Measuring Teacher Practices to Support Personalized Learning in the Middle Grades

• In Event: 25.050 - Middle-Level Teacher Development: Learning, Practice, and Enactment

Abstract

As middle grades reform initiatives embrace a vision of learning that is both personalized and anytime/anywhere, teacher practices necessarily must evolve. Numerous organizations have created frameworks for personalization, which contain elements that intersect with middle grades teaching practices that support the nature and needs of young adolescents. This study describes the theoretical foundations and development process of a survey measuring teacher practices that support personalized learning in the middle grades. Results from the initial survey administration (N=216) indicate a high level of internal consistency of the seven categories of practices, unidimensionality of the constructs, and a moderate level of correlation among the groups of practices. This instrument shows promise in measuring teacher practices to support personalization in middle schools.

Authors

• Mark W. Olofson, University of Texas at El Paso

• John M. Downes, The University of Vermont

• Penny A. Bishop, The University of Vermont

• Carmen Petrick Smith, The University of Vermont

• Life LeGeros, The University of Vermont