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EDU5MTM Assignment 1
1.

As a future teacher briefly describe what you consider to be the three most significant
characteristics of middle years learners. Justify your choice.
Over the past decade scientists have begun to recast old views of adolescent
behaviour in light of new knowledge about brain development (Kuhn, 2006). With
this focus, research that had previously considered the adolescent brain to be that of a
large child or a small adult has identified that the adolescent brain is unique and
complex, and characterised by discordance. Adolescence is often a period of
disconnect between the developing brain, and behavioural and cognitive systems, that
mature along different timetables (Kuhn, 2006; Steinberg, 2005 p. 69). Against this
background of asynchronous development, the three key characteristics of adolescent
learners are the need for acceptance from ones peers, the move to abstract thinking,
and the inability to regulate behaviours.
Acceptance from ones peers. The young adolescents primary lens is a social one
(CCE, 2015 p. 11). Needing to belong to the peer group is probably the strongest
single characteristic of early adolescence. They are becoming aware of the larger
world around them for the first time, and are beginning to see themselves as
individuals outside of their families. This creates the need to find ones place in the
social context, create a strong sense of group identity and acceptance by ones peers.
Avoiding embarrassment and self-exposure at any cost. Social and emotional concerns
block out academic issues. These conflicting influences contribute to intense feelings
of vulnerability, confusion and insecurity.
Moving from concrete to abstract thinking. The adolescent thinking approach
moves from simple and concrete terms, to more complex and abstract. What if
reasoning starts to emerge, along with the ability to take on different perspectives, and
to process conflicting information and emotions. Focus on complex thinking skills
that ask students to apply their knowledge and skills to worthwhile tasks.
Inability to regulate behaviour. Much brain development during adolescence is in
the particular brain regions and systems that are key to regulation of behaviour and
emotion (amygdala), and to the perception of risk and reward (Kuhn, 2006; Steinberg,
2005; Treasure & Roberts, 1994). Additionally, the changes in arousal and motivation
precede the development of regulatory competence. This creates a situation in which
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one is starting an engine without yet having a skilled driver behind the wheel
(Steinberg, 2005 p. 70). The consequence is that the impulsive behaviour displayed
appears unreasonable against the background of a heightened ability to learn and
retain information.
2.

List the qualities of effective teachers of Middle Years students and discuss briefly one
quality that you consider very important.
During the middle years, it is critical for the teacher to be able to develop students
intellectual capacities, leadership and voice, differentiate instruction to meet diverse
learning style, languages and cultures, all while creating a safe and challenging
learning environment (Pendergast, 2015). Teachers must have the ability to design
lessons that include the full range of sensory motor experiences, including music,
smell, touch and emotion (Salyers & McKee, 2007), and provide opportunities for
movement and physical exercise. Lessons should be designed using inquiry or
problem based learning in which students are encouraged to ask questions that interest
them after the lesson is framed in terms of essential questions or problems to resolve.
Reflecting back on the importance of peer acceptance for the adolescent, teachers can
provide opportunities for social interaction necessary to navigate this phase of life,
with both peers and adults, so that young people can be positively influenced at a time
when they can be deeply affected by those around them (CCE, 2015 p. 12). Therefore,
the most important role of teachers is to serve as powerful role models. This can be
through the academic domain by modelling tasks, as well as the social domain by
modelling the acceptance of differences, being willing to learn and talk about difficult
issues. Wormeli (2001 p. 2) examines the importance of the teacher in effective
middle years schooling. The teachers role is to show students how doing high quality
work will add to their quality of life, either now or in the future. In order to achieve
this, the teacher must first demonstrate self-efficacy (Dembo & Gibson, 1985; Fuller
& Brown, 1975; Lewis, 2008). When teachers lack self-efficacy, they view their
resources as inadequate to deal with the situation they confront, they feel incompetent
and unable to cope. The graduate teacher, with limited time in the classroom, may be
self-conscious and unable to articulate and implement espoused beliefs effectively.

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3.

Explain the concepts of 'New Pedagogies for the Middle Years.

