Parental involvement in children's education is a subject of growing interest and recent legislation in both the UK and USA has given formal recognition of parents' rights. Learning to read is an obvious area where parents can do a great deal to help, and some schools have had programmes for parental involvement in reading for some time. However recent research has shown the considerable benefit in having carefully structured systems for parental involvement. This book presents a review of past and current good practice in this field. Details of a wide range of schemes developed in local areas are given in a series of short contributed papers, which are grouped into sub sections of Part 2 according to the type of project. Part 3 is essentially a manual of materials and methods. The emphasis throughout the book is on service delivery to all children although there is of course considerable discussion of remedial reading and children with special needs The book should appeal to a wide audience in education, educational administration and educational psychology.

This invaluable text draws together an impressive selection of articles on inclusion from a broad base to bring clarity and lucidity to a complicated subject. Whilst the majority of available texts deal with inclusive education within narrow parameters, this book aims to extend our understanding of inclusion by discussing issues of race, social disadvantage, gender and other factors. It successfully integrates rigorous theorising and sound empirical research with clear, accessible and practical guidance for the practitioner. The book has eighteen chapters divided into key topic areas such as: * concepts and contexts * exclusion * gender, race, disability and social class * action in schools * post-school * promoting and managing systemic change. Each chapter ends with questions and issues for onward reflection. The book also includes an annotated list of further reading designed to prompt readers to develop their own successful systematic research. This is an important and useful text for postgraduate students, researchers, academics and policy makers in education.

This invaluable text draws together an impressive selection of articles on inclusion from a broad base to bring clarity and lucidity to a complicated subject. Whilst the majority of available texts deal with inclusive education within narrow parameters, this book aims to extend our understanding of inclusion by discussing issues of race, social disadvantage, gender and other factors. It successfully integrates rigorous theorising and sound empirical research with clear, accessible and practical guidance for the practitioner.
The book has eighteen chapters divided into key topic areas such as:
* concepts and contexts
* exclusion
* gender, race, disability and social class
* action in schools
* post-school
* promoting and managing systemic change.
Each chapter ends with questions and issues for onward reflection. The book also includes an annotated list of further reading designed to prompt readers to develop their own successful systematic research. This is an important and useful text for postgraduate students, researchers, academics and policy makers in education.

There is increasingly strong evidence that K-12 learners who assess each other's work and then engage in related reflections, discussions, and negotiations benefit mutually from the process. In this practical volume, Keith J. Topping provides suggestions for implementing effective peer assessment across many classroom contexts and subjects. Using Peer Assessment to Inspire Reflection and Learning offers pre- and in-service teachers a variety of teaching strategies to best fit their particular students and school environments along with straightforward tools to evaluate peer assessment's impact on their classrooms.

Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) involves children in school consciously assisting others to learn, and in so doing learning more effectively themselves. It encompasses peer tutoring, peer modeling, peer education, peer counseling, peer monitoring, and peer assessment, which are differentiated from other more general "co-operative learning" methods. PAL is not diluted or surrogate "teaching"; it complements and supplements (but never replaces) professional teaching--capitalizing on the unique qualities and richness of peer interaction and helping students become empowered democratically to take more responsibility for their own learning.
In this book, PAL is presented as a set of dynamic, robust, effective, and flexible approaches to teaching and learning, which can be used in a range of different settings. The chapters provide descriptions of good practice blended with research findings on effectiveness. They describe procedures that can be applied to all areas of the school curriculum, and can be used with learners of all levels of ability, including gifted students, students with disabilities, and second-language learners. Among the distinguished contributors, many are from North America, while others are from Europe and Australia. The applicability of the methods they present is worldwide.
"Peer-Assisted Learning" is designed to be accessible and useful to teachers and to those who employ, train, support, consult with, and evaluate them. Many chapters will be helpful to teachers aiming to replicate in their own school environments the cost-effective procedures described. A practical resources guide is included. This volume will also be of interest to faculty and researchers in the fields of education and psychology, to community educators who want to learn about the implications of Peer Assisted Learning beyond school contexts, and to employers and others involved in post-school training.

Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) involves children in school consciously assisting others to learn, and in so doing learning more effectively themselves. It encompasses peer tutoring, peer modeling, peer education, peer counseling, peer monitoring, and peer assessment, which are differentiated from other more general "co-operative learning" methods. PAL is not diluted or surrogate "teaching"; it complements and supplements (but never replaces) professional teaching--capitalizing on the unique qualities and richness of peer interaction and helping students become empowered democratically to take more responsibility for their own learning.
In this book, PAL is presented as a set of dynamic, robust, effective, and flexible approaches to teaching and learning, which can be used in a range of different settings. The chapters provide descriptions of good practice blended with research findings on effectiveness. They describe procedures that can be applied to all areas of the school curriculum, and can be used with learners of all levels of ability, including gifted students, students with disabilities, and second-language learners. Among the distinguished contributors, many are from North America, while others are from Europe and Australia. The applicability of the methods they present is worldwide.
"Peer-Assisted Learning" is designed to be accessible and useful to teachers and to those who employ, train, support, consult with, and evaluate them. Many chapters will be helpful to teachers aiming to replicate in their own school environments the cost-effective procedures described. A practical resources guide is included. This volume will also be of interest to faculty and researchers in the fields of education and psychology, to community educators who want to learn about the implications of Peer Assisted Learning beyond school contexts, and to employers and others involved in post-school training.

This book provides an essential overview of "learning by teaching", unpacking the underpinning theory, research evidence and practical implications of peer learning in a variety of classroom contexts. It aims to offer practical guidance for practitioners in structuring effective peer learning - between professionals and between students alike. It locates this phenomenon in current conceptions of learning and teaching, far removed from traditional ideas of one-way transmission of knowledge. Exactly what happens to promote learning by teaching is explored. Examples of learning by teaching are discussed and it is noted that this happens in school, university and the workplace, as well as through the Internet. Learning by teaching within the student body is then explored, and many different methods described. The organizational features needed to improve learning by teaching consciously and deliberately are investigated. These can be before teaching, during teaching or after teaching. Evidence-based practical guidance is given. Of course teachers can deploy learning by teaching for themselves, but what if they also organize their students to teach each other, thereby giving many more opportunities to discuss, practise, explain and question? This takes pedagogical advantage of the differences between students - turning classrooms into communities of learners where students learn both from their teacher and from their peers.

Using Peer Tutoring to Improve Reading Skills is a very practical guide, offering a straightforward framework and easy-to-implement strategies to help teachers help pupils progress in reading. A succinct introduction, it shows how schools can make positive use of differences between pupils and turn them into effective learning opportunities. Outlining the evidence base supporting peer tutoring approaches, it explores the components of the reading process and explains how peer tutoring in reading can be used with any method of teaching reading. Core topics covered include: Planning and implementing peer tutoring Getting your school on board How to structure effective interaction Training peer tutors and tutees Paired Reading - cross-ability approaces One Book for Two - fostering fluency, reading comprehension, and motivation Reading in Pairs - cross and same-year tutoring Supporting struggling readers Involving families in peer tutoring Evaluation and feedback. Illustrated throughout with practical examples from diverse schools across Europe, Using Peer Tutoring to Improve Reading Skills is an essential introduction offering easy-to-use guidelines that will support teachers in primary and secondary schools as they enhance pupil motivation and improve reading standards.

