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Preparing middle school teachersRonald P. Kealy a & H. T. Fillmer ba George Peabody College for Teachers ,b University of Florida , GainesvillePublished online: 04 Nov 2009.

To cite this article: Ronald P. Kealy & H. T. Fillmer (1970) Preparing middle schoolteachers, Peabody Journal of Education, 47:5, 270-274, DOI: 10.1080/01619567009537732

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PreparingMiddle School

Teachers

RONALD P. KEALYGeorge Peabody College for Teachers

H. T. FILLMERUniversity of FloridaGainesville

NEED FOR SPECIALIZED PROGRAM

A new pattern of school organiza-tion is emerging which promises toprovide more appropriate educationalexperiences for approximately a thirdof the school population. The emer-gent middle school is an educationalorganization following the elementaryschool and preceding the high school,usually encompassing grades 6-8 or5-8, and having a program designedspecifically to meet the educationalneeds of transescents ( pupils who arein the years between childhood andadolescence). Several surveys have in-dicated that the movement toward a5-3-4 or 4-4-4 school organization isone of considerable magnitude.1

Proponents of the middle schoolconcept express the need for a pro-gram designed to accommodate theunique educational needs of thetransescent. If such a program is to besuccessful, it must be staffed byteachers who are prepared specificallyto implement such a program and tooperate effectively within it. An ap-propriate program of preparation forthese teachers should be based on astudy of the middle school studentsince it is essentially the nature oftransescent that differentiates teach-ing in a middle school from teachingat any other level.

In general the presently operating

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programs of teacher education do notprovide for the differentiated functionof the middle unit of the Americaneducational system. Only with teach-ers prepared specifically for the spe-cialized functions of the middleschool, can this organization achieveits educational goals and develop aneducational program which will at-tract, hold, and encourage talented,effective teachers.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

In proposing a program of prepara-tion for middle school teachers thewriters accept the following generalguidelines:

1. The middle school teacher edu-cation program should promote con-tinuity of educational experience. Thegeneral education, professional educa-tion, and specialization aspects of thetypical teacher education programshould be closely interrelated to pro-vide the continuity of educational ex-perience necessary for any meaning-ful learning situation. As Wiles pointsout, "The reputation of the entire in-stitution should be at stake in eachteacher produced."2 Another dimen-sion of continuity is contained withinthe specialized middle school prepara-tion program. This program shouldprovide a meaningful and logicalsequence of educational experiences

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that promote an understanding of theeducational needs of transescence andthe techniques to accommodate theseneeds.

2. The middle school teacher edu-cation program should be designed toassure the development of personalqualities as well as professional abili-ties. The middle school needs teach-ers whose total impact on transescentsis wholesome and constructive. Thefollowing personal qualities are espe-cially desirable for such teachers:

A. Positive view of self.B. Flexibility and creativity.C. Respect for the dignity and

worth of the individual.D. Ability to interact constructively

with others.E. Commitment to the education of

transescents.

It is imperative, therefore, that aconscientious effort be made to de-velop these personal qualities, as wellas professional competence, in middleschool teachers.

3. The middle school teacher edu-cation program should be highly per-sonalized. Individualization of in-struction, desirable for the educationof transescents, is no less desirable forthe preparation of teachers of tran-sescents. The key to individualizationin teacher education is flexibility, acharacteristic that is smothered inmany teacher education institutionsby blanket requirements, rigid sched-ules, reliance on instruction by lec-ture, and acceptance of a single modelof teacher. In a personalized program,the prospective teacher is assisted inself-evaluation and self-direction so

that he can identify his strengths andweaknesses, elect experiences whichare appropriate for his needs, and de-velop a theory of instruction that ismeaningful and successful for him.

4. The middle school teacher edu-cation program should he a simid-taneous blending of didactic instruc-tion and practical experience. In mostprofessional education sequences,practical experiences with learners arenil, or limited to simulations until theprospective teacher has completed hisdidactic course work. Practica areconsidered as opportunities to try outwhat has already been learned, notas means of creating the need toknow.3 The middle school teachereducation program must, from thevery first and continuingly, be formedout of a student's living and signifi-cant relationship with children andyouth as well as with the school andcommunity in which they are growingup.4 This, of course, means that thereneeds to be a close working relation-ship between the teacher traininginstitution and the public schools andcommunity agencies.

5. The middle school teacher edu-cation program should use thoseprinciples, techniques, and materialsappropriate to middle school teachinginsofar as they are consistent withthe level of understanding and ma-turity of prospective middle schoolteachers. There seems to be a greatdeal of truth in the notion that teach-ers teach as they have been taught.Professional education instructors of-ten do not "practice what theypreach" and this discrepancy can havean adverse effect on prospective

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teachers and, ultimately, their stu-dents. The middle school teacherpreparation program should utilizeinstructional arrangements such asteam teaching, flexible grouping andscheduling, independent study, co-operative evaluation of student prog-ress, and other instructional tech-niques that show promise for the pro-motion of these functions.

