foster student engagement by making middle grades more socially supportive.

Adolescent Literacies Within the Middle Years of Schooling: A Case Study of a Year 8 Homeroom

This article argues that issues surrounding adolescent literacies problematize the relationship between the acquisition of core skills, the need to connect with a more expansive repertoire of literate practices, and a middle school reform initiative that encourages greater connectedness to the world of the adolescent. The terms public literacy and private literacy are used to offer an expanded notion of the concept of adolescent literacy. A case study representing one teacher and one student's construction of literacy in a year 8 homeroom is presented to determine whether attention was paid to an expanded notion of what it means to be literate as young adolescents. It is argued that the private literacies of adolescents need to be teased out and embedded within middle school reform.

The Social Context of Middle School: Teachers, Friends, and Activities in Montessori and Traditional School Environments

Abstract This study compared the time use and perceptions of schools, teachers, and friends of approximately 290 demographically matched students in Montessori and traditional middle schools. We used the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) and questionnaires and conducted multivariate analyses showing that the Montessori students (a ) reported more positive perceptions of their school environment and their teachers, and (b ) more often perceived their classmates as friends while at school. ESM time estimates suggested that the 2 school environments were also organized in different ways: Montessori students spent more time engaged with school‐related tasks, chores, collaborative work, and individual projects; traditional students spent more time in social and leisure activities and more time in didactic educational settings (e.g., listening to a lecture, note taking, watching instructional videos). These results are discussed in terms of current thought on motivation in education and middle school reform.

Middle School Students’ Motivation and Quality of Experience: A Comparison of Montessori and Traditional School Environments

This study compared the motivation and quality of experience of demographically matched students from Montessori and traditional middle school programs. Approximately 290 students responded to the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) and filled out questionnaires. Multivariate analyses showed that the Montessori students reported greater affect, potency (i.e., feeling energetic), intrinsic motivation, flow experience, and undivided interest (i.e., the combination of high intrinsic motivation and high salience or importance) while engaged in academic activities at school. The traditional middle school students reported higher salience while doing academic work; however, such responses were often accompanied by low intrinsic motivation. When engaged in informal, nonacademic activities, the students in both school contexts reported similar experiences. These results are discussed in terms of current thought on motivation in education and middle school reform.

Opportunities and challenges of China?s inquiry-based education reform in middle and high schools: Perspectives of science teachers and teacher educators

Consistent with international trends, an emergent interest in inquiry-based science teaching and learning in K-12 schools is also occurring in China. This study investigates the possibilities for and the barriers to enactment of inquiry-based science education in Chinese schools. Altogether 220 Chinese science teachers, science teacher educators and researchers (primarily from the field of chemistry education) participated in this study in August 2001. Participants represented 13 cities and provinces in China. We administered two questionnaires, one preceding and one following a 3-hour presentation by a US science educator and researcher about inquiry-based teaching and learning theories and practices. In each of three sites in which the study was conducted (Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing), questionnaires were administered, and four representative participants were interviewed. Our coding and analysis of quantifiable questionnaire responses (using a Likert scale), of open-ended responses, and of interview transcripts revealed enthusiastic interest in incorporating inquiry-based teaching and learning approaches in Chinese schools. However, Chinese educators face several challenges: (a) the national college entrance exam needs to align with the goals of inquiry-based teaching; (b) systemic reform needs to happen in order for inquiry-based science to be beneficial to students, including a change in the curriculum, curriculum materials, relevant resources, and teacher professional development; (c) class size needs to be reduced; and (d) an equitable distribution of resources in urban and rural schools needs to occur.

Multiple Change Agents Work for Middle Grades School Reform

Multiple Change Agents Work for Middle Grades School Reform

More Than Texts Need Reform in Middle Schools

More Than Texts Need Reform in Middle Schools

More Than Texts Need Reform in Middle Schools

I endorse John Hubisz’s quest to improve textbooks for middle-school science courses and to stress the accuracy of the material. But perhaps emphasizing the good parts of the existing books would provide more immediate progress.We scientists who have been working with publishers to write middle-school texts have managed to provide a lot of accurate and interesting content for students; the presence of this better material should be emphasized. Criticism may be fun—and gets a lot of publicity—but is less effective than pointing out the best of the available materials. Alternative distribution systems will not soon match those of the existing publishers, so students and teachers should be encouraged to use and appreciate the good material that exists in the current textbook system.© 2003 American Institute of Physics.