New Directions in Middle Level Education Research

Selected studies from Research in Middle Level Education Online, Volumes 42–43
October 24, 2019 from 11:50 – 12:50 on Zoom

Volume 42, Issue 5

Student Readiness to Learn and Teacher Effectiveness: Two Key Factors in Middle Grades
Mathematics Achievement. W. Sean Kearney & Theresa Garfield
This study examined student readiness to learn and teacher effectiveness in order to determine their
impact on middle grades mathematics achievement. Survey data were collected from 964 middle
grades students and 93 mathematics teachers in Texas. This study is the first to use this particular
collective efficacy short form with middle grade students, and factor analyses were conducted
accordingly. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to measure the relationship between teacher
perceptions of student readiness to learn and student perceptions of teacher effectiveness on
mathematics achievement in the middle grades. The results of these analyses indicated that students’
perceptions of teacher effectiveness and teachers’ perceptions of student readiness to learn each
made a significant contribution to the variance in middle grades mathematics achievement.
Implications are discussed.

Volume 42, Issue 10

Mixed Feelings about Choice: Exploring Variation in Middle School Student Experiences with Making
Choices in a Personalized Learning Project. Jessica Demink-Carthew
While providing choice can be a powerful way to personalize learning for young adolescents, there is
also evidence that choice can be challenging for learners. This study investigated middle school
students’ (N = 72) feelings about making choices in how they learn during a personalized project.
Findings include students’ self-reported enjoyment and stress associated with choice within the project
as well as five student vignettes illustrating some of the variations across student experiences.
Informed by this variation, we offer several implications for research and practice related to supporting
students in making choices in their own learning.

Volume 43, Issue 2

Hands-Joined Learning as a Framework for Personalizing Project-Based Learning in a Middle Grades
Classroom: An Exploratory Study. Jessica Demink-Carthew
This study investigates the hands-joined learning framework as an approach to personalize and provide
instructional scaffolding within project-based learning. The authors include a case description of hands-
joined learning in a middle school social studies classroom and critically examine middle school student
feedback in relation to two aims: (a) personalizing learning, and (b) providing adequate scaffolding.
Student feedback indicated that the hands-joined learning project was largely successful in these two
areas. Learners appreciated having choice and control in what they learned and created in the project
but also pointed to the need for greater opportunities to make decisions in how they learned. Some
learners also wanted more peer interaction. These findings are used to propose practical implications
as well as future research directions.
Volume 43, Issue 3
“You’re Not an Island”: A Middle Grades Language Arts Teacher’s Changed Perceptions in ESL and
Content Teachers’ Collaboration. Amanda Giles
Building on previous studies of ESL and content teachers’ collaboration, this qualitative case study
relied on Davies and Harré’s positioning theory as a theoretical lens to examine the influences that
collaboration between an ESL teacher and a language arts teacher had on the language arts teacher’s
approach to planning for and teaching ESL students. Data collection included three audio-recorded
semi-structured interviews, two video recorded collaborative planning sessions, two reflective journals
written by the language arts teacher, document analysis of the created lesson plan documents, and
field notes. The findings showed that the language arts teacher changed her perceptions about the
content teacher’s role, lesson plan design, and her views about ESL students while working in
collaboration with an ESL teacher. These findings implicate the potential for ESL and content teachers’
collaboration to be a space to challenge the content teachers’ accepted notions about language
instruction for ESL students and highlight the ESL teacher’s strengthened role in the collaborative
partnership. Further, this study warrants further exploration into ESL and content teachers’
collaboration in middle school content classrooms.

Volume 43, Issue 5

Middle Level Students’ Perceptions of Their Social and Emotional Learning: An Exploratory Study.
David B. Strahan & Beth Poteat
As teachers and administrators focus increasing attention on the mental health needs of students,
researchers are exploring ways that addressing social-emotional needs is essential to academic growth
as well as personal wellness. This descriptive investigation explored ways that seventh and eighth
grade students perceived their social-emotional development in a school context in which teachers
integrated social and emotional learning (SEL) with academics. An English Language Arts (ELA) teacher
and a team of university researchers observed students during lessons, gathered work samples, and
interviewed students across a school year. Intensive case studies with ten students provided
descriptions of the types of connections students made with their learning experiences and ways these
connections varied. Participants made visible connections with teachers on a personal level. They
connected with peers spontaneously and reflected on peer relationships to varying levels. Reflecting
on these social connections helped develop self-awareness, social awareness, and relationship skills.
Reflections also enabled participants to connect interests, engagement, and accomplishment to
varying extents, enhancing capacities for self-management and responsible decision-making. Results
suggest that emphasizing the process of reflection in reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and
electives may be a powerful way to enhance social and emotional learning in the flow of classroom
events.

*All articles are available online at the Taylor & Francis website:
https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/umle20/current.