Personalized Learning in the Middle Grades

Penny A. Bishop is Professor of Middle Level Education at the University of Vermont, where she conducts research on schooling for young adolescents and teaches future middle grades educators. She is co-author of several books and more than fifty articles on effective middle grades practice. Dr. Bishop has served as principal investigator on numerous grants, including as founding director of the Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education, bringing over $13 million dollars to Vermont schools to improve the learning and lives of middle grades students. A former middle school teacher, Dr. Bishop has served as chair of the American Educational Research Association's special interest group on Middle Level Education Research; as chair of the Association for Middle Level Education's Research Advisory Board; and as a Sir Ian Axford Public Policy Fellow to the New Zealand Ministry of Education, providing research on schooling policies for young adolescents in that country. She is the recipient of The John H. Lounsbury Award for Distinguished Achievement in Middle Level Education, the highest award given by the AMLE.John M. Downes is director of the Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education at the University of Vermont. Since joining UVM, Dr. Downes has led the development the Institute's model of collaborative school change and teacher-directed professional development, which has now served middle grades faculties in more than sixty schools. He has led several grants and evaluations, published more than twenty articles and chapters, and delivered dozens of state and national presentations on topics including technology integration, young adolescents' post-secondary aspirations, teachers and students partnering in school change and professional development, and their experiences as they shift to personalized learning environments. His fifteen years at the university builds upon ten years in a middle school helping its teachers and leaders design and implement more engaging learning for students with technology, curriculum integration, teaming, and collaborative teacher learning.Katy Farber is professional development coordinator at the University of Vermont's Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education. She currently conducts research about adolescent education and partners with schools to help them personalize learning, engage students, and participate in action research. She is the author of three books about education: Why Great Teachers Quit and How We Can Stop the Exodus (Corwin Press, 2010); Change the World with Service Learning (Rowman & Littlefield, 2011); Real and Relevant: A Guide to Service and Project- Based Learning, 2nd edition (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017); and several chapters and articles. Recent publications can be found in Current Issues in Middle Level Education; Exploring the Impact of the Dissertation in Practice; and The Handbook of Research in Middle Level Education. Dr. Farber was a classroom teacher for seventeen years and regularly presents at state and national conferences.