Current education policy and reform advocate for increasing the level of challenge in K–12 classrooms in order to maximize students’ learning and academic success. This study examined middle school teachers’ views about implementing challenging instruction while participating in a whole-school professional development initiative. A grounded theory analysis revealed teachers’ feelings about challenge, the pressures that affected their decision to implement challenging instruction, and teachers’ use of instructional practices to challenge students. Classroom observations were also analyzed to explore whether teachers’ comments were related to differences in their use of challenging instruction. Teachers perceived 19 different pressures related to implementing challenging instruction, with pressures from students the most common across all subject areas. Some teachers were able to resolve pressures from students by having conversations with students about challenge, providing emotional and motivational support, scaffolding students’ thinking, and increasing student autonomy. Implications for teachers’ practice and professional development are discussed.
