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Improving the Quality of Education for All: A Handbook of Staff Development Activities
by David HopkinsThe "Improving the Quality of Education for All" (IQEA) school improvement project has, over the last ten years, reduced and evaluated a model of development that strengthens the school's ability to provide high quality education for all its pupils by building on existing good practice. The schools within the IQEA network have also provided the setting for a long-term investigation into the processes of school change and the enhancement of student achievement. This book provides many practical staff development activities and gives examples of specific changes which have taken place in IQEA schools, relating both to the progress of students and the professional development of their teachers. These training activities and examples demonstrate that improving the quality of education has many facets, not all of which can be measured and translated into league tables.
Improving the Student Experience: A practical guide for universities and colleges
by Michelle MorganThe landscape of higher education (HE) has dramatically altered in the past 30 years and it continues to evolve and change. More students are entering HE and attending university or college on a global scale than ever before. Supporting and enhancing the undergraduate student experience across the student lifecycle, from first contact through to alumni, is a critical activity in higher education today not only to aid retention and progression but in a highly competitive HE market, the quality of the student experience is pivotal to an institution’s ability to attract students. The student experience encompasses all aspects of student life, i.e. academic, social, welfare, with the academic imperative at the heart of it. However, the increasing costs of delivering HE, a reduction in government/ state funding and constraints on resources means delivering a quality student experience has never been more challenging for those working in HE. Staff at all levels, and across all areas within an institution, are developing and implementing initiatives to improve and enhance the student experience whether they are at the coal face or on the periphery thus making them a ‘Practitioner’ in the student experience. This could include the admissions administrator improving the information available for potential applicants; the academic improving his/her feedback to students or central welfare departments ensuring that their services are being advertised and supported within a student’s home unit (faculty/department/school/course). In this book, the Editor, Michelle Morgan describes how her new student experience ‘Practitioner Model’ provides an organised and more detailed structure; guiding Practitioners in the identification of what they have to deliver, who they need to deliver it to and when they need to deliver it across her six key stages of the student lifecycle: · First Contact and Admissions; · Pre-arrival; · Arrival and Orientation; · Induction to Study; · Reorientation and Reinduction (Returners' Induction) · Outduction (preparation for life after undergraduate study). The Practioner Model offers a new way of thinking in terms of delivering ‘interlinked’ academic, welfare and support activities at the home unit and university level to support the student in their university journey. This book also provides working solutions to real problems in the form of exemplar case studies from the UK and internationally, including chapters from Liz Thomas, Di Nutt, Marcia Ody, Chris Keenan(UK), Mary Stuart Hunter, (USA), Kerri-Lee Krause and Duncan Nulty (Australia). Good practice must be adaptable and transferable because one size does not fit all. It must also be cost effective. And here the authors shows how practitioners can adapt and customise the 40 case studies presented to help them not only improve and enhance the experience of their undergraduate students in their own institution (both full and part-time) but also to support their students’ progression and retention.
Improving Thinking About Thinking in the Classroom: What Works for Enhancing Metacognition
by Keith J. ToppingWhat are the best ways to enhance metacognition in the course of classroom teaching? This research-to-practice book shows how to go beyond simple student reflection to use any of 19 different practical strategies. Each chapter describes a different method, gives the research evidence to support the effectiveness of the method and then provides guidelines for implementation. You will learn about programs within traditional curriculum subjects, programs across the traditional curriculum, programs focusing especially on self-regulation, programs for disabled and special needs students, and programs embedded in a digital environment. You will also discover common features of the methods, so you can see the similarities across the methods and ultimately devise your own ways to develop metacognition and self-regulated learning. With the powerful practices in this book, students will develop a refined ability to think about how they think and learn, preparing them for their futures beyond school.
Improving Thinking in the Classroom: What Works for Enhancing Cognition
by Keith J. ToppingPrograms like philosophy for children, reciprocal teaching, problem based learning and computerized games can help students’ critical and creative thinking skills, but which are most effective? This research-to-practice book showcases how you can improve the thinking (cognition) of your students, across the curriculum and beyond. Each chapter focuses on a particular program, describes the method and background research, offers examples and explains key processes in implementation. You'll learn about thinking programs within a subject, across the curriculum, outside the curriculum and those which can be either within or outside the curriculum, so you can choose a program which suits your context. You’ll also find out what to consider when evaluating a thinking skills program. And finally, you’ll discover shared features of the methods – such as peer interaction, discourse, argumentation, scaffolding and transfer – so you can see the commonalities of the programs and think about designing your own approaches. Whether you’re a classroom teacher, department head, or other key stakeholder, this powerful resource will help you determine what really works for teaching thinking, so your students can apply such skills and thrive long after they’ve left school. Note: This book is part of a set; a companion book focuses on programs for teaching metacognition, or thinking about thinking.
