Researchers have found that middle school students undergo developmental changes that require unique educational structures and support. As a result, experts have suggested a number of specific strategies for organizing middle schools in order to best meet students' needs. This Information Capsule summarizes middle school redesign initiatives that…

Instructional strategies make a difference in whether students are engaged in learning and are profiting from their time in class. High schools, technology centers and middle grades schools are encouraging teachers to adopt new teaching techniques and are providing opportunities for teachers to work together to improve their instructional skills…

Discusses the need for middle school teaching teams to maintain boundary relations with other parts of the school. Provides a framework for dealing with group boundaries and recommends actions to preserve intergroup relations, including intergroup communication, acquiring a total-school perspective, and deliberately attending to boundary matters.…

Discusses the ways middle school team teachers who have the team's best interests in mind actually engage in behaviors that undermine team effectiveness and trust. Provides a list of ten well-intended practices that erode team effectiveness. (JPB)

Discusses ways to create and sustain strong teaching teams, including matching curriculum goals, complementary professional strengths, and exercise of autonomy. Elaborates the administrator's role in nurturing and supporting teamwork. (JPB)

Discusses the implementation of a modified block schedule with three-teacher teams to deepen student engagement and understanding of the curriculum. Considers benefits of the block for students and teachers, and the starting assumptions and goals of the schedule, along with cautions for change. (JPB)

Proposes that there are four middle school concepts that hold promise for being effective in high schools: advisor-advisee programs, exploratory programs, interdisciplinary teams, and efforts to promote a positive school climate. Lists, for each concept, implementation tasks, the characteristics of effective high school efforts, and recommended…

Examines ways in which interdisciplinary teaching teams change middle school organizations; considers the structure and benefits of transformative organizations, the five features of effective implementation of organizational change, the nature of transformative organizational structures, and the ways these structures create growth-inducing…

This publication describes efforts taken in Indiana to improve middle-grade education. The restructuring of the state's urban middle grades has been supported by Lilly Endowment Inc., which founded the Middle Grades Improvement Program (MGIP), 6 years ago. Despite the lack of an overall middle-grade theme in the state Department of Education and…

The possibility of developing a separate educational institution geared to the scholastic and interpersonal goals of the middle school grades has become a major challenge for educators today. It was to attain this ideal of developing the many possibilities for children in this age range that the concept of the middle school campus was designed in…

Discusses the impact of school size on interdisciplinary teaming, developmentally appropriate classroom practices, school climate, and student outcomes, based on a study of 140 Michigan middle grade schools. Finds that there is no simple answer to the issue of school size; however teaming seems to make smaller schools better and larger schools…

Explored how a middle school integrative learning environment at a Florida school influenced students' perspectives of curriculum, schooling, and learning. Students in grades 9 and 10 were interviewed. Results indicated three themes pertaining to students' perspectives--thinking and learning integratively, constructing knowledge socially, and…

Discusses ways to implement interdisciplinary teams to create high performance learning communities for students. Considers team tasks and needs, applying team tasks to responsive school structures, and enhancing instruction through flexible time use. (JPB)

Provides an example of how two teachers in the Baltimore (Maryland) City Schools utilized the Internet to help students make a connection with their community. Describes a unit that focuses on the use of Tupac Shakur's rap "California Dream" in order to motivate the students to take pride in their community. (CMK)