At the heart of education are two fundamental questions: What should we teach? and How should we teach it? Educators striving to design and deliver the best-possible learning experiences can feel overwhelmed by the possibilities. To help them make these critical decisions, Angela Di Michele Lalor identifies five key priorities of a curriculum that matters-practices, deep thinking, social and emotional learning, civic engagement and discourse, and equity. Emphasizing the importance of schools' determining their own path forward, Lalor provides a framework for action by * Describing how each element contributes to a rigorous, meaningful curriculum, * Providing strategies for incorporating each element into daily instruction and assessment, and * Offering reflection activities to identify strengths, needs, and possible next steps. With insightful observations, research-based background information, and real-world examples from a variety of schools and districts, Making Curriculum Matter presents teachers and administrators with a path for reaching their most important overall goal: to provide comprehensive, meaningful learning to all students.

An effective third grade workbook that provides daily social and emotional learning (SEL) activities to help students explore emotions, actions, relationships, and decision making. The daily activities connect to the CASEL competencies, mindfulness, and key affective education initiatives. This SEL workbook makes at-home learning, whole class instruction, or small group support, quick and easy. Help students build self-awareness, analyze relationships, discover diverse perspectives, and apply what they have learned with engaging lessons. The use of fiction and nonfiction text allows for self-reflection and growth. Parents appreciate the teacher-approved activity books that keep their child engaged and learning. Great for homeschooling, to reinforce learning at school, and build connections between home and school. Teachers rely on the daily practice workbooks to save them valuable time. The ready to implement activities are perfect to introduce SEL topics for discussion.

Every learner and every teacher is a unique blend of personal characteristics and background factors that change with time and context, and affect the experience of living and developing. Traditionally, the education of children with disabilities focused on the nature of specific conditions in an attempt to alleviate barriers to learning. The disability, and not the impact of the impairment on participation at school or at home, was emphasised. The current focus is on the strengths, attitudes and positive functioning of children within meaningful contexts. Believe that all can achieve addresses inclusion as the foundation for education in an attempt to celebrate diversity in the classroom, to capitalise on the strengths each learner brings to the learning-teaching dyad, and to welcome every family member as part of the broader classroom community. Believe that all can achieve embraces the core values of the South African Constitution - freedom, dignity and equality. It shares best practice, evidence-based techniques and strategies in an effort to build a deeper understanding of the core issues. Narratives, case studies, screening checklists, engaging illustrations and examples enable the teacher to translate theory into actuality in the classroom. The chapters on challenging behaviours; intellectual, learning, physical and sensory disabilities; autistic spectrum disorders, and medical conditions add a wealth of information and a ready reference. Believe that all can achieve is aimed at students and teachers in the field of inclusive education. Seeing children with disabilities at work has taught me that there are many things they do that I thought they could not do. From this experience I now know that I would have no problem employing a person who is mentally or physically challenged. I ask God to help all of us have a better understanding and to see them as normal. I also ask that inclusion becomes part of many schools because I truly believe we can all benefit from inclusion. A mother of a typically developing child in an inclusive school. Everything must be done in the best interests of the child. Bill of Rights, 1996

In building a more democratic society and an equitable and quality education system, South Africa has embraced the implementation of inclusive education in which the needs of all learners must be accommodated. This move has placed increasing pressure on teachers to adapt their instruction, the curriculum and the classroom environment to increase learner involvement and to minimise the exclusion of those children who experience barriers to learning. Against this backdrop, Learner support in a diverse classroom provides a good balance between the theoretical knowledge needed to understand what takes place when a child learns, and the hands-on provision of assessment and support for the learner. Structured according to the SIAS (Screening - Identification - Assessment - Support) document, which underpins learner support in the South African classroom, this important resource offers both creative solutions and solid foundations to any teacher wishing to bring out the best from all their learners.

Just how should we teach entrepreneurship? This important book provides many of the answers to this challenging question. In developing the first signature pedagogy for entrepreneurship education, Colin Jones unites the contexts of enterprise and education at the intersection of scholarship, transformational learning and student engagement. Good teaching for entrepreneurship is shown to emerge both from the educator and the students' interest. For the educator, a process of scholarly leading is required to support student interest - from the alternate perspective, students require a willingness to welcome uncertainty and challenge the existing boundaries to effectively develop a capacity for self-negotiated action. A key guide for all entrepreneurship lecturers and tutors, written for all teaching contexts, this book will challenge you to teach 'who you are', as well as what you know.

