What makes teaching middle school students unique?
Course Description: In order to be a successful MS(grades 6-8) teacher, you need to understand the unique social, cognitive, emotional and physical changes of your students. This module will explore the changes of adolescents and how it impacts their learning and offer instructional and management strategies to address this unique population of kids.
This module will be linked to two previous modules. The first module, Differentiation, will provide ideas for varied instructional strategies that work for middle school students. The second module, Strategies to support reading and writing in Science class, will provide scaffolding ideas for ELL students and other diverse learners.
What is happening with brain development during adolescence?
Instructional strategies that meet the needs of middle school students
Organization strategies that meet the needs of middle school students
Management strategies that meet the needs of middle school students
Instructional strategies for ELL students and other diverse learners
Knowledge:
Teachers are aware that adolescence brings a unique set of challenges and that it is an essential time to think about the social, emotional and cognitive development of their students.
Teachers are familiar with differentiated instruction
Teachers are familiar with varied instructional strategies
Skills:
Develop lesson plans that incorporate varied instruction and differentiation that meet the needs of your middle school students
Provide opportunities for students to be reflective
Organize and manage a classroom that works to support middle school students during their adolescence
Mindset:
In order to successfully “teach” students you need an approach that is differentiated and takes into account all of the variables that are working for and against all students. The “one size fits all” of education is antiquated and will not be as effective.
Teachers believe in the “growth’ theory of brain development and not the “fixed” theory.