School Type: Public	School Setting: Suburban
Level: Middle	School Design: Traditional
Content Presented By:
Edvantia

Background Context

Demographics

Maryville Middle School is located in the city of Maryville, Tennessee, population 24,000. Maryville is in East Tennessee at the foothills of the Smoky Mountains National Park. Maryville City School district consists of four elementary schools, one intermediate school, one middle school, and one high school. Maryville Middle School's enrollment is approximately 700 students in grades 7 and 8.

Student Racial/Ethnic Composition:

2% African American
94% White (not Hispanic)
1% Hispanic
3% Asian or Pacific Islander
0% Native American or Native Alaskan

Limited English Proficient Students: 3%
Number of Languages: 4 (Japanese, Kosovar, Bosnian, Russian)
Qualify for free/reduced lunch: 15%
Receive special education services: 15%

Academic levels for MMS spans from students functioning on a first/second grade level to students functioning on advanced high school levels.

Background

Successful learning is closely linked to interest. Students become energized when they are interested in a topic or idea. Effective teachers understand the value of student interest and look for ways to help learners make connections between what they know and what society wants them to know. It is possible and often desirable for teachers to share control of classroom activities with interested learners. Under these conditions, children's natural preferences for active hands-on learning creates the right conditions for keeping them on task and productive.

Teachers at Maryville Middle School have created a variety of ways to capture and hold student interest. One such project is STARS, which allows students to analyze information and draw conclusions using a project approach to learning. STARS, a problem-solving paradigm, helps students pursue answers to such questions over an entire school year. Students develop a multimedia presentation to communicate and demonstrate the skills they have learned in the core curriculum areas through working on STARS.

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This resource is developed and maintained by The Education Alliance at Brown University. Seed funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Send comments to: loom@alliance.brown.edu