Teaching Off Trail describes Peter Dargatz's, a national board certified teacher and public school coordinator, transformation from an anxious assessor to a fair and fun facilitator of learning. It shares the his personal professional journey detailing his evolution as an educator while simultaneously offering strategies for readers to implement Peter's unique teaching philosophy to increase opportunities for play, creative expression, and personalization in both the indoor and outdoor classroom. In his own classroom Peter brought learning outside by creating a nature kindergarten program that emphasizes community partnerships, service learning, and meaningful and memorable experiences in the outdoors. Teaching Off Trail aims to inspire educators, administrators, and parents across all levels to turn their outrage for today's educational system into outreach that promotes passionate and purposeful problem-solving.

This volume, one of eight in a series entitled Encyclopedia of Language and Education, examines spoken language as a field of study, looking at the various ways in which the place of talk can be theorized in education, and examining the way talk is actually done in educational settings. Given the centrality of literacy-based practices in schools, a book focusing on talk brings quite different and important perspectives to the study of education. Talk is something that has often been devalued and taken for granted. What becomes evident throughout the papers included in this volume is that talk is of central importance in establishing identities and the cultures in which those identities are located. However, because people are unused to reflexively examining the way they talk, there is a serious disjuncture between what they believe talk should achieve and what can be seen to be achieved in actual talk in educational settings.

In the current economic climate, it is more important than ever that young people engage with the world of work and gain the knowledge, skills and experience they will need to prepare them for their future careers. This book provides an overarching framework for understanding all the separate parts of the work-related learning curriculum and constructs a research-based pedagogy with practical steps for students, teachers and practitioners.

Work-Related Teaching and Learning deepens our understanding of work-related learning and provides an overview of the programmes and recent initiatives designed to make learning more relevant and better connected to work. Drawing on contemporary research and innovative practice, it offers guidance to support teachers and practitioners in the delivery of the work-related learning curriculum.

Covering all aspects of word-related learning from enterprise education and economic well-being to careers education, work experience and the diplomas, features include:

• An overarching conceptualisation of work-related learning
• An exploration of the benefits of work-related learning
• An examination of the key issues and challenges faced
• A detailed look at how teaching and learning activities have been used in various contexts and with what effects
• An assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of different curriculum models
• Case studies and examples of good practice
• Discussion questions for reflective practice

This book is essential reading for current teachers and practitioners involved in work-related learning, as well as students and trainee teachers who wish to improve or develop their practice in the light of recent initiatives.

Doing Science is unique in seeking to make explicit the links between science education and science studies. These fields of study and their respective academic communities, whilst appearing to have many potential points of contact, remain surprisingly separate, with little apparent recognition of the relevance to the interests of each of the work done within the other tradition. Presenting detailed accounts of current research, the book highlights the significance of modern science studies for classroom practice and, conversely, the importance of the classroom and teaching laboratory as a context for science studies. The thread which runs through the collection as a whole is children 's experience of doing science and the image of science which learners pick up along with the science knowledge, understanding and skills they require.

The concept of creative learning extends far beyond Arts-based learning or the development of individual creativity. It covers a range of processes and initiatives throughout the world that share common values, systems and practices aimed at making learning more creative. This applies at individual, classroom, or whole school level, always with the aim of fully realising young people's potential. Until now there has been no single text bringing together the significant literature that explores the dimensions of creative learning, despite the work of artists in schools and the development of a cadre of creative teaching and learning specialists. Containing a mixture of newly commissioned chapters, reprints and updated versions of previous publications, this book brings together major theorists and current research. Comprising of key readings in creative education, it will stand as a uniquely authoritative text that will appeal to those involved in initial and continuing teacher education, as well as research academics and policy specialists. Sections include: a general introduction to the field of creative learning arts learning traditions, with sub sections on discrete art forms such as drama and visual art accounts of practice from artist-teacher partnerships whole school change and reforms curriculum change assessment evaluative case studies of impact and effect global studies of policy change around creative learning.

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.

Originally published in 1986, this work examines how key figures such as Garfinkel, Sacks and Cicourel have revolutionised thinking about how sociology's presuppositions about 'being social' are grounded. Yet until the appearance of this book there were no clear and authoritative introductions to the main thinkers in the field or their work. In assessing the critical reception of Ethnomethodology, Sharrock and Anderson argue persuasively that much is wide of the mark - as they say, the real argument has yet to begin.

