The secret to every positive learning environment? Belonging. When students feel that they belong in their school and classroom, commitment to learning goes up and behavioral disruptions subside. And when teachers embrace an SEL-infused approach to classroom management that helps every student feel valued, safe, and competent, belonging soars. We Belong offers 50 targeted strategies to increase students' sense of belonging and reinforce the habits that support classroom harmony and learning success. Authors and award-winning educators Laurie Barron and Patti Kinney explore the dynamic partnership of belonging and classroom management and share specific ways to * Build authentic, positive relationships with students and among students * Create spaces that feel physically and emotionally safe for all * Teach and foster social-emotional competence * Increase student engagement and motivation * Foster a sustaining sense of communityCovering a range of key topics-from behavioral expectations to conflict resolution to more effective collaboration-this practical guide for elementary and secondary teachers includes downloadable forms and templates to support strategy implementation. Use it to revisit your priorities and reshape your practices so that all students in your classroom can say of themselves and their peers, "We belong.

Student feedback has appeared in the forefront of higher education quality, in particular the issues of effectiveness and the use of student feedback to improve higher education teaching and learning, and other areas of student tertiary experience. Despite this, little academic literature has focussed on the experiences of academics, higher education leaders and managers. The final title in the Chandos Learning and Teaching Series to focus on student feedback, Enhancing Learning and Teaching through Student Feedback in the Medical and Health Sciences expands on topics covered in the previous publications, focussing on the medical and health science disciplines. This edited title includes contributions from experts in higher education quality, and student feedback from a range of countries, such as Australia, Europe, Canada, the USA, the UK, South East Asia and India. The book is concerned with the practices of evaluation and higher education quality in medical and health science disciplines, with particular focus on student feedback. The book begins by giving a discipline-specific overview of student feedback in medical and health sciences, before moving on to take a global perspective. The penultimate chapter considers the accountability of student evaluations in health and medical sciences, before a conclusion summarises the practices of student feedback and accountability in medical and health sciences, and suggests future improvements.

Today's teachers face a daunting challenge: how to ensure a positive school experience for their students, many of whom carry the burden of adverse childhood experiences, such as abuse, poverty, divorce, abandonment, and numerous other serious social issues. Spurred by her personal experience and extensive exploration of brain-based learning, author Marilee Sprenger explains how brain science-what we know about how the brain works-can be applied to social-emotional learning. Specifically, she addresses how to: Build strong, caring relationships with students to give them a sense of belonging. Teach and model empathy, so students feel understood and can better understand others. Awaken students' self-awareness, including the ability to name their own emotions, have accurate self-perceptions, and display self-confidence and self-efficacy. Help students manage their behavior through impulse control, stress management, and other positive skills. Improve students' social awareness and interaction with others. Teach students how to handle relationships, including with people whose backgrounds differ from their own. Guide students in making responsible decisions. Offering clear, easy-to-understand explanations of brain activity and dozens of specific strategies for all grade levels, Social-Emotional Learning and the Brain is an essential guide to creating supportive classroom environments and improving outcomes for all our students.nd dozens of specific strategies for all grade levels, Social-Emotional Learning and the Brain is an essential guide to creating supportive classroom environments and improving outcomes for all our students.

Challenging behavior is one of the most significant issues educators face. Though it may seem radical to use words like love, compassion, and heart when we talk about behavior and discipline, the compassionate and heartfelt words, actions, and strategies teachers employ in the classroom directly shape who students are-and who they will become. But how can teaching from the heart translate into effective supports and practices for students who exhibit challenging behavior? In From Behaving to Belonging, Julie Causton and Kate MacLeod detail how teachers can shift from a ""behavior management"" mindset (that punishes students for ""bad"" behavior or rewards students for ""good"" or ""compliant"" behavior) to an approach that supports all students-even the most challenging ones-with kindness, creativity, acceptance, and love. Causton and MacLeod's approach: Focuses on students' strengths, gifts, and talents. Ignites students' creativity and sense of self-worth. Ensures that students' social, emotional, and academic needs are met. Prompts teachers to rethink challenging behavior and how they support their students. Helps teachers identify barriers to student success in the cultural, social, and environmental landscape. Inspires teachers to reconnect with their core values and beliefs about students and teaching. We need to transform our classrooms into places of love. To that end, this book represents a paradigm shift from a punitive mindset to a strengths-based, loving approach and encourages the radical act of creating more inclusive and caring schools.

