The Middle School Concept and Departmentalized Instruction AED 636 Barbara Price-Cage Delta State University Fall 2009

New Legislation Due to the No Child Left Behind laws, uprisings for the production of higher performing middle schools are currently underway.

What is a middle school? Middle school or junior high school serves as a "bridge" between elementary and high school. Junior high dates back to 1909 with the founding of Indianola Junior High School in Columbus, Ohio. The concept of the name "middle school" dates back to 1950 from Bay City, Michigan.

What is departmentalized instruction? Teams are the organizational structure that create opportunities for a group of teachers to work with a common set of students, allowing for collaboration among teachers, integration of the curriculum, and coordination of activities to best promote learning for every child. Each team is designed as a learning community within the larger middle school. These groups allow for greater flexibility in grouping, scheduling, and staffing and reduce student isolation.

Middle School Foundation Turning Points In the Turning Points model, the focus was improving student learning (Picucci, Brownson, Kahlert, & Sobel, 2004). This comprehensive study was the foundation for middle schools. In the study, there was a shared idea of equity for students as well as teachers.

What is a thematic unit? The most common method of implementing integrated, interdisciplinary instruction is the thematic unit, in which a common theme is studied in more than one content area. Example: Titanic Theme: Content Area Number of deaths: Math The waterway being traveled: Science Ship terms: Vocabulary/English Write an essay on how it felt to be treated as a second class citizen: English Reconstruct the Titanic: Art

Titanic Thematic Unit Teacher can read and explain components of the book. Teacher can define vocabulary words from each chapter. Teacher can create art activities from each chapter.

Thematic Units Math Lessons On The Titanic Vocabulary Lessons On The Titanic Benefits of thematic units: More time on subject matter Deeper thought processes Greater student enthusiasm

References Caskey, M., Cook, C., Faulkner, S., & Kinne, L. (2009). Indicators of Middle School Implementation: How do Kentucky’s Schools to Watch Measure Up? Research in Middle Level Education, 32 (6), Lounsbury, J. (2009). Deferred but Not Deterred: A Middle School Manifest. Middle School Journal, 40 (5), Picucci, A., Brownson, A., Kahlert, R., & Sobel, A. (2004). Middle School Concept Helps High-Poverty Schools Become High-Performing Schools. Middle School Journal, 36(1), 4-11.

The Middle School Concept and Departmentalized Instruction THE END