Teachers’ and Students’ Beliefs about ELLs in Mainstream Mathematics Classrooms

The purpose of this study was to explore the beliefs middle school mathematics teachers have about ELLs, to identify the strategies used to help ELLs, to explore the support teachers need to teach ELLs, and understand some of the experiences of ELLs in mainstream mathematics classrooms. In addition to student and teacher interviews, 106 middle school mathematics teachers from 11 school systems completed a questionnaire. The qualitative portion of the data is presented here

Online Teaching Module: Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) Key Assessment Example

The Augusta University Online Teaching Module is a key assessment administered once during one specified course in each educator preparation program. Augusta University teacher candidates are required to show proficiency in ISTE standards and CAEP standard 1.5. The online teaching model measures candidates’ ability to apply technology standards in order to design, implement, and assess learning experiences to engage students and improve learning. In order to pass the Online Teaching Module, candidates must score 3 out of 4 possible points on at least five of the six indicators. If a candidate does not pass this assessment, goals will be created along with strategies to require the candidate to improve on area(s) of weakness in technology use. After the strategies have been implemented, the candidate will be able to redo this key assessment. Candidates will not be able to progress to student teaching without passing this assessment. This paper outlines this key assessment’s administration, purpose, instructions, and rubric. We hope it will be useful to others as they prepare for CAEP visits

Young Citizens of the World Unite! A Case for the Model United Nations in Middle School Classrooms

In this manuscript, the authors describe the benefits and theoretical connections the Junior Model United Nations (JMUN) program has with middle school classrooms. The lens used to view the JMUN program is informed by literature on the needs of young adolescents, inquiry learning, and global citizenship. Findings from this literature illuminate nuances in the interaction between inquiry learning through the C3 Framework and active learning participation. Implications for middle school students, in-service teachers, and teacher candidates are discussed

Response to Intervention for English Language Learners (ELLs): Using Data Collection, Goal Setting, and District Level Support for Instructional Improvement

Response to Intervention (RTI) has become a mandatory educational policy in many states. However, issues on how school districts use RTI to support English Language Learners (ELLs) has not been fully discussed in literature. In this study, artifacts including school RTI manuals and handbooks for instructing ELLs were analyzed. A survey with all school district ELL coordinators in one of the states where RTI is mandated in K – 12 was also conducted. The purpose of this study is to help educators and researchers in the field of language education understand how schools use RTI to support ELLs and how to maximize the value of RTI to reach diverse learners

Quaranteaching in the Time of Covid-19: Exemplar From a Middle Grades Virtual Classroom

The COVID-19 pandemic dropped educators across the world straight into remote learning with little time to prepare. As some have inevitably struggled, other middle grades educators have overcome beginning hurdles to not only survive, but thrive amidst this new challenge. One teacher in particular, despite being in her first year, has found innovative ways to connect and motivate her middle grades students in a virtual environment. This article extends the steps, tips, and resources article (Author 3, Author 2, & Barker, K. S. also in this issue?) to provide a personal example of the successes (and yet still challenges) that exist when “quaranteaching” is done well. From tiktok videos, to kahoot games played over zoom, to contests to encourage attendance and increase motivation, Amanda Woods, winner of the National Association of Professors of Middle Level Education (NAPOMLE) Teacher Candidate of the Year in 2019, shares how she continues to meet the developmental needs of her young middle grades students even when she cannot see them physically each day

Best Practices in Middle Level Quaranteaching: Strategies, Tips and Resources Amidst COVID-19

School closings resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have forced teachers across the world to scramble to shift their face-to-face classes online. This rapid transition to what we call “quaranteaching” has left teachers little time to prepare for virtual teaching and learning. Acknowledging this challenge, in this article we share steps, strategies, tips, and resources to support and empower middle grades educators to successfully continue the online instruction (more accurately called “crisis teaching) they have begun. We offer approaches to implementing collaboration, differentiation, and personalized learning, as well as approaches for authentically assessing student learning in a virtual learning environment. Issues such as access and equity are discussed and unit ideas are shared. The skills and tools middle level educators are sharpening will likely also be used in subsequent years even when a health crisis is not in effect. An organized chart with multiple curated technology tools for young adolescents is also included

Slaying the Dragon: Junior Model United Nations Curriculum Designing for Middle School Teacher Candidates

Abstract The process of teaching curriculum design to pre-service teachers is a complex process.  To address this issue, teacher candidates were asked to integrate an inquiry-based approach while considering their own curriculum chapter for a Junior Model United Nations (JMUN) program.  The findings of this study suggest that teacher candidates can benefit from inquiry-based methods in planning and teaching JMUN curriculum.  In the process, teacher candidates become aware of their own biases and pedagogical needs while teaching their future students.  This is accomplished through cause and effect teaching since the teacher candidates are simultaneously building and teaching. The further removed teacher candidates are from curriculum development, the less likely they are to understand the significance of curriculum development and its applications.

Never Too Old for a Field Trip: Exploring Community Assets for Middle Grades Literacy Integration

Middle Grades teacher candidates participated in a “field trip” in an Integrated Reading course to model best practices in culturally responsive teaching. The college students visited their downtown city including a regional art museum and memorial sculpture garden commemorating local Black history to experience and contemplate possibilities for literacy integration in their pedagogy. Teacher candidates were encouraged to explore and understand community culture, history, and assets with respect to their future students’ lives, identities, interests, and experiences, and how these considerations should motivate their instructional decision making with literacy applications. A follow-up discussion was facilitated by the course professor along with a final project and presentation to combine key takeaways from the field trip with the coursework objectives. Recommendations are made for both middle grades teachers and teacher educators on opportunities for leveraging community assets with culturally relevant pedagogy and literacy integration as combined lenses for middle grades best practice

Social Media Use in Higher Education: Do Members of the Academy Recognize Any Advantages?

Existing research demonstrates that faculty in higher education are gradually relying more on social media to enhance instruction (e.g., Carpenter & Krutka, 2014; Jacquemin, Smelser, & Bernot, 2014). This study built upon this conclusion in two ways.  First, the population of interest was expanded to include not only faculty, but researchers, administrators, and clinicians at a comprehensive university.  Second, the study explored whether respondents perceived any change in student attitude or performance, in addition to advantages and disadvantages of social media use. Results of the study confirmed that, other than Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs and online forums, university members (especially researchers and clinicians) were slow to adopt social media for use in the workplace. Teachers and administrators were somewhat more active incorporating social media into their practices. The majority of respondents saw no change either positive or negative in their students’ communication skills. The one positive assessment noted that learner satisfaction and attitudes had slightly improved