Four Factors to Consider: Adolescent Development Teacher Qualification Interdisciplinary Teaming

1. Academic Achievement Four Factors to Consider: Adolescent Development Teacher Qualification Interdisciplinary Teaming Teaching Strategies

2. Adolescent Development “The transition can be stressful because it occurs simultaneously with many other changes—in the individual, in the family, and in school. These changes include puberty and related concerns about body image; the emergence of at least some aspects of formal operational thought, including accompanying changes in social cognition; increased responsibility and independence in classroom structure to a larger, more impersonal school structure.” (Santrock p.227) • Adolescents range bottom half… • Academic Achievement a main concern?

3. Teacher Qualification “specific teacher preparation before they enter middle level classrooms and continuous professional development as they pursue their careers” which “requires depth of knowledge in at least two content areas, understanding of the learning process, and extensive field-based experience at the middle level.” (NMSA 2004) The National Middle School Speaks on Reform

4. Teacher Qualification Pt. 2 2. “most 8th grade math teachers do not receive as much practical training and daily support as their counterparts in countries such as Japan and Germany”. (NSDC 1997) 3. “Several studies have concluded that teacher expertise is the most important factor in determining student achievement. Forty-two percent of the variation in student achievement is explained by teacher qualifications.” (Ferguson 1991) 1 2 3

5. Interdisciplinary Teaming In opposition to the larger environment of the junior high, middle schools divide students into teams across individual grade levels. What is it? For example, a traditional junior high might have 240 students in the seventh grade. If this school were to change to a middle school, the grade level would be divided into three teams, each having 80 students. How? “Interdisciplinary teaching teams can have a substantial impact on student learning in the middle grades” according to a report by the Middle Start Initiative. (NSDC 1999) and Why? “Teachers and other staff who collaborate with their peers conducting research, sharing ideas, planning together, and analyzing student work are able to solve the problems they face in educating young children.” (NSDC p.6)

6. The Facts of Teaming

7. Teaching Strategies What is the purpose? The integration of lessons across the curriculum allows students to make larger connections than they would not normally find, if lessons were taught in separate portions in their core classes. Rather than pieces…. While the students are enveloped in the larger theme of ‘systems’, they are exposed to systems in every aspect of their learning. Interdisciplinary Units

8. Cooperative Learning

9. Academic Achievement in sum... “Adolescence is a period of enormous intellectual opportunity, and youngsters really need to have the kind of stimulating education that will allow them to develop their minds, which in turn will have a tremendous effect on their capacity to negotiate the emotional and interpersonal aspects of their development.” (Norton p.2)