A Guide to Curricular Resources About the Designed World
"Are published curriculum materials really standards-based? The authors answer this in unprecedented detail. A must-read for technology, design, and engineering educators." -William E. Dugger, Director Technology for All Americans Project, International Technology Education Association "If you enjoy teaching science because it engages students, you will want to include technology and design. This book provides everything you need to find curriculum materials that fit your situation. Helping students become technologically literate as well as scientifically literate is a must in our world." -Senta A. Raizen, Director National Center for Improving Science Education (NCISE)/WestEd Bring a whole new world of technology education into every classroom! We live in a world where technological advances happen daily. But technology is more than computers and electronic devices. Technology encompasses every man-made creation that meets human needs, even a pencil or a book. Technology education helps students design and make improvements in the designed world around us, such as transportation systems, manufacturing, and biotechnology, as well as many other fields. This must-have guide is the first independent review of curriculum materials for technology. In Bringing Technology Education Into K-8 Classrooms, authors Edward Britton, Bo De Long-Cotty, and Toby Levenson provide a practical guide to the latest technology textbooks and integrated resources (including technology and supplementary resources), and descriptions of more than 100 informal resources. The guide fully describes the strengths and weaknesses of each product's features by analyzing the technology topics covered, types of technology design activities, assessment strategies, types of teacher support, and much more. Bringing Technology Education Into K-8 Classrooms includes: An introduction to technology education and its importance for students today Complete information for choosing technology resources that meet district and classroom needs Practical analysis of how technology topics address standards Helpful tips on how technology activities help students understand a design process Featuring an easy-to-follow organization and sample pages from major products, this resource will help all students become technologically literate!
How can you take the concept of a learning community from theory to the school building? This how-to guide walks you through the process of establishing a PLC step by step over a flexible timeline of nine to twelve months. Leadership and organizational development specialists Stephen S. Kaagan and Linda Headley provide school and council leaders with a concrete road map and numerous tools for creating and sustaining a PLC focused on improving student learning. Readers will find everything they need to get a PLC up and running, including: - Specific tasks that help educators "learn by doing" as they create a PLC - Practice exercises for conducting productive meetings, building individual and group communication skills, and shaping the group's identity - Brief case studies of problems encountered by educators to spark discussion and support educators' growth as learners and leaders - Guidelines for appropriately pacing the chapters, tasks, and exercises with your faculty Bringing Your Learning Community to Life is an invaluable manual for building capacity and carrying out the work of creating an effective, sustainable PLC focused on continuous improvement.
"The author has crystallized the major components of brain-based learning in ways that help teachers, counselors, principals, and parents lead students through effective transitions as readers, learners, and doers in our 21st-century world." -Carol J. Carter, President LifeBound, Denver, CO "Pamela Nevills isn't just another researcher; she is that rare expert who takes the time to ensure that the research is accessible for busy educators who want to stay on the cutting edge!" -Heather Driscoll, Founder Revolutionary Classrooms, New Castle, NH Engage students' brains with state-of-the-art reading strategies Every teacher knows that no two students are exactly alike. This guidebook infuses the most current neurology research into concrete steps for teaching reading in a targeted, developmentally appropriate way. Author Pamela Nevills clearly describes the brain's structures and functions, devoting an entire chapter to the adolescent brain. Rich with innovative tips, tools, and examples for guiding both new and experienced readers, Build the Brain for Reading, Grades 4-12 helps teachers: Understand the relationship between brain development and phonemic awareness, vocabulary, writing, fluency, and comprehension skills Identify and successfully address where students struggle Apply research-based methods across all content areas This hands-on guide offers cutting-edge insights into how literacy, neuroscience, and technology interconnect. Also included are suggestions for creating successful schools and a list of resources with the latest research and theories-everything you need to boost reading instruction.
