The middle years learner

This guide offers a systematic overview of the philosophy, principles, and issues in middle schooling, including contributions from academics and school-based practitioners on intellectual and emotional development in early adolescence, pedagogy, curricula, and the assessment of middle years students.

Middle years teacher education : new programs and research directions

Teacher education programs focussing on the development of specialist teachers for 'the middle years' have proliferated in Australian universities in recent years. This paper provides some insights into middle years' teacher education programs at the University of Queensland, Edith Cowan and Flinders Universities with regard to their: philosophical underpinnings; specific educational context; scope and nature of the program. In addition, some of the research directions and efficacy strategies utilised in conjunction with the programs will be shared, along with some early findings from a longitudinal study in one of the programs. We propose that the pattern of programmatic growth heralds a new time for teacher education, and we speculate about the production of new kinds of teacher identities as graduates take their place in the profession.

Education futures : transforming teacher education in the middle years

The young people who populate our classrooms live in a changed and rapidly changing society: a society where information is the most valued commodity and where traditional ‘truth’s such as nation and family are increasingly destabilized and fragmented. Educators at primary, secondary and tertiary level must, with some urgency, address issues relating the emergence of new citizenships and identities, the impact of new technologies and new economies. Our pedagogy and curriculums must be relevant to the need of students now and in the future. The School of Education, The University of Queensland is addressing issues of change, new technologies, new work places, critical citizenry and the need for pedagogical and curriculum innovation through the development of a new Middle Years of Schooling Dual Degree program. This program is designed to equip pre-service teachers to approach pedagogy and curriculum in innovative ways and to challenge them to embrace diversity and change. This paper outlines the key features of the Middle Years of Schooling Dual Degree, identifying a number of innovative approaches to pre-service teacher education.

Understanding the literacy difficulties of students with Asperger's syndrome in middle years' classrooms

Among the students in Australian classrooms who are experiencing learning difficulties are increasing numbers of children who have been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. Although the general cognitive and language abilities of these students are comparable with most of their peers, they experience significant difficulties with social communication, social interactions and social-emotional/behavioural functioning. Despite indications that there are features inherent in Asperger's syndrome that are likely to have a negative effect on the development of advanced literacy skills, studies to date have primarily focused on social-emotional/behavioural challenges. Without effective literacy skills, however, students' access to educational and career opportunities may be curtailed. This article reviews features of Asperger's syndrome that appear to have a negative impact upon the development of advanced literacy skills and suggests ways in which inclusive classroom teachers could support the development of their learners.

Aligning ICT in assessment with teaching and learning : enhancing student achievement in the middle years

Student underachievement in the middle years (typically Years 4 to 9) is a concern in education. Incorporating Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in assessment that is aligned to teaching and learning has the potential to engage students in higher cognitive processes that lead to increased student achievement. To examine this proposition an investigation was undertaken into teachers’ perceptions of alignment and the implications of those for student achievement in ICT enhanced middle years assessment tasks. This investigation used a collective case study design underpinned by socio-cultural theory. Two methods were used for data collection, namely, semi-structured interviews with individual teachers and a focus group discussion with teachers and another with students. Findings revealed teachers’ perceptions that alignment: assists in mediating achievement of learning outcomes in quality middle years assessment tasks, assists in creating a challenging but supportive environment in which positive learning dispositions and success is encouraged for all students, and contributes to more rigorous use of ICT in assessment. The process of implementing alignment was found to be complex but assisted through prioritising particular practices. These findings enabled the development of eight steps which serve as a guide to the effective implementation of alignment in middle years assessment tasks.

Training young people as researchers to investigate engagement and disengagement in the middle years

This paper reports on the first stage of a study that used Young People as Researchers to investigate the phenomenon of middle-year student engagement and disengagement. The first stage of the study focused on a two-day workshop that provided training for students and teachers from four secondary schools in conducting research in their schools. An overview of the three stages is presented and the workshop procedures and example activities for Stage 1 of the Young People as Researchers model are described. Further to this, the paper reports on data collected in the workshop to address the research question: How do middleyear students describe engagement and disengagement?

Young people, imagination and re-engagement in the middle years

This article reports on the first stage of a study that uses Young People as Researchers methodology to investigate the phenomenon of middle-year student disengagement. The study obtains student perspectives on the meanings of engagement and disengagement using a variety of innovative research methods. The first stage of the study focused on a two-day workshop giving students and teachers an overview of the project and providing training and experience in conducting research in their schools. The process employed by the study provides spaces and resources for critical thinking and encourages imaginative responses to the real life problems confronting the students and their peers and affecting their educational engagement. This article describes ways in which engagement is viewed both theoretically and through the empirical work of the student researchers, and how various applications of ‘disciplined imagination’ connect with methods of investigating and understanding engagement.

Aligning school reform and teacher education reform in the middle years : an Australian case study

This paper discusses the development of a new Bachelor of Education (Middle Years of Schooling) at The University of Queensland, Australia. The middle years of schooling have increasingly been the focus of education reform initiatives in Australia, but this has not been accompanied by significant increases in the number of teacher education institutions offering specialised middle schooling-level teacher preparation programmes. Considering the rapidly changing social and economic context and the emergent state of middle schooling in Australia, the programme represented a conceptual and practical opportunity and challenge for The University of Queensland team. Working collaboratively, the team sought to design a teacher education preservice programme that was both responsive and generative: that is, responsive to local school contexts and to current education research and reform at national and international levels; and generative of cutting-edge theories and practices associated with middle schooling, teachers' work, and teacher education. This paper focuses on one component of the Middle Years of Schooling Teacher Education programme at The University of Queensland; namely, the practicum. We first present the underlying principles of the practicum programme and then examine "dilemmas" that emerged early in the practicum. These issues and tensions were associated with the ideals of "middle years" philosophy and the pragmatics of school reform associated with that approach. Within this context, we explore what it means to be both responsive and generative, and describe how we as teacher educators negotiated the extremes these terms implied.

Higher Order Thinking through ICT: What do middle years teachers think really matters?

The middle years of schooling has emerged as an important focus in Australian education. Student disengagement and alienation, the negative effects of non-completion of the senior years of schooling and underachievement have raised concerns about the quality of education during the middle years. For many schools, reshaping the middle years has involved incorporating Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to motivate students. However, simultaneously there is a need to ensure that programs are academically rigorous. There is little doubt that there are potential benefits to integrating ICT into programs for middle years’ students. However, little is known about how middle years’ teachers perceive higher order thinking, which is a component of academic rigour. This paper investigates the question of What are teachers’ perceptions of higher order thinking in an ICT environment? The study is underpinned by socio-cultural theory which is based on the belief that learning occurs through social interaction and that individuals are shaped by the social and cultural tools and instruments they engage with. This investigation used a collective case study design. Two methods were used for data collection. These methods are semi-structured interviews with individual teachers and a class and a focus group discussion with teachers. Findings indicate that teachers hold various perceptions of higher order thinking that lead to productive approaches to integrating ICT in middle years’ classrooms. The paper highlights that there may be a continuum of perceptions of higher order thinking with ICT. This continuum may inform professional developers who are guiding and supporting teachers to integrate ICT into middle years’ classrooms.

A collaborative approach to reading workshop in the middle years

Reflection Questions • How does the collaborative reading workshop approach engage students in higher order thinking and deep engagement with text? • How does the collaborative reading workshop approach support students to be active citizens and critically literate? • How does the interaction and collaborative thinking in this approach contribute to the students’ intellectual engagement and the teacher’s pedagogical rigor? • How could this approach be implemented or adapted at your school?