ABSTRACT
The authors respond to a recent case study that examined the experience of middlegrades teachers who employed a backward design framework to develop interdisciplinary curriculum units. The researchers argued that teachers needed to be able to design curriculum that will challenge and engage young adolescent learners. In a supplement to the original study, the researchers suggest curriculum planning requires teacher-led design teams, school administrators, and students to work together in ways that result in schools serving as learning organizations versus places where learning simply happens. These two articles, when analyzed individually and then collectively, offer numerous insights into important factors related to middle-grades teachers' work as curriculum designers, such as productive struggle, organizational structures, shared responsibility, and a view of teacher-as-learner.
