Our purpose was to provide a model for a middle school design thinking program supported by a university-school partnership and to investigate potential benefits of teaching middle school students to be design thinkers. Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade girls (N = 80) participated in the Innovation Nation program. Over three days, students engaged…

When middle school teachers and leaders commit themselves to being responsive to the personal concerns of adolescents and the social concerns of their community, it results in opportunities to build capacity in students to be agents of change. This article captures the story of one school's process in designing and implementing a yearlong…

Findings from recent studies suggest that students' pathways into mathematics-related careers begin as early as middle school when students are forming lasting self-perceptions of their academic abilities. Middle school is also a time when students begin making choices about future coursework in math, science, and technology that will have…

In all educational settings, teachers are likely to encounter learners with different emotional and cognitive characteristics, particularly learners who are demotivated or disengaged and as a result misbehave in the classroom. Learned helplessness (LH) is associated with such emotional and motivational deficits in academic performance. This study…

Educators' efforts at fostering social and emotional learning are grounded in, and closely related to caring: a belief that developing social and emotional skills will help students to flourish both personally and academically. Yet, research has shown that many middle grades students do not feel cared for in school and find educators' efforts at…

Black girls have been at the forefront of educational change as leaders who "run the show" throughout history yet their unique contributions are missing from books and classroom materials, and their perspectives excluded from definitions of leadership. To address these deficits, we interviewed 21 Black girls enrolled in a summer program…

Research indicates that school discipline practices are inequitable based on student race, class, and gender; yet, few studies highlight students' voices regarding their experiences with these practices. Further, we know that positive teacher--student relationships are a significant factor in student academic achievement and success. This article…

Providing authentic college experiences for students in the middle grades through a partnership with a local college can improve college readiness skills and leave students with a positive view of post-secondary possibilities and opportunities. This article describes a college immersion program--a weeklong college experience provided to all…

Research on the overall effectiveness of single-sex education remains inconclusive; however, some research does indicate that benefits other than academic achievement may be possible with a single-sex format. Advocates argue that when single-sex environments are structured by not only separating boys and girls but also by leveraging…

Non-classroom school spaces such as cafeterias, hallways, and locker rooms have complex structures that require analysis to maintain or improve school climate. Middle level educators are encouraged to observe, question, and evaluate rules and procedures to ensure these spaces are safe and socially just. Educators should work to view these spaces…

On August 3rd, 2019, a racially-charged mass shooting occurred at Walmart in El Paso, TX that killed 23 people and injured another 23. Following the Walmart shooting, students in this borderland region wrote essays related to their experiences. We used the themes we identified to inform implications for teaching writing and composition for middle…

This paper reports the struggles of 24 pre-service teachers (PTs) while intentionally integrating anti-racist pedagogy in which they were trained in a secondary teacher education program. PTs participating in this study are from various disciplines (i.e. Science, Math, English and Social Studies). Our findings reveal a multitude of struggles that…

An authentic, challenging curriculum engaged middle school students from an urban district in exploratory work related to restoring a small prairie at the school. Integrated science-literacy-arts activities were coupled with a system of thinking skills that helped students view issues from different perspectives. Impassioned guest speakers and an…

Engaging students in both hands-on and minds-on experiences is needed for education that is relevant and complete. Many middle school students enter science classrooms with pre-conceived ideas about their world. Some of these ideas are misconceptions that hinder students from developing accepted concepts in science, such as those related to…

Perceptions of middle level learners vary, and unfortunately, some are deficit-oriented, labeling young adolescents as "hormonal" and "erratic" without a deep understanding of their emotional and physical development or the knowledge and skills that they bring to a classroom. In this paper, we provide empirical evidence for…