To celebrate the changing of the year, we annually present our "Top
20 Articles and Reports for Folks Interested in School Reform and the Middle
Grades." We hope you'll find a useful article or two you missed the
first time around.
Some articles listed here require that you be able to download (open) Adobe
Acrobat PDF documents. "PDF" is fast becoming the standard for
posting "photo-perfect" facsimiles of reports and other documents
that contain charts, graphs, illustrations and other non-type images. If
you do not have the capability presently to download PDF documents, we highly
recommend that you obtain and install the
free software from the Adobe website or have a friendly techie do it
for you.
For a complete list of MiddleWeb's "Articles of Particular Interest,"
visit this page.
The Top 20 for 2000
(Plus a selection of some of the "Best
of the Rest")
MIDDLE
GRADES: FEELING THE SQUEEZE
This 40-page special report from Education Week looks at the frequent disconnect
between middle school "philosophy" and high academic achievement;
considers the issue of teacher preparation for the middle grades; and identifies
"four middle schools that have made great strides in meeting the social,
psychological, and academic needs of their students." Link leads to
the table of contents. A resources link is available on this page.
MIDDLE
SCHOOL PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
These collaborative tools can help districts, principals, teachers, and
parents build school and public support for the implementation of standards.
Created by the Collaborative Communications Group with support from the
Program for Student Achievment of the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. This
updated site includes information on activities for Back to School Night,
Middle School Open House, "Standards 101": A Parent Forum on Standards,
Classroom Observation and Coaching, Standards-Based Report Cards, and more.
Visitors can also order a pair of videos that help explain the goals of
standards-based education in the middle grades to parents and educators.
http://www.publicengagement.com/tools/standard_videos.html
EFFECTIVE
LITERACY INSTRUCTION IN MIDDLE SCHOOL
What's the difference between instruction in a typical middle or high school
English classroom and one that produces better-than-average learning? This
16-page booklet from the National Research Center on English Learning and
Achievement (based on a two-year
study of 25 middle and high schools) identifies six strategies that
make English instruction effective. "Guidelines for Teaching Middle
and High School Students to Read and Write Well" is available as a
PDF download (takes about 10 minutes) or can be ordered free by mail at
the site.
LOOKING
AT STUDENT WORK WITH PARENTS
"Looking at Student Work Together," a preliminary report of the
Annenberg Institute Working Group on Teacher and Parent Collaboration, explores
questions like: "How should issues of teaching and learning be 'made
public'? What would educators learn from structured feedback from parents?
What would the parent community gain from a deeper understanding of the
work of schools?" The authors offer five case studies, including the
experience of Sun Valley Middle School in California.
A
GREAT MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH GAME
"Early in each school year," writes middle grades math teacher
Marie Appleby, "I want my students to examine the methods they use
to approach problem solving. The Petals Around the Rose problem confronts
students with a lot of data and an answer, but no formal question and no
explicit conditions of the problem." This engaging lesson plan at the
Eisenhower National Clearinghouse site includes a colorful "how-to"
display. Also see "Roll
With It," a math-science integration activity that uses toy cars
to teach open inquiry.
MIDDLE
SCHOOL REFORM: WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Middle level education is now firmly established as an important link in
the chain of young people's educational experiences, says Hayes Mizell,
speaking at a conference of middle grades educators involved in the Middle
Start Initiative for Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana. "Yet, there
is disquiet in the middle school community," Mizell says, as policymakers
criticize the lagging performance of middle graders and local educators
and school board members frequently show "little or no practical understanding
of the purpose of middle schools, or the levels of supervision and support
necessary for middle schools to operate effectively." Mizell describes
core issues facing the middle school movement and points to some key resources
available to educators who are serious about middle grades reform.
NATIONAL
PLAN FOR STAFF DEVELOPMENT
"Despite a decade and a half of reform talk, teachers mostly continue
to teach as they have in the past," write Dennis Sparks and Stephanie
Hirsh of the National Staff Development Council in this important paper,
A National Plan for Improving Professional Development, released in December
1999. "If states want teachers to radically change their results to
get all students achieving," Sparks and Hirsh conclude, "they
must give teachers the tools, support, and training to radically change
their practice."
TEACHING
FOR UNDERSTANDING
Harvard's Project Zero offers a useful interactive examination of what it
means to "teach for understanding" at its ALPS website. Start
at this link and work your way through a simple interrogative. Then examine
a Richard Wilbur poem that offers more insights, look at a performance criterion,
a framework, and more.
