How Brain Research and Learning Styles Define Teaching Competencies
"This excellent book is up-to-date with the expanding role of technology in education and offers endless ready-to-implement suggestions and plenty of illustrative material while linking everything to brain research. It is easy to understand, thoughtfully crafted, and right on the mark." -Beth Madison, Principal George Middle School, Portland, OR Engage, motivate, and inspire students with today's best practices This third edition of what has become a classic methods text reveals the most current approaches to inspire and motivate students. Donna Walker Tileston engages readers with real-life classroom examples, proven techniques for reaching every learner, and up-to-date strategies, all outlined in her reader-friendly style. She incorporates the latest research on brain-compatible pedagogy and learning styles throughout the updated chapters on today's most critical topics, including: Using formative assessment for best results Integrating technology to connect students' school and home lives Differentiating instruction to inspire every student Connecting with children of various cultures, including those who live in poverty Creating a collaborative learning environment Each chapter includes helpful lists, charts, and graphs. New and veteran teachers will find a treasure trove of invaluable tried-and-true strategies throughout this handy reference.
"The book provides a root cause analysis of why so many students are failing in America's public schools. The materials translate research into practice and provide a rich collection of data for instructional strategies." -Mary Reeve, Director, Services for Exceptional Students Gallup McKinley County Schools, NM Innovative, research-based strategies to reach all the learners in your class! This second edition of the best-selling volume in the What Every Teacher Should Know series presents critical information about teaching learners from diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, language, ability, and special needs backgrounds. Updated throughout, this essential guide assimilates new data about how the brain processes information and provides tools for understanding and working with diverse students, including a cultural proficiency checklist, a vocabulary pretest and posttest, and a vocabulary summary. Donna Walker Tileston explores: Brain-compatible teaching strategies that engage diverse learners Signs of bias to avoid in the classroom, including stereotypes, exclusion, selectivity, and more How culture affects learning styles Updated research on teaching children in poverty Guidelines for working with English language learners What Every Teacher Should Know About Diverse Learners shows teachers how to set high expectations for all students and facilitate their progress in fulfilling those expectations.
"Teachers often can get frustrated when they think their students don't care. This book gives teachers a way to take ownership of the situation rather than blame students." -Lyneille Meza, Coordinator of Data and Assessment Denton ISD, Denton, TX "This resource addresses the central issue in classrooms today and is full of exciting and applicable information on how to motivate today's learners." -Gary L. Willhite, Teacher Educator/Associate Professor University of Wisconsin, La Crosse Powerful brain-friendly strategies for motivating, challenging, and celebrating your students! This second edition of Donna Walker Tileston's bestseller is filled with innovative practices for motivating even the most at-risk and reluctant K-12 students. Informed by current research on the plasticity of the brain and new insights on the relationship between culture and student motivation, the book features an extended classroom example of motivational techniques in action and vocabulary pre- and post-tests for teachers and details how: Technology influences the brain and motivation Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are related to celebrations and rewards Specific strategies can motivate students to begin and finish a task Teachers can foster students' positive self talk and on-task behaviors
'I can get future teachers to appreciate the role of culture and poverty, but it is very hard for them to translate that understanding into specific activities or strategies. This book provides so much more than any other text that I have ever used in an Introduction to Education course regarding working with diverse populations' - Rosemary Traore, Assistant Professor of Urban Education University of North Carolina at Charlotte 'Provides a rich collection of research for instructional strategies. The combination of a call to action and supporting strategies provides a tool kit for instructional leaders' - Mary Reeve, Director, Services for Exceptional Students Gallup McKinley County Schools, NM Many caring teachers have expressed a need for more help in improving student achievement, especially in low-performing//high-poverty schools. This research-based book offers a comprehensive set of instructional strategies that have been proven to make a significant difference in student learning when diverse cultures and poverty come into play. Donna Walker Tileston and Sandra K. Darling provide a six-part framework to help teachers build on students' assets and strengths rather than attempt to overcome perceived disadvantages. Based on their extensive experience and gathered data, the authors discuss: - Why some cultures are "turned off" by typical motivational approaches and what educators can do to reach students - What research says about the brain's desire to learn - How teachers can build on students' prior knowledge and help forge new connections - The importance of resiliency, especially for students of poverty and diverse cultures - Teaching procedural and declarative knowledge and preparing students for high-stakes tests This practical resource provides the key structures for working effectively with students of differing cultures and poverty, ensuring higher student achievement in the diverse classroom.
