It helps teachers grow in confidence and creativity, and provides them with practical tools that will increase their own enjoyment of teaching and their pupils' enjoyment of learning. Celebrating Strengths does not 'teach' positive psychology as an additional subject, but weaves it into the existing curriculum and life of the school. It is based around Strengths Gym, a programme for helping adults and children identify and use their strengths inside and outside the classroom through a cycle of festivals and storytelling. The methods have been tried and tested during four years of work in primary schools in North Lincolnshire, UK.The principles that underpin it, however, are universal and will readily adapt to early years settings, as well as those involving older children and young adults, and will be of as much interest to parents and carers as they will be to teachers. Celebrating Strengths will help anyone to flourish and be at their best - adults and children alike.

Population diversity is becoming more prevalent globally with increasing immigration, emigration, and refugee placement. These circumstances increase the likelihood that a child will be raised speaking a different language in the home than the common language used in each country. This necessitates the development of comprehensive strategies that promote second language learning through the adoption of new technological advancements. New Technological Applications for Foreign and Second Language Learning and Teaching is a scholarly publication that explores how the latest technologies have the potential to engage foreign and second language learners both within and outside the language classroom and to facilitate language learning and teaching in the target language. Highlighting a range of topics such as learning analytics, digital games, and telecollaboration, this book is ideal for teachers, instructional designers, curriculum developers, IT consultants, educational software developers, language learning specialists, academicians, administrators, professionals, researchers, and students.

Many research studies show that the use of technology inside and outside classrooms makes teaching and learning more engaging and motivating. Technology can provide learners with endless opportunities, for instance, it can (a) improve the learners' learning experience; (b) simplify access to educational resources; (c) enhance the learners' autonomous learning; meet the learners' individual learning needs, and (d) prepare the learners for future career success when using it to foster the 21st-century skills. However, the range and number of technologies currently available can yield challenges for educators if they do not know how to effectively integrate them into their teaching pedagogy. Therefore, this book, Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) explores language with technology focusing on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context and sharing with educators everywhere how the effective use of technology can bring a positive transformation to the class dynamics and the students' learning process. With that being said, to professionally assist learners master all of the four language skills; learners need to be able to communicate in the target language fluently. This, of course, involves developing the learners' language proficiency through interactions and providing them with authentic opportunities for learning that go beyond repetition and memorization of grammatical patterns in isolation. To assist language learners in mastering these sets of competencies, they need to be given the opportunities to understand and use the language appropriately and to communicate in authentic social environments using a variety of well-planned activities. The effective integration of technology in language teaching and learning could support achieving the above-mentioned competencies and more. Luckily, there are many useful and easy to use educational technology tools that are available for all language teachers, educators, and learners to use during class time and/or independently. These tools are increasing rabidly that teachers might feel intimated and choose to avoid learning about them and integrating them in their teaching pedagogy and instead they would feel comfortable keeping with the traditional methods of teaching. Therefore, in this book, CALL experts will provide language teachers with some useful and easy to use technology tools for teaching and learning; support the recommendation with practical ideas such as mini-lesson plans to leverage the use of that specific technology; and promote all or any of the learners' 21st-century skills, e.g., building strong interpersonal communication skills, working as effective team players, thinking and creating in an innovative way, thinking critically about what they are doing and learning and more. The book is intended for all language teachers and educators, language program directors and administrators, Computer Assisted Language (CALL) coaches, university professors, instructional technology coaches, language instructional technology specialists, and all graduate and undergraduate students who are interested in teaching language through technology. Each chapter should include practical tips and ideas to support best practices for each soft skill and language strand with the use of technology.

