9 Essential Questions Brainstorm Notes

Question 1: Why should an early adolescent’s educational experience by different from that of an elementary or high school student?

Ø Intense time of change

· Physical

· Cognitive

· Emotional

· Identity—figure out where you fit in

Ø This time of change is very diverse

Ø Curriculum

· Elementary school provides foundation

· High school emphasizes critical thinking

· Middle school uses the foundation to help students begin to engage in critical thinking

Ø Students need responsibility, yet a fair amount of guidance

Ø Sense of community is important, shift towards how the individual fits into that

community

Question 2: How can the organizational structure middle-level grades provide for the needs of an early adolescent?

Ø Organizational structures

· Types of scheduling

· Multi-age classrooms

· Homo/hetero groups

· Interdisciplinary teaching

· Looping

Ø Helping provide for the needs

· Helps become organized

· Allows responsibility

· Long term activities

· Provide stability and consistency

· Know what to expect

· Adjust easily to the unexpected

· Help students who need to work at being better

Question 3: What support structure should be provided for middle level students and why is this so important? What is the teacher’s role in this support system?

Ø Support structures

· Advisor-advisee

· Teams/grade families

· School

· Extracurricular groups

· Friends/Peers

· Parents

· Community

Ø Why important

· Need support during social changes

· Growing from dependency to independent

· Learn from implicit curriculum

Ø Teacher’s role

· Fills gap from other sources

· Advisor

· Show acceptance and support

Question 4: What curriculum is appropriate for the middle level student an dhow does the teacher access that curriculum?

Ø Curriculum

· Student-centered

· Manipulatives

· Diverse—multiple intelligences, race/ethnicity, ability, etc.

Ø Access

· Know your resources and your options

· Be creative

· Talk to others

· Know your students

· Know the topic

· Textbook reps

· Internet, library

· University resources

Question 5: What should characterize teaching and learning in the middle level classroom? Why?

Ø What

· Hands-on, minds-on

· Multiple intelligences

· Insightful teaching

· Relevant

· Interdisciplinary

Ø Why

· Involves all students

· Makes the learning and material more compelling

· Increased student learning

Question 6: What is the role of parents and community in the education of adolescents? How does the teacher engage these individuals in the students’ learning? Why is this important?

Ø PARTNERS

Ø Outreach activity—ways of getting parents and community into schools, like class grandparents, guest speakers, parent reading partners, etc.

Ø Service learning and community service—getting students to connect with community, like going to nursing homes, doing oral history projects, etc.

Ø Programming—official school activities and communications that are accessible to parents and community, like bilingual materials and meetings, having meetings off school grounds, etc.

Question 7: What should the environment be like in a middle level classroom? Why?

Ø Safe

Ø Supportive

Ø Positive (on multiple levels)

Ø Easy to see and hear

Ø Open

Ø Accepting

Ø Good learning environment

Question 8: What assessment and evaluation techniques are most appropriate for middle level students?

Ø Portfolio

Ø Using a variety of techniques

Ø Traditional and non-traditional (balance)

Ø Interviews

Ø Journals

Ø Demonstrations

Ø Performance assessments

Question 9: How does an effective middle level educator continue to learn and grow?

Ø Read—journals, book, internet

Ø Conferences—like Education Minnesota

Ø Organizations

Ø Community

Ø Open to new ideas

Ø Evaluate your lessons

Ø Collaborate with colleagues