How can we ensure we use technology effectively with young children?

Using New Web Tools in the Primary Classroom is for all teachers interested in the application of new web-based ICTs to primary teaching. It offers a justification for using Web 2.0 tools and explores tangible ways in which technologies such as blogs, wikis, podcasting, media sharing and social networking sites can enhance classroom practice, teaching and learning.

Considering key issues such as how children learn, curriculum, policy, and children 's prior experiences of ICT, this book focuses on the expectations and needs of the child and how technology can be unlocked to meet those needs now and in the future. Key ideas considered include:

• Diverse views of social software in education
• Using web tools to create and reinforce stimulating learning environments
• Teacher skills and the availability of suitable technology
• Competing demands of government policies and curriculum
• Practical ideas for enriching learning through social software: Children as producers of knowledge, as explorers, and as communicators.

Enhanced with reflective questions and tasks to support your own thinking, and with practical ideas for using web-based ICTs in a range of subjects and in topic work, Using New Web Tools in the Primary Classroom is a rich resource for all student and practising primary school teachers. Those on Education Studies courses interested in new internet technologies and their potential to enhance learning within primary schools will also find much food for thought.

A national system of education cannot function without policy. But the path to practice is seldom smooth, especially when ideology overrules evidence or when ministers seek to micromanage what is best left to teachers. And once the media join the fray the mixture becomes downright combustible. Drawing on his long experience as teacher, researcher, government adviser, campaigner and international consultant, and on over 600 published sources, Robin Alexander expertly illustrates and illuminates these processes. This selection from his recent writing, some hitherto unpublished, opens windows onto cases and issues that concern every teacher. Part 1 tackles system-level reform. It revisits the Cambridge Primary Review, an evidence-rich enquiry into the condition and future of primary education in England, which challenged the UK government's policies on curriculum, testing, standards and more besides. Here the reform narratives and strategies of successive governments are confronted and dissected. Part 2 follows the development of England's current National Curriculum, exposing its narrow vision and questionable use of evidence and offering a more generous aims-driven alternative. This section also investigates the expertise and leadership needed if children are to experience a curriculum of the highest quality in all its aspects. Part 3 reaches the heart of the matter: securing the place in effective pedagogy of well-founded classroom talk, a mission repeatedly frustrated by political intervention. The centrepiece is dialogic teaching, a proven tool for advancing students' speaking, thinking, learning and arguing, and an essential response to the corrosion of democracy and the nihilism of 'post-truth'. Part 4 goes global. It investigates governments' PISA-fuelled flirtations with what they think can be adapted or copied from education elsewhere, examines the benefits and pitfalls of international comparison, and ends with the ultimate policy initiative: the United Nations mission to ensure 'inclusive and equitable quality education' for all the world's children. Education in Spite of Policy is for all those teachers, students, school leaders and researchers who value the conversation of policy, evidence and practice, and who wish to explore the parts of education that policy cannot reach.

This book reports findings of a qualitative study intended to disrupt notions of heteronormativity amongst preservice elementary teachers by engaging them in multimodal writing and text production around issues facing LGBTQIA+ youth. Against the backdrop of increasing anti-transgender sentiment in the United States, the text highlights the necessity of integrating queered pedagogy in teacher education to facilitate candidates' movement through the continuum and leave them prepared, equipped, and willing to support children identifying as LGBTQIA+. Through analysis of picture books, infographics, and multimodal texts produced by teacher candidates, this cutting-edge volume develops a continuum of engagement, from apathy through to active allyship, with LGBTQIA+ youth. This timely volume will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in gender and sexuality studies, primary and elementary education, as well as teacher education more specifically. Those involved with queer theory and the sociology of education will also benefit from this volume.

Helping Kids Achieve Their Best is a practical guide to motivating younger and older learners across the globe. The book explores why some students are easier to motivate than others and why students lose motivation, as well as outlining strategies that teachers can use in the classroom and that parents can use at home. Comprehensively updated, this second edition includes a new chapter on student achievement emotion. Throughout the text, each chapter includes a variety of examples and research-based tools that can be put into action immediately, along with vignettes, question points, action stations, and recommended readings, which help educators apply the suggested approaches in their own contexts. The book is hands on and interactive, inviting readers to recall challenges they have faced in their own teaching or parenting experiences and to apply what they have learned to better understand and cope with these challenges more effectively. This book is an essential resource for pre- and in-service teachers, as well as parents who aspire to motivate their children and help them achieve their best.