A
MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER WHO NEVER STOPS LEARNING
Researcher Eija Rougle offers an in-depth profile of a highly successful
seventh- grade language arts teacher who, after 30 years, continues to improve
her teaching and grow as a professional. "This case study, prepared
after two years of research, observations, and regular communication with
(Cathy) Starr, provides a picture of the kind of rich professional environment
Starr works within as well as the exemplary ways in which Starr uses her
growing knowledge of teaching language arts." (Complete text.)
USING
RUBRICS TO PROMOTE MIDDLE GRADES LEARNING
Instructional rubrics not only help teachers evaluate student work -- they
can help them improve their professional craft. Heidi Goodrich Andrade reports
on research conducted at Harvard Project Zero and supported by the Edna
McConnell Clark Foundation. Includes examples and a step-by-step guide to
writing your own instructional rubrics. More
examples from Andrade's work.
A GREAT
RESOURCE: THE KNOWLEDGE LOOM
This web-based resource on what works in teaching & learning is being
developed by the LAB at Brown University, with help from the National Staff
Development Council and other practice-oriented organizations. In addition
to its "growing searchable collection of promising practices on a range
of topics," the Knowledge Loom includes a special focus on professional
development that includes "research-based practices & examples
of those practices in real schools."
MIDDLE
SCHOOL SELF-ASSESSMENT
The Academy for Educational Development's (AED) School Self-Assessment Project
is an approach that enables schools to collect and use data to improve teaching
and learning. A school undertaking self-assessment involves its whole staff
in a process of goal-setting regarding student learning, and "sets
in motion an ongoing cycle of internal self-review and external peer review."
The process "enables the school to develop a culture of inquiry, reflection
and continuous improvement." This article from the NASSP's "Schools
in the Middle" describes AED's work in connection with eight middle
schools in the Michigan Middle Start program.
MIDDLE
SCHOOLS TO WATCH
This article, reprinted from NMSA's "Middle Ground" magazine,
describes the criteria and process used by the National Forum to Accelerate
Middle Grades Reform to select schools for the Forum's "Schools to
Watch" program. A related
story in NASSP's "Schools in the Middle" magazine profiles
two of the closely-watched schools.
"HOW-TO"
SERIES FROM NEW AMERICAN SCHOOLS
Go to this address on the New American Schools website and scroll about
halfway down the page. Here you'll find a series of Getting Better By Design
"how-to" files in Adobe Acrobat/PDF format. They include, among
others, "How to Rethink School Budgets to Support School Transformation,"
"How to Rebuild a Local Professional Development Infrastructure;"
"How to Make the Link Between Standards, Assessments, and Real Student
Achievement;" "How To Build Local Support for Comprehensive School
Reform," and "How to Evaluate Comprehensive School Reform Models."
SOCIAL
SUPPORT & STUDENT LEARNING (PDF file)
Produced by the Consortium on Chicago School Research, "Social Support,
Academic Press, and Student Achievement: A View from the Middle Grades in
Chicago," examines the complex relationship between student social
support and student learning. "In schools with a strong press toward
academics, students who experience high levels of support learn quite a
lot. In schools where the academic press is low, even students with high
levels of social support do not learn." (Large PDF/Adobe Acrobat file.Worth
the wait.)
MIDDLE
GRADES MATH AND LITERACY ISSUES
In her paper, "Mathematics in the Middle Grades: Linking Research and
Practice," Judith Sowder discusses "some of what we know about
mathematics in the middle school that affects the learning process"
and uses examples from her research to illustrate effective teaching strategies.
In another paper from the National Conference on Curriculum, Instruction,
and Assessment in the Middle Grades, "Grappling
with the Big Issues in Middle Grades Literacy Education," Dr. Donna
Alvermann identifies pressing issues in middle grades literacy education
and summarizes what the research says (and does not say) about them.
EDUCATION
TRUST'S "STANDARDS IN PRACTICE"
Standards in Practice (SIP) -- developed by the Education Trust -- is a
professional development strategy to ensure that classroom activities are
aligned with standards. SIP can be used to evaluate classroom assignments,
projects, courses, curricula, and teachers' and administrators' performances.
"Students can do no better than the assignments they are given,"
Ed Trust leaders say, "so those assignments must be demanding, rigorous,
and aligned with the highest standards." Suitable for middle grades
programs.
