Too many students experience school as a place to put in time . . . and view their lives within school walls as distinctly different from their lives at home and in their community. Too many educators seem to share that point of view and focus more on lists of standards than the students they are supposed to serve. This book is about how we might blur the distinctions between “school life” and “real life,” between learning and teaching, between learning well and living well. It’s for anyone who has ever asked • When did we decide test scores were more important than understanding? • When did we accept the image of teachers as mere implementers of state curricula? • When did we accept the idea that schools are places where no one has to think too hard? This book is a rallying cry to our true educational mission. It’s an assertion that we can have the schools we really want if we’re bold enough to look beyond the myths of what a good school is, and instead, work to facilitate intellectual, ethical, and aesthetic growth in our students and ourselves. Author Jacqueline Grennon Brooks goes inside the classroom to share the experiences of teachers, parents, and students and to present contrasting examples of schooling that honors the complexity of learning and life and schooling that ignores it. It’s a journey that will inspire the reexamination of practices and the revitalization of schools.
Educators know it's important to get students to engage in «higher-order thinking.» But what does higher-order thinking actually look like? And how can K–12 classroom teachers assess it across the disciplines? Author, consultant, and former classroom teacher Susan M. Brookhart answers these questions and more in this straightforward, practical guide to assessment that can help teachers determine if students are actually displaying the kind of complex thinking that current content standards emphasize.
Foreword by Parker Palmer * How can educators and parents of diverse backgrounds come together to find ways to invite soul into schools? * How do educators address «soul» in education without violating the separation of church and state or the deeply held beliefs of families and students? In this book, Rachael Kessler shows how. Based on the deeply moving stories and profound questions of students themselves, each chapter responds to the yearnings young people express: Deep Connection, Meaning and Purpose, Silence, Joy, Creativity, Transcendence, and Initiation–each evokes a gateway to inviting soul into the classroom. Without healthy forums led by responsible adults, young people seek these gateways on their own, sometimes in destructive ways like drugs, sex, suicide, hazing, and even murder. Helping students find constructive ways to express their longings increases their motivation to learn; stay in school; strengthen ties to family and friends; and approach adult life with vitality, character, and vision. This practical and inspirational sourcebook will support school communities that are committed to preventing violence and alienation and producing responsible, caring citizens.
In the few short years since tablets were introduced, they have become a popular addition to classrooms across all grade levels and content areas. By putting this device in the hands of students and teachers, we can grab hold of their interest, interact with content on a more personalized level, and monitor real-time learning. But how we use tablets in the classroom needs thoughtful planning to ensure that the technology actually improves the teaching and learning process. Nancy Frey, Doug Fisher, and Alex Gonzalez offer practical advice on how to effectively use tablets as part of the gradual release of responsibility from teacher to student. You’ll learn how to ensure that tablets are integrated into high-quality instruction, including strategies for using tablets for modeling, guided instruction, collaborative learning, independent learning, and formative assessment. Filled with examples of teachers successfully using tablets in their classrooms, this resource will help you maximize the potential of tablet technology to facilitate student understanding.
Even in an education system driven by the Common Core State Standards and high-stakes testing, teachers must adapt their methods to the styles of the modern learner. This means creating a student-centered classroom, driven by brief, interactive instruction from highly skilled teachers who know when the time is right to get out of the way. The five-minute teacher is one who delivers quick, thought-provoking lessons that send students clamoring to find meaning on their own, with the help of peers, and using the concepts and tools the teacher has provided in just a few minutes to create a wondrous, student-centered classroom. Barnes shares real anecdotes and practical strategies for transforming any learning environment into a remarkable, student-centered classroom, facilitated by a five-minute teacher.
For too long, educators have focused only on getting students ready for the next test, for the next grade, for graduation, or maybe for college. Students must be prepared to succeed in school, and they must know how to read, write, and calculate. But that’s only the beginning. Our job—whether we teach kindergarten, 5th grade, or high school or we lead a school or district—is to prepare students for success in the real world. To do so, we must also teach grit. Grit is a combination of tenacity and perseverance—a willingness to take risks even if it means sometimes failing and starting again. Knowing how to respond to frustration and failure is essential whether a student struggles or excels. Veteran school leader and popular Educational Leadership columnist Thomas R. Hoerr shows what teaching for grit looks like and provides a sample lesson plan and self-assessments, along with a six-step process applicable across grade levels and content areas to help students build skills they need to succeed in school and in life.