"Helps building and district-level administrators realize that they don't have to abandon sound and effective instructional practices to prepare students for high-stakes tests." -Sheila Smith, Science Specialist Jackson Public Schools, MS "I encourage trainers to discuss this text and its applications with teachers to enhance the performance of students on state and national tests. This book meets a very specific need in classrooms." -J-Petrina McCarty-Puhl, Teacher Robert McQueen High School, Reno, NV Improve student performance on high-stakes tests with research-proven practices for teaching to standards! Standardized tests are one of the leading measures of student achievement and educator accountability today, so it is important to give students the necessary skills to perform well on state exams and to align instructional practices with standards. This step-by-step manual outlines a straightforward, powerful model for infusing state standards and knowledge benchmarks into lesson plans and day-to-day assessments to boost overall achievement. Grounded in the results of more than 30,000 studies, the best practices shared by the authors are linked specifically to the two types of knowledge-declarative and procedural-assessed on high-stakes tests and are ranked according to their effectiveness for each type. To help educators maximize testing results while meeting state standards and ultimately deepening student learning, the text provides a solid framework that empowers teachers to easily: Unpack state standards by grade level into measurable units Identify the key elements of state tests Determine and assess critical benchmarks Select the most appropriate and meaningful strategies based on new data on the effectiveness of various instructional practices From reproducible templates to tangible tactics for mapping lesson plans, this resource offers comprehensive tools for teachers to nurture learning and ensure success in all students.
"Emphasizes the importance of matching instructional strategies to the appropriate outcomes.Thia is very important!" -Cindy Harrison, Educational Consultant "My peers would benefit from having this handbook to guide new and struggling teachers and to inspire the expert teacher on staff. Practical suggestions give educators incremental steps ......
"Emphasizes the importance of matching instructional strategies to the appropriate outcomes.Thia is very important!" -Cindy Harrison, Educational Consultant "My peers would benefit from having this handbook to guide new and struggling teachers and to inspire the expert teacher on staff. Practical suggestions give educators incremental steps ......
"Full of wonderful information, and very thought provoking!" -Susan E. Fisher, NBCT Douglas County School District, CO "Cuts through all the jargon." -Stephanie A. Slowik, NBCT, Nationally Certified School Counselor Wake County Public Schools, NC "Gives a better understanding of what the standards mean, what to do with the standards, and what to do if standards aren't being met by a school." -Shannon Journell, Teacher Enon Elementary School, OH "Not only am I an educator, but I am also a single mom of two. I read this book from both perspectives and was enlightened by the information. Every parent should be aware of the information in it, especially those who move frequently." -Stacy Slomko, Teacher Perth Amboy High School, NJ The essential resource for parents who want to help their children succeed in school! Expert educator and award-winning author Donna Walker Tileston helps parents take the guesswork out of understanding educational standards, mandated tests, No Child Left Behind, and the myriad other issues affecting their children's schools today. Within this concise, reader-friendly guide, parents will find a wealth of easy-to-understand information, including: How to understand and access local and national standards Five things parents can do to improve standards-based teaching and testing Ten guides to asking the right questions at open-school events and parent-teacher conferences Three ways to help children master high stakes tests What to do if schools don't achieve adequate yearly progress A glossary that defines the buzzwords that mystify non-educators With this one handy guide, all parents can become active, informed, and involved participants in their children's education.
Finding educational ways to fill the expanded blocks of class time is a major problem that teachers in the United States face when a school moves to an alternative schedule. This workbook shows teachers how to teach differently to solve this problem.
