A Different Kind of Kid, A Different Kind of Teacher Education: Middle Grades Teachers Reflect on Their Preparation to Teach Young Adolescents

Middle Grades Review, Jun 2016

Good teaching at the middle grades comes out of a deep understanding of the unique cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and moral needs of young adolescents. Therefore specialized preparation is necessary to help teacher candidates understand how to operationalize the intersection of young adolescent development and the effective pedagogy that addresses their needs. This paper focuses on a qualitative study of experienced middle school teachers who graduated from a middle level preparation program or an elementary or secondary preparation program in terms of how well prepared they felt and feel to meet the widely varied needs of young adolescents. Confidence in preparation leads to high self-efficacy, which is important for perseverance and effectiveness. Graduates of a middle level preparation program reported higher levels of confidence in their preparation to teach young adolescents.

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A Different Kind of Kid, A Different Kind of Teacher Education: Middle Grades Teachers Reflect on Their Preparation to Teach Young Adolescents

A Different Kind of Kid, A Different Kind of Teacher Education: Middle Grades Teachers Reflect on Their Preparation to Teach Young Adolescents Moses K . Ochanji 0 1 2 3 Rong-Ji Chen 0 1 2 3 Marlene L. Deringer 0 1 2 3 Janet McDaniel 0 1 2 3 0 California State University San Marcos , USA 1 Otterbein University Ohio , USA 2 Part of the Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons 3 California State University - San Marcos , USA Recommended Citation - See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/mgreview A Different Kind of Kid, A Different Kind of Teacher Education: Middle Grades Teachers Reflect on Their Preparation to Teach Young Adolescents Authors Moses K. Ochanji, Rong-Ji Chen, Erika Daniels, Marlene L. Deringer, Janet McDaniel, Laurie Stowell, and Christina Cambra-Adamson This research is available in Middle Grades Review: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/mgreview/vol2/iss1/5 A Different Kind of Kid, A Different Kind of Teacher Education: Middle Grades Teachers Reflect on Their Preparation to Teach Young Adolescents Moses K. Ochanji, California State University, San Marcos Rong-Ji Chen, California State University, San Marcos Erika Daniels, California State University, San Marcos Marlene L. Deringer, Otterbein University Ohio Janet McDaniel, California State University, San Marcos Laurie Stowell, California State University, San Marcos Christina Cambra-Adamson, California State University, San Marcos Abstract Good teaching at the middle grades comes out of a deep understanding of the unique cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and moral needs of young adolescents. Specialized preparation therefore is necessary to help teacher candidates understand how to operationalize the intersection of young adolescent development and the effective pedagogy that addresses their needs. This paper focuses on a qualitative study of experienced middle school teachers who graduated from a middle level preparation program or an elementary or secondary preparation program in terms of how well prepared they felt and feel to meet the widely varied needs of young adolescents. Confidence in preparation leads to high self-efficacy, which is important for perseverance and effectiveness. Graduates of a middle level preparation program reported higher levels of confidence in their preparation to teach young adolescents. Introduction Middle level educators have promoted specialized preparation of middle grades teachers for more than a half-century (Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE), 2015a; McEwin & Smith, 2013 ; Van Til, Vars & Lounsbury, 1961). These teachers are expected to apply developmentally-appropriate pedagogy and to teach young adolescents based on their physical, cognitive, emotional, moral, and social development. The AMLE, formerly National Middle School Association (NMSA) has long been a strong advocate for the middle level philosophy and specialized professional preparation of middle level teachers (AMLE, 2010a) . As a result of these efforts, most states in the US have specialized middle level teacher licensure; 45 states and the District of Columbia provide middle level teacher certification, license, or endorsement (AMLE, 2015b). However, this does not mean that higher education institutions across the country offer specialized middle level teacher credential programs. Howell, Faulkner, Cook, Miller, and Thompson (2016) reviewed the program websites of 1,324 institutions and analyzed undergraduate middle level teacher preparation programs. The researchers found that only 25% of these institutions offered a fully implemented specialized middle level program. Another 24% offered a middle grades course or some elements of a specialized middle level program, and 51% had no specialized middle level teacher preparation at all. The researchers urged institutions to provide and/or enhance middle level teacher preparation. Does specialized middle level teacher education really matter? While many middle level advocates have come up with strong arguments (e.g., McEwin, Smith, & Dickinson, 2003) for specialized preparation and professional development, “these arguments have been based primarily on advocacy and have little empirical support” (Conklin, 2012, p. 172) . Indeed, a search of the ERIC database for empirical research on specialized middle level teacher preparation revealed few articles published after 2000. The methods, major findings, and limitations of recent studies on specialized preparation of middle level teachers are summarized in Table 1. Comparative case study on Both teachers had a partial Only 2 teachers; only 2 seventh-grade teachers— set of understanding content, in social studies. one received specialized teaching, and students; they middle level preparation, fell short of challenging and the other took the young adolescents. subject-specific secondary pathway. Interviews with 3 (...truncated)


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Moses K Ochanji, Rong-Ji Chen, Erika Daniels, Marlene L Deringer, Janet McDaniel, Laurie Stowell, Christina Cambra-Adamson. A Different Kind of Kid, A Different Kind of Teacher Education: Middle Grades Teachers Reflect on Their Preparation to Teach Young Adolescents, Middle Grades Review, 2016, Volume 2, Issue 1,