The Possibilities of Teaching for, With, and About Social Justice in a Public Middle School

• In Event: Developing Student-Focused Middle Schools

Abstract

In the past year, Rolling Hills Middle School has begun the implementation of a personalized learning model with their 8th grade students. Personalized Learning (PL), also known as student-centered or connected learning, promotes collaborative work among groups of students and allows student choice or agency as it fosters learner independence. This qualitative, interpretive case study used student, teacher, and parent focus group interviews; classroom observations; and artifacts collected to document the implementation of PL in its first year. The purpose of this paper was to consider how a personalized or collaborative learning environment has unexpectedly led to teaching for, with, and about social justice (Wager, 2008) within the classroom.

Authors

• Dana L. Hagerman, Edgewood College

• Suzanne L. Porath, Kansas State University