Book Reviews / Concept Based Instruction
by MiddleWeb · Published 03/21/2014 · Last modified 11/12/2019
In Transitioning to Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction, H. Lynn Erickson and Lois A. Lanning provide a guide for moving beyond objectives-based teaching to the deeper meanings and connections of our curriculum, says reviewer Jamey Sutton.
When educators ask “what could I have done differently today to meet the needs of individual students?” they look for answers in data and assignments. The new book “RTI Is a Verb” breaks down the process into concrete pieces to implement in every classroom, says reviewer Sandy Wisneski.
Inclusion Classrooms / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 03/09/2014 · Last modified 11/24/2019
Beyond the rapport that teachers work to develop in all classes, co-teachers must take extra measures to connect to students with learning disabilities. Elizabeth Stein suggests ways to build rapport with kids who have a special learning history.
Students shouldn’t come away from a role play “having done something memorable and learned nothing valuable,” says history teacher Aaron Brock. “There should always be a core skill or concept guiding the activity.” He offers 2 examples to illustrate.
Working with a group of teachers openly wary of technology, Kevin Hodgson offered this writing prompt: “Recall your first aha moment about tech and teaching.” And then, like the good writing teacher he is, he shared his own story as a model.
In Causes & Cures in the Classroom, author Margaret Searle provides detailed exemplars for getting to the root of students’ academic and behavioral problems. To reduce feelings of inadequacy, read the last chapter first, says reviewer Sarah Grieb.
Reviewer Fran Loose, PhD, finds Assessment and Student Success in a Differentiated Classroom is a valuable resource for beginning and veteran teachers, in general and special ed, in K-12 and university settings. It’s a book best read once then revisited periodically.
Former middle grades teacher Daniel Fountenberry says his experiences struggling to organize group reading sessions among students with varied reading skills led him to develop adaptive technology that tailors the “same” book to different readers.
Closing the Achievement Gap / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 01/27/2014 · Last modified 11/23/2019
Current policies & practices supported by education reformers do not assure that students with disabilities can achieve Common Core standards, says special educator Elizabeth Stein. Inclusion students and teachers are trapped in a tangled web.
From her position as a STEM curriculum developer for an NSF-funded program and close watcher of developments in STEM learning nationwide, science educator Anne Jolly offers five predictions about the path STEM education will follow in 2014.
