AMLE Research Summaries
AMLE Research Summaries are abbreviated reviews of professional literature that inform middle level education policy and practice and provide basic information about the education of young adolescents for parents and community members. The Summaries are vetted by AMLE’s Research Advisory Committee. Dr. Matt Moulton, Chair of the Committee, explains why Research Summaries are important and how to use them in your own practice – whether you’re a teacher, administrator, or higher education professional.
Seeking New Submissions
The Research Advisory Committee of AMLE is currently seeking submissions. Learn More.
Cultivating a Sense of Belonging Among Early Career Middle Grades Teachers
A growing body of education research suggests that by promoting early career middle grades teachers’ sense of belonging, school leaders may support early career middle grades teachers’ emotional and professional development, potentially sustaining them beyond their initial years in the profession.
Mentoring Middle School Teachers: Research Summary
Mentoring can support developing pedagogies, curricula, culturally responsive teaching, and navigating the educational landscape. Mentoring can start at different stages to meet teachers’ needs and to impact their efficacy. While professional development is, many times, a day or two; mentoring is an on-going, teacher-directed learning environment that directly impacts the classroom.
Career Exploration and Awareness in the Middle Grades
Career exploration is a well-established component of successful middle grades schools. This research summary synthesizes current research on career exploration in the middle grades across four areas:
- influences on career aspiration, choice, and engagement;
- career exploration and awareness interventions;
- career exploration and awareness outcomes; and
- teacher perspectives on career exploration.
Developmental Characteristics of Young Adolescents
Understanding and responding to the unique developmental characteristics of young adolescents, 10- to 15-year-olds, in culturally responsive and sustaining ways is central among the tenets of middle level education (Bishop & Harrison, 2021). During early adolescence, a distinct period of human growth and development between childhood and adolescence, young adolescents experience rapid development, shape beliefs and attitudes, and adopt health habits and social behaviors that lay the foundation for adulthood (McCarthy et al., 2016).
The English Learner (EL) population in the United States has increased by 8.1 percent between 2000 and 2017, with an increase in percentage in all but seven states and the District of Columbia (U.S. Department of Education. Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2020). For the purposes of this summary, EL
Effective teacher preparation for middle grades educators has complexity and shape-shifting characteristics. With a backdrop of the 21st century, there are a variety of qualities that characterize the setting and realities of teacher practices (Darling-Hammond, 2006), and thus the needs and values of teacher education. Among these realities are “technolog[ies]…the increasing complexity of learning and teaching in diverse classrooms, the growing societal expectations of raising students’ achievements, and the need for tailoring and implementing innovative teaching practices” (Kowalczuk-Walędziak et al., 2019, p. 15).
Equity in Mathematics: Helping Every Young Adolescent Access the Content
Access and equity for all in mathematics is not a new idea (Trentacosta & Kenney, 1997). When focusing on mathematics, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has made it clear and imperative in Principles to Actionsthat we commit to access and equity for all (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 2014).
The numbers of deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) students mainstreamed in classrooms today is growing (Kelman & Branco, 2009). More than 87% of D/HH students receive instruction in general education classrooms (U.S. Department of Education, 2015)
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education continues to emphasize the teaching of skills that are relevant to today’s information driven economy (Jamali, Nurulazam Md Zain, Samsudin & Ale Ebrahim, 2017).
Student Agency
A typical middle school classroom includes young adolescents with a range of skills, interests, abilities, and personalities. One student may relate any topic of study to a favorite sport or video game. Another stretches her digital skills with each assignment and spends time outside of school learning how to code. Yet another emerges as a leader in any collaborative setting within school. While different, each of these students demonstrates agency in a unique way. The notion of student agency aligns with many tenets of teaching and learning at the middle level.
As students enter the middle grades, they often encounter curricula that grow more challenging each year. This is especially the case in social studies when students experience primary documents and complex texts, sometimes with limited background knowledge.
Middle school can be an exciting and terrifying time for students transitioning from elementary to middle school. By definition, transition means the change from one place, state of being, or condition to another place, state of being, or condition (Merriam-Webster Online, 2015).
Understanding students’ academic needs and developing curricula to address them has always been a challenge for middle level educators. Competing perspectives on academic rigor and external demands for accountability have often created additional layers of stress for teachers and administrators.