Publishing podcasts, writing digital stories with "choose your own adventure" endings, and collaborating with students around the country through wikis, Skype, and VoiceThread, Julie D. Ramsay never imagined that she and her fifth grade students would be forging a new frontier using technology to support writing lessons.
In a school district with minimal resources and a prescriptive curriculum that makes originality a constant challenge, Julie could have continued teaching grammar and writing skills in isolation. But when she realized how hungry her students were for "real" writing activities that enabled them to share and learn from their peers in other states, she overcame every obstacle that threatened to stunt their creativity and limit their opportunities to communicate in a digital world.
"Can We Skip Lunch and Keep Writing?" shows teachers how to weave technology throughout the curriculum and get students so fired up about writing that they don't want to stop when the class period ends. Readers will learn how to select appropriate digital tools, guide and involve students in the learning process, and differentiate instruction to meet individual needs. Through Julie's inspiring stories and lessons, teachers in the intermediate and middle grades will discover how technology-assisted writing can foster innovation, global communication, and creative problem solving, developing responsible, productive digital citizens whose inherent love of learning will travel with them throughout their lifetimes.

Sport Education: International Perspectives presents a series of studies of the innovative pedagogical model that has taken the physical education world by storm. Since the emergence of the Sport Education model in the mid-1990s it has been adopted and adapted in physical education programs around the world and a new research literature has followed in its wake. This book offers a review of international Sport Education schemes and projects, and documents what it takes to run a successful Sport Education program. Exploring Sport Education across all levels of education, from the elementary school to the university, the book provides answers to key question such as: * What models have been developed to teach Sport Education? * What do successful SE programs look like? * What do teachers think about SE and how to make it work? * What are the implications for professional development across the range of human movement studies? With contributions from leading international scholars and practitioners from the US, Europe and Asia, this book offers a more thoughtful and critical set of perspectives on Sport Education than any other. It is essential reading for any student, pre-service teacher, classroom teacher or university instructor working in SE, PE, youth sport, sports coaching or related disciplines.

Why is cross-curricular work so valuable in the mathematics classroom? Why can pupils sometimes draw graphs in mathematics but not in science? What might mathematics teachers learn from the performing arts? Cross-curricular approaches have much to offer the modern mathematics classroom. They can help teachers to present mathematics as a growing, relevant discipline that is central to much of modern life, and help learners to make sense of what they are doing and why. New contexts, new technology and new qualifications all make this an exciting time to be a cross-curricular teacher of mathematics. But cross-curricular approaches are not always straightforward. Skills do not always transfer easily from one subject area to the other, and a number of important decisions have to be made. How should this type of work be planned, or assessed? How might it fit into the wider curriculum? Are all cross-curricular activities equally useful for learners? Does mathematics have something to share with all of the other curriculum areas? This book tackles these issues head on, combining educational theory and contemporary research with practical ideas and suggestions. From the mathematics of molecular geometry, wind turbines and impact craters to mathematical haikus, Babylonian clay tablets and juggling, each chapter is packed with examples for use in the secondary classroom. Key features include: Discussion of key issues and debates Case studies to show you how others have used cross-curricular approaches A wide range of examples and practical activities to help you develop your own practice Example approaches for planning and assessment Part of the Cross-Curricular Teaching and Learning in the Secondary School series, this book is essential reading for all students on Initial Teacher Training courses and practising teachers looking to holistically introduce cross-curricular themes and practices into their mathematics teaching.

This book explores teaching and learning through science investigation and practical work. It draws upon two representative case studies from New Zealand and examines what students are learning from science investigation; in addition, it identifies and describes ways in which teachers can make changes that benefit student learning when given time to reflect and respond to research literature and findings. The book illustrates how teaching through science investigations in ways that are informed by research can lead to positive learning outcomes for students. As such, it offers valuable insights for practitioners, researchers, and educators with an interest in learning through science investigation.

It is a common ambition in society and government to make young people more creative. These aspirations are motivated by two key concerns: to make experience at school more exciting, relevant, challenging and dynamic; and to ensure that young people are able and fit to leave education and contribute to the creative economy that will underpin growth in the twenty-first century.

Transforming these common aspirations into informed practice is not easy. It can mean making many changes:

• turning classrooms into more exciting experiences;
• introducing more thoughtful challenges into the curriculum;
• making teachers into different kinds of instructors;
• finding more authentic assessment processes;
• putting young people's voices at the heart of learning.

There are programmes, projects and initiatives that have consistently attempted to offer such change and transformation. The UK programme Creative Partnerships is the largest of these, but there are significant initiatives in many other parts of the world today, including France, Norway, Canada and the United States. This book not only draws on this body of expertise but also consolidates it, making it the first methodological text exploring creativity.

Creative teaching and learning is often used as a site for research and action research, and this volume is intended to act as a textbook for this range of courses and initiatives. The book will be a key text for research in creative teaching and learning and is specifically directed at ITE, CPD, Masters and doctoral students.

Adventure Education is a form of experiential learning typically associated with activities involving risk, from cooperative games such as raft building to high adventure activities such as rock climbing. Adventure Education: An Introduction provides a comprehensive introduction to the planning, delivery and evaluation of Adventure Education, with a strong emphasis on professional practice and delivery.

