Most educators are skilled at planning instruction and determining what they will do during the course of a lesson. However, to truly engage students in worthwhile, rigorous cognition, a profound shift is necessary: a shift in emphasis from teaching to learning. Put another way, we know that whoever is doing the work is also doing the learning-and in most classrooms, teachers are working much too hard. Authors John V. Antonetti and James R. Garver are the designers of the Look 2 Learning model of classroom walkthroughs. They've visited more than 17,000 classrooms-examining a variety of teaching and learning conditions, talking to students, examining their work, and determining their levels of thinking and engagement. From this vast set of data, they've drawn salient lessons that provide valuable insight into how to smooth the transition from simply planning instruction to designing high-quality student work. The lessons John and Jim have learned from their 17,000 (and counting) classroom visits can't be wrong. They share those lessons in this book, along with stories of successful practice and practical tools ready for immediate classroom application. The authors also provide opportunities for reflection and closure designed to help you consider (or reconsider) your current beliefs and practices. Throughout, you will hear the voices of John and Jim-and the thousands of students they met-as they provide a map for shifting the classroom dynamic from teaching to learning.

This book will help teachers use the Powerful Task Rubric using an easily digestible format to help them delve into the tool's design components. They'll be able to use technology to complete interactive tasks, and understand first-hand how technology is a critical design component in student task design that brings about more profound and relevant learning. It will also help them to identify opportunities for creating powerful tasks in the areas of engagement, academic strategies, questions, and cognition. Student performance has a direct correlation to the power of the learning task - this book will help positively impact both.