School inclusion is a perennially popular yet polemic topic in most countries. This timely book explores what is known about inclusion, highlighting outstanding examples of inclusion to provide a complete overview of successful inclusion.The book concentrates on how to make inclusion work - from the view of internationally established practitioners in the field of teacher education - with a focus on what variables are likely to make a difference in practice.What Works in Inclusion? covers three key aspects: Theories of inclusive education Examples of how inclusion can be encouraged and facilitated What prevents inclusion from being successful Drawing on case studies from a wide range of countries, including USA, Australia, UK, Canada and Italy, there is focus on the positive aspects of inclusion: 'how' it can work and 'what actually works', helping you understand successful aspects of inclusion as well as developing an understanding of how inclusive education can best be implemented.In addition to the research-based accounts of how to make inclusion work, the book considers the difficulties that can arise in attempting to achieve successful inclusion and how such barriers can be overcome, to ensure a successful inclusive experience for both teachers and students. This is a key text for all serving and aspiring teachers and SENCOs, as well as those interested in inclusion and SEN in schools, and will inform and challenge in equal measure.Contributors: Adrian F Ashman, Robert Conway, Joanne Deppeler, Roberta Fadda, Laurel M. Garrick Duhaney, Fraser Lauchlan, Margo Mastropieri, Kim M. Michaud, Brahm Norwich, Petra Ponte, Diane Richler, Richard Rose, Spencer J. Salend, Tom Scruggs, Roger Slee, Jacqueline Thousand, Richard Villa, Catharine Whittaker"Focusing on both theory and practice, this timely volume provides a refreshing set of challenges to all of us who are committed to the development of more inclusive education systems. The presentation of ideas and experiences from different countries is particularly powerful in this respect." Professor Mel Ainscow, University of Manchester, UK"Boyle and Topping provide a collection of salient chapters on critical issues pertaining to inclusive education from a collection of world leaders in the field. This book is scholarly, current, and research-based, yet at the same time readable and informative for a wide audience of university teachers and their students, along with practicing educators in the field. Recognizing that inclusive education is an ongoing project this book nevertheless provides a rigorous gestalt of inclusive education theory, practical advice for implementation, and potential barriers to success. This is one of the finest books on this topic currently available." Professor Tim Loreman, Faculty of Education, Concordia University College of Alberta, Canada

Using Peer Tutoring to Improve Reading Skills is a very practical guide, offering a straightforward framework and easy-to-implement strategies to help teachers help pupils progress in reading. A succinct introduction, it shows how schools can make positive use of differences between pupils and turn them into effective learning opportunities. Outlining the evidence base supporting peer tutoring approaches, it explores the components of the reading process and explains how peer tutoring in reading can be used with any method of teaching reading. Core topics covered include: Planning and implementing peer tutoring Getting your school on board How to structure effective interaction Training peer tutors and tutees Paired Reading - cross-ability approaces One Book for Two - fostering fluency, reading comprehension, and motivation Reading in Pairs - cross and same-year tutoring Supporting struggling readers Involving families in peer tutoring Evaluation and feedback. Illustrated throughout with practical examples from diverse schools across Europe, Using Peer Tutoring to Improve Reading Skills is an essential introduction offering easy-to-use guidelines that will support teachers in primary and secondary schools as they enhance pupil motivation and improve reading standards.

There is increasingly strong evidence that K-12 learners who assess each other's work and then engage in related reflections, discussions, and negotiations benefit mutually from the process. In this practical volume, Keith J. Topping provides suggestions for implementing effective peer assessment across many classroom contexts and subjects. Using Peer Assessment to Inspire Reflection and Learning offers pre- and in-service teachers a variety of teaching strategies to best fit their particular students and school environments along with straightforward tools to evaluate peer assessment's impact on their classrooms.

This book provides an essential overview of "learning by teaching", unpacking the underpinning theory, research evidence and practical implications of peer learning in a variety of classroom contexts. It aims to offer practical guidance for practitioners in structuring effective peer learning - between professionals and between students alike. It locates this phenomenon in current conceptions of learning and teaching, far removed from traditional ideas of one-way transmission of knowledge. Exactly what happens to promote learning by teaching is explored. Examples of learning by teaching are discussed and it is noted that this happens in school, university and the workplace, as well as through the Internet. Learning by teaching within the student body is then explored, and many different methods described. The organizational features needed to improve learning by teaching consciously and deliberately are investigated. These can be before teaching, during teaching or after teaching. Evidence-based practical guidance is given. Of course teachers can deploy learning by teaching for themselves, but what if they also organize their students to teach each other, thereby giving many more opportunities to discuss, practise, explain and question? This takes pedagogical advantage of the differences between students - turning classrooms into communities of learners where students learn both from their teacher and from their peers.