Improving Undergraduate Instruction in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: Report of a Workshop
by Richard Mccray Robert L. Dehaan Julie Anne SchuckParticipants in this workshop were asked to explore three related questions: (1) how to create measures of undergraduate learning in STEM courses; (2) how such measures might be organized into a framework of criteria and benchmarks to assess instruction; and (3) how such a framework might be used at the institutional level to assess STEM courses and curricula to promote ongoing improvements. The following issues were highlighted: Effective science instruction identifies explicit, measurable learning objectives. Effective teaching assists students in reconciling their incomplete or erroneous preconceptions with new knowledge. Instruction that is limited to passive delivery of information requiring memorization of lecture and text contents is likely to be unsuccessful in eliciting desired learning outcomes. Models of effective instruction that promote conceptual understanding in students and the ability of the learner to apply knowledge in new situations are available. Institutions need better assessment tools for evaluating course design and effective instruction. Deans and department chairs often fail to recognize measures they have at their disposal to enhance incentives for improving education. Much is still to be learned from research into how to improve instruction in ways that enhance student learning.
Improving What is Learned at University: An Exploration of the Social and Organisational Diversity of University Education (Improving Learning #Vol. 10)
by John Brennan Robert Edmunds Muir Houston David Jary Yann Lebeau Michael Osborne John T.E. RichardsonReceived the ‘highly commended’ award by the Society for Educational Studies for books published in 2010. What is learned in universities today? Is it what students expect to learn? Is it what universities say they learn? How far do the answers to questions such as these differ according to what, where and how one studies? As higher education has expanded, it has diversified both in terms of its institutional forms and the characteristics of its students. However, what we do not know is the extent to which it has also diversified in terms of ‘what is learned’. In this book, the authors explore this question through the voices of higher education students, using empirical data from students taking 15 different courses at different universities across three subject areas – bioscience, business studies and sociology. The study concentrates on the students’ experiences, lives, hopes and aspirations while at university through data from interviews and questionnaires, and this is collated and assessed alongside the perspectives of their teachers and official data from the universities they attend. Through this study the authors provide insights into ‘what is really learned at university’ and how much it differs between individual students and the universities they attend. Notions of ‘best’ or ‘top’ universities are challenged throughout, and both diversities and commonalities of being a student are demonstrated. Posing important questions for higher education institutions about the experiences of their students and the consequences for graduates and society, this book is compelling reading for all those involved in higher education, providing conclusions which do not always follow conventional lines of thought about diversity and difference in UK higher education.
Improving Working as Learning (Improving Learning)
by Alan Felstead Alison Fuller Nick Jewson Lorna UnwinInterest in learning at work has captured the attention of many people around the world, often taking centre stage in policy debates about improving economic performance, prosperity and well-being. This book is about the learning that goes on in workplaces – ranging from offices, factories and shops to gyms, health centres and universities – and how it can be improved. Such learning includes everyday work activity, on-the-job instruction and off-the-job training events. Improving Working as Learning is the first book to analyze systematically learning at work in different settings by developing and applying a new analytical framework. The Working as Learning Framework connects the particularities of work tasks with the way jobs are organized and the wider pressures and constraints organizations face for survival, growth and development. The authors convincingly demonstrate that the framework offers a sophisticated understanding of how improving the work environment – both within the workplace and beyond – can enhance and sustain improvements in learning at work. Each chapter presents evidence – taken from both private and public sectors – to illustrate how the Working as Learning Framework provides a means by which employers, researchers and policy-makers can Improve the conditions for nurturing and sustaining learning at work Build appropriate workforce development plans within given constraints Recognize that the creation and use of knowledge is widely distributed Mobilize existing workplace resources to support learning Enhance and extend our understanding of how workplace learning is shaped by relationships at, and beyond, the workplace This topical book will appeal to an international readership of undergraduate and postgraduate students, vocational teachers and trainers, human resource professionals, policy-makers, and researchers.
Improving Working Memory
by Tracy Packiam AllowayYour working memory is the information your brain stores for a short period of time, it is your brain's post-it note if you like, and how much information you can remember has a huge influence on how well you do at school, and beyond. By understanding a child's working memory, you will be able to support their learning at school, and their concentration. Better working memory can be particularly useful to children with conditions where poor working memory is thought to be an underlying factor. Such conditions include: - dyslexia - dyscalculia - speech and language difficulties - developmental coordination disorders (motor dyspraxia) - ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) - autistic spectrum disorders This book explains how to spot problems early, and how to work with children to improve their working memory, therefore increasing their chances of success in the classroom. It also explains the theory behind working memory. Underpinned by rigorous research and written in a highly accessible style, this book will appeal to practitioners, parents and students as an essential guide to helping their students fulfil their maximum potential.