Children's curiosity about their lives and worlds motivates many interests. Yet, adults often have fixed ideas about what children's interests are and have been criticised for trivialising children's interests. This book offers a critical and accessible engagement with research on children's interests that challenges us to move beyond surface-level understandings. Children's Interests, Inquiries and Identities argues that the powerful relationship between interests and informal learning has been under-recognised and undervalued. The book proposes new principles for understanding children's learning. It provides evidence that we need to look beyond the activities or topics children may currently be selecting to find out who and what has stimulated their interests, how we might identify and interpret interests more analytically and deeply, and how we might respond and engage with these in ways that take children's interests seriously. Moving beyond play-based activities, Helen Hedges explains and illustrates a number of ways by which children's interests can be interpreted and understood, to get to the heart of what really matters to, and for, children. The book draws on examples from research with children aged under 5 years, and young adults aged 18-25. It also includes a chapter on teachers' interests. It presents new and original models for interests-based curriculum and sociocultural curriculum and pedagogy for future examination in research and practice. This book demonstrates that leaving behind long-standing, taken-for-granted practices that have influenced understandings of curriculum, pedagogy, learning, and outcomes allows a new perspective of children's interests to emerge. It will be of interest to researchers, postgraduate students, and practitioners in the early years, parents, and other professionals who work with young children.

Who are the key thinkers in education?

What are the hot topics in education?

Where will education go from here?

The Routledge Companion to Education presents the most comprehensive, up-to-date guide available to the key theories, themes and topics in education. Forty specially commissioned chapters, covering all aspects of education, introduce you to the ideas, research and issues that have shaped this most diverse, dynamic and fluid field.

• Part one provides an introduction to the key theories, thinkers and disciplines within education
• Part two covers ideas and issues about how, what and why learning takes place
• Part three includes analysis on particular approaches to education and explores the issues that attract much contemporary interest.

Written by an international team of expert contributors, the chapters all include a descriptive introduction, an analysis of the key ideas and debates, an overview of the latest research, key questions for research and carefully selected further reading.

The Routledge Companion to Education is a succinct, detailed, authoritative overview of the topics which are at the forefront of educational research and discourse today. This classic collection is a bookshelf essential for every student and scholar serious about the study of education.

Teaching Foreign Languages in the Primary School is for every teacher -whether generalist or specialist, trainee or experienced - wanting to confidently introduce foreign language teaching into their classroom. Based on the author's extensive experience of teaching across Key Stages 1-2, this book provides practical strategies that can be easily implemented in your setting. Offering comprehensive guidance on the pedagogy that underpins language teaching, it covers everything you'll need to teach foreign languages effectively: Planning, teaching and assessment Pedagogical approaches Integrating primary languages across the curriculum Where to find and how to use good resources Using TAs effectively to support language learning Inclusive practice Using ICT in language teaching How to promote children's intercultural understanding Illustrated with useful lesson ideas and a range of examples from the classroom, Teaching Foreign Languages in the Primary School is an indispensable source of support for all student and practising primary school teachers.

What links Cinderella to Harry Potter? What can The Simpsons teach us about character creation? What is the False Horizon moment? What are the two classic openings and five effective endings of a newspaper story? Aimed at primary and early secondary school teachers, Tricks of the Writer 's Trade uses a simple, straightforward and highly-entertaining method to reveal a myriad of writing approaches, from basic story structure through to advanced scriptwriting, and the techniques used by professional writers and journalists.

Covering fiction and non-fiction writing, chapters include guidance on:

• Story structure
• Creating characters
• Persuasive writing
• Informative writing
• Scriptwriting
• Writing techniques

By following its step-by-step approach and using the resources and materials provided, teachers can engage their pupils, improve their writing skills dramatically and have fun while they re doing it. Writing lessons will never be the same again

Tricks of the Writer 's Trade is an invaluable resource for all Primary Teachers, Key Stage Three English teachers and literacy coordinators as well as PGCE students.

The transition from primary to secondary school can often be a difficult time for children, and managing the transition smoothly has posed a problem for teachers at both upper primary and lower secondary level. At a time when 'childhood' recedes and 'adulthood' beckons, the inequalities between individual children can widen, and meeting the needs of all children is a challenge.

