This essay contends that personalized professional learning can support the shift towards a culture of personalized learning at the middle school level, with the potential to make a district-wide impact. If you have ever worked in a middle school, you would agree there is a sense magic and contagious energy within middle school students. Middle…

The purpose of the quantitative correlational study was to examine how educators utilize instructional strategies that align with how the brain learns in private middle schools for students with diagnosed learning differences (neurodiverse schools) and schools for students without diagnosed learning differences (neurotypical schools). The study…

Young adolescents who are LGBTQIA+ often encounter hostile experiences while in middle level schools. Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 young adolescents who are LGBTQIA+ at two middle schools to determine their experiences. Students report the ages at which they realized their gender and sexual identities: Five reveal…

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) in basic education, i.e. K12 education, have often been constrained by sociocultural context and limited to pedagogical aspects, and these innovations have not yet catalyzed curriculum reform as expected. To address this research gap, this study adopted a key-competence-based subject knowledge…

We examined the effectiveness of the "Say Something Anonymous Reporting System" (SS-ARS) program in improving school safety in a cluster randomized control trial among over 700 students in 19 middle schools in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The SS-ARS is a program that emphasizes youth engagement and trains youth to recognize…

The aim of this research is to treat the shortcomings of teacher training programs in Saudi Arabia. Some of these programs are not able to fulfill the requirements of professional development because they neglect the impact of different interaction patterns (group and content--individual, content, and trainer--group, content, and trainer) within…

Peer assessment is an underutilized tool in mathematics classrooms. We examined how peer assessment could be used in a mathematics course to improve mathematical communication and mathematical proficiency. To describe in what ways peer reviews compared to teacher reviews, we analyzed ratings and feedback of 32 6th graders and their mathematics…

The use of technology in assessment continues to evolve the field of educational measurement. This article reports on development and use of new accessible, technology-enhanced assessments designed to measure the three-dimensional science abilities of middle school students. The assessments were piloted with over 70 teachers and 8,000 students…

As procedural flexibility, previously understood as adaptive reasoning, emerges as an important consideration in math skill development, it is important to account for executive functioning in that process as well, as executive functioning a well-researched factor in math performance. The current study, a secondary data analysis, explores how…

In this systematic review, we evaluated the quality and rigor of the current evidence base for the Second Step social-emotional learning program in middle schools. Eleven studies were coded using the "Council for Exceptional Children Standards for Evidence-Based Practices in Special Education" with an 80% weighted criterion. We…

This study aimed to investigate the views of social studies teachers and their students about the education offered during the pandemic period, as well as their problems, if any, and their suggestions for that education in particular. The study sample consisted of 10 social studies teachers working in schools affiliated to Erzurum Provincial…

Purpose: Educational leadership traditionally has defined school leadership as an adult-only space. An emerging group of scholars is expanding the field to challenge who should be considered an educational leader and whose voices should be centered in change processes. Examining the ways in which students serve as leaders in schools, student voice…

Current research around the middle grades has brought a heightened attention by teachers, policymakers, and researchers recognizing that this stage is a time when a students' health and social and emotional well-being directly impacts their academic progress. To date, school leaders and teachers have not been well served by explicit resources for…

The problem addressed in this study was that traditional assessments used for middle school math, regardless of any needs-based accommodation provisions, inhibit equitable representation of the academic abilities of students with individualized education programs (IEPs) for specific learning disabilities (SLD) because of the absence of the…

A multiple-case study design explored how middle school-level expert makerspace educators assess the people, resources, and activities in their spaces. Broadly put, the maker movement is a social movement that brings together a community of people (makers) who share an interest in creating (making) projects in collaboration with other makers in a…