REINVENTING
THE PRINCIPALSHIP
This new report from the Institute for Educational Leadership -- "Leadership
for Student Learning: Reinventing the Principalship" -- draws on the
work of IEL's Task Force on Principal Leadership, chaired by Joseph Murphy
and Paul Schwarz. "The core mission of the principalship must be redefined
as leadership for student learning. Communities must fill the pipeline with
effective school leaders...and guarantee quality and results." Includes
guidelines for communities that wish to start conversations on reinventing
the principalship. Find the link to a PDF file of the report.
MIDDLEWEB
LISTSERV CONVERSATIONS
This pair of archived conversation "strings" from the MiddleWeb
educator listserv explore various kinds of teacher study and "critical
friends" groups, including a look at teacher book circles. The second
conversation includes a list of important "Do's and Don'ts"
from a list member who directed a study group project in two middle schools.Find
all archived listserve conversations here.
BLOCK
SCHEDULING REVISITED
Principals and teachers have limited the effectiveness of block schedules,
writes J. Allen Queen in the November 2000 KAPPAN. Some principals "have
limited understanding of the science of scheduling and lack specific skills
in evaluating effective teaching practices," he says, while many teachers
"do not follow pacing guides" and "use lecture and teacher-directed
discussion extensively." These problems are aggravated by poor monitoring
and under-training, says Queen.
BEST OF THE REST:
STANDARDS RESOURCES
THE STANDARDS MOVEMENT --
WATCHING FOR MR. HYDE
Thoughtfully conceived, conscientiously implemented, and carefully evaluated,
educational standards can benefit middle grades students and education,
Hayes Mizell tells the Twelfth Annual America's At-Risk Youth National Forum.
"But those three modifiers -- thoughtful, conscientious, careful --
do not describe the policy or political environment in which most educators
operate. What begins as Dr. Jekyll often turns into Mr. Hyde." Mizell
takes a measure of the standards movement's evolution and proposes a list
of questions that put the movement "to the ultimate assessment."
EVALUATING MIDDLE GRADES
CURRICULA
Until relatively recently, say the authors of this recent NASSP Bulletin
article, few curriculum materials were available "to help teachers
provide an academically rigorous education for all the students in their
classes." That situation has changed for middle grades educators, especially
in math and science, say Lynn T. Goldsmith and Ilene Kantrov of the Education
Development Center, Inc. A rich selection of materials "designed from
the outset around the principles of standards-based reform" are now
being offered -- materials that have been reviewed by content area experts
and pilot and field-tested to ensure that they are effective in classroom
settings.
SUCCESSFUL
STANDARDS-BASED SCHOOL REFORM
Schools big and small show that standards-based reform doesn't have to mean
"standardization." But it does require building "a culture
of excellence," says this article in the latest edition of the Harvard
Education Letter. In "Successful School Reform Efforts Share Common
Features," writer Andreae Downs highlights some characterisitcs of
schools that are making standards-based reform work and includes links to
many additional resources. (Complete text online.)
STANDARDS-BASED
MIDDLE GRADES CURRICULUM PLANNING
Curriculum alignment is often viewed as a daunting task, writes middle school
researcher Howard Johnston in this resource for school leaders at the Middle
School Partnership site. "The enormity of this task appears overwhelming
to teachers who struggle with trying to find enough time to complete even
routine obligations, so not many faculties have been willing to undertake
a curriculum alignment task on their own." Johnston's goal is to answer
this question for principals and district leaders: "How Do I Do This
Without Killing My Faculty?" (Text and resource links.) Also see Escambia
County (FL)'s curriculum analysis process.
LONG BEACH MIDDLE GRADES
REFORM: RAISING THE STAKES
The final issue of "Changing Schools in Long Beach," published
by the Focused Reporting Project with support from the Edna McConnell Clark
Foundation, offers a five-year retrospective of this urban California school
system's evolution toward standards-based middle grades reform. A special
8-page section highlights the district's attempts to communicate with parents
about standards. (Spring 2000)
MAKING STANDARDS
WORK
Now that your state or school district has adopted academic standards, what
do you do?" asks this article in the September 2000 issue of the American
School Board Journal. "Continue with business as usual and wait for
this latest educational fad to pass"? "Complain to the local newspaper
about the unfairness of standards"? Or "learn how to use standards
to improve student learning"? This article supports educators who choose
the latter course -- with information about effective strategies for implementing
standards and an assortment of print and web-based resources.