The increasing lack of discipline in South African schools and the impact thereof is well known. In most instances, existing punitive measures do not yield the required results. Yet, schools continue to scramble to find alternative punishments that will result in a disciplined environment conducive to teaching and learning. Albert Einstein rightly said: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.”

Restorative School Discipline: The Law and Practice seeks to provide an alternative approach to discipline. However, to implement this approach, a complete mind-shift is required. This mind set requires an understanding that to discipline learners is to teach socially acceptable behaviour. The restorative approach entails moving away from an approach that merely focuses on the ill-disciplined learner to an approach that focuses on preventing disciplinary problems, changing the culture of the school and restoring the harm done to those affected by the misconduct. The restorative approach involves focusing on finding solutions to address the needs and interests of all the role-players in the school community, rather than finding suitable punishments. Thus, focusing on the best interests of every learner as well as those of educators. Restorative discipline is a value-driven approach that respects the human rights of every stakeholder and also protects, promotes and fulfils everyone’s human rights.

This book explains the restorative approach to discipline in detail. The role of every stakeholder in the implementation of this approach also receives attention. Furthermore, it highlights the social justice implications as well as the impact of discipline on the neurological functioning and development of the child.

Restorative School Discipline: The Law and Practice provides practical advice for SGB’s, educators, school social workers and other role-players, such as the Department of Basic Education, on how to implement the restorative approach to discipline. It also examines the Constitutional imperatives and the legal framework related to school discipline. This ground-breaking book will provide guidance for school administrators, practitioners and academics on this innovative school discipline practice.

Music teacher education is under heavy criticism for failing to keep pace with the changing needs and interests of 21st century learners. Technological innovations, evolving demographics in the school age population, and students' omnipresent access to music and music making all suggest that contemporary teaching and learning occurs in environments that are much more complex than those of the 19th century that served as music education's primary model. This book surveys emerging music and education landscapes to present a sampling of the promising practices of music teacher education that may serve as new models for the 21st century. Contributors explore the delicate balance between curriculum and pedagogy, the power structures that influence music education at all levels, the role of contemporary musical practices in teacher education, and the communication challenges that surround institutional change. Models of programs that feature in-school, out-of-school and beyond school contexts, lifespan learning perspectives, active juxtapositions of formal and informal approaches to teaching and learning, student-driven project-based fieldwork, and the purposeful employment of technology and digital media as platforms for authentic music engagement within a contemporary participatory culture are all offered as springboards for innovative practice.

Being happy both at home and at work means we're not just cheerier, but more clear-eyed and effective at what we do. But happiness takes practice and ongoing contemplation.In this inventive new book-part professional development resource, part personal journal-educator, author, and podcaster Suzanne Dailey contends that small shifts bring big gifts: that is, small positive changes, practiced over time, will help you feel more balanced, content, and aligned. To help you on this path, Dailey provides 40 readings and reflections, aligned to the weeks of the school year and designed to ensure that you glean joy and insight from every moment inside and outside the classroom. In these pages, you'll find Reflection activities for assessing the health of your relationships-not only with coworkers and students, but also with family and friends. Inspiring stories about educators who have sought and found ways to improve their practice by following the tenets of positive psychology. Weekly goals for shifting your thinking and developing more positive habits of mind. "Report cards" for assessing your progress on the book's challenges and goals. Minilessons you can use to share your new learning with students and influence classroom culture and community. Steeped in the teachings of positive psychology and fired up with a passion for teaching, Dailey mines both her own experiences and the insights of psychological thought leaders to provide this indispensable resource for educators at all levels.