Pupil Book Study is a window into the 'lived experience' of pupils, as opposed to just the observed experience. It is also a mirror in which to reflect professional practice and identify what helps learning, and what hinders it by outlining clear and coherent structures in which to talk with pupils and look at their books. Pupil Book Study gives headteachers, senior and middle leaders a systematic toolkit to evaluate the impact of the curriculum through studying teaching and learning. Infused with cognitive science research and evidence-informed practice, it offers schools the architecture for excellence; helping remove the risk of making assumptions. Pupil Book Study is a guide for schools that offers 7 specific and fully exemplified areas to focus quality assurance systems. The keystone between teaching, learning and the curriculum, Pupil Book Study offers schools the tools to explain why things are as they are and presents solutions to the areas that limit or hinder progress. Schools report that Pupil Book Study has been some of the most powerful and impactful work they have ever undertaken, resulting in positive change. In November 2020, Pupil Book Study was shared with the Deputy Director, Senior HMI and Policy makers at Ofsted.

Education is a field in which reflective practice is not only imperative for teacher and student success, but also for maintaining the desire to remain in the profession. During times of uncertainty, particularly as we faced the dual pandemics of social injustice and COVID-19 over the past year, we have felt demoralized and powerless. We know that we are not alone, as research indicates burnout, particularly among educators, is well-documented and increasing as a result of the continued heavy workload and added individual and societal stressors of the past year. During this turmoil, we have found solace, comfort, and connection in reflecting on our educational paths and sharing our stories with each other, friends, and colleagues. These reflective experiences, both individual and shared, have been powerful, rekindling our passion and desire to teach and thinking about ways we can support our students in and beyond the current climate of social unrest and a global pandemic. We believe that reading reflections of others' experiences will remind readers that they are not alone in their work, provide opportunities for them to find connections with fellow educators, and encourage them to engage in reflective practices of their own. The book is a timely collection of stories from various groups of people, such as those who identify as mothers, fathers, people of color, LGBTQIA scholars, first-generation college students, retired educators, those new to academia, and those with established academic careers, in an attempt to create a book where scholars can see themselves reflected in the stories of others, re-igniting the passion that led them to academia. This book is ideal for higher education faculty, those seeking to enter academia, educators who have left the classroom for administrative roles such as principals, assistant principals, instructional coaches, and district leaders, those considering a career in academia, and those in graduate degree programs.

The use of technological tools to foster language development has led to advances in language methodologies and changed the approach towards language instruction. The tendency towards developing more autonomous learners has emphasized the need for technological tools that could contribute to this shift in foreign language learning. Computer-assisted language learning and mobile-assisted language learning have greatly collaborated to foster language instruction out of the classroom environment, offering possibilities for distance learning and expanding in-class time. Recent Tools for Computer- and Mobile-Assisted Foreign Language Learning is a scholarly research book that explores current strategies for foreign language learning through the use of technology and introduces new technological tools and evaluates existing ones that foster language development. Highlighting a wide array of topics such as gamification, mobile technologies, and virtual reality, this book is essential for language educators, educational software developers, IT consultants, K-20 institutions, principals, professionals, academicians, researchers, curriculum designers, and students.

Drawing upon decades of research and myriad authentic classroom experiences, Kathleen M. Budge and William H. Parrett dispel harmful myths, explain the facts, and urge educators to act against the debilitating effects of poverty on their students. They share the powerful voices of teachers-many of whom grew up in poverty-to amplify the five classroom practices that permeate the culture of successful high-poverty schools: (1) caring relationships and advocacy, (2) high expectations and support, (3) commitment to equity, (4) professional accountability for learning, and (5) the courage and will to act. Readers will explore classroom-tested strategies and practices, plus online templates and exercises that can be used for personal reflection or ongoing collaboration with colleagues. Disrupting Poverty provides teachers, administrators, coaches, and others with the background information and the practical tools needed to help students break free from the cycle of poverty.

Various pedagogies, including the use of digital learning in education, have been used and researched for the past 40 years, but schools have little to show for these initiatives. This contrasts starkly with technology-supported initiatives in other fields such as business, health care, and the military. Traditional pedagogies and general digital technology applications have yet impact education in significant ways that transforms learning. This handbook posits that a primary reason for this minimal impact on learning is that digital technologies have attempted to make traditional instructional processes more efficient rather than using a more appropriate paradigm for learning. As there have been transformative applications in other fields, the book will identify suggested transformative applications that empower learners. As technology is used as a partner in other fields, transformative applications become partners with students (not teachers) to empower their learning process in and out of school. This handbook identifies and justifies the paradigm of transformative learning and pedagogies in education, provides exemplars of existing transformative applications that, if used as partners to empower student learning, have the potential to dramatically engage students in a kind of learning that better fits 21st century learners, and provides pedagogical models to help teachers empower students to learn.