BEST OF THE REST:
OTHER ARTICLES FROM THE 'YEAR 2000'
MIDDLE-GRADES REFORM:
A KAPPAN SPECIAL REPORT
This June 2000 special section in Phi Delta KAPPAN includes an update on
some important developments in middle-grades reform; a report on the work
of the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform, including the
Forum's vision and Schools to Watch; an excerpt from Anne Lewis' book "Figuring
It Out;" a profile of the Michigan Middle Start Initiative; and an
interview with author Anthony Jackson about "Turning Points 2000"
and the future of middle grades reform.
DIFFERENTIATED
TEACHING IN A 6TH GRADE CLASSROOM
"What would it be like to teach in a general education classroom using
the strategies and techniques I was using with gifted children?", Carol
Horn asked herself. "In my new heterogeneous classroom of sixth graders,
I first presented a more challenging curriculum for all students, and then
adjusted and differentiated as needed in order to accommodate a variety
of readiness levels. . .I found that all students thrived on and were motivated
by a challenging and complex curriculum." (Classroom Leadership On-Line,
September 2000)
(MIDDLE
SCHOOL) PARENTS ARE PEOPLE, TOO
"A 7th grade student named Kevin helped Marianne Young come to a profound
realization about parents and their school-age children," begins this
article in ASCD's "Education Update" (November 2000). "These
parents are continually 'in the process of losing their dreams of what their
children will be and facing the reality of who their children are becoming.'"
It's time, this principal says, for schools to develop "a new way of
talking with parents."
MIDDLE
SCHOOL READING PROBLEMS
Weak reading comprehension, rather than an outright inability to read, is
the main affliction of most struggling readers in middle and high schools,
says this article in the Summer 2000 issue of "Curriculum Update"
(ASCD). Other students have difficulty understanding the relationship between
letters and their sounds and may need phonics training. While "there
has been some research on the reading problems of older students, there's
still a need for extensive, long-term studies," the article notes.
One well-known problem: many middle and high school teachers are poorly
prepared to address reading problems, whatever their source.
CASE STUDIES
OF TEACHER CHANGE
Developed for the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse "Teacher Change"
website, these narratives, case studies, and excerpts from stories about
teacher change focus on mathematics teaching but offer lessons for teachers
of every subject. "Teaching Students to Swim in Any Pond" profiles
a 'constructivist' middle school math teacher. And "Making the Vision
of Change a Reality" describes how another middle school math teacher
used "Math Alive!" effectively in an inner city school.
SREB'S
"MAKING MIDDLE SCHOOLS MATTER"
The Southern Regional Education Board is mounting a major middle grades
reform effort, with a strong focus on standards-based teaching and learning.
"Making Middle Grades Matter" is a network of schools, districts
and states "committed to implementing 10 essential elements in a comprehensive
improvement framework. The elements focus on a rigorous and challenging
academic core curriculum for all students and on the teaching and learning
conditions that support continuous improvement in student achievement."
Links to studies, background, network member information.
"MATHEMATICS IN
THE MIDDLE GRADES"
This paper by Judith T. Sowder, subtitled "Linking Research and Practice,"
was presented at the National Conference on Curriculum, Instruction, and
Assessment in the Middle Grades in July 2000. "During their years in
the middle school, many students become turned off to mathematics,"
Dr. Sowder begins. "I won't speculate here on the many reasons this
turning away happens, but, rather, I will discuss some of what we know about
mathematics in the middle school that affects the learning process."
Dr. Sowder uses several math problems to illustrate her points.
MIDDLE SCHOOL LITERACY
ISSUES
University of Georgia professor Donna E. Alvermann presented this keynote
address -- "Grappling with the Big Issues in Middle Grades Literacy
Education" -- at the National Educational Research Policy and Priorities
Board's Conference on Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment in the Middle
Grades: Linking Research and Practice, in Washington, D.C., July 24-25,
2000. Alvermann identifies pressing issues in middle grades literacy education
today, summarizes what the research says (and does not say) about them,
and addresses the implications of this research for practice, policy, and
future inquiry.
TEACHER'S WORKSHOP
ON THE WRITING PROCESS
This online workshop for classroom teachers offers a step-by-step approach
to implementing the writing process. Veterans of Writers Workshop can skip
the "how-to" and explore topics of interest. Includes a self evaluation
rubric.
