Career profile Middle School Teacher

Table of Contents

• What does a Middle School Teacher do?
• What is a typical salary for a Middle School Teacher?
• What personality traits are common among Middle School Teachers?
  • Career Interests
  • Values
  • Psychological Demands
• What education and training do Middle School Teachers need?
  • Typical educational degrees
  • Required knowledge and expertise
  • Important abilities
  • Critical skills

What does a Middle School Teacher do?

Middle School Teachers teach one or more subjects to students at the middle, intermediate, or junior high school level.

What kind of tasks does a Middle School Teacher perform regularly?

Middle School Teachers are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

• Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
• Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs, abilities, and interests.
• Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate these objectives to students.
• Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
• Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
• Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress.
• Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
• Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
• Maintain accurate, complete, and correct student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
• Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies.
• Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
• Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
• Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
• Guide and counsel students with adjustment or academic problems, or special academic interests.
• Enforce all administration policies and rules governing students.
• Assign lessons and correct homework.
• Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress.
• Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of secondary school programs.
• Assist students who need extra help, such as by tutoring and preparing and implementing remedial programs.
• Meet or correspond with parents or guardians to discuss children's progress and to determine priorities and resource needs.
• Provide disabled students with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities such as restrooms.
• Prepare for assigned classes and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
• Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons that promote learning, following approved curricula.
• Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.
• Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment or materials to prevent injuries and damage.
• Administer standardized ability and achievement tests and interpret results to determine students' strengths and areas of need.
• Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration.
• Perform administrative duties, such as assisting in school libraries, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.
• Attend staff meetings and serve on staff committees, as required.
• Organize and label materials and display students' work.
• Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers, contests, or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.
• Coordinate and supervise extracurricular activities, such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests.
• Organize and supervise games and other recreational activities to promote physical, mental, and social development.
• Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.

The above responsibilities are specific to Middle School Teachers. More generally, Middle School Teachers are involved in several broader types of activities:

What is a Middle School Teacher salary?

What personality traits are common among Middle School Teachers?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Middle School Teacher are usually higher in their Social and Artistic interests.

Middle School Teachers typically have very strong Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Also, Middle School Teachers typically have strong Artistic interests. Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Middle School Teacher tend to value Relationships, Independence, and Achievement.

Most importantly, Middle School Teachers very strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Middle School Teachers strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Lastly, Middle School Teachers strongly value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Middle School Teachers must consistently demonstrate qualities such as dependability, integrity, and cooperation.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Middle School Teachers, ranked by importance:

What education and training do Middle School Teachers need?

Many Middle School Teachers will have a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Middle School Teachers usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Educational degrees among Middle School Teachers

• 3.1% completed some college coursework
• 2.3% earned a Associate's degree
• 43.6% earned a Bachelor's degree
• 46.8% earned a Master's degree
• 4.2% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Middle School Teachers

Important Abilities needed by Middle School Teachers

Middle School Teachers must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Middle School Teachers need abilities such as oral expression, oral comprehension, and written comprehension in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Middle School Teachers, ranked by their relative importance.

Critical Skills needed by Middle School Teachers

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Middle School Teachers frequently use skills like speaking, instructing, and reading comprehension to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Middle School Teachers, ranked by their relative importance.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

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