KEYS TO IMPACTFUL LEARNING

During a sixth-grade history discussion about the Mali Empire and the role of griots, a student questioned the accuracy of oral history. “If it wasn’t written down, it could have easily been changed,” he said. Another student raised her hand. “The stories we tell about events change over time for different reasons,” she said. “The fact that it’s not a fixed story doesn’t mean nothing in it is true.”

The exchange was a rewarding moment for middle school history teacher William Beller. “The first student made a valid point,” he says. “And the second student raised an equally valid and very important point — events are always the same, but the way they are remembered can change. People have passed information down orally for hundreds of years, and there is truth there worth studying.”

The conversation showed that his students were absorbing the classwork, asking tough questions, and probing for deeper insights. They were reading and thinking critically — skills that contribute to academic success throughout middle school and beyond. “Middle school is building a foundation for what comes next, the same way elementary school builds a foundation for us,” he explains.

We Remember What We Think About

The approach a teacher uses in the classroom can make a critical difference in how well students learn. “Method matters a lot,” says Mr. Beller, whose own approach is informed by cognitive psychologist Daniel Willingham, Ph.D.’s principle that memory is the residue of thought — meaning, we remember what we think about. It’s the foundation of one of Mr. Beller’s strategies in the classroom: start by understanding what students think.

Often, before diving into a lesson, he will encourage students to share their thoughts on the topic first. It’s a way to determine how much they know, and how much help they will need to tackle the work ahead.

“I want to see what they come up with on their own before I provide critical information,” he says. Getting students thinking about the material upfront primes them to remember more and triggers the cognitive processes that help facilitate deeper learning.

A Diversity of Texts

Whether covering world history in sixth grade or U.S. history in seventh and eighth grade, Mr. Beller brings a diversity of new materials into the mix, including selections from Smithsonian magazine, excerpts from the book “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration,” and various newspaper articles.

“This is a major approach in my class,” he says. “I’m trying to select really good texts for them to read that I think are important.” For the unit on labor movements of the 1800s, he’ll have students read a New York Times article covering a modern-day labor issue, then write about it as a homework assignment. “I love finding out what they have to say because it helps me to assess transferable learning.”

In other words, are students connecting the primary sources they read in class to today’s news coverage?

“This assignment asks them to think about what they have learned as it relates to what the journalist is writing.” Cues in the article “trip a wire,” as Mr. Beller puts it, causing students to remember what they learned in class.

For eighth grader Joshua, being exposed to additional materials informs his understanding. “Reading other people’s views on the topic helps me to better formulate my own ideas and thoughts about it,” he says.

Developing Strong Readers

Like all Harlem Academy teachers, Mr. Beller knows that strong reading comprehension is critical for student success no matter the subject — history, English, science, or math. That’s why he takes steps to ensure that his students fully comprehend what they are reading, and the new materials he provides are a major part of his assessments. “With every quiz, test, and homework assignment, I want to see how students do with new information that I’ve added in — that’s not in their textbook. How are they answering the questions? What are they writing? That’s how I keep a pulse on reading comprehension.”

He also makes it a point to talk to his students about doing a self-check as they read. “Every now and then, pause and ask yourself if you know what’s going on. It’s such an empowering thing to tell middle schoolers because we’ve all had those moments when we’ve zoned out while reading. What’s important is to recognize it. Notice when you’ve been tripped up, then go back and reread.”

It’s a technique that eighth grader Mariah has come to rely on. “Whenever I don’t understand something,

I reread it,” she says. As she’s going over the passage again, Mariah analyzes what she’s reading. “I try to break it down to understand what the author is saying. That has helped my comprehension and made me a better reader.”

Knowledge Builds Curiosity

The more students comprehend, the more they want to know. “Understanding a topic is what gets kids’ brains firing and boosts engagement,” says Mr. Beller. “Students have read about past events in elementary school, but middle school is the first time they’re diving into the history discipline in a formal way. Confusion breeds disinterest, so it’s all about knowledge-building.”

Eighth grader Mariah agrees: “The more you understand, the more intrigued you become. Questions start popping up in your mind. You might wonder about a certain group of people during that period in history and want to know more about how they were affected.”

Mr. Beller starts by being specific in how he teaches vocabulary and broader historical terms beginning in sixth grade. “I can’t teach a term like ‘economic causes’ once and think it will be enough. It won’t. I have to go over it a lot in order to build a knowledge that helps students understand the texts.” Therefore, he focuses on teaching “tier two” history vocabulary — words that aren’t commonly used in everyday conversation but are frequently found in academic texts.

Then, when students in sixth grade read phrases like “political upheaval” or “transfer of power” while studying the Haitian Revolution, they’ll fully understand what it means within a historical context, which prepares them for studying the American Revolution in seventh grade. “We don’t have to cover the same ground,” Mr. Beller explains. “Instead, we can use it as a launching pad to read more complex texts.” This type of knowledgebuilding makes middle schoolers more effective history students now and in high school because these terms will come up again and again.

Mariah cites one more aspect of Mr. Beller’s approach that will also help students in high school: encouraging independence. When she and her classmates are given articles to read, they don’t just answer questions on a test, they often pair off to discuss them. “Sometimes we talk about it with a partner to see what our classmate thinks,” she explains. “We’re not hand-held through the lessons. Mr. Beller gives us independence. That’s what I like best.”