Bridging the Transition from Primary to Secondary School offers an insight into children's development, building a framework for the creation of appropriate and relevant educational experiences of children between the ages of 10-12. Based on the five 'transition bridges' - administrative, social and personal, curriculum, pedagogy, and autonomy and managing learning - this book is a complete guide to the primary-secondary transition.

Chapters cover:

• A review of the issues and challenges of transition and school transfer;
• Management of physical, intellectual, social and emotional changes;
• Issues of changing self-identity;
• Approaches to ensure curriculum progression and continuity;
• Ways to develop cooperation between primary and secondary schools;
• Alternatives to traditional primary-secondary systems and pedagogy.

This book will be essential reading for all trainee teachers, undergraduate and postgraduate education students, and those working with children over the transition. The contributors offer a wealth of guidance and insight into meeting the educational and social needs of children through early adolescence.

Everyone knows that education is important, we are confronted daily by discussion of it in the media and by politicians, but how much do we really know about education? Education: The Basics is a lively and engaging introduction to education as an academic subject, taking into account both theory and practice. Covering the schooling system, the nature of knowledge and methods of teaching, this book analyses the viewpoints of both teachers and pupils. Key questions are answered, including:

• What is education and what is it for?
• Where does education take place?
• How do we learn?
• Who are the students?
• What is being taught in schools and universities and why?
• What is the state of education across the world?

With further reading throughout, Education: The Basics is essential for all those embarking on undergraduate courses in Education and Education Studies, and for those with an involvement in teaching at all levels.

Turning Pupils on to Learning documents and makes visible how creative learning approaches can engage and motivate children in their learning. The book features six case studies of creative learning projects that cover the early years through to Key Stage 3 which are written by the teachers and creative practitioners involved. From the creation of new learning spaces to wider curriculum innovation, the case studies discuss the need for the projects, how they came about, the activities and challenges and the lasting outcomes for teachers and pupils. They describe a model of learning that offers an ethical way for children to engage with the world, which develops their creative skills and supports high achievement. Each case study is supported by a wealth of questions and activities designed to provoke personal reflection and professional development discussions with colleagues. Turning Pupils on to Learning also features an accessible overview of the key issues and debates of the book. It comprehensively explains: What is meant by creativity, engagement and motivation in learning The critical importance of developing a creative pedagogy How to implement creative initiatives that motivate young people The value of listening to young people's voices How to influence school and classroom culture which engages pupils This practical book is an invaluable guide for all those involved in teaching and engaging young people.

"The text is extraordinarily succinct, very well organised and highly readable. Each chapter examines in depth specific aspects of teaching and learning in drama and well-chosen practical examples can readily be adopted by teachers. A 'must' for all primary schools." Drama (the Journal of National Drama) Review of 'Drama in Primary English teaching' Teaching Primary English through Drama builds on the success of the classic text Drama in Primary English, inspiring ideas and techniques for teaching English skills through the medium of drama. Focusing on the power of drama to promote effective learning in primary education, Suzi Clipson-Boyles demonstrates how reading, writing, speaking and listening skills may be developed in ways that will motivate and engage pupils. She uses specific examples from the English curriculum, and also makes links to other areas of the curriculum. In addition, the book explains how assessment during drama can help teachers to evaluate pupils' progress in English. Further guidance is given on how drama can enrich studying for pupils who are learning English as a foreign language. The book also provides a chapter on developing drama as an art form in its own right, with simple ideas and practical suggestions on how to enhance performances. Teaching Primary English through Drama presents a wide range of drama approaches from ten-minute starter activities to stimulate ideas such as fun ways to practise reading, through to longer projects that can provide contexts for extended writing or help with presentation and performance. The chapters show how drama can help to bring lessons alive in imaginative ways that not only promote enjoyment but also enhance achievement. This comprehensive and practical guide offers essential reading for primary teachers and other practitioners, and is a valuable resource to trainees. It also provides an excellent foundation for those who wish to extend their expertise further towards drama as a subject specialism.