Learn how to formatively assess and grade group work, including learning skills, group interaction skills, and individual achievement.
In this inspiring and thought-provoking follow-up to his 2009 best-seller Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life, Baruti Kafele makes the case that the achievement gap between white and minority students can be closed only if educators first transform students’ negative attitudes toward learning. According to Kafele, educators can achieve remarkable results by focusing on five key areas:
* The teacher’s attitude toward students * The teacher’s relationship with students * The teacher’s compassion for students * The learning environment * The cultural relevance of instruction
Replete with practical strategies and illustrative anecdotes drawn from the author’s 20-plus years as a teacher and principal in inner-city schools, Closing the Attitude Gap offers a wealth of lessons and valuable insights that educators at all levels can use to fire up their students' passion to learn.
Educators, politicians, parents, and even students are consumed with speaking the language of academic achievement. Yet something is missing in the current focus on accountability, standardized testing, and adequate yearly progress. If schools continue to focus the conversation on rigor and accountability and ignore more human elements of education, many students may miss out on opportunities to discover the richness of individual exploration that schools can foster. In The Best Schools , Armstrong urges educators to leave narrow definitions of learning behind and return to the great thinkers of the past 100 years–Montessori, Piaget, Freud, Steiner, Erikson, Dewey, Elkind, Gardner–and to the language of human development and the whole child. The Best Schools highlights examples of educational programs that are honoring students' differences, using developmentally appropriate practices, and promoting a humane approach to education that includes the following elements: * An emphasis on play for early childhood learning.* Theme- and project-based learning for elementary school students.* Active learning that recognizes the social, emotional, and cognitive needs of adolescents in middle schools.* Mentoring, apprenticeships, and cooperative education for high school students. Educators in «the best schools» recognize the differences in the physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual worlds of students of different ages. This book will help educators reflect on how to help each student reach his or her true potential, how to inspire each child and adolescent to discover an inner passion to learn, and how to honor the unique journey of each individual through life. Note: This product listing is for the reflowable (ePub) version of the book.
How do you know if your school is improving? Do you know what really works in reading programs…in writing…in math…in science? How do we measure what works? What about teaching to the test–or to the vast array of standards being mandated? How do we effectively use cooperative learning–and direct instruction–and alternative assessment? How do we sustain school reform? How do we get results–and measure them in terms of student achievement? In this expanded 2nd edition of Results , Mike Schmoker answers these and other questions by focusing on student learning. By (1) setting goals, (2) working collaboratively, and (3) keeping track of student-achievement data from many sources, teachers and administrators can surpass the community's expectations and facilitate great improvements in student learning. Through hundreds of up-to-date examples from real schools and districts, Schmoker shows how to achieve–and celebrate–both short- and long-term success. Here's one example: Bessemer Elementary school in Pueblo, Colorado, has an 80‑percent minority population. Between 1997 and 1998, the number of students performing at or above standard in reading rose from 12 to 64 percent; in writing, they went from 2 to 48 percent. Weekly, standards-focused, team meetings made the difference. As Schmoker says, «We cannot afford to overlook the rich opportunity that schools have to make a difference.» This second edition of Results: The Key to Continuous School Improvement includes the following: * a Foreword by Michael Fullan;* a new Preface to the 2nd Edition by the author; * new information about cooperative learning, direct instruction, standards and assessments, and research and development;* new examples of successful schools;* new educational research by Michael Fullan, Robert Marzano, Linda Darling‑Hammond, Bruce Joyce, Dennis Sparks, Linda Lambert, and Richard Dufour, among others;* new information on action research–by teachers as well as administrators–and other effective staff development initiatives; and* a new emphasis on cultivating teacher leaders–and how to do it.