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Teaching in the Middle Grades Today: Examining Teachers’ Beliefs About Middle Grades Teaching
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | DiCicco, Mike Cook, Chris M. Faulkner, Shawn A. |
| Copyright Year | 2016 |
| Abstract | 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 (Alexander & Williams, 1965; Eichhorn, 1966). The aim of this exploratory multicase study was to understand middle level teachers’ beliefs about middle level instruction in the current educational environment. To gain this understanding, researchers asked 10 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 and worst instructional lessons, and their perceived barriers to teaching at the middle level. The teachers described the role of teaching in the middle grades as challenging and stressful, but of great importance. In general, they described instruction that included discovery, student engagement, and relevance in an effort to address students’ academic development. There was minimal mention of the non-academic aspects of adolescent development. Finally, teachers viewed curriculum restrictions, students’ attitudes toward learning, difficulty with differentiation, and lack of technology as significant barriers to their success in the classroom. Since the beginning of the middle school movement in the mid-1960s, middle level advocates have called for a school experience for young adolescents that is both grounded in adolescent development (physical, social, emotional, moral, and cognitive needs) and engages students in relevant, integrated, challenging, and exploratory learning experiences (National Middle School Association [NMSA], 2010; Toepfer, 1997). To accomplish this goal, middle level schools are to provide specific organizational structures (e.g., teaming, advisory programs, common planning time, interdisciplinary units) to support a studentcentered learning environment in which children receive a more individualized educational experience in a smaller, meaningful, learning community (Beane, 1997; George & Alexander, 2003; Jackson & Davis, 2000). This developmentally responsive approach is commonly referred to as the middle school model. While support for the model has generally increased over the past 50 years, current educational challenges appear to be stalling any positive momentum. Due to teacher shortages, alternative certification options, decreased funding in public schools, increased emphasis on assessment demands, and inconsistent implementation of the specific components of the middle school model in schools, the question exists as to whether this type of educational experience is still commonplace in middle grade schools across the US. As teacher educators who spend time in numerous classrooms, we have noticed the seeming lack of understanding of the middle grades philosophy and reduced commitment to key middle school organizational structures and practices. While some teachers articulate the belief that the middle school model is a philosophical framework to guide their practice, their instructional decisions and practices within their current teaching context do not always reflect the beliefs they articulate. We were interested in examining the beliefs of teachers who completed a specialized middle level teacher preparation program and their perceptions about their own teaching. As such, this exploratory study sought to capture the perceptions of current middle grades teachers and their experiences and beliefs about teaching in a middle grades school. Specifically, this study sought to answer the following questions: 1 DiCicco et al.: Teachers' Beliefs About Middle Grades Teaching Published by ScholarWorks @ UVM, 2016 1. What are the perceptions of middle grades teachers about the current status of teaching at the middle level? 2. What do teachers consider their primary purpose as teachers of middle grades students? 3. What characteristics and activities are present in teachers’ descriptions of the instructional lessons they are least and most proud of? 4. What are the barriers to teaching at the middle level? |
| Starting Page | 3 |
| Ending Page | 3 |
| Page Count | 1 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Volume Number | 2 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1154810.pdf |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1046&context=mgreview |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1046&context=mgreview&httpsredir=1&referer= |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
