Integrative and Interdisciplinary Curriculum in the Middle School Integrated Approaches in Teacher Preparation and Practice

Originally published as a special issue of the Middle School Journal, this book presents integrative curriculum as a foundational element of the middle school. By addressing the current gap in literature on curriculum integration in the middle grades, this text explores how learning can be organized around authentic concepts or questions which cut across disciplines and speak to young adolescents. Providing a current, nuanced, and comprehensive review of what it means to embrace and implement an interdisciplinary and integrative curriculum, the volume considers how educators can create and deliver a high-quality integrative curriculum which is enjoyable, challenging, and inclusive. Examples of implementation in teacher preparation programs and middle grade classrooms showcase integrative approaches and illustrate how curricula have been key in tackling social inequities, increasing engagement with STEM, and supporting collaboration. This text will be of great interest to graduate and postgraduate students, researchers, academics and libraries in the field of Middle School Education, Curriculum Studies, Teacher Education, Theories of Learning, and STEM Education.

Introduction Lisa M. Harrison, Ellis Hurd, and Kathleen M. Brinegar SECTION I: SCHOLARSHIP CENTERED IN MIDDLE GRADES CLASSROOMS 1. The Responsible Change Project: Building a Justice-Oriented Middle School Curriculum through Critical Service-Learning Heather Coffey and Steve Fulton 2. Middle School Curriculum Aimed at Developing Agents of Change Michelle Rupenthal and Shelly Furuness 3. An Intervention to Support Mathematics Self-Efficacy in Middle School Lia D. Falco 4. Using Claims and Evidence to Support the Search for Extraterrestrial Life: Teacher Reflections Following an Interdisciplinary English–Science Argumentation Unit Ryan Summers, Kathy Rodems, Sharlene Denos, and Amy Atkinson SECTION II: MIDDLE LEVEL TEACHER PREPARATION 5. Interdisciplinary Curriculum: Using Poetry to Integrate Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum William P. Bintz and Gumiko Monobe 6. Rethinking Content Teaching at the Middle Level: An Interdisciplinary Approach Kelly M. Moser, Jessica Ivy, and Peggy F. Hopper 7. A Community and Place-Based Approach to Middle Childhood Science Teacher Education Danielle Dani

Lisa M. Harrison is Associate Professor of Teacher Education at the Patton College of Education at Ohio University, US. Ellis Hurd is Professor of Teaching and Learning at the College of Education, Illinois State University, US. Kathleen Brinegar is Associate Professor of Education at Northern Vermont University, US.