The Middle School Concept The Middle School Concept
Definition of middle school History of middle school development
Middle School Concept Assessment of your school NMSA
characteristics Draw your middle school.
Have students draw and discuss their middle schools.They should try
and indicate programs, activities, etc. on their plans. What is a
middle school? The middle school is a school organization
containing Grades 6 to 8 (and sometimes Grade 5) that, first,
provides developmentally appropriate and responsive curricular,
instructional, organizational, guidance, and overall educational
experiences; and second, places major emphasis on 10- to
15-year-olds developmental and instructional needs. - Manning and
Bucher, p. 7 Share and discuss Manning and Bucher definition. Ask
students whether/how their middle school meet this definition.
History During most of 19th century 8-4 pattern was the rule.
During late 19th century nature of secondary schools changed.
Demographic shift to urban, industrial society Decrease in demand
for teenage workers Rise of middle class 1874 Kalamazoo Michigan
case From NEA committees met to set national policies. 1892
Committee of Ten (Carnegie unit) 1918 Commission on the
Reorganization of SecondaryEducation (6-3-3 pattern) 1909 first
junior highs established in Columbus, Ohio. Dominated by goals of
high school Conflict between basic skills focus in elementary
versusstrict academic/vocational focus in high History 1960s-1980s
middle school organization with emphasis ondevelopmental needs of
young adolescents came to dominate. Donald Eichhorn and William
Alexander The Emergent MiddleSchool (1968) Transescence
(developmental period beginning in latechildhood prior to puberty
and extending through early yearsof adolescence) View of middle
school as new and emergent school, notreorganized junior high
Middle school should build on positive junior high programslike the
core curriculum, guidance programs, exploratoryeducation, and
vocational and home arts. Middle schools should eliminate high
school practices likeacademic honor societies, competitive sports,
and subjectmatter orientation. Characteristics Middle School Junior
High School
Organization of teachers Interdisciplinary teams Subject
departments Organization of students Instructional grouping within
heterogeneous learning communities; flexible grouping Homogeneous
groups; tracking Instructional planning Cooperation Isolation
Scheduling Flexible blocks Rigid periods Student/teacher
interaction Team-based Different teacher every 40 to 50 minutes
Student/teacher environment Nurturing, caring Impersonal
Student/student environment Team cohort group Constantly shifting
groups in separate classes Guidance One adult advisor/mentor for 25
or fewer students Guidance counselor for students Frequency of
guidance Advisories daily or on frequent basis Guidance once or
twice a year Major differences between middle schools and junior
high schools (Manning and Bucher, p. 9) The Middle School
Concept
Middle schools Know that students learn from the total experience
ofschool, not its isolated parts. Are developmentally responsive,
understanding thedevelopmental uniqueness of the young adolescent.
Embrace and respond to student diversity on manylevels,
understanding that young adolescents aredistinguished by the degree
they differ rather than thedegree to which they are the same.
Understand that curriculum has many aspects. Schwab (1973) cited in
TWBA pp. 5-6 Evertson, Weeks, and Randolph (1996) cited inTWBA p. 5
For current thinking, look to...
National Middle School Association (NMSA) This We Believe The
Carnegie Corporation of New York Turning Points 2000 National
Association of Secondary School Principals(NASSP) Breaking Ranks in
the Middle National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform How
developmentally appropriate is your school?
Have students think of a middle school and complete the Determining
a Middle Schools Developmental Responsiveness test (Manning and
Bucher, p. 10) Have students also consider the following questions:
Does the school use a wide variety of instructional strategies in
response to the variety of learning needs in the classroom? Has the
school developed an exploratory program so that students may expand
and develop individual interests? Does the school encourage
continuous progress for each individual with his/her preferred pace
and/or learning style? Does the school chart student progress in
ways that stress individual growth rather than comparison with
peers? Discuss implications. NMSA Characteristics The
characteristics are notisolated; they work together. Research shows
thatimplementing more elementsfor longer periods of time does,with
certainty, lead to improvedstudent outcomes in all threemajor goal
areas academic,behavioral, and attitudinal(TWBA, pp. 7-8). Hand out
14 characteristics from This We Believe. Class Wiki
