RESEARCH SUMMARIES

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 Research Advisory Committee of AMLE is currently seeking submissions.

View the submission guidelines

  • Equity, Access, and Inclusiveness: Supporting Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Young Adolescents in the Mainstreamed Middle School Classroom
  • STEM in the Middle Grades
  • Student Agency
  • Teaching Historical Literacy in the Middle Grades
  • Transitioning Young Adolescents from Elementary to Middle School
  • Understanding and Addressing the Challenges of Teaching Middle Grades Mathematics Conceptually
  • Developmental Characteristics of Young Adolescents
View Archived Research Summaries

Supporting English Learners in the Middle: Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Practices to Support Student Identity Development and Sense of Belonging

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

Read More… from Supporting English Learners in the Middle: Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Practices to Support Student Identity Development and Sense of Belonging

Equity in Mathematics: Helping Every Young Adolescent Access the Content

Research Summary

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).

Read More… from Equity in Mathematics: Helping Every Young Adolescent Access the Content

Equity, Access, and Inclusiveness: Supporting Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Young Adolescents in the Mainstreamed Middle School Classroom

Research Summary

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)

Read More… from Equity, Access, and Inclusiveness: Supporting Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Young Adolescents in the Mainstreamed Middle School Classroom

Student Agency

Democratic Classroom
Research Summary
Student Engagement
Student Motivation

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 e

Read More… from Student Agency

Understanding and Addressing the Challenges of Teaching Middle Grades Mathematics Conceptually

Math
Research Summary

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.

Read More… from Understanding and Addressing the Challenges of Teaching Middle Grades Mathematics Conceptually