Project-based learning
Research about authentic instruction indicates, "Teachers should encourage students to actively 'construct knowledge' for themselves, participate in 'disciplined inquiry' and pursue learning that has ‘value beyond the school."1 This project-based learning responds to developmental needs. "Middle grades students abound with kinetic energy. Those who teach at the middle levels know that active, hands-on learning has strong appeal for young adolescents. The 'doing' part of content standards lends itself to projects and activities that students can work on in groups or as individuals. When the 'do' part of the standard is explicit, students understand clearly what is expected of them, and it is an instructional target the teacher can assess."2
In the Spotlight
Catherine Zane Middle School, Eureka City Unified School District
To encourage learning, Zane Middle School gives students responsibility. For example, students took 90 percent of the responsibility for running a service-learning conference in April 2006. The 2007 tech conference was 100 percent student-led. In addition, the school received recognition from the district and surrounding area for the following practices: electives, transitions, and student clubs and connections.
McKinleyville Middle School, McKinleyville Union Elementary School District, a 2006 Schools to Watch™-Taking Center Stage Model School
To encourage a deep understanding of history, the school engages students in Civil War Days (supported by the music program), Renaissance Days, Roman chariot races, Greek Olympics, Supreme Court hearings, the Underground Railroad, colonial bartering, and mock trials. Students also join in townhall meeting discussions about the Fugitive Slave Act and the Stamp Act.
Nobel Middle School, Los Angeles Unified School District
Sixth-grade science teachers use lava lamps to demonstrate convection currents. Students use cake frosting and graham crackers to explore fault movement. Physical science students create a wall-sized, three-dimensional periodical chart, and all students are invited to submit articles to the school literary magazine.
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Career technical education
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Service-learning
Footnotes
1 Academic Achievement in the Middle Grades: What Does the Research Tell Us? (Outside Source) Atlanta, Ga.: Southern Regional Education Board, 2003, 8.
2 Taking Center Stage. Sacramento: California Department of Education, 2001, 25.