This booklet reviews research on the middle school environment, the characteristics of the middle school student, and the factors involved in teaching effectively at the middle school level, and then proposes a method that middle school teachers can use for analyzing their own classroom behavior and their instructional options. The booklet's first chapter explains the differences between the middle school and the more traditional junior high school. Chapter 2 focuses on the cognitive, moral, and physical development that so drastically alters the attitudes, behaviors, and needs of middle school students. Chapter 3 reviews sets of teacher variables that three major research studies have associated with effective teaching. One of these sets of process variables is examined in greater detail in chapter 4, with particular reference to middle school instruction. The fifth chapter proposes a four-step method of self-assessment for teachers, involving self-diagnosis by teachers; feedback from supervisors, students, and colleagues; the formulation of recommendations for change; and implementation of the changes. Chapter 6 follows a hypothetical teacher through the self-assessment process. Appendixes include instruments from the Self-Assessment System and other evaluation programs. A 67-item bibliography is also provided. (PGD)