Middle School Research to Practice

What actually works best? Building relationships between middle level researchers and practitioners to expand the evidence base for the field.

The AMLE Research to Practice Podcast is back! In this episode, Dr. Sarah Pennington dives into the new Middle Level Education Research Agenda and The Successful Middle School Research Progress. She and hosts David Virtue and Andrew Maxey discuss the importance of building stronger, more collaborative relationships where researchers see educators as true partners. They explore how all educators can serve as researchers, as well as ways to bridge the gap to ensure that research can directly inform and improve what's happening in middle school classrooms.

Classroom Management in the Middle Grades

In this episode, the hosts discuss a qualitative study of teachers' perceptions of classroom management in the middle grades, including common themes around what strategies work and differences in perceptions between general and special education teachers. Always a hot topic, classroom management is often cited by teachers as a reason why they leave the profession. It’s a problem exacerbated by lingering post-pandemic student social and emotional needs and behavior challenges. The hosts explore what is, and isn’t, within the power of teachers to control and how understanding the developmental characteristics of this age group can help.

SEL Competence – Beyond the Buzzword

What does being “SEL competent” mean for middle grades teachers entering the profession today? How do teachers continue to adapt and develop that skillset over time? The hosts discuss two recent studies that explore these questions and their impact on effective classroom management.

Self-Regulation Challenges and Supports

Even without additional trauma (such as the continuing impacts of the pandemic), adolescents are in a dynamic period of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development.  In this episode, co-hosts David Virtue and Andrew Maxey discuss a recent study that looked at health education teachers’ and school counselors’ views of their students’ challenges and their strategies for supporting students’ social and emotional development.  The study was published in the June 2023 edition of Research in Middle Level Education Online, an open access journal available at https://www.amle.org/research-in-middle-level-education-online/.

Increasing Female Students’ STEM Self Efficacy

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, while nearly half of the U.S. workforce is women only 27% are STEM workers. Could STEM self efficacy be a key to better female representation in STEM? What is “STEM self efficacy,” anyway? And why is it particularly important in the middle grades? Co-hosts David Virtue and Andrew Maxey dig into these questions, discussing why it may be the key to moving the needle.