Consent in the Childhood Classroom challenges typical premises of social and emotional learning, self-regulation, and putative misbehavior by centering the theme of consent in the experiences of young children and their teachers. Early childhood and elementary teachers often face disruptions and acts of dissent from young students, without a helpful conceptual framework for understanding how these expressions may stem from social injustices, developmental nuances, and problematic assumptions about the nature of children's agency. By posing complex yet relatable questions about the presumptions of authority, positivity, and routines in learning environments, and drawing on classroom anecdotes along with interviews with children and teachers, this book offers an accessible approach to cultivating expansive relationships in the classroom, a vision for a richer and more mutual education, and a clearer understanding of what school means from the perspective of the child.

Now in a fully updated second edition, Unlocking Mathematics Teaching is a comprehensive guide to teaching mathematics in the primary school. Combining theory and practice, selected experts outline the current context of mathematics education. They suggest strategies, activities and examples to help develop readers understanding and confidence in delivering the curriculum. The book combines an accessible blend of subject knowledge and pedagogy, and its key features include:

• Advice on teaching mathematics to high and low attainers;
• Guidance on teaching mental maths;
• Ideas for incorporating ICT;
• Guidance on assessment in mathematics education;
• Teaching problem solving;
• Numerical and non-numerical examples;
• Updated references, taking into account the Williams Report.

This book will be of interest to all primary education students and practising teachers looking to increase their confidence and effectiveness in delivering the mathematics curriculum.

In a sequence of observations of six children aged 5-11 in six different state schools this book offers a slice of classroom life, a microcosm of the educational scene. Since the book was first written there have been many changes in the curriculum, structure, governance and funding of British primary schools, as well as in the language used to describe these changes. But Observing Children in the Primary Classroom remains as valid now as earlier, as a lively and entertaining indicator of children's daily school experience. We see the reception class of an infants' school through the eyes of Mike, a lively five-year-old traveller boy. Six-year-old Rashda, a girl of Asian heritage, grapples with English as a Second Language at her multi-ethnic city school. Slow-learner David finds school life rather overpowering, despite receiving expert extra help. Lucy, eight, is a star in everything she does at her Roman Catholic school, while Lorraine, one year older, is cheerful but utterly bewildered. Finally, Peter, organises his work in an open-plan setting and makes some surprising choices.

Aims to do for Religious Education what developmental psychology has already done for learning in science, maths and literacy. Informed by research with both children and teachers and offers perspectives from a range of faiths and traditions - Christian, Hindu, Muslim and Jewish. Essential reading for all developmental psychologists researching religious and spiritual development, and special teachers and researchers of RE who want to better understand children's knowledge, teaching and learning.

This practical guide introduces "Teacher Talk," an easy-to-use tool for teachers to help improve elementary students' vocabulary. When students are exposed to extensive vocabularies, they are better prepared to build their receptive and productive language and succeed academically. Through many inviting examples and real-world guidance, Rowe and Haase explain how to be reflective and intentional about the language you use and how to use elevated or substitutionary language to model different registers of speech for elementary students. The various "Teacher Talk" strategies in this book cover key topics, including disciplinary vocabulary, modelling academic discourse, addressing state and national standards, and meeting individual student needs across grades K-6. With many charts, activities, and tools that are ready for use, this book equips teachers with many methods for bolstering students' academic language in the classroom and beyond.

* 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 on a popular literary form, picture books 2. Emphasizes the uniqueness of childhood as a distinct stage of development 3. Explains how to introduce philosophy into classrooms and provides advice about issues related to the use of picture books

Do you want to promote sociability and positive behaviour in your classroom? Is having an 'emotionally intelligent classroom' one of your teaching goals? Are you looking for ways to teach the curriculum more 'creatively'? Developing Emotional Intelligence in the Primary School is an essential text for supporting children's emotional preparation for learning in the long term, fostering the development both of self belief and permanent and crucial resilience. This book allows teachers to review their practice and approach to teaching and to re-assess how they view their pupils. Using practical drama frames that the teacher can develop for themselves, it gives a background and framework to build emotional intelligence in a child and generate a culture of openness to learning in the classroom. Areas covered include: Self-esteem, emotional and social intelligence; Independence and self-reliance; Creating an emotionally intelligent learning environment; Emotional literacy based around core curriculum areas including literacy and history; Conflict resolution and anti-bullying strategies; Building emotonal resilience in vulnerable children; Using and integrating positional drama for Emotional Intelligence. With a number of practical techniques and activities to be implemented in the classroom, this introduction to emotional intelligence will be of great interest to all primary school teachers looking to further understanding of pupils social and emotional development through learning.

