Middle and High School Critical Thinking Report

 "This report focuses on several elements of students' deeper learning based on fall 2023 and spring 2024 surveys administered to American School District Panel member district leaders. It summarizes how district leaders believe middle and high schoolers' critical thinking skills are best developed in their schools, whether students' input about teaching and learning is collected in these schools, district leaders' examples of their schools' most effective forms of project-based learning, and districts' theories of action for teaching and learning.

Key Findings

• District leaders' examples of successful teaching of critical thinking skills fell into four main categories: teachers posing high-level questions, project-based learning, real-world problem-solving activities, and activities that students chose.
• These examples align with research on effective methods for teaching critical thinking.
• According to reports from district leaders, districts engaged in a wide variety of project-based learning, most commonly science, technology, engineering, math, and career and technical education classes.
• Seven of ten school district leaders reported formally collecting students’ input about teaching and learning, which is another element of deeper learning."

Schwartz, H., & Diliberti, M.  (2024). Encouraging deeper learning in middle and high school: Selected findings from America school district panel surveys. RAND.

https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA900/RRA956-28/RAND_RRA956-28.pdf

School Librarians' Roles During COVID study

A recent study examied the ways that school librarians and librarianship shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly during periods of virtual learning. The research team conducted interviews that illuminated the stories of school librarians during the COVID-19 pandemic and examined the concept of the pandemic as an antagonist to the role of librarians. The researchers noted that the “results of this study support the idea that the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 can serve as a demarcation line in K–12 research,” and recommend that “future researchers in K–12 school librarianship will need to differentiate which side of the demarcation line is referenced regarding studies on professional roles, student achievement data, and/or experience. As school librarians must consider how to evolve their role to establish relevancy within emerging settings such as the K– 12 remote-synchronous learning environment, this capacity for an embedded role is present and offers a natural evolution.”

Wright, K., Koz, O., & Moore, J. (2024). The evolving roles of school librarians during the COVID-19 pandemic: A phenomenological study. School Library Research, 27. https://www.ala.org/sites/default/files/2024-09/wright-et-al.pdf 

Struggling Readers Study

A recent national survey reveals that nearly half of students in third through eighth grades struggle with reading, prompting teachers to seek more training in foundational literacy skills. 40% of teachers had misconceptions about how students develop word reading skills; almost half based their reading instruction on their classroom experience, and fewer than a quarter mentioned professional development as their main source of knowledge. The study also found that evidence-based practices focused on younger students; older students require tailored support to overcome reading challenges.

Kaufman, J. (2024). What's missing from teachers' toolkits to support student reading in grades 3-8? RAND.

https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3358-1.html