As the importance of public education increases both globally and nationally, partnerships between schools and their community become key to each other's success. Examining the intersection of schools with their communities reveals the most effective strategies for supporting school populations that are traditionally marginalized or underserved in both rural and urban areas. Cases on Strategic Partnerships for Resilient Communities and Schools is an essential publication that uncovers the problems and pitfalls of creating strategic partnerships between schools and other members of the community in which the schools are situated that include for-profit businesses, not-for-profit entities, and private organizations. The book reveals that schools that are thriving effectively do not do so in isolation but as vibrant members and centers of the communities in which they serve students and families. Moreover, it examines the difficulty in advocating for the schools and the leadership of the schools within these communities so that they can be better served. Highlighting a wide range of topics including leadership, community-based outreach, and school advocacy, this book is ideally designed for teachers, school administrators, principals, school boards and committees, non-profit administrators, educational advocates, leadership faculty, community engagement directors, community outreach personnel, entrepreneurs, researchers, academicians, and students.

In today's educational world, supporting graduate students from all backgrounds and ensuring they receive the best education possible is vital. Due to this, academic mentors and graduate student mentoring programs must provide equitable support within learning environments as a construct of social justice for supporting the success of advanced, underrepresented student learners. Best Practices and Programmatic Approaches for Mentoring Educational Leaders discusses empowered perspectives about conceptual and best practice approaches regarding mentoring and supporting doctoral students' success and considers the area of diversity and inclusion in higher education related to best practices in programming. Covering topics such as educational leadership, higher education, mentoring networks, and communities, this reference work is ideal for industry professionals, administrators, policymakers, researchers, academicians, scholars, practitioners, instructors, and students.

The moment is right for critical reflection on what has been assumed to be a core part of schooling. In Ungrading, fifteen educators write about their diverse experiences going gradeless. Some contributors are new to the practice and some have been engaging in it for decades. Some are in humanities and social sciences, some in STEM fields. Some are in higher education, but some are the K-12 pioneers who led the way. Based on rigorous and replicated research, this is the first book to show why and how faculty who wish to focus on learning, rather than sorting or judging, might proceed. It includes honest reflection on what makes ungrading challenging, and testimonials about what makes it transformative.

Due to various challenges within the public-school system, such as underfunding, lack of resources, and difficulty retaining and recruiting teachers of color, minority students have been found to be underperforming compared to their majority counterparts. Minority students deserve quality public education, which can only happen if the gap in equity and access is closed. In order to close this achievement gap between the majority and minority groups, it is critical to increase the learning gains of the minority students. Digital Games for Minority Student Engagement: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential reference source that argues that digital games can potentially help to solve the problems of minority students' insufficient academic preparation, and that a game-based learning environment can help to engage these students with the content and facilitate academic achievement. Featuring research on topics such as education policy, interactive learning, and student engagement, this book is ideally designed for educators, principals, policymakers, academicians, administrators, researchers, and students.

In higher education institutions across the world, rapid changes are occurring as the socio-economic composition of these universities is shifting. The participation of females, ethnic minority groups, and low-income students has increased exponentially, leading to major changes in student activities, curriculum, and overall campus culture. Significant research is a necessity for understanding the need of broader educational access and promoting a newly empowered diverse population of students in today's universities. Accessibility and Diversity in the 21st Century University is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on the provision of higher educational access to a more diverse population with a specific focus on the growing population of women in the university, key intersections with race and sexual preference, and the experiences of low-income students, mid-career and reentry students, and special needs populations. While highlighting topics such as adult learning, race-based achievement gaps, and women's studies, this publication is ideally designed for educators, higher education faculty, deans, provosts, chancellors, policymakers, sociologists, anthropologists, researchers, scholars, and students seeking current research on modern advancements of diversity in higher education systems.