Written by a team of leading Adventure Educators who can draw upon an extensive experience base, the book explores the most important strategies for teaching, learning and implementation in Adventure Education. The book is fully illustrated throughout with real-world case studies and research surveying the key contemporary issues facing Adventure Education practitioners. This includes essentials for the adventure educator such as risk management and tailoring activities to meet specific learning needs as well as providing an insight into contemporary uses for adventure programmes. With outdoor and adventure activities being more popular than ever before, this book is essential reading for any student, teacher or practitioner looking to understand Adventure Education and develop their professional skills.

Greek Mythology for Teens takes classical mythology to a new level by relating ancient stories to the culture, history, art, and literature of today. The book uses the innovative approach of reader's theater to teach mythology to teens, asking them to act out the stories and become engaged in a common learning experience. By looking at topics instrumental to both mythology and modern culture, teens are encouraged to question topics such as heroism, foolishness, love, and more. Each chapter builds on a particular theme found in the central myth and includes activities, discussion questions, and exercises that connect the myth to the modern world and everyday life. Visually-appealing sidebars also give background on Greek and Roman mythology and culture. Greek Mythology for Teens takes the classic myths taught in school and turns them into an engaging, interesting, and modern way of looking at old material. Grades 7-12

Secondary mathematics teachers are frequently required to take a large number of mathematics courses - including advanced mathematics courses such as abstract algebra - as part of their initial teacher preparation program and/or their continuing professional development. The content areas of advanced and secondary mathematics are closely connected. Yet, despite this connection many secondary teachers insist that such advanced mathematics is unrelated to their future professional work in the classroom. This edited volume elaborates on some of the connections between abstract algebra and secondary mathematics, including why and in what ways they may be important for secondary teachers. Notably, the volume disseminates research findings about how secondary teachers engage with, and make sense of, abstract algebra ideas, both in general and in relation to their own teaching, as well as offers itself as a place to share practical ideas and resources for secondary mathematics teacher preparation and professional development. Contributors to the book are scholars who have both experience in the mathematical preparation of secondary teachers, especially in relation to abstract algebra, as well as those who have engaged in related educational research. The volume addresses some of the persistent issues in secondary mathematics teacher education in connection to advanced mathematics courses, as well as situates and conceptualizes different ways in which abstract algebra might be influential for teachers of algebra. Connecting Abstract Algebra to Secondary Mathematics, for Secondary Mathematics Teachers is a productive resource for mathematics teacher educators who teach capstone courses or content-focused methods courses, as well as for abstract algebra instructors interested in making connections to secondary mathematics.

The Legacy of Freudenthal pays homage to Freudenthal and his work on mathematics, its history and education. Almost all authors were his scholars or co-workers. They testify to what they learned from him. Freudenthal himself contributes posthumously. His didactical phenomenology of the concept of force is both provocative and revealing in its originality, compared with what is usually found in physics instruction. Freudenthal is portrayed as a universal human being by Josette Adda. He made considerable contributions to mathematics itself, e.g. on homotopy theory and Lie groups in geometry. The exposition of Freudenthal's mathematical life and work is on Van Est's account. Henk Bos discusses his historical work. The essay review of the 8th edition of Hilbert's Grundlagen der Geometrie serves as a vehicle of thought. The main part of the book, however, concerns Freudenthal's work on mathematics education. Christine Keitel reviews his final book Revisiting Mathematics Education (1991). Fred Goffree describes Freudenthal's Working on Mathematics Education' both from an historical as well as a theoretical perspective. Adrian Treffers analyses Freudenthal's influence on the development of realistic mathematics education at primary level in the Netherlands, especially his influence on the Wiskobas-project of the former IOWO. Freudenthal once predicted the disappearance of mathematics as an individual subject in education sometime around the year 2000, because it would by then have merged with integrated thematic contexts. Jan de Lange anticipates this future development and shows that Freudenthal's prediction will not come true after all. Reflective interludes unveil how he might haveinfluenced those developments. Freudenthal contributed a wealth of ideas and conceptual tools to the development of mathematics education -- on contexts, didactical phenomenology, guided reinvention, mathematisation, the constitution of mental objects, the development of reflective thinking, levels in learning processes, the development of a mathematical attitude and so on -- but he did not design very much concrete material. Leen Streefland deals with the question of design from a theoretical point of view, while applying Freudenthal's ideas on changing perspective and shifting. For teachers, researchers, mathematics educators, mathematicians, educationalists, psychologists and policy makers.