South African classrooms reflect our diverse cultures and rich languages. This is a practical tool to help teachers and teachers in training understand the importance of South Africa's linguistic heritage in our schools today. This guide will empower educators to reach out to learners and parents from different linguistic backgrounds and to harness the power of diversity in their classrooms.

Thanks to unprecedented advances in brain science, we know more about the brain today than ever before. But what does that science tell us about how we learn? How can we capture the power of neuroscience research so that it benefits our students? Judy Willis and Malana Willis answer these questions with clarity and insight, translating recent research on the brain and learning into understandable concepts and practical strategies to use across the curriculum, spanning all grade levels from preK through postsecondary. In this revised and expanded edition of the bestselling Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning, readers will learn how to: Arouse students' curiosity and interest in pursuing wide-ranging topics, including those they might typically find boring. Counteract the negative effects of stress, boredom, and frustration on memory. Defuse undesirable behaviors that are the result of the brain's natural ""fight/flight/freeze"" response. Incorporate the motivating characteristics of video gaming-including clear goals, achievable challenges, predictions, and continual feedback-into classroom learning. Break through stereotypes that deter students from reaching their full potential. Use the power of neuroscience research to develop students' executive function skills, such as focus, prioritization, organization, collaboration, critical analysis, and innovation. Willis and Willis describe how the brain converts a vast amount of sensory input into long-term memory and durable understanding, and how educators can use this knowledge to guide students to more successful experiences in school and beyond.

Some great teachers are born, but most are self-made. And the way to make yourself a great teacher is to learn to think and act like one. In this updated second edition of the best-selling Never Work Harder Than Your Students, Robyn R. Jackson reaffirms that every teacher can become a master teacher. The secret is not a specific strategy or technique, nor it is endless hours of prep time. It's developing a master teacher mindset-rigorously applying seven principles to your teaching until they become your automatic response: Start where you students are. Know where your students are going. Expect to get your students there. Support your students along the way. Use feedback to help you and your students get better. Focus on quality rather than quantity. Never work harder than your students. In her conversational and candid style, Jackson explains the mastery principles and how to start using them to guide planning, instruction, assessment, and classroom management. She answers questions, shares stories from her own practice and work with other teachers, and provides all-new, empowering advice on navigating external evaluation. There's even a self-assessment to help you identify your current levels of mastery and take control of your own practice. Teaching is hard work, and great teaching means doing the right kind of hard work: the kind that pays off. Join tens of thousands of teachers around the world who have embarked on their journeys toward mastery. Discover for yourself the difference that Jackson's principles will make in your classroom and for your students.

Co-teaching has been increasingly adopted to support students in the general education classroom. After 20 years of field testing, we know what works-and what doesn't. In this practical guide, co-teaching and inclusion experts Toby J. Karten and Wendy W. Murawski detail the best practices for successful co-teaching and ways to troubleshoot common pitfalls. This book addresses the do's, don'ts, and do betters of: The co-teaching relationship and collaborative roles. Co-planning instruction and assessment. Co-teaching in action. Academic and behavioral supports and interventions. Collaborative reflections, improvements, and celebrations. Readers will gain valuable insights on what to start doing, what to stop doing, and how to improve their co-teaching practices to better reach all students.

In this 2nd edition of Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning, Mike Schmoker extends and updates the case that our schools could be on the cusp of swift, unparalleled improvements. But we are stymied by a systemwide failure to simplify and prioritize; we have yet to focus our limited time and energy on the most essential, widely acknowledged, evidence-based practices that could have more impact than all other initiatives combined. They are: simple, coherent curricula; straightforward, traditional literacy practices; and lessons built around just a few hugely effective elements of good teaching. As Schmoker demonstrates, the case for these practices-and the need for them-has grown prodigiously. In every chapter, you'll find late-breaking discoveries and practical advice on how to simplify the implementation of new state standards in the subject areas; on the hidden pitfalls of our most popular, but unproven instructional fads and programs; and on simple, versatile strategies for building curriculum, planning lessons, and integrating literacy into every discipline. All of these strategies and findings are supported with exciting new evidence from actual schools. Their success confirms, as Michael Fullan writes, that a focus on the best ""high-leverage practices"" won't only improve student performance; they will produce ""stunningly powerful consequences"" in our schools.

