Views From Parents of At-Risk Students in Singapore Towards the Use of Fun Design-and-Make STEM Projects to Foster Creativity and Joy of Learning

This chapter reports the views from parents of 38 students, averaging 13 years of age, in a secondary school in Singapore towards the use of appealing design-and-make toy projects to foster joy of learning and creativity in science amongst their children who are in an academically low achieving group. An instrument to capture the parents' views was developed and administered in a parent-teacher conference (PTC) at the end of the school term. In the PTC, parents and siblings of these students had a chance to look through their design journals and fiddled with their toy inventions. Information gathered from the parents highlight that they value the teacher's approach in motivating and engaging their children to learn science and were impressed with the creativity showcased by their children through the toy projects. Such positive views from the parents affirm the use of appealing design-and-make toy projects to promote interest and understanding in science, as well as foster their creativity and inventiveness in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) areas.

Improvisational Theater for Engaging Middle School Classrooms

Adolescence can be a time of strife, and might even be described metaphorically as a form of oppression over those living through it. Oppression leads to feelings of powerlessness and apathy, which explains why some middle schoolers might benefit from classroom experiences that help them reclaim power over oppression. Humor provides a means of resistance through which oppressed adolescents can express themselves, and improvisational comedy is a tool that teachers can use in their lesson delivery to inject humor. This chapter explains why improvisational theater is an effective way to create engaging middle school classrooms and provides improvisational games for classroom use.

Engaging the Community in Curriculum Reforms for More Engaged Learners

In England, there is a middle school provision dominated by a performance orientated culture. In many schools this has led to a narrowing of the curriculum design, marginalizing subjects that are considered to be less academically rigorous. A period of austerity measures has also limited activity linked to pastoral care, character education, and enrichment. This chapter examines how a group of school leaders in the South of England endeavored to manage reform of their middle school curriculum in order to change this. The data analyzed is taken from documented communications that illuminate the narrative of what the school leaders espoused to achieve and how they went about achieving their mission. It is found that the leaders are ‘walking-the-talk' in terms of how their planning matches their articulated espousal. The conclusion is that the evidence of implementation indicates a sustainable transformation of the middle school programmed of instruction is likely.

Middle School Instructional Practices

As middle school students, typically aged 10-14, begin to navigate a new world after elementary school, not only does their environment change but so do their specific learning needs. When defining the middle school philosophy, it is important to recognize the need for higher order thinking skills. To meet this need and to utilize developmentally responsive instructional strategies, middle school teachers face the daily challenge of designing learning experiences for the classroom. In this chapter, the author discusses a study investigating middle school teachers' espoused beliefs about appropriate instructional strategies and the actual strategies used in their schools. Characteristics of developmentally responsive instructional strategies, including blended learning, are also described.

Making Middle Schools Destinations of Choice for Young Adolescents

In this chapter, middle schools are presented metaphorically as layover airports, and the need to see middle schools as more like destinations is explored. How can positive learning experiences in middle schools be created given the short time frame and the transitional nature inherent in even the most effective middle schools? The metaphor of a layover airport that students often enter middle school expecting is juxtaposed to illustrating the characteristics of and potential for middle schools in the United States as destinations. This is done using exemplar experiences and middle schools from vastly different locations with varying characteristics and needs, yet all providing positive experiences for young adolescents. This comparison will be made based on what is known about the developmental nature and needs of young adolescents served in middle schools and also on recommendations for effective middle schools made by the Association for Middle Level Education.

Trauma and the Middle School Brain

This chapter examines the effect of trauma on brain development and the subsequent impact in the academic setting. Childhood trauma is overwhelmingly common and has repeatedly been noted to have serious detrimental effects on children's developmental trajectories. Adolescents with trauma histories have a number of affected skills of which educators need to be especially aware. These skills include learning, memory, executive function, and emotion regulation. Fortunately, educators have a number of instructional practices at their disposal to help children with trauma histories, including classroom-level strategies like stimulus variation and structure and routine, coupled with high expectations. It is suggested that trauma-informed practices be implemented at the classroom and school-wide levels.

The Qualities of Effective Teachers in the Eyes of Turkish Students

The present study was performed with the purpose of exploring views of middle school students about the effective teacher characteristics. For this purpose, qualitative research method was used. The study included 27 middle school students enrolled at different middle schools in Ankara, Turkey. In the study, content analysis method was utilized. According to analysis results, three major themes named “Professional Qualifications,” “Professional Values,” and “Human Values” were identified depending on middle school students' views. The findings were interpreted in the light of relevant literature.

Creating a Positive School Culture Through New Educational Practices

There is an increase in rates of depression and anxiety globally. Schools have moved from a traditional approach of learning and teaching to contemporary forms which includes technology. New revolution has taken place in the world of schooling, with the entry of positive education. Positive education is the application of principles in positive psychology to schooling to enhance the well-being of students and schools. The objective of this review-based chapter is to bring to light the use of various strategies of positive education in classrooms, for middle school students, in order to create a positive learning environment. An evidence-based learning approach is used in this chapter. This chapter address issues and concerns regarding the challenges in applying the strategies of positive education. The main aim of creating a positive school culture in middle school is to enhance the happiness and well-being of students The chapter brings out the need for positive education in the current generation and discusses the implications of the further scope of positive education in India.

Assessment Process-Reflection on Pedagogical Practices and Integration of Technologies in Education

Although research shows that the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into education (ICTE) can help to renew teachers' teaching practices, they do not necessarily do so automatically and spontaneously. The process of development and implementation of ICT in education should include a fundamental reflection on pedagogical approaches in order to understand their place in teaching and learning practice. The ICT should be used for the service of the pedagogy. In this optic, the idea developed in this chapter is to present the micro-macro assessment (MMA) approach based on a reflection on the main pedagogical approaches which influenced pedagogical practices at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century objectives-based approach and competencies-based approach. The MMA approach for assessment is adopted in a diagnosis e-learning system and experimented with learners of middle school education. The experience has given positive and promising results in the improvement of teaching and learning practices.

Strategies to Overcome Middle School Teachers' Classroom Management Stress

The purpose of this chapter is to explain the complexities of classroom management, student development, and middle school philosophy for new teachers at the middle school level. In addition, the authors provide the following four strategies to help new teachers deal with the stress of classroom situations: (a) improving knowledge of student development, the brain, and stress; (b) focusing on what is in the teachers' control; (c) breaking down the tasks into small chunks; and (d) creating a positive mindset. This chapter is unique because few authors have combined the concepts of middle school teacher stress caused by classroom management, how the brain influences classroom management, teacher stress, the cyclical nature of new teacher stress, and strategies to ameliorate stress.