Teaching with the Instructional Cha-chas


Book Description

With foreword by Rick Wormeli Merging educational neuroscience with a formative assessment process and differentiated instruction, LeAnn Nickelsen and Melissa Dickson developed a four-step cycle of instruction -- (1) chunk, (2) chew, (3) check, and (4) change -- that has the power to double the speed of student learning. Compatible with any subject area, the book's brain-friendly teaching strategies and plentiful tools are designed to help transform students into active learners and independent thinkers. Educational neuroscience- and research-based teaching strategies to improve student achievement: Combine brain science with a formative assessment process and differentiated instruction to maximize student learning. Examine effective teaching strategies and differentiation practices so you can bump it up or break it down according to student needs. Consider the four-step instructional cycle and understand the components of chunk, chew, check, and change. Explore how the formative assessment process can double the speed of learning. Learn how to plan instruction and preassess efficiently so that daily learning targets and formative assessments enable each student to meet standards. Receive templates and teaching strategies that can be easily differentiated and implemented in daily lesson plans. Contents: Introduction: Maneuver Your Footwork With Four Steps Part I: Setting Up Your Classroom Dance Floor Chapter 1: Choreograph Your Instruction With the Cha-Cha Steps Chapter 2: Move Smoothly From Broad Ideas to Smaller Ideas Chapter 3: Get to Know Your Dance Partners Part II: Putting the Steps Together Chapter 4: Take Step One: Chunk (Instruct) Chapter 5: Take Step Two: Chew (Learn) Chapter 6: Take Step Three: Check (Evaluate) Chapter 7: Take Step Four: Change (Differentiate) Chapter 8: Finesse the Chunk, Chew, Check, and Change Cycle Epilogue: Swing Into Action With the Four Steps







Languaging in Language Learning and Teaching


Book Description

This book is the first to bring together a collection of recent empirical studies investigating languaging, an important construct first introduced by Swain in 2006 but which has since been deployed in a growing number of L2 studies. The contributing authors include both established and emerging authors from around the globe. They report on studies which elicited languaging in oral or written form, via a range of individual and group tasks, and from a diverse range of student populations. As such these studies extend the scope of extant research, illustrating different and novel approaches to research on languaging. The findings of these studies provide new insights into the language learning opportunities that languaging can afford language learners in different educational and linguistic contexts but also the factors that may impact on these opportunities. As such the book promises to be of relevance and interest to both researchers and language teachers.




A Happy Classroom


Book Description

Just imagine millions of students, young and old, all over the world, sitting still and listening. Are they happy? I think not. It has been observed by educators and confirmed by non-verbal/mathematical evaluations that there is a measurable discrepancy between the potential and the actual performance of many students. Conclusion reached is that the way we educate our students in educational establishments, does not produce successful or happy people. The purpose of this book is to identify and describe the raw material we have, the students and their environment, the tools we have, books, computers and the product we hope to produce creative and productive students. To achieve this we need to design activities that will allow the students to be involved with each other and independent of each other. We must also take into account special gifts, varied abilities, and handicaps. Activities which do not address the above conditions such as text books exercises, rote learning, and various busy work tasks are killers of all the attributes we love in our students - spontaneity, creativity, enthusiasm, curiosity, and humour. During my last few years teaching K-12 I came up with activities that were mostly student generated. They presented their work to the class and we graded it together. I have spent much time on classroom management for without organization, routine and order chaos reigns. Equal understanding by both, students and teachers, of the benefits of the well-run classroom will add much to the learning environment. I also have taken some time in coming up with grading strategies. As we spend much time on testing and grading we need first of all to free the teachers from this tedium, and then examine whether the benefits to the students warrant so much time spent on the testing process. Perhaps my most rewarding task was the organization and design of a grading rubric. We had so much fun. Most importantly the teacher with a hundred and fifty student reports ha




Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind


Book Description

In this galvanizing follow-up to the best-selling Teaching with Poverty in Mind, renowned educator and learning expert Eric Jensen digs deeper into engagement as the key factor in the academic success of economically disadvantaged students. Drawing from research, experience, and real school success stories, Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind reveals * Smart, purposeful engagement strategies that all teachers can use to expand students' cognitive capacity, increase motivation and effort, and build deep, enduring understanding of content. * The (until-now) unwritten rules for engagement that are essential for increasing student achievement. * How automating engagement in the classroom can help teachers use instructional time more effectively and empower students to take ownership of their learning. * Steps you can take to create an exciting yet realistic implementation plan. Too many of our most vulnerable students are tuning out and dropping out because of our failure to engage them. It's time to set the bar higher. Until we make school the best part of every student's day, we will struggle with attendance, achievement, and graduation rates. This timely resource will help you take immediate action to revitalize and enrich your practice so that all your students may thrive in school and beyond.




