Young Adolescent Development

Making School Work Right

An update on a district-wide transformation of middle level education and technology for learning In our article titled “Transforming Middle School Practice Through Instructional Technology,” we shared how our district has approached systematic growth by intertwining twin focuses on middle level education and leveraging instructional technology for learning. The first steps of that process began

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The Young Adolescent State of Mind

What neuroscience reveals about our students and how we should respond In This We Believe, the Association for Middle Level Education stresses the importance of understanding the unique developmental needs of our middle level students in designing appropriate learning environments and for understanding how those environments can contribute to or interfere with our students’ learning. Researchers

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Four Ways to Help Students Be Their Best Selves

How educators can help students repair damaged relationships and make behavioral changes The eighth-grade girl approached Tom Adams in the cafeteria. “Dylan just asked out Samantha as a joke,” she said. “Now he’s laughing about it with his friends, and Samantha is sitting at our table crying.” Adams, the principal of Newfane Middle School in

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Social and Emotional Learning through YA Literature

Classroom strategies for using literature to help students with daily struggles It didn’t take long to realize Marissa was not going to be focused on the day’s lesson. Shortly after arriving in class, she took her seat, placed her head in her hands, and started crying. She shared that her best friend had betrayed her.

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