Professional resources

The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) is designed for students aged 11 to 16. This period, encompassing early puberty and mid-adolescence, is a particularly critical phase of personal and intellectual development and requires a programme that helps students participate actively and responsibly in a changing and increasingly interrelated world. Learning how to learn and how to evaluate information critically is as important as learning facts.

The benefits and criticism of increased assessment or testing are discussed. Increased testing helps teachers monitoring students' learning process and their own teaching strategies and school curriculum. The main criticism is "lack of value to education in its current incarnation." Suggestions of improved assessment are recommended.

Three paradigms related to teaming and how the might be revised to improve the quality of today's middle school programs are discussed: team configurations, teaming for interdisciplinary instruction, and teaming and advisory. Rottier, J. (2003). Variations on a team: changing paradigms. Middle Ground, 7(2), 10-12.

Data-driven decision making often uncovers new and important information that can be persuasive enough to move us to action. The values of data-driven decision making is suggested. The 3-stage data-driven decision model is proposed. Streifer, P. A. (2003). Data-driven decision making: What it takes to make decisions. Middle Ground, 6(4), 10-13.

Context of teacher learning is described. Strategies are suggested for promoting teacher learning. Maute, J. (2003). The spirit of teaching learning. Middle Ground, 6(3), 10-12.

The value of using study guides to develop multiple literacies is discussed. Strategies of study guides development and the components should be included in the guides are also suggested. Wood, K. D. (2002). Using study guides to develop multiple literacies. Middle Ground, 6(2), 10-14.

Creating safe forums for students to voice their opinions can help them clarify their identity and develop their sense of empowerment. Examples of online platforms for publishing students' works are introduced: MidLink Magazine, ePals, Poetry.com, Children's Express, White Barn Press, Scholastic's "Writing with Writers," and Put it on the Web.

Chunking is one of many instructional strategies supported by recent research about the human brain. By chunking we make sense of the randomness and improve the chances of moving the information to long-term memory. Strategies of chunking are suggested. Wormeli, R. (2002). Beating a path to the brain. Middle Ground, 5(5), 23-25.

Effective middle level educators seek to design homework that is motivating, enriching, and relevant. Homework is part of a comprehensive effort to help students learn skills and relate new information to their prior knowledge and experiences. Examples of Benjamin Bloom's taxonomy of higher-order thinking skills and RAFTS assignments are provided. Wormeli, R. (2002). Help with homework. Middle Ground, 5(4), 19-21.

A major national report that examines the crucial stage at which middle school students and their parents must begin to make choices about going to college. Parents of adolescent students are in a unique position to help ensure their children's success in postsecondary education as they could provide early guidance in the relevancy of college to success in life, academic preparation, and high educational aspirations.

PILS is short for the Parents Involved in Learning System. We are an online service designed to help parents and teachers jointly and more closely and astutely monitor and evaluate individual student development and academic performance.

Curriculum integration involves not only helping students make connections across content areas, but also promoting democracy in the classroom. The concepts of curriculum integration are discussed. The reactions of teachers, students, and parents to curriculum integration are reported. Paterson, J. (2003). Curriculum integration in a standards-based world. Middle Ground, 7(1), 10-12.

Welcome to TweenTribune.com, a daily news site for tweens. Each day we post links to the day's most compelling news from a tweens perspective. Stories chosen for TweenTribune are selected by tweens working closely with professional journalists. Tweens can submit links to stories they'd like to share, submit their own stories and photos, and comment on the stories they read.

This is the top 12 (and adding) best web sites for middle grades as chosen by Middle Web. The sites cover all disciplines and include professional resources.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism created this wesite for students ages 11-13. Resources, information, and support for students to help them avoid underage drinking. One section is called the "biology and chemistry that will keep you from becoming history."