This edited book promotes thinking, dialogue, research and theorisation on multiple ways of making connections in mathematics teaching and learning in early childhood education. The book addresses some key challenges in research, policy and practice in early childhood mathematics education. It examines diverse ways for learning experiences to connect young children to mathematics, and the importance of forging connections between mathematics and young children's lives as key elements in their engagement with mathematics. Each chapter provides research or theoretical provocations and pedagogical implications for connecting children's lived experiences and ways of learning in mathematics teaching. The chapters are drawn from a range of international authors who raise important ideas within the overall context of current research and consider the theoretical and practical implications of their research. As such, the book advances current thinking on mathematics teaching and learning for children in the early years from birth to eight years with an emphasis on children aged birth to 5 years. It considers the purpose and value in connecting mathematics teaching and learning to children's lives, and provides provocations for both educators and researchers on the many under-researched and under-represented aspects of early years mathematics teaching and learning.

CARING FOR SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN, 6th Edition, presents the most pertinent information needed by those involved in after-school programs. Current research has established the importance of quality after-school programs due to their tremendous impact on children's academic achievement, overall happiness, and self-esteem. To address this reality, the new edition presents the latest research and information on school-age child care, and offers numerous practical applications and activities that can be put to use immediately in a child care setting.

This practitioner-based book provides different approaches for reaching an increasing population in today's schools - English language learners (ELLs). The recent development and adoption of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (CCSS-ELA/Literacy), the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, the C3 Framework, and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) highlight the role that teachers have in developing discipline-specific competencies. This requires new and innovative approaches for teaching the content areas to all students. The book begins with an introduction that contextualizes the chapters in which the editors highlight transdisciplinary theories and approaches that cut across content areas. In addition, the editors include a table that provides a matrix of how strategies and theories map across the chapters. The four sections of the book represent the following content areas: English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. This book offers practical guidance that is grounded in relevant theory and research and offers teachers suggestions on how to use the approaches described.

This book describes and discusses a practice-oriented approach to understanding and researching interprofessional simulation-based education and simulation. It provides empirical findings from research on this topic and is informed by practice-oriented perspectives. It identifies critical features of the simulation practice and discusses how these can be used in reforming simulation pedagogy. The book is divided into three sections. Section 1 sets the scene for understanding the practices of interprofessional simulation-based education and simulation. It provides a theoretical and methodological framework for the conceptualisation of practices and for the empirical studies on which the book is based. Section 2 revisits the dimensions of the simulation process/exercise, i.e. the briefing, simulation, and debriefing, and provides empirical analyses of how the practice of simulation unfolds. Based on these analyses, section 3 identifies and discusses how pedagogies for simulation can be reformed to meet the demands of future healthcare and research.

This practical guide for developing and using culture-centered counseling and interviewing skills is by well-known authorities on the subject. This guide examines culturally learned assumptions that all of us employ in managing and interacting with others and uses models of synthetic cultures for students, teachers, professional counselors, and interviewers in raising questions, interpreting, focusing on and mediating in multicultural situations.

The book comprises papers presented at the 7th International Conference on University Learning and Teaching (InCULT) 2014, which was hosted by the Asian Centre for Research on University Learning and Teaching (ACRULeT) located at the Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Malaysia. It was co-hosted by the University of Hertfordshire, UK; the University of South Australia; the University of Ohio, USA; Taylor's University, Malaysia and the Training Academy for Higher Education (AKEPT), Ministry of Education, Malaysia. A total of 165 papers were presented by speakers from around the world based on the theme "Educate to Innovate in the 21st Century." The papers in this timely book cover the latest developments, issues and concerns in the field of teaching and learning and provide a valuable reference resource on university teaching and learning for lecturers, educators, researchers and policy makers.