A key concern highlighted by the extant literature is the disengagement adolescent
learners demonstrate with their learning. The transition from primary to secondary
schooling, as well as the dispersed nature of secondary schools means that often
problems can go undetected. This disengagement has been accompanied by a lack of
improvement in literacy skills, a drop in the quality of pedagogy, and the acceleration
of the role of technology in the classroom. As noted by Groundwater-Smith, Mitchell
and Mockler (2007), there needs to be systemic changes to teaching and learning
practices to overcome these problems.
The new pedagogies analysed by Groundwater-Smith et al (2007) are exemplified in
the proposition of a rich task approach to learning. The rich task is a multidisciplinary undertaking that requires students to work in groups, through multiple
iterations, and with few boundaries and guidelines to direct their inquiry. This
pedagogy is based on the assumption that active participation in the learning process
in middle years is crucial, and the adolescents build knowledge through inquiry and
research. The rich task is designed to be challenging, and requires students to engage
in processes that are central to knowledge building. When the task is both challenging
and connected to students lives outside school, then both he quality and
meaningfulness of the learning will be extended.
There is appeal in the use of new pedagogies within the classroom that promise to
deliver such outcomes. However, as the authors note, careful consideration needs to
be given to ensure that class activities are structured appropriately to enable students
to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to engage with the task. It is also
important that students are provided with, and scaffolded, multiple opportunities to
practice, build skills and knowledge and get feedback before presenting a final
product. It is also paramount that the teacher makes clear the learning expectations
from the task.

4.

Some writers in this area have noted the tendency for teachers to categorise students
who are 'at risk' and thus demonise the very students who may need additional
attention. What do you think?
If identification of students at risk results in the demonization of those students, then
the teacher has failed in their duty of care to build a positive learning environment
that accounts for different levels of learner proficiency. One of the most complex
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challenges for teachers is to effectively address the range of skills, interests and
knowledge in the classroom (Lyons, 2013 p. 72). Effective teachers offer a range of
materials and levels of texts to students and flexibly group students to tailor
instruction to different students needs and skills (Rupley, Blair, & Nichols, 2009).
A precursor to the practise of differentiation is the ability to identify students at risk.
While not underestimating the diagnostic importance of auxiliary education services,
such as speech pathologists, occupational therapists, disability support services and
special needs educators, the classroom teacher with their ongoing relationship with
the student on a day-to-day basis is central in raising concerns that may identify a
student at risk.
Beyond these initial concerns, accurate diagnosis of a complex situation is required to
provide the student at risk with the best possible opportunity for a differentiated
learning experience. The example of learning disabilities, which results in a
significant discrepancy between academic achievement and the students assessed
intellectual ability, highlights the complexity in meeting this need. Every student with
a learning disability will have an individual profile of strengths and weaknesses, and
therefore it is essential to observe the student over time to determine frequencies and
clusters of certain behaviours. In the case of middle years students, the focus of
intervention is based more on enabling and working around specific weaknesses
rather than remediation.
5.

List as dot points the key strategies that teachers can use to ensure that they support
learners with literacy needs.
The importance of literacy as an underlying skill on which all others are based cannot
be over-stated. By the middle years, most students are can read but cannot engage
texts (CCE, 2015; Cichhorn, 1983). Key strategies that teachers can use to support
students with literacy needs takes place within the classroom, however, cannot be
divorced from the role of teachers within school-wide practices.
Within the classroom

Initial diagnostic process need to be implemented to identify those middle

years students who are not fluent readers and are in need of some safety net
intervention.

Actively position students as being responsible for their own literacy learning.
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Create learning contexts in which all students are supported and encouraged to
participate in curriculum literacies.

Small-group instruction should provide students with strategies to build

phonemic word attack skills, strategies to use context clues at the sentence
level to decode words, and strategies to show students how to make

associations with their known vocabulary in order to add new words.

Students can maintain an ongoing vocabulary list generated from their reading.

Ask students to write reflectively every day. This gives time for students to
consolidate learning and seek meaning between various activities.

Key to any reading theory is the idea of the active reader. Active readers take
the words on the page and interact with them.

The goal of teachers must be to show students how to have purpose when they
read and how to generate a strong response to texts; this means joining the
conversation the text is part of and adding their own voice.

All too often literacy is defined as a set of testable skills that are acquired in a
linear fashion. Literacy is a social act. Students should be encouraged to use
peer collaboration and cooperative learning to take advantage of the great
range of academic and social maturities while developing group problem
solving skills.

School-wide approaches

To engage students in becoming literate requires school and classroom

structures and instructional strategies that actively engage students in things
they care about, explicitly teach skills, and take into account the different
backgrounds and experiences students bring with them.

Providing opportunity in the curriculum across all disciplines to focus on

literacy through reading, writing, speaking, and performing.