This book is designed to help teachers take the mystique out of the CCSS and to be able to apply some immediate brain-compatible strategies in their classrooms. It provides some "soft answers" for school administrator to help teachers to be successful as they implement the changes that are required by the CCSS. The new standards are awash with terms that indicate that this initiative is more about deeper learning and thinking and how students can apply what they learn in school to their out-of-school experiences. Findings from neuroscience support this new direction and will be discussed throughout the book.
"Charles Elbot and David Fulton get it! They get how dominant a force a school's culture is in assisting-or thwarting-the development of learning and character and how extraordinarily difficult it is to make changes. Unlike most of us, they also get how possible it is to build a desirable school culture. This tidy little volume is the authors' first step in sharing their inventive 'lesson plans' from their successful work as school culture builders. When we take these lessons learned to heart, we too will get it!" -Roland Barth, Professor Emeritus, Graduate School of Education Harvard University Transform your school by shaping a culture based on shared values, beliefs, and behaviors. Based on lessons learned from the authors' work in improving school culture for more than sixty schools across the country, this inspiring guide for school leaders helps create an "intentional school culture" that fosters excellence, builds character, and improves student achievement. The book provides tools, case studies, strategies, and implementation plans for building a strong school culture and offers guidelines for teacher trainings, principal workshops, staff meetings, and district-level use. The authors demonstrate how to: Support students' independent and interdependent thinking and behavior Foster ethical decision making Collaborate with students, parents, and teachers Evaluate and monitor a plan to enhance the existing school culture The authors illustrate how deliberately shaping a school culture cultivates faculty trust, sets the groundwork for raising test scores, and is a critical ingredient in building a successful school.
In Building an Intentional School Culture, the authors propose the theory that if school leaders want to improve students' academic achievement and personal development, they need to create an 'intentional school culture' that builds excellence and character. Based on work created out of the Denver Public Schools, this resource shares the tools, strategies, and implementation plan for creating a strong school culture. The book provides a road map developed expressly for teacher trainings, principal workshops, staff meetings, and for district-level use.
"Taking your school from great to greater-this compelling book gives you tools to use with staff for reflecting on and refining professional practices. You and your team will find tools for taking learners to the next level of improvement!" -Lynn A. Kaszynski, Principal Harrison Street Elementary School, Sunbury, OH Networked learning communities: A powerful school improvement strategy for school leaders! Ideal for school leaders and superintendents leading change efforts, this book describes how separate professional learning communities can be linked across schools by common instructional and learning issues to create dynamic networked learning communities (NLCs). Drawing on their work with schools throughout North America and England, Steven Katz, Lorna M. Earl, and Sonia Ben Jaafar show how participants in NLCs can share professional knowledge that ultimately improves performance at the school and district level. Through a sample school narrative, the book illustrates how NLCs can significantly enhance instruction, increase student performance, and empower local professional learning communities. This resource examines: Collaborative inquiry as a process that challenges teachers' thinking, generates new learning, and fosters trusting relationships The development of formal and informal leadership roles in NLCs How NLCs support systematic data analysis and accountability Demonstrating how NLCs-small or large, local or statewide-can promote critical reforms while strengthening the work of individual professional learning communities, this invaluable resource reveals how educators can join forces across school and district boundaries to generate deep, meaningful, and sustainable change.
Ideal for school leaders, teacher leaders, and superintendents leading district-level change, this book describes how separate professional learning communities can be purposefully linked across schools to create effective Networked Learning Communities (NLCs). Steven Katz, Lorna M. Earl, and Sonia Ben Jaafar demonstrate how NLCs can effectively engage schools in creating and sharing professional knowledge and develop the kind of deep and sustained changes that enhance student learning, engagement, and success.Based on the authorsAE research and work with districts and schools in North America and England, the book defines NLCs, explains how they work, and leads readers in examining:The importance of having a clear, evidence-based focusCollaborative inquiry as a process that challenges thinking and practice and generates new learning for teachersThe role of formal and informal leaders in both professional learning communities and networked learning communitiesBuilding and Connecting Learning Communities demonstrates how to work together to create the conditions for focused professional learning for teachers and tackles the challenge of how to sustain the work of NLCs.
