There is a world of difference between seeing the promise in young adolescents and seeing them as problematic. Seeing the “promise” is at the center of What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know. From start to finish young adolescents are treated with dignity and respect, and their education is more an adventure worth having than a trial to be endured.
- James A. Beane
Author of Democratic Schools, Second Edition
The first edition of What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know helped tens of thousands of preservice and inservice educators find new, energizing ways to think about their practice. Now Dave Brown and Trudy Knowles present a second edition with 40 percent new material that includes the latest research about middle schoolers' development, deep explorations of why true middle school structures strongly support young adolescents' learning, and ways to combine these findings to optimize students' in-school experiences.
What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know is a clear and comprehensive description of truly responsive middle school instruction. With the same teacher-friendly voice as in their first edition, Brown and Knowles provide what educators need to know to teach with skill and compassion, including information on:
- the physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and identity-based development of students between the ages of 10 - 15
- ways to design curriculum with students to engage them in thinking deeply about their learning and their world
- explicit methods for creating the learning experiences and classroom environments that help young adolescents learn best
- ideas for using assessment, including self-assessment, to encourage learning rather than merely measure it
- the implications of high-stakes testing on curriculum and instruction
- significant, recent research that supports the vital middle-level practices of advisory programs, teaming, flexible scheduling, exploratory experiences,looping, and student-led conferences.
Ever practical, Brown and Knowles once again present powerful a resource for middle-level teachers that is grounded in the voices of students as well as in current research. They also offer in-depth commentary from teachers whose classrooms exemplify the integrated, progressive, mindful approach that What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know advocates.
Adolescence is a time of exciting, challenging adjustments for students, and it can be just as exciting for their teachers. With What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know any teacher can meet curricular demands while creating meaningful learning experiences that place students at the center of their own learning.