As professional learning communities become more widespread, educators have learned that they can't simply form grade-level or subject-area teams and call it a day. To profoundly affect teacher practice and student learning, PLCs need strong and knowledgeable leadership. In Facilitating Teacher Teams and Authentic PLCs, Daniel R. Venables draws on his extensive experience helping schools and districts implement effective PLCs to explore this crucial but often-overlooked need. Taking a two-pronged approach to PLC facilitation, Venables offers targeted guidance both for leading the people in teacher teams and for facilitating their work. This practical resource provides: Strategies for facilitating interactions among colleagues in PLCs and building trust and buy-in. Field-tested, user-friendly protocols to focus and deepen team discussions around texts, data, teacher and student work, teacher dilemmas, and collaborative planning time. Tips for anticipating and addressing interpersonal conflicts and obstacles that commonly arise during use of protocols. Current and prospective PLC facilitators at every grade level will find this book an essential guide to navigating the challenging and rewarding endeavor of leading authentic PLCs. Build your skills, and help your team rise to the next level.

The book that inspired millions of educators to refine their approach to teaching returns for an all-new third edition. Built on a more rigorous research base and updated to emphasize student diversity, equity, and inclusion, The New Classroom Instruction That Works offers a streamlined focus on the 14 instructional strategies proven to promote deep, meaningful, and lasting learning: Cognitive interest cues Student goal setting and monitoring Vocabulary instruction Strategy instruction and modeling Visualizations and concrete examples High-level questions and student explanations Guided initial application with formative feedback Peer-assisted consolidation of learning Retrieval practice Spaced and mixed independent practice Targeted support Cognitive writing Guided investigations Structured problem solving These strategies-all of which are effective and complementary-are presented within a framework geared toward instructional planning and aligned with how the brain learns. For each strategy, you'll get the key research findings, the important principles of classroom practice, and recommended approaches for using the strategy with today's learners. Both new and veteran teachers will finish this book with a better understanding of how effective teaching boosts student achievement and a clearer idea of what to do, when to do it, and why.

In this book, readers will learn practical tips and strategies to teach music appreciation online. As online education is a growing field, an increasing number of teachers trained in traditional/live methods find themselves now teaching online and potentially without mentors to assist them. Students are also changing, seeking highly engaged, relevant, and interactive learning opportunities that connect to their lives. Here, readers will find helpful guidance in planning curriculum, integrating multimedia assets, designing forum discussions, developing assignments, preparing rubrics, engaging in forum discussions, preparing, managing, and teaching, the course, providing feedback and grading, and following up with struggling and challenging students. The book can serve as a resource to those already teaching music appreciation online or as a comprehensive guide to those new to the field. Additionally, it may serve as a resource to instructors in other disciplines who seek to shift live-courses to the online format, as well as music appreciation instructors who would like to integrate digital or online components into traditional face-to-face courses. The book is organized into five major sections, designed to guide the novice online educator in depth while also appealing to the seasoned veteran through the ability to review each section as a stand-alone resource. Although some readers will desire to read from cover to cover, they will also be able to move in a non-linear manner from chapter to chapter, using chapters in modular form, in order to benefit from the sections that most apply to them at any given time.

In this galvanizing book for all educators, Kristin Souers and Pete Hall explore an urgent and growing issue-childhood trauma-and its profound effect on learning and teaching. Grounded in research and the authors' experience working with trauma-affected students and their teachers, Fostering Resilient Learners will help you cultivate a trauma-sensitive learning environment for students across all content areas, grade levels, and educational settings. The authors-a mental health therapist and a veteran principal-provide proven, reliable strategies to help you: Understand what trauma is and how it hinders the learning, motivation, and success of all students in the classroom. Build strong relationships and create a safe space to enable students to learn at high levels. Adopt a strengths-based approach that leads you to recalibrate how you view destructive student behaviors and to perceive what students need to break negative cycles. Head off frustration and burnout with essential self-care techniques that will help you and your students flourish. Each chapter also includes questions and exercises to encourage reflection and extension of the ideas in this book. As an educator, you face the impact of trauma in the classroom every day. Let this book be your guide to seeking solutions rather than dwelling on problems, to building relationships that allow students to grow, thrive, and-most assuredly-learn at high levels.

