- Provides a user-friendly guide to how teachers can use Nudges - small, behaviourally-informed changes which apply psychological principles to common problems - to improve motivation and behaviour. - provides practical examples from schools that have used these approaches - written by leading teacher trainer, blogger and speaker that is gaining international recognition for his work in this area.

Learning in the arts does not fit in with simple, conventional methodologies for teaching and assessing in the traditional sense, but it has an immense power to transform children's understanding of the world around them, and their lives. Many jobs, currently and of the future, will demand the skills that learning in the arts will develop. This book brings Arts Education sharply into focus as a meaningful, learning experience for children of pre-school and primary age (3-11 years). It reinforces the potential for the wide range of physical, mental and emotional development, through learning opportunities that engagement in arts practice facilitates. Provides insight into how teachers can support children to consider contemporary challenges that face their generation. Includes expert voices from the world of education to demonstrate an expansive, and perhaps surprising, view of where and how the Arts can be found. Shows how we can bring the arts so easily into our curriculum, and into our classrooms.

This book broadly educates preservice teachers and scholars about current research on computational thinking (CT). More specifically, attention is given to computational algorithmic thinking (CAT), particularly among underrepresented K-12 student groups in STEM education. Computational algorithmic thinking (CAT)-a precursor to CT-is explored in this text as the ability to design, implement, and evaluate the application of algorithms to solve a variety of problems. Drawing on observations from research studies that focused on innovative STEM programs, including underrepresented students in rural, suburban, and urban contexts, the authors reflect on project-based learning experiences, pedagogy, and evaluation that are conducive to developing advanced computational thinking, specifically among diverse student populations. This practical text includes vignettes and visual examples to illustrate how coding, computer modeling, robotics, and drones may be used to promote CT and CAT among students in diverse classrooms.

It is well recognised that classroom teaching is highly complex and that teachers must navigate and negotiate myriad interactions just within a lesson in order to manage the learning opportunities of their students. What is less well recognised is precisely how these interactions are managed in real time during actual classroom interactions. This book is designed as an original, close-up account of processes by which children learn to become school learners in their first year of school, unpacking some of the recognised complexity of busy classrooms to hone in on what teachers and children do and how learning takes place. Using the tools of conversation analysis, the authors unpack a range of pedagogical interactions between teachers and children during normal class, focusing on procedural instructions and the outcomes of instructed activities. By including transcripts of recordings of classes in schools located in diverse communities, it is possible to see which aspects of classroom interaction may be impacted by external factors, such as children's language or cultural background, and which aspects are applicable regardless of such factors. The chapters examine teacher instructions and children's behaviour during instructions and during task performance in whole-class and small-group interactions. Effective Task Instruction in the First Year of School brings forward a much-needed wealth of knowledge into how to teach children in the first year of schooling and beyond in a way that is accessible for practising teachers, student teachers as well as education researchers.

Improbasen is a Norwegian private learning centre that offers beginner's instrumental tuition within jazz improvisation for children between the ages of 7 and 15. This book springs out of a two-year ethnographic study of the teaching and learning activity at Improbasen, highlighting features from the micro-interactions within the lessons, the organisation of Improbasen, and its international activity. Music teachers, students, and scholars within music education as well as jazz research will benefit from the perspectives presented in the book, which shows how children systematically acquire tools for improvisation and shared codes for interplay. Through a process of guided participation in jazz culture, even very young children are empowered to take part in a global, creative musical practice with improvisation as an educational core. This book critically engages in current discussions about jazz pedagogy, inclusion and gender equity, beginning instrumental tuition, creativity, and authenticity in childhood.

- Provides information for teachers and school leaders to better understand what is meant by 'curriculum' and what a creative curriculum might look like in each individual school - Includes chapters on curriculum intent, implementation and impact, as well has how to create a broad and balanced curriculum - Offers practical ideas for busy teachers than can be adapted to a variety of themes and subjects - Useful resource for parents, including parent overviews to show how keeping parents involved is an important element to teaching and learning

* Provides models of curricular integration and assessment practices to inform the design of and research on computational tools and practices. * Addresses critical areas of computational thinking such as challenges in implementation and unsubstantiated claims for effectiveness. * Covers a diversity of perspectives including unplugged CT, CT as a vehicle for learning, and CT in and across subjects.

1) Focuses specifically on middle-schoolers 2) Offers a framework and structure for a Methods course, which places the student at the center rather than the musical genre or philosophy, precisely fitting with current thinking about teaching in music education 3) Features an integrated approach to research, not relying on any one philosophy and practical classroom applications 4) Includes practical applications in the form of lesson sequences, absent from the few books focused on middle-school education

* Provides a comprehensive analysis on the quality of state educational provisions for migrant children from demographic, institutional, familial and cultural angles. * Highlights the recent demographic and institutional changes in the Chinese urban state schools * Data generated from five cities in three metropolitan areas, including Beijing, Shanghai, and the Pearl River Delta region (Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Foshan). * Produces a comprehensive analysis on the quality of state educational provisions for migrant children from demographic, institutional, familial and cultural angles.