REVITALIZING MIDDLE SCHOOLS
"While there may be nearly 15,000 schools that carry the designation
of middle school by the end of the century, far fewer are likely to exhibit
the core traits that make them effective learning environments for young
adolescents," write the authors of this January 2000 article in the
Middle School Journal. In "Revitalizing The Middle School: The
Guilford County Process," University of Florida professor Paul George
and a group of Guilford County, NC school administrators describe how one
school system "revisited" its middle school concept and greatly
strengthened its program and its ability to serve students' developmental
and academic needs.
MIDDLE GRADES TEACHER-COACHES
In an effort to get more teachers on board the "standards train,"
the Long Beach (CA) Unified School District sent a cadre of teacher coaches
into the field during the 1998-99 school year. If you're interested in a
teacher-coaching model, find out what educators learned from the first year
of this promising but challenging program.
TRANSFORMING HIGH POVERTY
MIDDLE SCHOOLS
The Johns Hopkins Talent Development Middle School Model (TDMS) aims to
transform high poverty urban middle schools into strong learning institutions
that reliably provide every student with a standards-based education and
every teacher with the training, support, and materials she/he needs to
deliver it. Two of the model's developers discuss ten lessons learned from
implementing, refining, and evaluating this model in five high poverty middle
schools in Philadelphia.
MIDDLE GRADES
GEOMETRY LAB
The latest lesson at CPB/Annenberg's Teacher Lab addresses the new NCTM
Standard 3: Geometry and Spatial Sense. This lab divides activities into
two broad categories. Activities about shape center on identifying properties
of various shapes and measuring their dimensions. Activities about space
focus on moving objects-or yourself-around in your imagination, and visualizing
how things will look. Includes a discussion about why geometry is important
in real life. Spans grades K-8.
A MODEL MIDDLE
SCHOOL IN GEORGIA
John Lounsbury, one of the middle school movement's spiritual founders,
is helping organize a new school in Baldwin County, GA that seeks to demonstrate
that the middle school model, implemented properly, can provide the academic
and personal support adolescents need to prepare for high school and adult
life. The total student body of 1500 will be divided into four "houses,"
and each school-within-a-school will have its own principal, counselor,
and academic faculty. "With with advisory groups, a three-year enrollment
in a school of less than 400, and small academic teams in a state-of-the-art
facility designed to accommodate these arrangements, students will feel
connected and known as individuals," Lounsbury says.
NEW YARDSTICKS
FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
"While most would agree on the general purpose of grading -- to provide
feedback to students, parents, and others on student performance -- finding
a consensus on what criteria to use for grading is a different story,"
says this article in the Harvard Education Letter (Jan/Feb 2000). In "Grade
Inflation: What's Really Behind All Those A's?", the author finds that
the standards-based reform movement is creating additional pressure to clarify
exactly what grades mean and how grading may now need to fit into a system
that includes other measures of performance.
THE MIDDLE YEARS:
ARE SCHOOLS UP TO THE TASK?
Nationwide, says this September cover story in the American School Board
Journal, the spotlight is once again on middle-grades reform. The concern:
"a growing number of policymakers and educators fear that middle schools
have made too many concessions to adolescence and given short shrift to
rigorous academics." On the other side, some middle school advocates
"fear that some central tenets of middle school philosophy will be
cut as schools face the pressure of high-stakes assessments." A good
synopsis of the current debate over the future of middle schools, which
takes as its jumping off point a move in Cincinnati to abandon the 6-8 structure
in favor of K-8 schools.
MIDDLE
SCHOOL INSTRUCTIONAL TIME
Using a qualitative methodology in 15 Kentucky schools serving a seventh-grade
population, this report from the Kentucky Department of Education examines
the issue of instructional time as it relates to school scheduling (including
"blocking" and exploratory courses), its application and distribution
within the classroom, and its extension through homework practices. Among
the findings: teachers typically spent about half of their class time on
instruction of content material.
SUCCESSFUL
POOR & MINORITY STUDENTS
Why do some poor and minority students excel in school while others do not?
Despite the voluminous literature on the causes of school failure, writes
Harvard education professor Janine Bempechat, few studies have explored
the differences between high and low achievers in this most-challenged group
of students. But "recent advances in achievement motivation theory
have provided a conceptual framework" for exploring the differences,
Bempechat says. (Harvard Education Letter, May/June 1999.)
Home | Latest
Updates | Newswatch | MiddleWeb
Index | Reforming Schools | Links
| Search