Accepting the challenge of teaching virtually during the global pandemic Middle school teachers must be leaders who demonstrate courage and collaboration (National Middle School Association, 2010). Such leaders are needed today more than ever. But leadership is especially difficult when educators have no compass for the worldwide crisis we are now facing with COVID-19. The changes occurring
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Focusing on opportunities for students and staff to shape a positive school environment Oftentimes the terms culture and climate are bandied about as an inseparable pair in school settings. Rarely in my experience are they broken down into their respective domains to parse out their specific purpose and value. According to INcompassing Education, “Culture is
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Redesigning the classroom experience to promote success in the middle grades When it comes to student success, a positive school culture can be as important as the curriculum. When students are engaged, motivated, and empowered, academic success will almost always follow. This is especially true in the middle grades. The experiences students have during the
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18 elements to keep in the forefront to create a strong, sustained, celebrated school culture Building and sustaining a positive school culture is the all-encompassing factor of a successful school. It is not a system. It is not a program. It is a way of being. And even when putting time, money, and energy into
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Mastering standards at a deeper level with project-based learning John Dewey (1959), a great philosopher and educational theorist of the 1950s, had already warned us about the importance of an educational focus on the student rather than on the teacher. He argued that classroom methodologies should be reviewed since young people learn through experimentation. Dewey
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Three team approaches that respond to students’ unique needs From the inception of the middle school movement, team approaches to instruction were considered the preferred way to organize a school housing grades 4-8, 5-8, or 6-8. Today, educators see teaching teams as a key to achieving the full potential of a dynamic middle school, one
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