Critical Pedagogies in Physical Education, Physical Activity and Health explores critical pedagogy - and critical work around the body, health and physical activity - within physical education. By examining the complex relationships between policies and practice, and how these are experienced by young people, it elucidates the need for critical pedagogy in contemporary times. With contributions from leading international experts in health and physical education, and underpinned by a critical, socio-cultural approach, the book examines how health and physical education are situated across various international contexts and the influence of policy and curriculum. It explores how health is constructed by students and teachers within these contexts as well as how wider spaces and places beyond formal schooling influence learning around the body, health and physical activity. Finally, it considers what progressive pedagogies might 'look like' within health and physical education. Chapters utilise empirical work within the field to explore various topics of relevance to critical pedagogy, drawing on theoretical insights while providing practical applications and concluding with reflection points to encourage readers to consider the relevance for their own contexts. Designed to support pedagogical study in a range of contexts, this book will be of particular interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students, teachers and researchers with an interest in physical education, physical activity and health and the role they play in young people's lives.

* Provides models of curricular integration and assessment practices to inform the design of and research on computational tools and practices. * Addresses critical areas of computational thinking such as challenges in implementation and unsubstantiated claims for effectiveness. * Covers a diversity of perspectives including unplugged CT, CT as a vehicle for learning, and CT in and across subjects.

Language teacher education is widely identified as one of the most important areas that needs addressing in order to improve early language instruction, yet research into teacher education for early language teachers remains relatively sparse. This volume responds to this gap by compiling studies with diverse methodological tenets from a wide range of geographical and educational contexts around the world. The volume aims to enhance understanding of early language teacher education as well as to address the need to prepare early language teachers and assist them in their professional development. The chapters focus on the complexity of teacher learning, innovations in mentoring and teacher supervision, strategies in programme development and perceptions, and knowledge and assessment in early language learning teacher education. The volume offers comprehensive coverage of the field by addressing various aspects of teacher education in different languages. The contributions highlight examples of research into current practice in the professional enhancement of early language learning teachers, but with an emphasis on the implications for practitioners.

Language teacher education is widely identified as one of the most important areas that needs addressing in order to improve early language instruction, yet research into teacher education for early language teachers remains relatively sparse. This volume responds to this gap by compiling studies with diverse methodological tenets from a wide range of geographical and educational contexts around the world. The volume aims to enhance understanding of early language teacher education as well as to address the need to prepare early language teachers and assist them in their professional development. The chapters focus on the complexity of teacher learning, innovations in mentoring and teacher supervision, strategies in programme development and perceptions, and knowledge and assessment in early language learning teacher education. The volume offers comprehensive coverage of the field by addressing various aspects of teacher education in different languages. The contributions highlight examples of research into current practice in the professional enhancement of early language learning teachers, but with an emphasis on the implications for practitioners.

Owens provides a historical analysis of the ideological movements and reform efforts leading to the Common Core State Standards, beginning with conservative criticism of public schools in the 1930s and culminating in a convergence of the political right and left in efforts to systemically reform education based on free market principles.

Open-ended activities to challenge gifted and talented primary school children - that other children will love too! Brilliant Activities for Gifted and Talented Children by Ashley McCabe Mowat provides open-ended classroom activities to stretch more able pupils at Key Stage 2 (KS2). Based on Bloom's Taxonomy, the activities will develop children's creative and critical thinking skills. Gifted and talented children are not the only ones who will benefit from this book! All the class will enjoy taking on these creative, open-ended challenges. Children will thoroughly enjoy these activities. Some of the activities can last for days. Others, such as the brainteasers, can be used for a quick warm-up to spark interest and excite the brain. Use the ideas in Brilliant Publications' Brilliant Activities for Gifted and Talented Children and have the confidence of knowing that the extra you are doing in the classroom will really help pupils to develop their thinking skills on all six levels of Bloom's Taxonomy: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. For more open-ended mental stimulation activities for the more able, see Brilliant Activities for Stretching Gifted and Talented Children, also written by Ashley McCabe Mowat and published by Brilliant Publications.

* Technology has led to the increasing visualisation of how children receive, manipulate and process information * This book takes visualisation as a starting point uses for introducing and developing a range of thinking skills and strategies for learning * It will help students improve and develop observational skills, assimilate visual information, increase inferential thinking, boost vocabulary, develop metacognitive abilities and much more...

* Employs portraiture methodology in a novel context to capture the voices of Black boys and their teachers * Gives voice to an overlooked population of students and teachers, elementary Black students, and Black male early childhood educators * Extends existing scholarship towards a new understanding of how we view and perceive Black male teachers

Teaching in the Game-Based Classroom is a hands-on guide to leveraging students' embrace of video games toward successful school performance. Evidence tells us that game-based learning can help teachers design classes, develop transformative learning tools, and assess progress on multiple levels not dependent on one-size-fits-all bubble sheets. Authored by game-savvy teachers in partnership with classroom-experienced academics, the highly varied chapters of this book are concise yet filled with sound pedagogical approaches. Middle and high school educators will find engaging new ways of inspiring students' intrinsic motivation, skill refinement, positive culture-building, autonomy as learners, and more.