TESOL Teacher Education


Book Description

A practical approach to preparing learner TESOL teachers for the realities of a real classroom A 200 hour teacher education program, often heavily focused on theory and where practice is left to short field experiences cannot provide you with everything that you will need when working in a real classroom. In this book Thomas Farrell addresses two problems within TESOL teacher education - the perceived gap between theory and practice and the lack of contact with newly qualified teachers. Farrell outlines how to prepare for the realities of what you will face when beginning your career through reflective activities that include: case-based teaching, teaching metaphor analysis, critical incident analysis, and teacher identity analysis. Including data-based vignettes from diverse contexts of language teachers, you are able to gain practical insights from language teacher education courses. Whether a learner teacher or teacher educator, this book presents new insights into the reality of TESOL teacher education. Key features: -includes tasks, discussion questions and data-based vignettes from diverse contexts of language teachers -takes a reflective approach to TESOL teacher education that starts in pre-service education but extends the educational experiences to 'novice-service TESOL teacher education' -encourages self-assessment in collaborative interactions with teacher educators, mentors, and supervisors Thomas S.C. Farrell is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Brock University, Canada.




The Writing Lab Approach to Language Instruction and Intervention


Book Description

Developed through a decade of work with elementary and middle school children, the Writing Lab Approach uses computer-supported activities to encourage student progress in each stage of the writing process, from organizing to editing.




Five Paths of Student Engagement: Blazing the Trail to Learning and Success (Your Guide to Promoting Active Engagement in the Classroom and Improving


Book Description

This is a breakthrough book on student engagement. Join Dennis Shirley and Andy Hargreaves, two award-winning authors and leaders in their field, on a profound educational quest that will take you through exciting and challenging terrain. Five Paths of Student Engagement will open your eyes, heart and mind and empower you to implement practices that lead directly to your students' well-being, learning, and success. By integrating psychological and sociological perspectives, and using inspiring examples from seven years of research, this book delves deeply into the what, why, and how of student engagement. It reveals who and what the true enemies of student engagement are, and shows you how to defeat them. It will enrich and reward your work for years to come. Utilize research-based strategies to promote active engagement in the classroom and build the foundation for student growth: Learn why active engagement is the new frontier of student achievement. Understand how engaging students means so much more than defeating boredom. Consider psychological and sociological theories that cast new light on engagement and motivation. Reflect on how engagement is about mystery and magic, meaning and purpose, and focus and mastery. Understand why increasing classroom engagement requires much more than surveys, rubrics and observation protocols. Learn strategies to battle all five enemies of engagement in order to engage students totally and motivate unmotivated students. Explore five clear paths of engagement that lead to improving student learning and success that all teachers and schools can embark upon immediately. Contents: Preface Chapter 1: From Achievement to Engagement--Two Ages of Educational Change Chapter 2: Theories of Engagement and Motivation--From Maslow to Flow Chapter 3: Three Myths of Engagement--Relevance, Technology, and Fun Chapter 4: The Five Enemies of Engagement--How to Defeat Them Chapter 5: Standardized Testing--The Archenemy of Engagement Chapter 6: The Five Pathways of Student Engagement--In Theory and Practice Chapter 7: The Promise of Engagement--A Battle for Change References Index




Analysis of Categorical Data with R


Book Description

Analysis of Categorical Data with R, Second Edition presents a modern account of categorical data analysis using the R software environment. It covers recent techniques of model building and assessment for binary, multicategory, and count response variables and discusses fundamentals, such as odds ratio and probability estimation. The authors give detailed advice and guidelines on which procedures to use and why to use them. The second edition is a substantial update of the first based on the authors’ experiences of teaching from the book for nearly a decade. The book is organized as before, but with new content throughout, and there are two new substantive topics in the advanced topics chapter—group testing and splines. The computing has been completely updated, with the "emmeans" package now integrated into the book. The examples have also been updated, notably to include new examples based on COVID-19, and there are more than 90 new exercises in the book. The solutions manual and teaching videos have also been updated. Features: Requires no prior experience with R, and offers an introduction to the essential features and functions of R Includes numerous examples from medicine, psychology, sports, ecology, and many other areas Integrates extensive R code and output Graphically demonstrates many of the features and properties of various analysis methods Offers a substantial number of exercises in all chapters, enabling use as a course text or for self-study Supplemented by a website with data sets, code, and teaching videos Analysis of Categorical Data with R, Second Edition is primarily designed for a course on categorical data analysis taught at the advanced undergraduate or graduate level. Such a course could be taught in a statistics or biostatistics department, or within mathematics, psychology, social science, ecology, or another quantitative discipline. It could also be used by a self-learner and would make an ideal reference for a researcher from any discipline where categorical data arise.




Pyramid Response to Intervention


Book Description

Accessible language and compelling stories illustrate how RTI is most effective when built on the Professional Learning Communities at WorkTM process. Written by award-winning educators from successful PLC schools, this book demonstrates how to create three tiers of interventions—from basic to intensive—to address student learning gaps. You will understand what a successful program looks like, and the many reproducible forms and activities will help your team understand how to make RTI work in your school.