The Exceptional Teacher′s Handbook


Book Description

"What an excellent resource for the beginning teacher! Practical, down-to-earth resources that can be implemented the first day of school!" —Kristle F. Evans, Director of Human Resources/Community Relations Lampeter-Strasburg School District, PA "The book is organized logically and flows well from the first chapter to the last. It helps teachers manage an effective special education classroom the entire school year. This book should be a required resource for every new special education teacher." —Phyllis N. Levert, School Administrator Georgia School Districts, Atlanta, GA Specific guidelines and strategies to help special educators navigate their first year! The first year in the career of a special education teacher is filled with expectation and promise. Revised to address the most common needs of beginning special education teachers, the third edition of The Exceptional Teacher′s Handbook helps new educators move confidently from preplanning to post-planning for the entire school year. The authors present a step-by-step management approach complete with planning checklists and other ready-to-use forms within the context of IDEA 2004 and NCLB. Written from the perspective of a classroom teacher, this popular reference offers updates on: Recognized disabilities Best instructional practices for getting the most out of your students Successful parent conferences Effective plans for professional learning Alternate assessments, emergencies in the school setting, education terminology, and more Actively address challenges and concerns with this one-stop handbook that will help smooth the transition from student teacher to professional educator.




Restructuring Leadership for School Improvement and Reform


Book Description

The quality of school leadership has a big impact on improvement and inspection outcomes. Good school leaders ensure that their teachers have the resources they need to be successful. They also create a positive culture where teachers feel supported and appreciated. This leads to better morale and higher retention rates. Additionally, good school leaders can effectively communicate the school's vision to all stakeholders. This ensures that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals. Restructuring Leadership for School Improvement and Reform investigates cooperation, staff development, resource supply, vision transparency, workplace stress management, and professional development for school leaders as methods for creating a healthy school culture. This premier reference source is ideal for administrators, instructional designers, researchers, academicians, scholars, practitioners, instructors, and students.




Coaching and Mentoring First-Year and Student Teachers


Book Description

Features over 60 step-by-step procedures, checklists, and planning guides for supervisors, mentors, and all those engaged in in-service teacher training. NEW to this edition - updated coverage of standards - assessment - analyzing student work - cognitive coaching - and more...




Questions of English


Book Description

Offers a lively and accessible guide through past and present debates about the English curriculum which will appeal to students and practising teachers.




Questions of English


Book Description

The impact and content of English as a subject on the curriculum is once more the subject of lively debate. Questions of English sets out to map the development of English as a subject and how it has come to encompass the diversity of ideas that currently characterise it. Drawing on a combination of historical analysis and recent research findings Robin Peel, Annette Patterson and Jeanne Gerlach bring together and compare important new insights on curriculum development and teaching practice from England, Australia and the United States. They also discuss the development of teacher training, highlighting the variety of ways in which teachers build their own beliefs and knowledge about English.




Team Teaching


Book Description

For those considering adopting team teaching, or interested in reviewing their own practice, this book offers an over-view of this pedagogy, its challenges and rewards, and a rich range of examples in which teachers present and reflect upon their approaches. The interaction of two teachers—both the intellectual interaction involved in the design of the course, and the pedagogical interaction in the teaching of the course—creates a dynamic environment that reflects the way scholars make meaning of the world. The process naturally breaks down the teacher-centered classroom by creating a scholarly community in which teachers and students work together to understand important ideas, and where students don’t just learn content, but begin to understand how knowledge is constructed, grasp the connections between disciplines as well as their different perspectives, see greater coherence in the curriculum, and appreciate how having more than one teacher in the classroom leads naturally to dialogue and active learning.Each of the five examples in this book shares the story of a course at a different institution, and each is designed to reflect a number of different variables in team-taught courses. They represent courses in a variety of different disciplines, including the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the arts; and at a range of levels, from first-year seminars to graduate courses. They also illustrate a number of different models for instructional teams, such as faculty from the same disciplines, from related disciplines, from two very different disciplines, from different institutions, and one pairing of a faculty member and a staff member. This book provides insight into the impact of team teaching on student learning and on faculty development. It also addresses the challenges, both pedagogical an administrative, that need to be addressed for team teaching to be effective.




First Year Teachers


Book Description




Becoming a Win-Win Teacher


Book Description

Becoming a successful teacher in today's fast-changing world can be a daunting challenge. Jane Bluestein addresses the issues new teachers face and provides practical ideas and honest cautions in a wide range of helpful topics, including what keeps so many schools rooted in win-lose philosophies and practices, personal assets that will increase the odds of your survival and success, and specific strategies for winning in a win-lose system. These valuable insights and strategies, backed by years of experience and research, help you: - Establish your professional identity - Understand the culture, environment, and politics of today's schools - Build your own support team with mentors, administrators, and colleagues - Connect with students and create win-win classrooms - Take care of yourself and grow in your career With activity sheets full of handy charts, self-assessment surveys, and planning pages, Becoming a Win-Win Teacher helps you become a welcome, established, and effective member of a school community—without sacrificing your personality, intentions, or ideals.




Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics


Book Description

This New Edition collects and brings together in one place what has been learned from professional developers efforts across the country in order to make the framework, principles, and strategies of the first edition come to life. This edition deepens our understanding of professional development through further research and new resources. The original purpose of this book to put a competent and caring teacher in every classroom has yet to be fulfilled and is more urgent now than ever. The authors provide one-stop shopping for busy practitioners that incorporates the most up-to-date research gleaned from the broadest possible research base as well as robust and rich descriptions of effective professional development programmes. It incorporates the growing knowledge base about learning, teaching, the nature of science and mathematics, professional development, and change. The authors scanned the field of professional development in mathematics and science over the last five years, noting what has changed and what has not, dissected the original framework, updated examples, incorporate what authors have learned as well as advances in the field. This essential primer offers a framework that considers key inputs and combines strategies uniquely tailored to their environment and goals; summarizes key knowledge and best practices; provides guidance on assessing one′s context; describes strategies that go beyond most common workshops and institutes; provides real-life examples of how elements of the framework were used to create professional development initiatives; offers references and resources for further exploration and inquiry. Highlights of the Second Edition include: - New design framework that incorporates standards, student learning data, and evaluation techniques - More guidance for assessing context using data - More strategies for professional development, including lesson study, aligning and selecting curriculum, and demonstration lessons. - Stronger real-life examples, including new uses of technology and data-driven designs An essential resource for educators who design, conduct, and support professional development for teachers of mathematics and science, including staff developers, principals, teacher leaders, curriculum supervisors, and leadership teams. College and university faculty in education, science, and mathematics will also find this to be a useful compendium of ideas for improving mathematics and science education.