This We Believe

How Middle School Philosophy Supports Differentiation of the Regular Curriculum for Students Who Are ADVANCED LEARNERS

• With young adolescents, the achievement of academic success is highly dependent upon their other developmental needs being met.
• The National Middle School Association believes in:
• High expectations for all
• Curriculum that is challenging, integrative, and exploratory
• Flexible organizational structures

High Achievement for All

• High expectations for all promotes positive attitudes and behaviors, and serves as motivation for students to achieve; low expectations lead to alienation, discouragement and lack of effort.
• Effecting high academic achievement requires adults to start where students are, understanding their individual needs, interests and learning styles, then fashion a substantive curriculum, and pace learning to meet individual levels of understanding.
• Challenging curriculum…opens doors to new knowledge and opportunities; It "stretches" students.

Teaching Methods

• Teachers can provide choices among learning opportunities ranging from those that tax even the most gifted and talented students, to those that enable the least capable to succeed with a reasonable expenditure of effort. Students must be nurtured in making choices and decisions about curricular goals, content, methodology, activities, materials, and means of assessment.
• Teaching techniques should enhance and accommodate the diverse skills, abilities, and knowledge of young adolescents, cultivate multiple intelligences, and capitalize on their individual learning styles.

This We Believe. Retrieved September 26, 2007, from Susan Winebrenner web site

This philosophy and these practices are the sum of their parts. It is not enough to make the blanket statement – all students can learn – it’s time to put the actions to the words! Stop for a minute and put yourself in your students’ shoes. Think about what motivates you. How do you enjoy learning? Do you like people dictating exactly what you have to do and how you have to do it? You may be required to teach specific curriculum, but do you enjoy being told exactly how to present it to your students?

All these thoughts should come into play when you advocate for differentiated, rigorous, creative, challenging, motivating, out-of-the-box curriculum development and delivery for your gifted students. The best way to be an advocate for your students is to let your parents, administrators and, peers see your students’ accomplishments. Encourage your students to share their feelings about what they've achieved and the process involved. Focus on showing off your on-task, “gainfully employed” students, who are excited about what they are doing!