Talking Points: Discussion Activities in the Primary Classroom encourages and supports classroom discussion on a range of topics, enabling children to develop the important life-skill of effective group communication. Children who can explain their own ideas and take account of the points of view and reasons of others are in the process of becoming truly educated. This book offers a straightforward way of teaching children discussion skills within the framework of a creative curriculum.

The book provides an introduction on how to help children learn the skills of group discussion, offering six essential Talk Lessons to use in the classroom, alongside suggestions on how teachers can plan their lessons with a talk focus, set learning outcomes and create their own Talking Points to suit topics they are teaching. The main body of the book contains the Talking Points resources which are an excellent, tried and tested way of stimulating and supporting extended talk about a topic. The Talking Points in this book offer model for teachers to create further Talking Points for their own classes. The Talking Points included here offer discussion in several curriculum areas including: -

• Science
• Literacy
• Philosophy and creativity for children
• History
• Mathematics
• Art and Music

This invaluable book offers engaging, stimulating and thought provoking ideas for children to pit their wits against, promoting skills in discussion, analysis, reasoning and interaction. It is highly beneficial reading for teachers working in Key Stage 2, head teachers and those responsible for staff development, as well as students on teacher training courses and graduate training programmes.

This practical guide outlines a vision for online and distance STEM learning at the elementary level, with creative activities based on eight STEM themes. Online and distance learning may sound fairly straightforward. Instead of learning in a classroom setting, students learn at home with the assistance of online resources. But classroom learning does not always translate easily to online settings, particularly at the elementary level where children should be actively engaging in activities, exploration and discussion. For STEM subjects, integration across subjects, settings and play-based versus traditional learning present opportunities for young learners to engage in age-appropriate online and distance learning. This book features eight creative, integrated STEM lessons, including ideas for designing a zoo, learning to garden, exploring the night sky and more. Each lesson offers online, traditional and hands-on components, with connections to the ISTE Standards and STEM standards across elementary grades. Each of the eight lessons includes: An overview of materials, resources, time and supervision needed. Suggested resources to explore, such as simulations and virtual field trips. Supplementary learning materials such as questions and quizzes. Ideas for games and reinforcement. Hands-on activities and engineering design challenges. Connections to various content areas as well as children's books, movies and art to keep the learning going after the lesson is completed. Concluding with a model for designing online and distance STEM learning for elementary-aged children, this book will support teachers and parents in designing the types of resources and learning experiences they need for elementary students' distance learning.

Making Music in the Primary School is an essential guide for all student and practising primary school teachers, instrumental teachers and community musicians involved in music with children. It explores teaching and learning music with the whole class and provides a framework for successful musical experiences with large groups of children. Striking the perfect balance between theory and practice, this invaluable text includes case studies and exemplars, carefully designed activities to try out in the classroom, as well as a range of tried-and-tested teaching strategies to help you support and develop children's musical experience in the classroom. Grounded within a practical, philosophical and theoretical framework, the book is structured around the four key principles that underpin effective music teaching and experience: Integration - how can we join up children's musical experiences? Creativity - how can we support children's musical exploration? Access and Inclusion - how can we provide a relevant experience for every child? Collaboration - how might we work together to achieve these aims? Written in a clear, accessible and engaging style, Making Music in the Primary School will give you all the confidence you need when working with whole classes, whatever your musical or teaching background.

Unique in its field, The Primary Science Encyclopedia brings together in one indispensable reference volume over 250 entries covering a wide range of topics and ideas. The book provides clear descriptions, definitions and explanations of difficult scientific concepts, carefully chosen to reflect the needs of those involved in primary science education. In addition, this encyclopedia explains clearly how to teach scientific and technological ideas in a relevant and appropriate way. Extended entries are included on topics such as creativity, thinking skills and theories of learning and the book also provides insight into cross-curricular work, assessment and classroom organisation in the primary science classroom. Compiled by authors with a wealth of experience in primary science and technology teaching, this book contains: Over 250 entries; Scientific definitions and pedagogical explanations; Extensive commentaries of current issues in primary science; A who's who of current and historical figures in the field of science and science education; Annotated further reading lists. This encyclopedia will be of interest to all teachers of 5 to 11-year-olds and anyone concerned with primary science and design and technology education.