Formal Middle Level Introduction

Teaming is a central part of middle level education because of its array of benefits in assisting students and educators to build a experience. Most central to what it does, teaming helps educators refocus their instruction towards student growth, interests, and disposition. Through professional learning communities, educators can gain opportunities to enhance their insttruction through learning from and working more closely with others to produce better instruction more centered on students’ interests and standards based curriculum. Teaming allows teachers to collaborate in decision making and assessment while considering how best to serve their students.

At the middle level, students’ work in disciplinary content can stretch beyond the knowledge of individual educators. To provide the best possible education for students, teachers need to be educated and tested in the disciplines they design curriculum for. Through a teaming environment, educators are able to serve as discipline experts in supporting students learning in different content areas. Teaming allows professionals the ability to teach the content pertinent to the subjects they have studied, while others support students in disciplines they are unfamiliar with. This system benefits both students and teachers as the students benefit from more expert guidance in their learning and educators can be more comfortable with and confident in their contributions to students’ learning. Teaming allows educators to teach fewer subjects which produces a more enjoyable teaching environment and stronger learning experiences for students.

Additionally, teaming provides opportunities for educators to cooperate and communicate with other professionals. Through meetings within effective teams, educators are able better analyze and evaluate trends in students. Changes within an individual students’ behavior, conduct, and disposition are all elements that suggest a students may be struggling with something. Teachers working in a team are able to communicate and cross-reference their observations with other professionals, so that all of a student’s teachers are aware of possible challenges as they arise while looking to provide support for individuals. Teaming provides educators the ability to brainstorm ideas and discuss trends in students’ interests with each other, while also providing accountability for how previous instruction has impacted students’ learning. This enables teachers to more quickly implement changes in their instructional strategies. Educators are also able to facilitate cross-disciplinary learning in innovative and meaningful ways through the cooperation they experience teaching in teams.

Teaming is essential in middle level education in that it provides a natural micro-community for students within the middle levels. While educators generally design and structure the mission of a team, students and educators alike belong to the community that goes along with team teaching. This community provides a sense of identity and unity within a group of middle level students and the educators they see on a day-to-day basis. Educators in a team are able to facilitate better relationships with the students they have who become more comfortable with their teachers in time. Relying on the strength of their relationships, educators in team setting are able to assist their students’ growth and learning in very deep, meaningful ways.

Just as teaming has its benefits for students and teachers, so too does advisory programs. An effective advisory program assists educators in building meaningful relationships with students by providing educators with the time and place to develop a more personal relationship with their students. Within an advisory, advisors and advisees come to know each other both beyond the classroom and more thoroughly within it. A solid advisory is small and centered around discussion to achieve a student’s personal and academic goals. It should be a clear demonstration of the school’s mission as advisors intentionally encourage and support students to fulfill it through students’ growth and achievements towards meeting their own individual goals. Advisories are also an essential way for students to find advocates. Relying on the personal connection students build with their advisor, gives student another adult who understands where they are coming from who can support and mediate for them among other educators and parents. An effective advisory truly changes the quality of a student’s middle level experience.