Teaching in the Middle Grades

 This week, the focus was on utilizing active learning strategies in the middle school classroom. We have learned in the previous weeks that middle school students need to be engaged in their learning, perhaps more so than any other age group. Thus, it makes sense that this week allowed us to zero in on ways to make this a reality in our future classes.  Active learning is a topic I have thought a lot about, especially right before I made the big decision to enroll in Trinity's program and become a licensed teacher. I previously got my bachelor's degree in  English and double-majored in History before completing my master's degree in History in 2013. After I was finished, I taught as an adjunct instructor at several two-year colleges around the area. Since I had an M.A. in history, I was considered qualified to teach it. However, I had no idea how to teach students. I only had the experience of how I was taught in college - and that involved a heavy amount of lectures and...

 This week, we read in detail about what a middle school curriculum should consist of. Not only should it be tailored to the specific needs of the young adolescent age group, but it should also be appropriately challenging. Furthermore, a strong curriculum should involve utilizing various different teaching strategies to ensure that active learning is taking place. One element that the AMLE text talked about a lot is the need for the curriculum of a middle school to be relevant. That is, what students are learning needs to be connected in some way, if possible, to their own lives. This made sense to me, as we learned last week that one of the main characteristics of middle schoolers is that they are developing their own opinions and perspectives on the world around them, and may start to question things more. One example of this might be asking, "Why do we have to learn this?" or wondering how what they are learning relates to their own daily lives and the issues they are con...

 This first week, the readings focused on the history or "origin story" of middle schools and their development, as well as the key principles of educating young adolescents. What really resonated with me as I considered the textbook and article is the focus on adapting both curricula and things like classroom environment and activities to this particular developmental stage. It was encouraging to me because I feel that students this age need to be considered for who they are as individuals, but also for their stage of life. Adolescence can be a roller-coaster ride, and I knew when I decided to teach teenagers that I had to be aware of and sensitive to this with my future students. It is reassuring that those who are making decisions for the middle school curriculum, such as the Association for Middle School Education, seem to feel the same.  It was interesting to read that seemingly simple things, like friendly interactions with adults, can provide students the encouragement...