Updated with new research and insights, the second edition of this foundational guide to the how of differentiation provides the thoughtful strategies teachers need to create and maintain classrooms where each student is recognized and respected and every student thrives. One of the most powerful lessons a teacher must learn is that classroom management is not about control; it's about delivering the support and facilitating the routines that will make the classroom work for each student, and thus, set all students free to be successful learners. In Leading and Managing a Differentiated Classroom, Carol Ann Tomlinson and Marcia B. Imbeau explore the central priorities and mindsets of differentiation and provide practical guidelines for making effective student-centered, academically responsive instruction a reality. Their classroom management approach is based on three critical understandings: 1. When students are engaged, they have no motivation to misbehave. 2. When students understand that their teacher sees them as worthwhile people with significant potential, it opens doors to learning. 3. The classroom can't work for anybody until it works for everybody. Written for K-12 teachers and instructional leaders, this book is packed with strategies for structuring and pacing lessons, organizing learning spaces and materials, starting and stopping class with purpose, setting up and managing routines, and shifting gears if something isn't going well. It also gives teachers the guidance they need to help students, colleagues, and parents understand the goals of differentiated instruction and contribute to its success. Along with examples of recommended practice drawn from real-life classrooms at a variety of grade levels, you will find answers to frequently asked questions and specific advice for balancing content requirements and the needs of learners. You'll gain confidence as a leader for and in your differentiated classroom and be better prepared to teach in a way that's more efficient and rewarding for you and more effective for every student in your care.

Now in its third edition, this bestseller has remained popular, relevant, and a must-read for new teachers, mentors, administrators, and staff development professionals. Appropriate for individual or collaborative study, this book provides simple, practical solutions to the challenges experienced by both new and veteran teachers, including: managing the classroom; handling discipline problems; dealing with challenging students, coworkers, and parents; planning lessons effectively and managing time wisely; accommodating individual differences in students; getting students excited about learning; and much, much more. In this new edition, you'll find advice on incorporating technology into your lessons and using social media to connect with others. You'll also find new Ask Yourself questions (following each of the 101 Answers) and Chapter Highlights to help you apply the ideas in your own classroom. These resources are available in the book and on our website for easy download. Though written for new teachers, the book's practical, easy-to-implement strategies will appeal to teachers of any grade level, subject area, or level of expertise, as well as to mentors, induction coordinators, or anyone seeking to find answers to classroom challenges and improve teaching skills.

In We Can Do This! writing expert and Stella Writes author Janiel Wagstaff pairs examples of student writing with writing lessons. Student writing samples are extremely powerful tools for boosting the growth of young writers and the student samples provided in this book serve as mentor texts and the basis for each lesson. The samples are mentors that are "doable" for students: they highlight skills, strategies, craft moves, and traits within the reach of their intended audience. As teachers and students study the examples, they will think, "I can do that!" Additionally, samples that reflect the most common errors or trouble spots are included, enabling teachers to explicitly teach to these points.

Do you remember a time when you used the right words at the right moment, and they made all the difference? With the aim of helping you repeat that experience every day, this book provides hundreds of examples of what we call "Best Practice Language" (BPL), a research-based technique designed to help teachers use words to improve student behavior - in the classroom and beyond. In their years of working at the K-12 levels, educators Hal Holloman and Peggy H. Yates have identified the exact phrases and key words you can use to handle: recurring disruptions, inappropriate outbursts, and students' low self-confidence, among other classroom realities. BPL will enable you to: Set your expectations clearly on the first day of school Prevent and resolve conflicts between students Create a safe haven for shy, apprehensive students Establish meaningful relationships with students built on trust Help students foster a respect for themselves, their peers, and for adults Maintain a positive classroom environment that encourages personal responsibility Whether you're a new teacher, a veteran teacher, a pre-service teacher, or school administrator, the tools in this book will help you use words effectively, in ways that resonate with students and provide them with clear and promising direction.

