Dialogues in Middle Level Education Research, Volume I: Insights from the AMLE New Directions 2020 Roundtable Discussions

Mirroring the roundtable discussions conducted at the 2020 Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) conference, this volume highlights the dialogic knowledge-building process critical to advancing middle level teaching and research. Launching the new __AMLE Innovations in Middle Level Education Research__ series, this collection captures the synergetic dialogue that occurs during professional meetings by collating and centering five recent studies on topics such as mathematics achievement, personalized and project-based learning, and teacher collaboration. A companion essay and critical external response accompanies each study, serving to re-situate original research and reconsider findings in view of professional insights and external critique gained through discussion at AMLE 2020. Ultimately, these response essays foreground potential avenues for future research and alternative thinking, laying the groundwork for implementation of critical discussion in the classroom environment. This text will benefit researchers, doctoral students, and academics in the fields of middle level education, educational research, and specifically research methods in education. Those interested in teaching and learning, and adolescent development more broadly, will also benefit from this volume. Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Dedication Table of Contents About AMLE List of Tables List of Figures List of Contributors Foreword Introduction 1 Engendering and Enriching Critical Conversations about Middle Level Education Research PART I Factors Affecting Middle Grades Mathematics Achievement 2 Middle Level Mathematics Achievement from Teacher and Student Perspectives: Reflections and New Directions in Middle Level Mathematics Research 3 Student Readiness to Learn and Teacher Effectiveness: Two Key Factors in Middle Grades Mathematics Achievement 4 Teaching Mathematics in the Middle Grades: Connecting Seminal Education Philosophies to Current Best Practices PART II Perspectives on Personalized Learning 5 Critical Reflections on Personalized Project-Based Learning 6 Mixed Feelings about Choice: Exploring Variation in Middle School Student Experiences with Making Choices in a Personalized Learning Project 7 Hands-Joined Learning as a Framework for Personalizing Project-Based Learning in a Middle Grades Classroom: An Exploratory Study 8 A Response to Critical Reflections on Personalized Project-Based Learning PART III Understanding Teacher Collaboration in Diverse Classrooms 9 “All the Way Better”: Teacher Collaboration and ESL Students’ Participation 10 “You’re Not an Island”: A Middle Grades Language Arts Teacher’s Changed Perceptions in ESL and Content Teachers’ Collaboration 11 Insights from a Case Study on Teacher Collaboration: Response to Giles and Yazan PART IV Exploring Social and Emotional Learning in the Middle Grades 12 Extending Research on SEL in the Middle Grades 13 Middle Level Students’ Perceptions of Their Social and Emotional Learning: An Exploratory Study 14 Researching Social and Emotional Learning in the Middle Grades: A Response to Strahan and Poteat Conclusion 15 New Directions as Travel Itinerary Index "Mirroring the roundtable discussions conducted at the 2020 Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) conference, this volume highlights the dialogic knowledge-building process critical to advancing middle level teaching and research. Launching the new AMLE Innovations in Middle Level Education Research series, this collection captures the synergetic dialogue that occurs during professional meetings by collating and centering five recent studies on topics such as mathematics achievement, personalized and project-based learning, and teacher collaboration. A companion essay and critical external response accompanies each study, serving to re-situate original research and reconsider findings in view of professional insights and external critique gained through discussion at AMLE 2020. Ultimately, these response essays foreground potential avenues for future research and alternative thinking, laying the groundwork for implementation of critical discussion in the classroom environment. This text will benefit researchers, doctoral students, and academics in the fields of middle level education, educational research, and specifically research methods in education. Those interested in teaching and learning, and adolescent development more broadly will also benefit from this volume. David C. Virtue is the Taft B. Botner Distinguished Professor of Middle Grades Education at Western Carolina University, USA"-- Provided by publisher