Literacy is a conversation: it is about listening to students as they articulate

what is meaningful to them. To teach literacy, schools must recognize that all
students have the capacity to make meaning and must ensure that they are held
to high expectations and given equal opportunities to develop their literacy
capacity.
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6.

In around 300 words discuss the sorts of whole school approaches that may be needed
to facilitate opportunities for young adolescents to succeed.
Reflecting back on the concerns raised by Groundwater-Smith et al. (2007) about the
disengagement from learning experienced by middle years students, and the resultant
poor levels of progression in literacy and decline in the overall enjoyment of school, it
is clear that systemic change is required to address these problems.
One example of systemic change is the project What Did You Do In School Today
implemented in a North American context, which demonstrated the importance of
implementing a whole school approach in its attempt to achieve intellectual
engagement. The project was implemented with five critical pieces: a collaborative
culture, the role of student voice and involvement, respectful relationships among
students and teachers, new ways of thinking about teaching and learning, and
leadership for learning. A key learning form this project was that there was a need to
be focussed, consistent and persistent with the changes.
Following on from this, in the discussion of supporting learners with literacy needs
again the importance of a whole school approach is emphasised. Literacy must be
elevated to an important status within the school and the curricula in order to gain the
requisite resources and attention that will make a difference. Research also suggests
that schools which adopt a whole school approach to curriculum design and cultural
change may have an advantage when it comes to supporting quality teaching and
learning. Given the importance of curricula-specific literacy in the middle years, an
integrated approach to curriculum design would make sense.
Considering these ambitious challenges, initiatives implemented within a single
classroom would have had limited success. The very nature of the middle years
learners is that they are strongly influenced by a variety of sources, including peers,
parents and school. As such, a whole school approach is the only mechanism through
with all contributing influences can be coordinated and directed towards an end goal
(Hill & Russell, 1999; NMSA, 2003; Prosser, 2008).

7.

References

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CCE. (2015). At the Turning Point: The Young Adolescent Learner Transforming
Middle Schools (Vol. 2015). http://www.ccebos.org/turningpointsguides.html:
Centre for Collaborative Education.
Cichhorn, D. H. (1983). Focus on the learner leads to a clearer middle level picture.
NASSP Bulletin, 67(463), 45-48.
Dembo, M. H., & Gibson, S. (1985). Teachers' sense of efficacy: An important factor
in school improvement. The Elementary School Journal, 173-184.
Fuller, F., & Brown, O. (1975). Becoming a teacher. Teacher education, 25-52.
Groundwater-Smith, S., Mitchell, J. M., & Mockler, N. (2007). Learning in the
middle years: More than a transition: Thomson Learning.
Hill, P. W., & Russell, V. J. (1999). Systemic, whole-school reform of the middle
years of schooling Enhancing educational excellence, equity and efficiency
(pp. 167-196): Springer.
Kuhn, D. (2006). Do cognitive changes accompany developments in the adolescent
brain? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1(1), 59-67.
Lewis, R. (2008). Understanding pupil behaviour: Classroom management
techniques for teachers: Routledge.
Lyons, G. (2013). Classroom management : creating positive learning environments
(4th edition.. ed.): South Melbourne, Vic. Cengage Learning.
NMSA. (2003). This we believe: Successful schools for young adolescents: A position
paper of the National Middle School Association: National Middle School
Association.
Pendergast, D. (2015). Teacher identity in the middle years. Big Fish, Little Fish:
Teaching and Learning in the Middle Years, 207.
Prosser, B. (2008). Unfinished but not yet exhausted: A review of Australian middle
schooling. Australian Journal of Education, 52(2), 151-167.
Rupley, W. H., Blair, T. R., & Nichols, W. D. (2009). Effective reading instruction for
struggling readers: The role of direct/explicit teaching. Reading & Writing
Quarterly, 25(2-3), 125-138.
Salyers, F., & McKee, C. (2007). The young adolescent learner. Annenberg Media.
Steinberg, L. (2005). Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends in
cognitive sciences, 9(2), 69-74.
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Treasure, D. C., & Roberts, G. C. (1994). Cognitive and affective concomitants of

task and ego goal orientations during the middle school years. Journal of
Sport and Exercise Psychology, 16(1), 15-28.
Wormeli, R. (2001). Meet me in the middle: Becoming an accomplished middle-level
teacher: Stenhouse Publishers.