A qualitative study of the impact of a school-university partnership in which eight teacher candidates from a two-year graduate program were placed together in a poverty level middle school was conducted. Teacher candidates in this particular program receive a master's degree, as well as a teaching license in their content area and special…

With the current teacher workforce in urban school districts diminishing in size, teacher preparation programs are being called to use creative ways to attract candidates to ensure that schools in urban districts keep their staff filled with highly qualified teachers. This article considers the factors for successful recruitment in an urban…

Teacher education in the 21st century is encountering increased scrutiny, added pressure, and escalating external regulations but does not have practical and immediate solutions for improving programs. While reforms in teacher education call for additional and improved clinical practice for candidates, through strengthened partnerships with local…

This manuscript describes the efforts of several instructors who incorporated videoconferencing in their teacher education courses at two large universities in the southeastern United States. Professors preparing teachers to teach elementary and middle school examined their interactive videoconference experiences linking preservice teachers with…

This report discusses relevant theories and principles of curriculum, pedagogy, and social organization of middle schools in order to serve as a focus for further research and development in teacher education. The first section of the three-part report concentrates on teachers' work with middle school students, and the challenges they face in…

This report contains addresses and symposium discussions presented at the conference on teacher competence for the middle school years (fifth or sixth through eighth grades) which was attended by about 100 educators for various levels and positions. The foreword lists three questions posed by emergence of the middle school movement which the…

This study examines the role of lesson plan design in helping teacher candidates to meet diverse learning needs. The authors studied student teachers who had been taught to use a differential lesson plan to see if they were differentiating in their planning, assessment, and instruction. They concluded that, indeed, lesson plan design does…

Discusses the outcomes of research on best practices in middle school education. Explores middle school grade configuration, interdisciplinary teaming, curricular standards, and teacher preparation and certification. (WRM)

Reports on learning when engaged in a four-month experience of co-teaching a water unit in a seventh-grade classroom. Suggests that co-teaching allows for a mode of learning that is not captured by Schon's notions of reflection-in-practice and reflection-on-practice. Concludes that co-teaching, as co-learning, is praxis. Contains 26 references.…

This guidebook is designed to serve as a combination encyclopedia, dictionary, and almanac of middle school philosophy, curriculum, program components, and activities that can be incorporated into any teacher's lesson plan. The book features self-contained modules arranged in a sequence designed to present the evolution of an effective middle…

Inherent in the middle school philosophy is the recognition that students vary widely in their stages of physical, cognitive, and affective development. A special school is needed to meet the unique requirements of these transitional youth. The history and present trends of the middle school reflect dissatisfaction with the junior high school. A…

This volume provides recent research findings on important topics related to the still-expanding middle school movement. They are divided into seven parts, addressing teaching/learning, curriculum, teacher education, social context, organization, leaderships, and issues and future directions. Following an introduction to middle level education…

Developed as a reference tool for teachers, administrators, researchers, parents, and others interested in middle level education, this annotated bibliography of 1,757 entries focuses on practical aspects of middle level education and on research related to adolescence and middle level practices. Following an introduction and discussion of…