Data use is considered a key lever in school improvement processes, but the punitive pressure of high-stakes accountability can influence whether or not data use is enacted in ways which facilitate improvement. School leaders must learn to respond to high-stakes accountability in ways which lead teachers to feel safe, efficacious, and agentic with…

This article uses Dresang's dimensions of radical change to call attention to the evolving structures and features of novels for young readers being published today. The controversial topics and elaborate design features contained in contemporary novels, for example, the expansion of dystopic fiction, the disruption of traditional narrative…

Tens of thousands of students begin each new school year with the hope that they will finally find "the" teacher who will help them succeed as readers, writers, and learners. This book shows how teachers can provide the type of differentiated instruction that struggling readers need by drawing on students' individual and cultural backgrounds, as…

Educators have long recognized that parental and community supports are important underpinnings for children's success in school. With respect to the teaching of writing, however, little research has been conducted to provide evidence of effective practices teachers use to involve parents and communities. As part of a national Canadian study of…

The long-term promise of cooperative learning may quickly dissolve unless there is careful examination of issues related to successful practices. The article defines a context for cooperative learning and links its current popularity to middle school theory and philosophy, young adolescent characteristics, research claims, and simple application.…

The author proposes a design for science instruction in the middle school years, ages 9-13. (SJL)

Defines analogies, discusses the benefits of teaching students to create analogies, and presents a strategy for analogy instruction with numerous classroom applications. Using professionally prepared materials, teachers can help students engage in analogous thinking by analyzing different kinds of relationships, balancing terms, creating original…

A middle school science teacher describes approaches for teaching mildly handicapped mainstreamed students. Suggestions are made for content (beginning with a study of the human body), methods and materials, and the importance of good discipline. (CL)

To deal proactively with middle-years students, educators must consider four areas: development of an effective home-school team; student counseling; classroom management and discipline; and instructional strategies focused on students' personal growth and academic achievement. Teachers should use diverse approaches and materials, increase student…

The following factors can influence the form and quality of what is stored in memory: (1) position of new learning; (2) meaning in new learning; (3) transfer of information; (4) verbal cues; (5) image cues; (6) spacing effect; (7) rehearsal and practice; and (8) organization of new information. (MLF)

The thinking-out-loud procedure provides teachers with an excellent mechanism for collecting information about students' thought processes and affective states during problem solving. Mathematics teachers can implement this process by modeling it during whole-class problem-solving sessions, proceeding slowly and encouragingly, working with small…

The effect of family involvement in mathematics homework on student achievement was studied (N=74). Different levels of prompting for family involvement were used with three sixth-grade classes of the same instructor. Involvement and achievement were measured. Findings indicate that the prompted groups were more involved; this level did not…

This book contains specific, practical strategies that can be used for almost any subject matters to promote active learning. It brings together in one source a comprehensive collection of instructional strategies, with ways to get students to be active from the beginning through activities that build teamwork and get students thinking about the…

Stained glass can easily be a part of a middle/junior or senior high school art program. A good beginning project is a "light catcher," a small glass design form meant to be hung in a window. How to prepare the design and cut and lead the glass is described. (RM)

Reports on a collaborative research project with a middle school mathematics teacher. Discusses varied commentaries on mathematics teaching using an enactivist framework. Highlights the manner in which the teacher listens as a metaphoric lens through which to reinterpret practice, as a practical basis for teaching action, and as a means of…