Middle School Practices Improve Student Achievement in High Poverty Schools

Mertens, Steven B.; Flowers, Nancy

doi:10.1080/00940771.2003.11494524

Cited by 40 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Moreover, a five year longitudinal study in New Zealand demonstrated that student-centred integrated programmes generated achievement effects in the order of one standard deviation above the norm in national School Certificate results for English, Mathematics and Science (Nolan and McKinnon 2003). Other confirmatory research in the USA (Felner, jackson, Kasak, Mulhall, Brand and Flowers 1997, Anfara and Lipka 2003, Mertens and Flowers 2003 has shown that schools implementing the middle schooling philosophy of the National Middle School Association as articulated in their This we believe position statements (1995,2003) and more especially student-centred integrated curricula, with a high degree of fidelity over an extended period, have accomplished the following three outcomes: 1) They achieved statistically significant student outcomes on both academic and affective measures over schools less committed to this approach in the areas of language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science;…”

Section: Evidence In Favour Of Curriculum Integration At the Middle Lmentioning

confidence: 93%

Relevant, challenging, integrative and exploratory curriculum design: Perspectives from theory and practice for middle level schooling in Australia

Dowden

2007

Aust. Educ. Res.

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Section: Evidence In Favour Of Curriculum Integration At the Middle Lmentioning

confidence: 93%

Relevant, challenging, integrative and exploratory curriculum design: Perspectives from theory and practice for middle level schooling in Australia

Dowden

2007

Aust. Educ. Res.

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“…Several authors have reported that students from schools emphasizing integrated curriculum programs performed better on nationally standardised tests, state-implemented performance exams, and other academic outcomes than students in schools where a student-centered integrated curriculum approach was not emphasised (Anfara & Lipka, 2003;Drake & Burns, 2004;Felner, Jackson, Kasak, Mulhall, Brand, & Flowers, 1997;Mertens & Flowers, 2003;Nolan & McKinnon, 2003;Ross & Hogaboam-Gray, 1998). In her meta-analysis of 30 studies examining the effects of integrated curriculum programs on student achievement, Hartzler (2000) found overwhelming evidence to support the conclusion that students in integrated curriculum programs do better on standardised and program-developed assessments of achievement than students in traditional classrooms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teachers’ perceptions, attitudes and beliefs regarding curriculum integration

2010

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This paper summarises the results of a three-day workshop conducted between October and December of 2007 as part of a larger project dedicated to improving teacher quality at the pre-service and in-service levels. Both pre-and post-test measures were administered before and after workshop completion in order to capture changes in knowledge, attitude, and perception. For contextual relevance, findings are summarised in light of extant literature pertaining to curriculum integration.

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“…These results hold whether the combined curriculum is taught by one teacher in a selfcontained or block-time class or by an interdisciplinary team'' (p. 5). More recently, Anfara and Lipka (2003) along with Mertens and Flowers (2003) showed that middle schools implementing a student-centered integrative curriculum had students who out-performed students in traditional classes on national and state standardized tests and program-based assessments.…”

Section: Recent Studies Related To Integrated Curriculamentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining the Difference: Comparing Integrated and Traditional Single-Subject Lessons

Zhbanova

Rule

Montgomery

et al. 2010

Early Childhood Educ J

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Early childhood curricula should be authentic and child-centered, however, many teachers still rely on direct instruction lessons. To better define how an integrated curriculum meets the needs of students, this study examined teacher talk and actions during instructional activities with first and second graders under two conditions: (1) subject-integrated social studies lessons of an integrated curriculum unit (experimental condition); and (2) single subject-focused mathematics lessons of a traditional separate subject curriculum (control condition). The mixed-methods study sought to define and compare characteristics of both curriculum approaches. Fourteen hours of observations were collected in each setting. In the integrated curriculum setting, the teacher was a facilitator of teamwork, offering choices, and giving praise; students made choices, decisions, and worked collaboratively. In the traditional setting, the teacher delivered direct instruction and controlled behavior; students followed directions, recalled knowledge, and worked individually. Less teacher energy was expended for behavior management in the integrated curriculum setting, indicating intrinsic motivation of students. Implementation of integrated curricula is recommended because of the student-centered focus that results in greater motivation, ownership, and teamwork, along with deeper knowledge connections. Because many factors hinder implementation, teachers need support when first teaching with this approach.Effective early childhood education addresses the needs of the whole child in an authentic way. Four components of such ''authentic learning'' (Rule 2006) are real-world problems that engage learners in the work of professionals, inquiry activities that employ higher order thinking skills, discussions and collaborations among a community of learners, and student empowerment and ownership through choice. These elements come together well in an integrated curriculum. For example, Molenda and Bhavnagri (2009) showed that integrating children's literature with movement resulted in cooperation among a community of learners in the following ways: through social interaction when students discussed the stories, emotional involvement as they transformed the stories to physical movements, and effective communication as they gave verbal directions and cues to each other in preparation for a performance. The Reggio Emilia approach (Stegelin 2003; Lim 2004), a wellknown child-centered approach, emphasizes the organization of learning around discovery questions formulated by learners that reach into different subject areas, resulting in integrated curriculum projects. The positive aspects of such intriguing projects with multiple connections between concept areas seem obvious, but many teachers still employ

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Middle School Practices Improve Student Achievement in High Poverty Schools

Cited by 40 publications

References 5 publications

Relevant, challenging, integrative and exploratory curriculum design: Perspectives from theory and practice for middle level schooling in Australia

Relevant, challenging, integrative and exploratory curriculum design: Perspectives from theory and practice for middle level schooling in Australia

Teachers’ perceptions, attitudes and beliefs regarding curriculum integration

Defining the Difference: Comparing Integrated and Traditional Single-Subject Lessons

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