Active Learning in the Middle Grades Classroom

The Association for Middle Level Education advocates for instruction that incorporates active learning and multiple learning approaches in middle grades classrooms. The aim of this qualitative study was to examine middle level teachers who are able to implement active learning and multiple learning approaches within the standardized testing and accountability culture prevalent in today’s middle schools and to understand the barriers teachers face and how they overcome those barriers to implementation. Nine middle level teachers from 4 different school systems who implement active learning and multiple learning approaches in their classrooms participated in the study. Barriers to implementation as well as ways that the teachers overcame those barriers were examined. Data collection included semistructured individual interviews, classroom observations, and lesson plans. Barriers identified by the teachers fell into 4 categories: challenges related to the system, challenges related to students, challenges related to content, and challenges within the teachers. Themes emerged from the data explaining the teachers’ ability to overcome these challenges: tenacity, student focused, and experimental.