- Provides a user-friendly guide to how teachers can use Nudges - small, behaviourally-informed changes which apply psychological principles to common problems - to improve motivation and behaviour. - provides practical examples from schools that have used these approaches - written by leading teacher trainer, blogger and speaker that is gaining international recognition for his work in this area.

- There has been a huge increase in mental health issues in young children - this book sets out practical strategies to build strong relationships between practitioners and children which will support their wellbeing and learning - Applicable to all primary age children (not just those who have experienced trauma or diagnosed with a mental health issue) - Provides a range of practical strategies and uses accessible language, but also underpinned by a recent and rigorous theoretical perspective - Sets out an holistic approach that extends to a whole learning culture

This text demonstrates how collective reflection can function as a central part of effective teacher preparation for work in inclusive bilingual environments. Through analysis of rich qualitative data, Teacher Education for Inclusive Bilingual Contexts shows how group reflection supports pre-service educators to recognize the intersectional circumstances faced by students and understand their identities beyond the possible confines of disability. This, in turn, engenders reconceptualization of standardized expectations and implicates the educator in developing student agency through individualized use of routine, language, and materials. The author offers cultural historical activity theory and disability studies in education as a basis for dialectal interactions to unearth contradictions and misunderstandings surrounding language acquisition and the learning of emergent bilinguals and highlight the ways in which educators can disrupt oppressive practices through expansive learning opportunities. This insightful volume will be of interest to researchers, scholars, and postgraduate students in the fields of inclusive education and disability studies, bilingual and language education, and teacher education.

This book provides a holistic overview of what leads to success in foreign language learning at an early age and deepens our understanding of early foreign language learning. The studies use an array of methodological approaches to research learners aged between three and ten, as well as their parents and teachers, in instructional, minimal-input settings. They describe various ways of organising and promoting very early foreign language learning, both through language policy and innovative pedagogy, and focus on ways of providing input for second language acquisition, which include oral classroom discourse strategies, as well as learner development of literacy skills. Special attention is given to the necessity to develop critical reading skills, the ability to handle multimodal texts, and attitudes, motivations and behaviours and how these may impact on the teaching and learning process. Chapters emphasise that ultimate outcomes depend on extra linguistic environmental factors, such as parental involvement and teacher competences. These include establishing control in the classroom, as well as using appropriate strategies for Negotiation of Meaning, and helping learners build positive self-concept. This book will be of interest to all professionals involved in the teaching of foreign languages to young learners, as well as to researchers, teacher educators and students working in this area.

This book provides a holistic overview of what leads to success in foreign language learning at an early age and deepens our understanding of early foreign language learning. The studies use an array of methodological approaches to research learners aged between three and ten, as well as their parents and teachers, in instructional, minimal-input settings. They describe various ways of organising and promoting very early foreign language learning, both through language policy and innovative pedagogy, and focus on ways of providing input for second language acquisition, which include oral classroom discourse strategies, as well as learner development of literacy skills. Special attention is given to the necessity to develop critical reading skills, the ability to handle multimodal texts, and attitudes, motivations and behaviours and how these may impact on the teaching and learning process. Chapters emphasise that ultimate outcomes depend on extra linguistic environmental factors, such as parental involvement and teacher competences. These include establishing control in the classroom, as well as using appropriate strategies for Negotiation of Meaning, and helping learners build positive self-concept. This book will be of interest to all professionals involved in the teaching of foreign languages to young learners, as well as to researchers, teacher educators and students working in this area.

Strategies and case studies, developed, trialled and reviewed by practicing school leaders Written by current school leaders for experienced, new and aspiring school leaders Offers practical leadership strategies to develop school practices and positively impact on student learning School-led research used to measure the impact of new strategies

Transition to school represents a time of great change for all involved. Many transition to school programs have been developed to support positive transitions to school. While these programs have involved complex planning and implementation, often they have not been evaluated in rigorous or systematic ways. This book brings together Australian and international perspectives on research and practice to explore approaches to evaluating transition to school programs. For children, school is quite different from anything else they have experienced. For families and educators, there are considerable changes as they interact with new people and take on new roles. Developing effective transition to school programs is a key policy initiative around the world, based on recognition of the importance of a positive start to school and the impact of this for future school engagement and outcomes. Throughout the chapters of this book, authors from Australia, Germany, Sweden, Ireland and Jamaica share examples of evaluation practice, with the aim of encouraging educators to reflect on their own contexts and adopt evaluation practices that are relevant and appropriate for them. The book brings together the fields of evaluation research and transition to school. A wide range of examples and figures is used to relate research and practice and to illustrate possible applications of evaluation strategies. Evaluating Transition to School Programs highlights the importance of multiple perspectives of the transition to school and offers suggestions about how the perspectives of children, families, educators and community members might be included and analysed in evaluation strategies. Other themes throughout the book include the importance of collaboration, respectful and trusting relationships, practitioner-driven inquiry, strengths-based approaches and developing programs that are responsive to context. This book is written for educators and leaders in early years and primary school settings, and will also be of interest to researchers, students and policy makers in the field.