PK-12 Education Educator Quality Teacher Quality Enhancement Program Teams & Committees Middle School Content Team | Middle School Content Team |
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GoalsThe middle school team's first goal is to reform and strengthen the skills of middle school teachers in the content areas of math, reading, social studies and science. The team developed a Request for Proposals (RFP) which provided funding for four innovative models of teaching content in the middle school with a specific emphasis on increasing middle school level student achievement. These models will then be disseminated to preservice and inservice programs. The second goal is to review the current middle school endorsement requirements to determine if reform is also warranted in the course work requirement to serve as a middle school teacher. The team has been researching best practice for teaching in the middle school and will provide a proposal to the Board of Educational examiners in the spring of 2007. For further information, contact:
Susan Fischer, Board of Educational Examiners
Team MembersMembers:
Susan Fischer (Chair), Board of Educational Examiners
Reports
The middle school team has been working to reform and strengthen the skills of middle school teachers in the content areas of math, reading and science. This team is comprised of two middle school teacher educators from four year institutions, one middle school administrator, four middle school teachers-who teach in each of the major content areas, one representative from the School Board Association, one Department of Education curriculum consultant and one Board of Educational Examiners licensure consultant. This team developed a Request for Proposals (RFP) which would provide funding for innovative models of teaching content in the middle school that will be implemented into preservice or inservice teacher education programs. The purpose of the RFP is to encourage the implementation and use of research based strategies that have the highest probability of improving student achievement by demonstrating to preservice and inservice teachers effective ways to teach the content areas of reading, math and science in the middle school and providing professional development for the preservice and inservice teachers. The use of funds expended in PK-16 settings must support activities that improve, through the modeling of effective, research-based pedagogy and instructional strategies, the content and pedagogical knowledge of preservice and inservice teachers in the science, mathematics, and reading areas, in order to improve the science, mathematics, or literacy achievement of all learners in the middle school The trained evaluators reviewed the proposals using the specific criteria. The project’s goals, objectives must be clearly and explicitly written and aligned to student achievement needs. Student achievement data must be reviewed to determine goals and objectives. The staff training must be clearly and explicitly aligned with the Iowa Professional Development Model. The project must include an action plan that is aligned to the goals. The proposal must align with national content standards in science, mathematics and literacy. The research base must be identified and an explanation included regarding the expected improvement in student achievement. The timeline for the project must be well planned with sufficient detail for success. The proposal must provide evidence that all parties have had the opportunity for input and will continue to have input in the design and implementation of the project via committees, meetings, etc. A formative and summative evaluation plan that is reliable and valid must be presented measuring the anticipated outcomes and project effectiveness. The proposal should include an emphasis on implementation of the model in high need schools. The budget categories must be clearly and explicitly aligned with the proposed project activities. The proposal must link this new project with past or ongoing activities and demonstrate the ability of the partnership to continue activities after the grant funds end. The proposal must also demonstrate how this model can be replicated with other partnerships. The proposals were submitted the end of January and were reviewed in March. The funding was awarded to four collaborative teams made up of representatives of teacher education professional and middle level educators. The funding for these pilots will total $150,000. These proposals will pilot solutions within middle level schools who will partner with teacher preparation programs to propose solutions intended to increase middle level student achievement. The information gained from these pilots will then be disseminated to other institutions, to the Iowa Content Network, to parents and other stakeholders. The second charge of the middle school team is to review the current middle school endorsement requirements to determine if reform is also warranted in the course work requirement to serve as a middle school teacher. The team has been researching best practice for teaching in the middle school. One of the best sources for information has been the Middle School Journal. In particular, the team spent one meeting discussing “Essential Elements of Specialized Middle Level Teacher Preparation Programs” by Ruth Ference and Jacqueline McDowell from the January 2005 Middle School Journal. The team has reviewed other information included on the National Middle School Association website: http://nmsa.org On this website, the team has reviewed the characteristics of young adolescents and the national recommendations from the National Middle School Association’s “This We Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents” and “Turning Points 2000” for effective middle level education. The team is continuing to review research from the association and will utilize that information in making a recommendation to the Board of Educational Examiners to improve the middle school endorsement requirements.
MS Endorsement
The following link will take you to the DE Endorsements site. Middle School Endorsement can be located at 14.140(15).
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 03 September 2008 ) |
Middle School Team Agenda 2-16-07