Presenting U.S. history as contested interpretations of compelling problems, this text offers a clear set of principles and strategies, together with case studies and "Mystery Packets" of documentary materials from key periods in American history, that teachers can use with their students to promote and sustain problem-finding and problem-solving in history and social studies classrooms. Structured to encourage new attitudes toward history as hands-on inquiry, conflicting interpretation, and myriad uncertainties, the whole point is to create a user-friendly way of teaching history "as it really is" - with all its problems, issues, unknowns, and value clashes. Students and teachers are invited to think anew as active participants in learning history rather than as passive sponges soaking up pre-arranged and often misrepresented people and events. New in the Second Edition: New chapters on Moundbuilders, and the Origins of Slavery; expanded Gulf of Tonkin chapter now covering the Vietnam and Iraq wars; teaching tips in this edition draw on years of teacher experience in using mysteries in their classrooms since the publication of the first edition.

This book is the first major study of advanced mathematical thinking as performed by mathematicians and taught to students in senior high school and university. Topics covered include the psychology of advanced mathematical thinking, the processes involved, mathematical creativity, proof, the role of definitions, symbols, and reflective abstraction. It is highly appropriate for the college professor in mathematics or the general mathematics educator.

Mathematics is the science of acts without things - and through this, of things one can define by acts. 1 Paul Valery The essays collected in this volume form a mosaik of theory, research, and practice directed at the task of spreading mathematical knowledge. They address questions raised by the recurrent observation that, all too frequently, the present ways and means of teaching mathematics generate in the student a lasting aversion against numbers, rather than an understanding of the useful and sometimes enchanting things one can do with them. Parents, teachers, and researchers in the field of education are well aware of this dismal situation, but their views about what causes the wide-spread failure and what steps should be taken to correct it have so far not come anywhere near a practicable consensus. The authors of the chapters in this book have all had extensive experience in teaching as well as in educational research. They approach the problems they have isolated from their own individual perspectives. Yet, they share both an overall goal and a specific fundamental conviction that characterized the efforts about which they write here. The common goal is to find a better way to teach mathematics. The common conviction is that knowledge cannot simply be transferred ready-made from parent to child or from teacher to student but has to be actively built up by each learner in his or her own mind."

It is now widely recognised that learning a language should not just involve linguistic competence but also intercultural competence. It is also clear that intercultural competence can be developed through related subjects such as geography, history, mother tongue teaching. This book takes this as a given and provides practical help for teachers who wish to help their learners acquire intercultural competence in the ordinary classroom. It contains descriptions of lessons and materials from a wide range of classrooms in several countries and for beginners to advanced learners.

The objective of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop "Learning electricity and electronics with advanced educational technology" was to bring together researchers coming from different domains. Electricity education is a domain where a lot of research has already been made. The first meeting on electricity teaching was organized in 1984 by R. Duit, W. Jung and C. von Rhoneck in Ludwigsburg (Germany). Since then, research has been going on and we can consider that the workshop was the successor of this first meeting. Our goal was not to organize a workshop grouping only people producing software in the field of electricity education or more generally in the field of physics education, even if this software was based on artificial intelligence techniques. On the contrary, we wanted this workshop to bring together researchers involved in the connection between cognitive science and the learning of a well defined domain such as electricity. So during the workshop, people doing research in physics education, cognitive psychology, and artificial intelligence had the opportunity to discuss and exchange. These proceedings reflect the different points of view. The main idea is that designing a learning environment needs the confrontation of different approaches. The proceedings are organized in five parts which reflect these different aspects.

Can you learn to be an entrepreneur in a week? The book focuses on short entrepreneurship education initiatives and includes eleven courses from European research-based universities. The book provides insights on best practice and lessons learned from experience for potential and current organizers of such initiatives. Entrepreneurship initiatives are a common response to top-down decisions to include entrepreneurship in all disciplines and study programs. There is often also a regional or societal goal for these activities. Different types of programme are analysed, from those aiming to instil an entrepreneurial mindset, those preparing the individual for an entrepreneurial career to those based on collaborations between universities. The authors make comparisons of the audiences, goals, organization and pedagogical approaches in each case to answer whether entrepreneurship can be taught in one week. By reading this book university managers, course designers and those delivering entrepreneurship initiatives will be able to make a more informed decision regarding if and how they should be organized. Contributors include: L. Aaboen, V.L. Ausrod, O. Belousova, A. Blesa, C. Cantu, S. Costa, S. Delanoe-Gueguen, A. Groen, J. Guldager, J. Heinonen, U. Hytti, P.P. Iglesias-Sanchez, A. Jacobsson, A. La Rocca, H. Landstroem, E.M. Laviolette, C.J. Maldonado, L. Martinez, G.-B. Neergard, A. Ouendag, M. Ripolles, C.A.F. Rosenstand, E. Simmons, R. Sorheim, P. Stenholm, C. Tollestrup

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.