Parental involvement in children's education is a subject of growing interest and recent legislation in both the UK and USA has given formal recognition of parents' rights. Learning to read is an obvious area where parents can do a great deal to help, and some schools have had programmes for parental involvement in reading for some time. However recent research has shown the considerable benefit in having carefully structured systems for parental involvement. This book presents a review of past and current good practice in this field. Details of a wide range of schemes developed in local areas are given in a series of short contributed papers, which are grouped into sub sections of Part 2 according to the type of project. Part 3 is essentially a manual of materials and methods. The emphasis throughout the book is on service delivery to all children although there is of course considerable discussion of remedial reading and children with special needs The book should appeal to a wide audience in education, educational administration and educational psychology.

Peer learning allows a positive use of differences between pupils, turning them into learning opportunities. Yet education professionals often remain unfamiliar with the principles necessary to guarantee its effectiveness. The aim of this book is to help practitioners establish well-structured and effective peer learning projects using a variety of methods. It introduces and defines cooperative learning (mutual peer interaction) and peer tutoring (directional peer interaction) - outlining general organisational principles that will help practitioners implement peer learning in either of these forms. The authors consider how to prepare and train learners to undertake their roles effectively, and how to organise and monitor the process of interaction as it is happening. They then look at how these systems actually operate in the classroom, exploring how the organisational principles work in practice and giving many practical examples. Subsequently three successive chapters consider how to structure peer interactions in cooperative learning, same-age peer tutoring and cross-age peer tutoring. Finally, the advantages and problems, and the potential and challenges, of peer learning are examined. The book should be read in stages, with each part being able to be read on its own - thus providing time for reflection. Within each part, readers can choose to focus on cooperative learning or peer tutoring. The successive focuses on definitions, general principles of implementation and practical issues of implementation should help practitioners build their skills and confidence. Many choices between methods are described, and when teachers are confident in one method they may then consider trying a new method. It is the authors' hope that the book will become a model for peer learning by sharing with readers the skills of other practitioners, and thereby helping all children to develop to their full potential.

Peer learning allows a positive use of differences between pupils, turning them into learning opportunities. Yet education professionals often remain unfamiliar with the principles necessary to guarantee its effectiveness. The aim of this book is to help practitioners establish well-structured and effective peer learning projects using a variety of methods. It introduces and defines cooperative learning (mutual peer interaction) and peer tutoring (directional peer interaction) - outlining general organisational principles that will help practitioners implement peer learning in either of these forms. The authors consider how to prepare and train learners to undertake their roles effectively, and how to organise and monitor the process of interaction as it is happening. They then look at how these systems actually operate in the classroom, exploring how the organisational principles work in practice and giving many practical examples. Subsequently three successive chapters consider how to structure peer interactions in cooperative learning, same-age peer tutoring and cross-age peer tutoring. Finally, the advantages and problems, and the potential and challenges, of peer learning are examined. The book should be read in stages, with each part being able to be read on its own - thus providing time for reflection. Within each part, readers can choose to focus on cooperative learning or peer tutoring. The successive focuses on definitions, general principles of implementation and practical issues of implementation should help practitioners build their skills and confidence. Many choices between methods are described, and when teachers are confident in one method they may then consider trying a new method. It is the authors' hope that the book will become a model for peer learning by sharing with readers the skills of other practitioners, and thereby helping all children to develop to their full potential.

This book investigates the value of peer assisted learning through interactive technologies for foreign language learners. It is a compilation of six research projects. Two of these took place in Higher Education with students learning English as a Second Language. The value of one-way peer tutoring through online instant communication was assessed. Findings showed that there was a great deal of social and academic benefit for international students. The remaining four projects linked Scottish schools with schools in Spain, France and Germany. The potential of reciprocal peer tutoring through online discussion boards was evaluated. In pairs, foreign language learners were expected to write messages on topics aligned to their respective curricula. They were also to provide feedback to each other. In performance in the foreign language statistically significant gains resulted. However, content analysis showed this did not develop in a linear fashion. Participants were overwhelmingly positive about their experiences. This method of computerised peer learning between countries has great potential, for both foreign language learning and cultural exchange.

Describing specific structured methods for developing and improving literacy skills, this work provides detailed advice about successful organization, coupled with photocopiable masters of necessary materials. The methods are designed with the intention that all students and teachers can benefit, regardless of age and ability. They require no complex technology or expensive materials.