Writers in every field play with words each time they sit down at their desks. In his newest book, Ralph Fletcher demonstrates how playful craft can energize student writing and breathe new energy into the writing workshop. Children have a natural affinity for language play; Pyrotechnics on the Page demonstrates how writing teachers can tap into it. This book provides a wealth of resources for teachers: Information on the roots and developmental importance of language play; A how-to on using the writer's notebook as a playground for students to explore and experiment with verbal pyrotechnics; An in-depth look at the kind of language play commonly used by writers, including chapters on Puns and Double Meanings, Idioms and Expressions, Inventing Words, and Harnessing the Supple Power of Sentences (these chapters end with a Bringing It to the Writing Workshop" section that includes explicit classroom connections) Twenty-four brand new craft lessons to bring pyrotechnics into the classroom An extensive bibliography of relevant mentor texts that make it easy to model language play for students. Pyrotechnics on the Page is vintage Fletcher: personal, anecdotal, and practical. It represents the latest chapter in Ralph's efforts to widen the circle in the writing classroom, make it a more engaging place for student writers and, in the process, lift the quality of their writing.

In this comprehensive resource for elementary school teachers, Kristina J. Doubet and Jessica A. Hockett explore how to use differentiated instruction to help students be more successful learners-regardless of background, native language, learning preference, or motivation. They explain how to: Create a healthy classroom community in which students' unique qualities and needs are as important as the ones they have in common. Translate curriculum into manageable and meaningful learning goals that are fit to be differentiated. Use pre-assessment and formative assessment to uncover students' learning needs, tailor tasks accordingly, and ensure that students are ""getting it."" Provide interactive learning experiences that encourage students to engage with both the content and one another. Present students with avenues to take in, process, and produce knowledge that appeal to their varied interests and learning preferences. Navigate potential roadblocks to differentiation. Each chapter provides a plethora of practical tools, templates, and strategies for a variety of subject areas developed by and for real teachers. Whether you're new to differentiated instruction or looking to expand your repertoire of DI strategies, Differentiation in the Elementary Grades will show you classroom-tested ways to better engage students and help them succeed every day. Includes URL and password for free downloadable forms.

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.

While qualitative research has become increasingly popular in music education over the last decade, there is no source that explains the terms, approaches and issues associated with this method. In The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research in American Music Education, editor Colleen Conway and the contributing music educators will provide that clarification, as well as models of qualitative studies within various music education disciplines. The handbook outlines the history of qualitative research in music education and explores the contemporary use of qualitative approaches in examining issues related to music teaching and learning. It includes 32 chapters and is divided into five parts. Part I defines qualitative research and examines historical, philosophical and ethical issues associated with its use in music education. Part II discusses ways of approaching qualitative research including: case study, ethnography, phenomenology, narrative inquiry, practitioner inquiry, and mixed methods. Ways of collecting and analyzing data are examined in the third part of the text (observations, interviews, document analysis, music as data and technology). Part IV examines various music teaching and learning contexts that have been studied using qualitative approaches including: early childhood, general, instrumental-band, instrumental-string, choral, preservice and inservice teacher education, adult and community settings, student with exceptionalities, underserved populations, and world music. The final section of the book tackles permission to conduct research, teacher qualitative research, publishing qualitative research and direction for the future. An ambitious and much-needed volume, this handbook will stand as a key resource for drawing meaning from the experiences of students and teachers in music classrooms and communities.

What are the secrets to unlocking student success? And what can teachers do to get better at helping students develop deep understanding of content, attain higher-order thinking skills, and become secure, confident, and capable learners? In this book, teacher and professor Jeff Marshall showcases how teaching with intentionality answers these questions. Specifically, he introduces the Teacher Intentionality Practice Scale (TIPS), a framework for both supporting and measuring effective teaching. Taken together, the framework's seven TIPs provide a research-based, classroom-tested guide to help teachers: Create coherent, connected lessons. Use strategies and resources, including technology, that truly enhance learning. Organize a safe, respectful learning environment. Develop challenging and rigorous learning experiences. Promote interactive, thoughtful learning. Nurture a creative, problem-solving classroom culture. Deliver feedback and formative assessment that inform teaching and learning. Marshall's needs-assessment instrument can help teachers, working independently or in a cohort, determine the best starting point for improving their practice. Practical, straightforward rubrics for each TIP describe the various levels of teacher proficiency. Based on his own teaching experience and observations in hundreds of classrooms, Marshall also offers action tips for each framework component and a list of resources for further study. Written for teachers and leaders at all levels and in all content areas, The Highly Effective Teacher is a guidebook for thoughtful, intentional teaching with one goal: success for all students, in every classroom.

An effective kindergarten 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.