Middle school English Language Arts (ELA) education is a critical phase in a student’s academic journey, as it plays a pivotal role in shaping their language skills, cognitive development, and critical thinking abilities. In recent years, the landscape of middle school ELA teaching and learning has witnessed significant transformations due to advancements in technology, shifts
The purpose of this research summary is to discuss mentoring as career-long professional development of middle level teachers. 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
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My past year has been spent watching my daughter on the soccer field. As I sat on the sidelines observing their coach work with them on drills and game plays, I was impressed by their patience, the positive feedback they provided, and their ability to pick out what each player’s as well as the overall
Introduction While the world seems to have largely moved beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact remains. The pandemic was a harrowing time for all of us, but it had perhaps the most profound effect on education. While this experience revealed the bravery and perseverance of both students and teachers, it nevertheless came with challenges—and we’re
Why We Should Know about the Basic Needs of the Middle School Brain At some point in their careers, ask any middle school teacher and they will most likely have heard the following from their students: “When did we learn this?”, “Wait – there was homework?” or “Do we need to know this for the
Background The authors of The Successful Middle School: This We Believe characterize the middle grades as “a finding place” where “the general approach for the entire curriculum at this level is one of exploration” (Bishop & Harrison, 2021, p. 29). [Young adolescents] need … the chance to conduct science experiments, though they may never choose
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