Interdisciplinarity vs disciplinarity : developing knowledge for problem solving in middle years of schooling

Interdisciplinary studies are fundamental to the signature practices for the middle years of schooling. Middle years researchers claim that interdisciplinarity in teaching appropriately meets the needs of early adolescents by tying concepts together, providing frameworks for the relevance of knowledge, and demonstrating the linking of disparate information for solution of novel problems. Cognitive research is not wholeheartedly supportive of this position. Learning theorists assert that application of knowledge in novel situations for the solution of problems is actually dependent on deep discipline based understandings. The present research contrasts the capabilities of early adolescent students from discipline based and interdisciplinary based curriculum schooling contexts to successfully solve multifaceted real world problems. This will inform the development of effective management of middle years of schooling curriculum.

Teachers’ conceptions of essential knowledge for integrated social education : a middle years of schooling perspective from Australia

Integrated social education in Australia is a divisive educational issue. The last decade has been marked by a controversial integrated social studies curriculum called Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE) where history, geography and environmental studies were integrated with civics and citizenship. The introduction of a compulsory K-10 Australian Curriculum from 2011, however, marks the return to history and geography and the abandonment of SOSE. Curriculum reform aside, what do teachers think is essential knowledge for middle years social education? The paper reports on a phenomenographical exploration of thirty-one middle school teachers’ conceptions of essential knowledge for SOSE. Framed by Shulman’s (1986, 1987) theoretical framework of the knowledge base for teaching, the research identified seven qualitatively different ways of understanding essential knowledge for integrated social education. The study indicates a practice-based theorization of integrated social education that justifies attention to disciplinary process and teacher identity in middle school social education.

'I am smart and I am not joking': Aiming high in the middle years of schooling

In this paper, we draw on accounts from students to inform a Middle Schooling movement that has been variously described as "arrested", "unfinished" and "exhausted". We propose that if the Middle Schooling movement is to understand the changing worlds of students and develop new approaches in the middle years of schooling, then it is important to draw on the insights that individual students can provide by conducting research with "students-as-informants". The early adolescent informants to this paper report high hopes for their futures (despite their lower socio-economic surroundings), which reinforces the importance of supporting successful learner identities and highlights the role of schooling in the decline of adolescent student aspirations. However, their insights did not stop at the individual learner, with students also identifying cultural and structural constraints to reform. As such, we argue that students may be both an important resource for inquiry into individual school reform and for the Middle Schooling movement internationally.

Teaching and learning mathematics with robotics in middle-years of schooling

Engaging and motivating students in mathematics lessons can be challenging. The traditional approach of chalk and talk can sometimes be problematic. The new generation of educational robotics has the potential to not only motivate students but also enable teachers to demonstrate concepts in mathematics by connecting concepts with the real world. Robotics hardware and the software are becoming increasing more user-friendly and as a consequence they can be blended in with classroom activities with greater ease. Using robotics in suitably designed activities promotes a constructivist learning environment and enables students to engage in higher order thinking through hands-on problem solving. Teamwork and collaborative learning are also enhanced through the use of this technology. This paper discusses a model for teaching concepts in mathematics in middle year classrooms. It will also highlight some of the benefits and challenges of using robotics in the learning environment.

Early and middle years of schooling

What to look for in the chapter • how inclusion for the early and middle years offers a set of unique challenges; • how school communities can promote inclusion for children and young adolescents; • strategies that teachers can use to build and maintain community in early and middle years’ settings; • factors that influence the success of teachers working with children and young adolescents in inclusive schools; • practical measures that teachers can take, in light of these factors, to promote the success of inclusion; and • the different responses that children in the early and middle years have to inclusion, how teachers can identify those responses, and what they can do to ensure that they are positive.

Teachers' knowledge for social education : perspectives from the middle years of schooling

Social education in Australia is a divisive educational issue. The last decade has been marked by the controversial integrated social studies curriculum, Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE) where history, geography and environmental studies were integrated with civics and citizenship. The introduction of a compulsory K-10 Australian Curriculum from 2011, however, marks the return to history and geography and the abandonment of SOSE. Curriculum reform aside, what do teachers think is essential knowledge for middle years social education? The paper reports on a phenomenographical exploration of thirty-one middle school teachers’ conceptions of essential knowledge for SOSE. Framed by Shulman’s (1986, 1987) theoretical framework of the knowledge base for teaching, the research identified seven qualitatively different ways of understanding essential knowledge for social education. The study indicates a professional practice-based theorisation of social education that justifies attention to discipline-based knowledge and teacher identity in the middle years.

Digital literacies in the middle years of schooling

This paper uses Glister's interpretation of digital literacy whilst acknowledging that a computer is not the only means for the delivety of digital texts. I will explore how we can support student teachers to develop understandings about the teaching in the middle years in order to work with students in schools to successfully read digital texts, create digital texts, search, fmd and use information in the digital world and to become critical users of digital texts. Students in the middle years of schooling are facing increasingly sophisticated literacy demands of new technologies that go well beyond that of the traditional printed page as they interact with information communicated through a range of digital media both inside and outside of school. At best new technologies can open doors to students for researching and accessing a world far beyond their own environment, empowering them to direct and control their own learning and produce quality work.