5 Things Middle School Teachers Know That Professional Instructors Need to Remember

I got my Master’s degree in education because I truly believe that effective education is the key to growth. I design professional learning materials for adults now, but I started my instructional design career as a middle school teacher. And the truth is that no one is a tougher audience than a middle schooler, and nowhere is less resourced than a public school classroom. So, it's a great place to learn how to generate student buy-in on a shoestring budget by creating human-focused, relatable instruction that even the most surly middle school students can see the value in. Another undeniable truth is that not every adult in a professional learning and development setting wants to be there, for a whole host of complex reasons. It's our job as instructors and instructional designers to turn that middle schoolesque cynicism around so they can actually develop in their roles. Here are 5 principles I used to teach middle schoolers that I still use today to deliver high-quality professional education and instructional design.

Professional learning group in a meeting room

1. You Have to Know Your Audience

Maybe that doesn't sound ground breaking, but I'm not just talking about what they need to learn and what skills they already have. You need to know their history with learning in this context. Before you came on the scene, what initiatives were tried? What did this group of employees think about those initiatives? What is the morale of this group? Are they excited about learning from you, or are they here to check of a box and get back to work? If you don't understand the mindset they are walking into the room with, you're setting yourself up for frustration.

Gather information to set meaningful expectations

Learn about the audience, community dynamics, and instructional context to better prepare to meet students where they are.

• Survey Data: Using prior data and building your own survey can provide but useful information about efficacy of past experiences. It can also be limited to what employees are willing to say on the record.

• Observation: Observe the workplace, employee interaction, and leadership models to determine morale. Interview a few people at varying levels to determine how to design solutions, not just present information.

• Pain Points: Work with leadership and employees to identify areas of friction that you can target with purposeful instruction and instructional design.

2. If They Don't Respect You, They Won't Learn From You

This is true with tweens in a middle school classroom and with adults in a professional learning setting. Students of all ages need to know that you understand them: their pain points, their experiences, their goals. And they need to know that what you are teaching has value and will improve their performance or help them develop skills they can actually use. Don't put words in their mouths about how things are going. Instead, use the data you've collected to demonstrate and focus the value you bring.

Focus on outcomes to demonstrate value immediately

Start by laying out the learning outcomes and how they can be applied in the context of their roles. You might be tempted to list your accomplishments or qualifications, and there is a place for that. But, pair it with how you will actually help them and what they will understand or be able to do by the end of the course or session.

For bonus points, design a hook activity to get participants actually participating---something that allows them to apply a new principle or skill early in the learning session.

3. People Have Limited Attention Spans

We all know this. And there is a veritable cornucopia of scientific data telling us how long people can listen. And still, it can be really hard to keep it short. We have so much information to convey! So, when designing and planning, pinpoint your learning target and make sure everything you do moves the needle toward that target.

Trim the fat

Be concise, clear, and direct, and cut out the nice to haves that drag out the instruction and confuse the message. It can be hard, but careful and purposeful design upfront can dramatically increase the value of your instruction.

Use varied methods

Adults are just grown up kids. They have deficits and differences just like groups of students in a classroom. To make sure that everyone can connect to the material, use a combination of teaching methods and media. Add in visual elements. Get people up and moving. All of these strategies help increase engagement, improve retention and memory, and improve motivation.

4. Make it Relatable and Personal

Storytelling is a powerful tool. It can evoke emotions, create connections, and make your message more memorable. Structuring the learning around a relatable narrative can ground the instruction and help keep the learning target memorable.

Use what you know about the community

Use the data you collected upfront to generate or draw on a relatable situation that illustrates why your instruction is important.

• A relatable character: Someone your audience can identify with.

• A challenge or conflict: A problem that needs to be solved using this particular skill or knowledge base.

• A result: How the problem was solved and the positive outcome as a result of the learning.

5. Effective Teaching is a Performance

If you are the primary thing participants are going to be looking at for minutes or even hours at a time, you have to be engaging. Even the clothes you pick can help or hurt the level of engagement you see. You need to look and act the part.

Be personable and fun to watch and listen to

It's not just what you say, it's how you say it. If you are interested, they will be interested. So, keep your energy high. The other side of that coin though is going too far and feeling inauthentic. You have to genuinely believe in what you're teaching or people start to smell a fake.

Avoid Jargon and Complex Language

The ideas you are conveying should be complicated, but your language should be easy to understand. Unless you are speaking to a very high-level audience, avoid jargon or acronyms. You don't want people trying to figure out what you just said and miss the next important concept.

So, The Point is...

Instruction is only as effective as the instructor delivering it. Even the strongest instructional design can fall flat if the instructor doesn't feel authentic, fails to take context into account, or comes off as dull. To make a real impact, you have to truly believe in what you're teaching, genuinely respect your audience, and take time to understand how they need you to show up.

If it works on middle schoolers, it will work on your audience. Trust me.