Course Design and Assessment offers design strategies, educator-in-action perspectives, and real-world suggestions for engaged educators, creating inclusive and meaningful learning opportunities and developmental student growth. With a brief history situating engaged learning among educational models, the book shows the vital and practical connections between an educator's overall learning philosophy and their pedagogical choices. The authors unpack the definitions and practices common to engaged learning, exploring the assumptions educators make about students, teaching, learning, and instructional contexts that underlie engaged educators' pedagogical decisions. Ultimately a vehicle for inclusive learning and transparent design, the book outlines pre-course planning steps, suggestions for adjusting the course mid-stream, and a thorough discussion of assessment activities with planning and implementation steps. For beginning and advanced instructors worldwide, this book serves as a real-world workbook and resource for engaged course design and assessment practices.

It is through teaching practice that student teachers develop important professional knowledge about themselves, about teachers, about learners, about their communities, and about the teaching profession itself. Teaching practice, perspectives and frameworks is an essential guide for both student and experienced teachers, providing them with perspectives and theories underlying teaching practice in the context of all South African schools. Teaching practice, perspectives and frameworks will equip undergraduate education students with the knowledge and skills to reflect on various practical aspects of teaching, leading to better education practice and thus improving their performance. Each chapter begins with a number of cognitive learning outcomes, and ends with several topics for discussion. Relevant aspects, theories and practical applications are integrated by means of activities designed to guide student teachers, as well as experienced teachers, in applying their own understanding of their teaching practice. Contents include the following: Requirements for being a competent teacher; Content and curriculum knowledge; Approaches to diversity in the classroom; Learning styles; Integration of information and communication technology; Mentoring and coaching skills. Teaching practice, perspectives and frameworks is aimed at both new and experienced teachers.

The book includes the traditional foci of philosophy, sociology, psychology, and teaching and learning, and emphasises how these foci influence the practice of teaching. Classic theories, that informed and continue to inform teacher education, have dominated the engagement within education but this book shifts focus to current research and innovative theories that have evolved to promote teaching and learning in a challenging and complex educational context. Hence, this book makes a deliberate attempt to map out influential classical theories that have informed the study of Education as a backdrop to explore how contemporary theories are currently influencing teaching and learning.

The recent imperative for online teaching has brought many educational challenges to the fore. Featuring current topics such as accessibility, diversity, and mobile access, this guide contains everything a teacher needs to make a great online course in one read. The author provides step by step instructions for coding classes, appendices with relevant laws and a copyright checklist, a resource list for online course design and a bibliography of theory and applied pedagogy. In addition, she shares techniques to improve engagement for both students and instructors. Professors, instructors, and librarians in higher education teaching online, hybrid or flex courses that are looking for ways to build interesting classes for a diverse student body will find inspiration and direction in Creating Inclusive and Engaging Online Courses.

Classroom as Organization (CAO) is a powerful teaching methodology, particularly well-suited for teaching business topics, that can enliven students' learning experience while giving them the opportunity to practice and develop workplace-related skills. This book provides a comprehensive background to the CAO teaching methodology, including its origins, evolution, and various applications. From this basis, the considerations of how to teach and design a CAO are explored. The book distills lessons learned from the literature and the authors' practice into a comprehensive design that can be easily implemented by educators new to this methodology. Detailed templates from the authors' own practice enable educators to turn their classroom into an organization, empower the students to run that organization, and watch the learning experience come alive. If you are not familiar with CAO, this book provides a comprehensive resource. If you are familiar with CAO, but have been afraid to try it, this book provides the support to take the next step in your practice of experiential teaching and learning. This book was written for experiential educators as well as business or organizational behavior and management professors looking for a creative way to engage students while creating a deep and meaningful learning experience.

