Turning Points - Transforming Middle Schools

Principles & Practices
Services and Support
History
Turning Points Schools
Vision for Students
Beliefs About Teachers

Middle school teaching is highly complex — involving content knowledge, knowledge of young adolescent development, and dozens of interconnected skills (e.g. the ability to relate to and engage students, coach, present, reflect, and analyze). Teachers bring diverse knowledge, strengths, and experience to their roles. They care deeply about young people and entered teaching in the first place because of that care and concern.

Due to an array of institutional barriers–school structures that isolate, limited teacher preparation programs, poor leadership, lack of resources, etc.–many, if not most, teachers are prevented from engaging in the ongoing learning and development that will enable them to excel at teaching. As a result, the knowledge that exists about powerful middle grades teaching and learning, from decades of research and practice, has not penetrated most schools and classrooms.

Turning Points believes that, given rich and productive professional collaboration, and ongoing, school-based professional development that is directly linked to classroom practice, middle school teachers will be able to apply the best ideas and tools of powerful curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

Key Elements of Turning Points' Approach to Professional Development:

Build on the knowledge and experience teachers bring. (Help them identify and assess these strengths as well as gaps that need to be addressed.)
Form collaborative teams that can create inquiry and discourse, as well as support one another through the challenges of change.
Use current research in content knowledge and best practice to identify new areas of professional learning and instructional focus.
Use benchmarks and standards of professional practice to identify specific changes in practice as goals.
Use data-based inquiry, and looking at student and teacher work, to reflect on student learning, identify strengths and challenges, and set instructional goals.
Focus on setting goals (by team and school) for thinking and learning that cross disciplines (e.g. Habits of Mind).