Pushing Our Middle Schoolers To The Head Of The Pack

What can we do to stop middle school students in the
U.S. from falling behind their peers academically?

BACKGROUND
The NC State University College of Education and its partners have teamed up to address the relative decline of American students’ academic achievement compared to the rest of the industrial world as they enter the middle school years.

GOAL
With the support of the U.S. Department of Education’s PT3 grant program, the project is designed to facilitate standards-driven reform of North Carolina State University's middle-grades teacher preparation program, improve technology and data-driven decision-making skills, improve integration of technology in core curricula, and increase exposure to diverse classrooms and master teachers. The project will also align courses for middle school licensure with No Child Left Behind guidelines, and use virtual field experiences to connect pre-service teachers with master teachers in rural classrooms.

PROGRESS
Several projects are introducing new ideas about using technology – and new ways of thinking about technology – into curricula for both middle school students and teachers in training. Activities include course redesign and subsequent faculty modeling of data driven decision-making and integration of advanced technologies. Also included are teaching portfolio development and proficiency certification. Pre-service teachers receive robust and diverse field experience, including interactive observations via real-time videoconferencing technologies.

FUTURE
Project MiddleData plans to institutionalize and disseminate evidence-based best teaching practices in North Carolina and beyond.

“This is a way to build on an established middle-grades teacher preparation program to benefit both teachers and students.”