In this second edition of Improving Student Learning One Teacher at a Time, Jane E. Pollock and Laura J. Tolone combine updated research and real-world stories to demonstrate how it takes only one teacher to make a difference in student performance. Their approach expands the classic three-part curriculum-instruction-assessment framework by adding one key ingredient: feedback. This ""Big Four"" approach offers an easy-to-follow process that helps teachers build better curriculum documents with: Curriculum standards that are clear and well-paced, and describe what students will learn. Instruction based in research, from daily lessons to whole units of study. Assessment that maximizes feedback and requires critical and creative thinking. Feedback that tracks and reports individual student progress by standards. Pollock and Tolone demonstrate how consistent, timely feedback from multiple sources can help students monitor their own understanding and help teachers align assignments, quizzes, and tests more explicitly to the standards. The Big Four shifts the focus away from the basics of what makes a good teacher toward what makes good learning happen for every student every day.

The 130 pages of this re-worked and updated 3rd version of this transformational publication blend theory, global research and images, alongside many new case studies, which demonstrate how the Communication Friendly Spaces Approach has been used in a wide range of contexts to support informed environmental change. It will help you to re-think your space and make sure that it's really supporting children's communication skills, emotional well-being and physical development."We need to challenge the historical stereotypes that often exist around the way that learning environments are set up for children, blending new understanding of learning styles, how children really learn and their preferred contexts so that our environments can be responsive and dynamic." Elizabeth Jarman.

Here are all the tools you need to help you manage your own independent reading program easily and instantly all year long Two teachers share ten reproducible activity packs filled with skill-building reading, writing, and art activities that can be used with any book. Easy-to-follow directions allow kids to complete each activity pack on their own, giving you time to work with small groups. Kids make choices about which activities to complete and stay organized with handy checklists and self-assessment rubrics. Great for all skill levels For use with Grades 2-3.

Every young South African needs quality schooling, and well-trained, capable and confident teachers are very important in imparting knowledge, values and skills to their learners. These teachers therefore need to execute fundamental and challenging tasks in and outside the classroom, meet the diverse needs of South African learners in the 21st century and continually enhance their professional development, performance and competence in the workplace. In General Subject Didactics, practical guidance is provided for both the experienced and student teacher on how to teach effectively in the challenging South African education system, in order to ultimately contribute to quality education. Contents include the following: Concepts of General Subject Didactics versus Specific Subject Didactics; Roles and characteristics of competent teachers; Theory models of learning; The development of curricula; Teaching methods and strategies; Learning barriers and learner support; Methods, techniques and tools of assessment; Media and technology in the classroom. General Subject Didactics is aimed at all prospective and practising teachers who need to acquaint themselves with the basic competency requirements for effective and quality teaching in any South African classroom.

What is FIT Teaching? What is a FIT Teacher? The Framework for Intentional and Targeted Teaching (R)-or FIT Teaching (R)-is a research-based, field-tested, and experience-honed process that captures the essentials of the best educational environments. In contrast to restrictive pedagogical prescriptions or formulas, FIT Teaching empowers teachers to adapt the most effective planning, instructional, and assessment practices to their particular context in order to move their students' learning from where it is now to where it should be. To be a FIT Teacher is to make a heroic commitment to learning-not just to the learning of every student in the classroom, but to the professional learning necessary to grow, inspire, and lead. This book introduces the powerful FIT Teaching Tool, which harnesses the FIT Teaching approach and presents a detailed continuum of growth and leadership. It's a close-up look at what intentional and targeting teaching is and what successful teachers do to: Plan with purpose. Cultivate a learning climate. Instruct with intention. Assess with a system. Impact student learning. Designed to foster discussion among educators about what they are doing in the classroom, the FIT Teaching Tool can be used by teachers for self-assessment; by teacher peers for collegial feedback in professional learning communities; by instructional coaches to focus on the skills teachers need both onstage and off; and by school leaders to highlight their teachers' strengths and value. Join authors Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Stefani Arzonetti Hite for an examination of what makes great teachers great, and see how educators at all grade levels and all levels of experience are taking intentional steps toward enhanced professional practice.