PROPOSED PROGRAM

The following figure represents ageneral schema for the preparation

Subsequently, the prospective middleschool teachers could be guided byprofessional education faculty mem-bers and provided with exploratoryactivities related to the nature of theteaching profession.

The professional education section,in turn, is divided into general pro-fessional education and middle schoolprofessional education. The generalprofessional program would provideexperiences for teachers at all levelsand would stress development of un-derstandings and skills related to:

GENERAL EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

General Middle School

REQUIREDCOURSEWORK

ELECTIVES

S E Mil N ARi

PRACiTICUMi

INDIVIDUAL

SPECIALIZATION

of middle school teachers based onthe previously stated guidelines:

The total program, representing 13-15 quarters of college preparation,would be divided into two majorsections—general education and pro-fessional education.

The general education section,making up approximately one-half ofthe total program would provide theprospective middle school teacherwith an understanding of the majorconcepts of the academic disciplines.An effort would be made to identifyprospective teachers as early as possi-ble in this general education phase.

1. Nature of the American educa-tional enterprise.

2. Nature of the learner.3. Nature of the teaching-learning

process.4. Nature of group processes.5. Nature of educational research

and evaluation.6. Subject field specialization.

The middle school professional edu-cation program would stress the de-velopment of the personal qualitiesenumerated previously as well as un-derstandings and skills related to thefollowing areas:

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1. Nature of the transescent.2. Nature of the middle school pro-

gram.3. Role of the teacher-counselor.4. Individualization of instruction.5. Teaching of continued learning

skills.6. Subject field specialization.

Both the general professional pro-gram and the middle school profes-sional program would include threedistinct, but interrelated and concur-rent phases: the seminar, practicum,and individual specialization compo-nents.

Seminar. The seminar would makeup approximately one-fourth of thestudent's course load each quarter. Itwould be designed to provide instruc-tion for the development of teachercompetencies and to provide an op-portunity for the student to discussand explore problems and interestsarising from his field experiences.

Practicum. Field experiences inpublic schools and in various com-munity youth activities would makeup approximately one-fourth of thestudent's load each quarter. The pur-poses of this practicum phase wouldbe to provide continuing firsthandexperiences with children, to providefor the observation and practice ofinstructional skills, to provide for thedevelopment of an identity with theteaching profession, and to provide apractical basis for didactic study.

Individual specialization. The in-dividual specialization phase wouldconstitute approximately one-half ofthe student's load each quarter. Thisphase would be utilized to provideguidance and counseling for the stu-

dent and experiences related to his in-dividual needs and interests with re-gard to personal qualities and profes-sional abilities. It would be used forsubject area preparation, self-directedstudy, teaching-related courses, per-sonal guidance sessions, supplemen-tary field experiences, or other experi-ences determined by the student andhis counselor to be appropriate forhim.

These three phases of the profes-sional education curriculum wouldbe coordinated by a team of threefaculty members with complementarybackgrounds and training who wouldbe responsible for the professionaleducation of a relatively small group(45-60) of prospective middle schoolteachers. The relatively small faculty-student ratio would be necessary be-cause of the extra demands on theteam members as indicated by thefollowing team functions:

A. Identification, recruitment, andscreening of candidates.

B. Provision of instruction for theseminar.

C. Coordination and supervision ofthe practicum.

D. Guidance and counseling for in-dividual specialization.

E. Coordination of the three phasesof the program.

The prospective middle schoolteacher would begin the middleschool professional education programfollowing the successful completionof the general professional educationprogram. The amount of time neededto complete the program would vary,depending on the student's initial

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level of development with respect tothe stated competencies and the rateat which he develops these com-petencies during the program.

Conclusion.This proposal is but one approach

to the training of teachers for therapidly growing middle school.Whether this approach or another isused, it is essential that teacher edu-cation institutions accept the respons-ibility for preparing teachers for thisimportant segment of the school pop-ulation. The success or failure of themiddle school will be determined ulti-mately by the quality of the teachersimplementing the program. Only withteachers who are specially trained andcommitted to the education of tran-sescents will the middle school de-velop an educational program which

will provide adequately for the spe-cialized needs of these impressionablepupils.

REFERENCES

1. Alexander, William M. A SURVEYOF ORGANIZATIONAL PATTERNS OFREORGANIZED MIDDLE SCHOOLS,Project No. 7-D-026, U. S. Office of Edu-cation, Bureau of Research, 1968.

2. Wiles, Kimball, "The Teacher Educa-tion We Need," Theory Into Practice, 6:261, (December, 1967.)

3. Combs, Arthur W., THE PROFES-SIONAL EDUCATION OF TEACHERS.Boston, Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1965, pp.33-34.

4. Wilhelms, Fred T. and Alice E.Siemons. "A Curriculum for Personal andProfessional Development" in CHANGESIN TEACHER EDUCATION: AN AP-PRAISAL, National Commission on TeacherEducation and Professional Standards,Washington, D. C : National EducationAssociation, 1963, p. 275.

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