This edited volume brings together conceptual and empirical work from various professional fields to inform a perspective on mentoring that goes beyond what is needed for today and orients toward what is needed for the future in order to promote healthy and productive organizations. This perspective is important because the pace of change in organizations is rapid--and increasingly so. Under conditions of rapid and on-going change, employees, students, and colleagues all are learners; and the learning needs of these adults demand meaningful and focused strategies for professional development. A major strategy with demonstrated value for fostering learning among adults is mentoring, which contributes both relational and structural support for such learning. This support helps organizations build communities of practice in which colleagues alternate the role of mentor and mentee by sharing different types of expertise and different perspectives on organizational challenges. Chapters within the book focus on theoretical perspectives on mentoring, the connection between change and mentoring, the character of the leadership that mentoring entails, the developmental processes that mentees experience, the transformation of the mentee as a result of mentoring, the value of matching mentor and mentee styles, and the role of mentoring in organizational team building. Furthermore, some chapters explore the similarities and differences in individual versus group mentoring. And some of the contributions elaborate linkages among mentoring concepts and those used in related practices such as coaching and distributed leadership.

Fred Gann, founder of four alternative education programs, believes that all true alternative education programs exist for one fundamental purpose: to make a positive difference in a student's life. In "Groundwork, " Gann delivers a roadmap to re-engage disenfranchised students through an effective alternative education program.This step-by-step guide demystifies the principles of alternative education and outlines how to create a program in which each student assumes personal responsibility for his or her learning and experiences a framework for developing success. With personal examples and anecdotes, Gann provides a clear, accessible plan for the implementation of alternative programs in support of a district's traditional school setting. "Groundwork" examines the following: The four questions that must be asked when founding a new program The components of a true alternative educational program Five techniques for implementation Positive-based disciplinary practices Program longevity and the art of survivalIn "Groundwork, " Gann presents a blunt and uncompromising demand for educators to invest in kids and calls for public education to provide programs which reconnect at-risk youth with their educational environments.

Drawing upon data from an Australian study, this book gives voice to beginning teachers navigating their way through their first year of teaching and discovering what it means to be professional learners. The chapters within provide rich insights into the ways in which beginning teachers make sense of the new and challenging experiences they face during the first year of teaching, and how these influence the development of their learner identities at this formative time of their careers. Professional learning, in response to teacher standards and associated accountability measures, often fails to acknowledge the importance of internal motivation and attitude to beginning teachers' sense of a professional learner identity. This book offers policy makers, teacher educators, school leaders, mentors and teachers a way of thinking about how beginning teachers can be supported to grow professionally and construct their identities as professional learners.

Among the plethora of action research books on the market, there is no one text exclusively devoted to understanding how to acquire and interpret research data. Action Research Methods provides a balanced overview of the quantitative and qualitative methodologies and methods for conducting action research within a variety of educational environments and community-based settings. The text provides balanced coverage of the historical and theoretical foundations for action research while addressing practical and ethical considerations in conducting action research. Key terms and end-of-chapter activities are included to reinforce concepts and engage teachers and researchers in critical reflection.

In order to gain tenure, it is necessary to teach effectively, and judgments about one's teaching abilities are based in large part on student ratings. This book provides graduate students, junior faculty, and others with the information they need to develop an adequate teaching record for tenure. Topics discussed include the importance of communicating course goals and requirements, enhancing students' motivation, presenting subject matter clearly, establishing an examination and grading policy that students are likely to regard as fair, utilizing class time well, being available and helpful to students outside of class, encouraging students' curiosity and facilitating research, and selecting textbooks.

This book moves beyond the traditional constructivist and social-constructivist view of learning and development in science. It draws upon cultural-historical theory in order to theorise early childhood science education in relation to our currently globalised education contexts. The book argues that concept development in science for young children can be better theorised by using Vygotsky's concept of Imagination and creativity, Vygotsky's theory of play, and his work on higher mental functions, particularly the concept of inter and intrapsychological functioning. Key concepts are extracted from the theoretical section of the book and used as categories for analysis in presenting evidence and new ideas in the second section of the book. In this second part of the book, the authors examine how science knowledge has been constructed within particular countries around the globe, where empirical research in early childhood science education has occurred. The third part of the book examines the nature of the encounter between the teacher and the child during science learning and teaching. In the final part of the book the authors look closely at the range of models and approaches to the teaching of early childhood science that have been made available to early childhood teachers to guide their planning and teaching. They conclude the book with a theoretical discussion of the cultural-historical foundation for early childhood science education, followed by a model of teaching scientific concepts to young children in play-based settings, including homes and community contexts.

