A Practical Guide for Getting Started and Going Deeper
In this field guide, the authors take classroom teachers more deeply into the journey to personalize learning, giving them the tools, skills, and resources they need to level the playing field and start personalizing learning for all of their students. Practical from the start, it begins with an activity that will help teachers, school staff, and other stakeholders deeply understand the difference between personalization, individualization, and differentiation and begin building a common vision, culture, and language that supports personalized learning using the Universal Design for Learning (R) (UDL) framework. The book moves readers through a process of steps and activities to begin personalizing learning, each stage leveraging the UDL principles of Access, Engagement, and Expression to create a powerful shift in classroom dynamics by guiding learners to become self-directed, self-monitoring, and self-motivated.
This book provides leaders and teams with a blueprint of how to work through a problem to find possible solutions while valuing each member of the team. Research shows that "teacher collective efficacy" - when all teachers are collectively engaged and focused on improvement - can do more to increase student learning than any other strategy. In fact, using powerhouse teams can achieve four years of student growth in a single calendar year. The book includes step-by-step tools that will help the school team move from identifying its biggest challenges to choosing and implementing successful reforms strategies to enhance teamwork, trust, and collaboration.
This book is loaded with practical, implementation strategies providing a framework for infusing creativity into schools by making slight adjustments to existing practices. Practical examples are incorporated throughout the book to clarify how readers can apply key concepts and principles to their own practice. There are vignettes, case studies, applied examples, and concrete recommendations to bring concepts to life and illustrate how the ideas and principles can be applied in the professional work of teachers and instructional leaders.
This book describes the conditions that are needed to implement effective professional learning across schools and districts and offers strategies for overcoming common hurdles to progress.
Common Holes and Misconceptions and What To Do About Them
In this remarkable book, John SanGiovanni reminds us that mathematical mistakes are not random, and when we take the time to "mine the gap," we can dispel misunderstandings before they take root.
Stretch student thinking with performance-based tasks. With waves of high-stakes assessments rolling through the education waters, many educators feel tied to teaching to the test. But there is a bright side. With the increased attention on assessment outlined in The Every Student Succeeds Act comes a surge of interest in designing performance-based tasks-an important key in unlocking your students' readiness for career and college. Designing and Using Performance Tasks: Enhancing Student Learning and Assessment walks you step-by-step through the process of incorporating performance tasks as a tool to teach, monitor, and extend student learning. This book will help you Make instructional decisions based on student performance of learning tasks Learn all about the different kinds of performance tasks and the benefits of each Incorporate learning progressions as an integral part of planning performance tasks Close the "knowing-doing" gap by focusing on considerations for successful implementation If you're ready to engage your students in unique and innovative ways, grab a copy of this book to guide you and your students in applying their learning-and your teaching-to real-world situations. "Teaching using performance tasks was, by far, was the most difficult type of teaching strategy for me to learn. When I began my teaching career, not many people were using this strategy, but I was fortunate to have a mentor who understood the process and was willing to teach me, two very rare occurrences in the teaching world. Thank heavens for Tracey Shiel, who has the ability to communicate the process so well and in such a manner that you enjoy reading about it at the same time - another rare event in education! I know from experience, students who learn using this strategy retain the information for longer periods of time giving teachers a stronger base upon which to build." Pamela L. Opel, Teacher Gulfport School District
Written in a casual, engaging style, each tool chapter explains the benefits of using the tool both for teaching and learning; provides a step by step tutorial for getting started on using the tool, screen shots that illustrate the process; and detailed examples of classroom projects to use with both students and teacher productivity projects.
Navigating Obstacles to Discover Classroom Innovation
This book is a call to teachers to be brave, bold and innovative for their students. At the same time, Magiera offers real-world, immediately applicable solutions to the problems they face in their classrooms every day. Often technology offers surprising solutions to common issues, and Magiera illuminates how technology can be a fun and easy tool to improve classroom management and learning. The book starts with having teachers create their own version of an IEP: the Teacher Innovation Exploration Plan (TIEP). This plan is the teacher's guide throughout the rest of the book as they take risks and unlock learning.
Texts and Lessons for Spot-On Writing About Reading
The author of the bestselling CCC 3-5 and Booster Lessons shares lessons, student reproducibles, and high interest texts that target the 6 key skills of analytical reading and writing. It's the writing about reading book the field has been waiting for. Understanding Character, Point of View, Visuals, Words and Structure, and more. Each lesson contains a valuable test-readiness tip box so teachers can prepare students to do well on standardized tests through authentic practice.