Role-play simulations are a popular method for active learning in business education. Instructors in a variety of business disciplines use role-plays to facilitate student engagement and promote more dynamic class environments. In this book, the authors provide instructors of all experience levels with frameworks for understanding role-play simulations and implementing them in their classes. Professors Bolinger and Stanton have taught role-plays in the classroom and online for over 30 years combined. In Role-Play Simulations the authors describe the history and theories underlying the use and articulate the chief benefits of the method. They explain when and why role-play simulations are useful in business education classes and discuss a variety of considerations for implementing them, from advance preparation to post-activity debriefing. The book walks the reader through specific examples of different length simulations and their resource requirements. Included with their insights is an annotated bibliography with additional resources and examples of published role-play simulations across a variety of business disciplines. Whether new or experienced in using active learning methods and role-play simulations in the business classroom, instructors will benefit greatly from the wealth of information provided. The information and advice provided will also benefit corporate trainers, executives, or other practitioners who would like to learn more about the use of role-play simulations as a teaching tool.

How can educators leverage neuroscience research about how the human brain learns? How can we use this information to improve curriculum, instruction, and assessment so our students achieve deep learning and understanding in all subject areas? Upgrade Your Teaching: Understanding by Design Meets Neuroscience answers these questions by merging insights from neuroscience with Understanding by Design (UbD), the framework used by thousands of educators to craft units of instruction and authentic assessments that emphasize understanding rather than recall. Readers will learn: How the brain processes incoming information and determines what is (or is not) retained as long-term memory. How brain science reveals factors that influence student motivation and willingness to put forth effort. How to fully engage all students through relevance and achievable challenge. How key components of UbD, including backward design, essential questions, and transfer tasks, are supported by research in neuroscience. Why specific kinds of teaching and assessment strategies are effective in helping students gain the knowledge, skills, and deep understanding they need to succeed in school and beyond. How to create a brain-friendly classroom climate that supports lasting learning. Authors Jay McTighe and Judy Willis translate research findings into practical information for everyday use in schools, at all grade levels and in all subject areas. With their guidance, educators at all levels can learn how to design and implement units that empower teachers and students alike to capitalize on the brain's tremendous capacity for learning.

A timely guide to online teaching strategies from bestselling author Doug Lemov and the Teach Like a Champion team School closures in response to the covid-19 coronavirus pandemic resulted in an immediate and universal pivot to online teaching. More than 3.7 million teachers in the U.S. were suddenly asked to teach in an entirely new setting with little preparation and no advance notice. This has caused an unprecedented threat to children's education, giving rise to an urgent need for resources and guidance. The New Normal is a just-in-time response to educators' call for help. Teaching expert Doug Lemov and his colleagues spent weeks studying videos of online teaching and they now provide educators in the midst of this transition with a clear guide to engaging and educating their students online. Although the transition to online education is happening more abruptly than anyone anticipated, technology-supported teaching may be here to stay. This guide explores the challenges involved in online teaching and guides educators and administrators to identify and understand best practices. It is a valuable tool to help you and your students succeed in synchronous and asynchronous settings this school year and beyond. Learn strategies for engaging students more fully online Find new techniques to assess student progress from afar Discover tools for building online classroom culture, combating online distractions, and more Watch videos of teachers building rigor and relationships during online instruction The New Normal features real-world examples you can apply and adapt right away in your own online classroom to allow you to survive and thrive online.

How can you energize yourself to maintain or regain a positive outlook and love of teaching? What specific, immediate actions can you take to enhance your well-being and thrive both on and off the job? Award-winning teacher Chase Mielke draws from his own research, lesson plans, and experiences with burnout to help you change your outlook, strengthen your determination to be a terrific teacher, and reignite your core passion for teaching. Often lighthearted, yet thoroughly grounded in research on social-emotional learning and positive psychology, The Burnout Cure explains how shifts in awareness, attitudes, and actions can be transformational for you and for your students. The book describes specific steps related to mindfulness, empathy, gratitude, and altruism that you can use on your own and with students via classroom lessons and activities. Equipped with these tools, teachers can be their best, so they can give their best to the learners in their care.