This book considers the views of participants in the process of becoming a mathematician, that is, the students and the graduates. This book investigates the people who carry out mathematics rather than the topics of mathematics. Learning is about change in a person, the development of an identity and ways of interacting with the world. It investigates more generally the development of mathematical scientists for a variety of workplaces, and includes the experiences of those who were not successful in the transition to the workplace as mathematicians. The research presented is based on interviews, observations and surveys of students and graduates as they are finding their identity as a mathematician. The book contains material from the research carried out in South Africa, Northern Ireland, Canada and Brunei as well as Australia.

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.

This book presents recent machine learning paradigms and advances in learning analytics, an emerging research discipline concerned with the collection, advanced processing, and extraction of useful information from both educators' and learners' data with the goal of improving education and learning systems. In this context, internationally respected researchers present various aspects of learning analytics and selected application areas, including: * Using learning analytics to measure student engagement, to quantify the learning experience and to facilitate self-regulation; * Using learning analytics to predict student performance; * Using learning analytics to create learning materials and educational courses; and * Using learning analytics as a tool to support learners and educators in synchronous and asynchronous eLearning. The book offers a valuable asset for professors, researchers, scientists, engineers and students of all disciplines. Extensive bibliographies at the end of each chapter guide readers to probe further into their application areas of interest.

Middle Grades Research: Exemplary Studies Linking Theory to Practice is the first and only book to present what is perhaps the most thoroughly scrutinized group of studies focusing on middle grades education issues ever assembled. Each research project undertaken by the contributing authors herein resulted in the publication of a scholarly paper. As a collection, the ten studies featured in this book are the creme de la creme of submissions to the ""Middle Grades Research Journal"" between August 2006 and December 2008. They are the ten highest peer reviewed manuscripts examined by members of the MGRJ Review Board - each having undergone careful 'blinded' examination by three or more experts in the sub-specialty area addressed by the research study conducted. In addition, each study serves to exemplify how sound, practical research findings can be linked to classroom practice in middle grades classrooms. ""Middle Grades Research: Exemplary Studies Linking Theory to Practice"" is a must read for university professors and a useful tool for middle grades educators across all subject areas and school settings. Professors who teach middle grades courses, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, will find the book to be a superb supplemental / accelerated readings text. Every college-level middle grades education course should make this book an integral part of class discussions. The book is also an excellent professional development study group resource for middle grades principals and classroom teachers across all subject areas. School level 'Professional Learning Communities' (PLCs) will find that Dr. Hough's book stimulates scholarly thought, promotes discussion, and demonstrates how educational theory can and should impact teaching and learning.

This book highlights new developments in the teaching and learning of algebraic thinking with 5- to 12-year-olds. Based on empirical findings gathered in several countries on five continents, it provides a wealth of best practices for teaching early algebra. Building on the work of the ICME-13 (International Congress on Mathematical Education) Topic Study Group 10 on Early Algebra, well-known authors such as Luis Radford, John Mason, Maria Blanton, Deborah Schifter, and Max Stephens, as well as younger scholars from Asia, Europe, South Africa, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, present novel theoretical perspectives and their latest findings. The book is divided into three parts that focus on (i) epistemological/mathematical aspects of algebraic thinking, (ii) learning, and (iii) teaching and teacher development. Some of the main threads running through the book are the various ways in which structures can express themselves in children's developing algebraic thinking, the roles of generalization and natural language, and the emergence of symbolism. Presenting vital new data from international contexts, the book provides additional support for the position that essential ways of thinking algebraically need to be intentionally fostered in instruction from the earliest grades.

This book provides a timely examination of the effects of class size reduction (CSR) on teaching and learning processes. It represents a departure in that the research covered focuses solely on the relationship between CSR and effective teaching in real secondary school classrooms. The book also presents a much-needed and powerful student voice on the impact of class size reduction on teaching and learning processes. It conceptualises the effects of class size on teaching and learning processes in secondary school classrooms, which are another under-researched perspective in this field. Drawing on multiple case studies concerning teaching and learning processes in large and small Hong Kong secondary-school classes, it highlights the qualitative differences in teaching and learning processes. On the basis of those studies, the book argues for a more purposeful, dynamic approach to education for teachers working in small or reduced-size classes.

In today's climate of accountability and standards, increasing attention is focused on teacher "quality," with less emphasis on what teachers actually do to interest and engage students in learning. This path-breaking volume addresses this research problem with a clear definition and a content-specific analysis of the most essential teaching moment-the instructional explanation-for vital new perspectives on educational method and process.

Rich in examples from science, mathematics, and the humanities, Instructional Explanations in the Disciplines explores a variety of interactive contexts for teaching and learning, which may be collaborative between teachers, students, and others, performed in non-classroom settings, or assisted by technology. The book's subject-matter-specific framework reveals key elements in the process, such as carefully examining the question to be answered, making connections with what is already known, and developing examples conducive to further understanding.

Instructional Explanations in the Disciplines is a valuable addition to the education library, giving researchers new methods of unpacking educational process as few books before it.

This book offers new empirical insights into the current state of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) characterisation (through an innovative proposal to link CLIL to English as a Lingua Franca), implementation (via observation protocols and SWOT analyses), and research (by examining the effects of CLIL on the L1, foreign language, key competences, and content subjects taught through English). The book provides a state of the art of the CLIL arena, identifies the chief challenges that need to be addressed and signposts possible ways of overcoming these in order to continue advancing smoothly into the next decade of CLIL development. This book will be of interest to researchers, policy-makers, educational authorities, and practitioners as it will assist them in making informed decisions about how to characterise, implement, and investigate CLIL in the bi- and plurilingual programs that are more frequently introduced in monolingual contexts.

This book explores important questions about the relationship between professional practice and learning, and implications of this for how we understand professional expertise. Focusing on work accomplished through partnerships between practitioners and parents with young children, the book explores how connectedness in action is a fluid, evolving accomplishment, with four essential dimensions: times, spaces, bodies, and things. Within a broader sociomaterial perspective, the analysis draws on practice theory and philosophy, bringing different schools of thought into productive contact, including the work of Schatzki, Gherardi, and recent developments in cultural historical activity theory. The book takes a bold view, suggesting practices and learning are entwined but distinctive phenomena. A clear and novel framework is developed, based on this idea. The argument goes further by demonstrating how new, coproductive relationships between professionals and clients can intensify the pedagogic nature of professional work, and showing how professionals can support others' learning when the knowledge they are working with, and sense of what is to be learned, are uncertain, incomplete, and fragile.

Despite the considerable, growing interest in online education, most studies have focused only on the students' perspective. Merely a handful of studies have attempted to address the teachers' perspectives and little has been published on the online teaching experience itself. Expectations and Demands in Online Teaching: Practical Experiences offers a better understanding of how teachers experience the online environment by exploring various dimensions of online teaching, including class preparation, process effectiveness and quality, and technology utilization. The book assists educational institution administrators supporting online education improve their understanding of how teachers experience online teaching, and of the issues these teachers face in their teaching.

This book presents an overview of education technology and its use in schools, with a primary emphasis on best practices of technology enhanced learning; how new technologies such as mobile, augmented and wearable technologies affect instructional design strategies; and the content curriculum development process. Providing insights into the future of education and the upcoming pedagogies that will be applied in schools, it helps educators and other stakeholders make innovations for the new generations of learners in the 21st century. The use of emerging technologies such as mobile and ubiquitous technologies, context-aware technology, augment-reality, and virtual reality is contributing to making education adaptive and smarter. With the ever-changing technologies, how to equip teachers with these digital skills and transform their teaching style is also important to ensure that school education is more individualised and customised for students. Offering a global perspective with integrated practical cases, this timely book is of interest to educators, teachers, and education policymakers. And although most of the authors are from the academia, it provides non-experts with a novel view of what future schools will be like with the help of technology.