Improving Workplace Learning (Improving Learning)
by Karen Evans Lorna Unwin Phil Hodkinson Helen RainbirdAcross the western world, there is a growing awareness of the importance of workplace learning, seen at the level of national and international policy, as well as in the developing practices of employers, training providers and Trades Unions. Authoritative, accessible, and appealing, it presents key findings on work-based learning, bringing together conclusions and investigating a variety of workplace contexts to show how such learning can be improved. An extensive practical treatment, brought to life with illustrations from both the public and private sectors, this book has a unique combination of breadth of coverage and depth of understanding. Grounded in rich and detailed empirical studies, this volume challenges conventional thinking. An important new addition to the Improving Learning series, it focuses on guidelines for improving learning by marrying the very best theory and practice to provide an accessible and authoritative guide to workplace learning. Practitioners, policy makers, students and academics with an interest in learning at work will find this an invaluable addition to their bookshelves.
Improving Your Daily Practice: A Guide for Effective School Leadership
by Tim BerkeyThis book will show principals how they can change daily practices to invest more time in the improvement of teaching and learning. It redirects leadership to effective practices in instructional leadership.
Improving Your Elementary School: Ten Aligned Steps for Administrators, Teams, Teachers, Families, and Students
by Leslie Walker WilsonEach of the chapters in this unique book wa written expressly for each major stakeholder group in your school, tailored to their varied needs and experiences. Each chapter contains a set of inter-related practical activities so that each group focuses on the same goals and supports the others. No other book on school improvement includes a chapter written exclusively for elementary students, printed in large type, illustrated with cartoons, and accompanied by step-by-step advice for educators on how to use this material.
Improving Your Reflective Practice through Stories of Practitioner Research (Pen Green Books for Early Years Educators)
by Cath ArnoldImproving Your Reflective Practice through Stories of Practitioner Research shows how research has informed and created effective and valuable reflective practice in early years education, and offers depth to the arguments for a research-orientated stance to this vital field of study. This thought-provoking text explores and documents a variety of small-scale practitioner research projects from the home and early years settings. The stories are centred around real life for children, families and workers and offer practical ideas and support for early years students around the world. They engage in some of the most current debates in early childhood education today, such as: how to support children as individuals how young children learn and how parents support their learning how to lead and facilitate change in a way that does not take power away from children, parents or workers how to support children in taking risks how to support parents in returning to learning. Throughout this book, the ‘Pen Green’ attitude to practitioner research is actively encouraged. This involves fostering curiosity, being open to the views of others, questioning the ‘taken for granted’, making the implicit explicit and reflecting on one’s daily work. Any practitioner research in early years education and care will draw inspiration from this accessible and supportive text.
Improving Your School One Week at a Time: Building the Foundation for Professional Teaching and Learning
by Jeffrey ZoulThis book displays 37 “Friday Focus” memos, each of which provides insight into a specific aspect of teaching and learning for all to reflect on throughout the year. Friday Focus memos address the principal’s responsibility to shape the school culture, provide intellectual stimulation, and communicate effectively. The memos are organized around the school year and provide educators with a wide variety of insights into how to improve our schools. They are typically between 500–1,000 words in length and can be sent out via e-mail to each staff member – not only to the teachers but also secretaries, custodians, and cafeteria workers. A vehicle for school improvement, the Friday Focus memos provide a step-by-step plan for staff members and principals to work together as change agents for school improvement.
Improving Your School One Week at a Time: Building the Foundation for Professional Teaching and Learning
by Jeffrey Zoul Spiri Diamantis HowardLearn how you can work more effectively with your staff to improve your school. In this unique book, Jeffrey Zoul and Spiri Diamantis Howard reveal how a powerful tool, “Friday Focus” emails or newsletters, can help school principals communicate more proactively and consistently with their teachers while improving instruction and morale.The chapters cover 37 “Friday Focus” memos, which are organized around the school year and which cover topics such as student behavior, teacher observations, parent-teacher conferences, and more. This updated second edition offers suggestions for additional areas including artificial intelligence and equity, hope, microlearning, universal design for learning, engaging the families of ELLs, online relationship building, and gamification.Whether you’re a new or veteran school leader, these inspiring messages will help you work alongside your staff as change agents for school improvement.
Improvisation: Its Nature And Practice In Music
by Derek BaileyDerek Bailey'sImprovisation, originally published in 1980, and here updated and extended with new interviews and photographs, is the first book to deal with the nature of improvisation in all its forms--Indian music, flamenco, baroque, organ music, rock, jazz, contemporary, and "free" music. By drawing on conversations with some of today's seminal improvisers--including John Zorn, Jerry Garcia, Steve Howe, Steve Lacy, Lionel Salter, Earle Brown, Paco Pe#65533;a, Max Roach, Evan Parker, and Ronnie Scott--Bailey offers a clear-eyed view of the breathtaking spectrum of possibilities inherent in improvisational practice, while underpinning its importance as the basis for all music-making.
Improvisation and Music Education: Beyond the Classroom (Routledge Studies in Music Education)
by Ajay Heble Mark LaverThis book offers compelling new perspectives on the revolutionary potential of improvisation pedagogy. Bringing together contributions from leading musicians, scholars, and teachers from around the world, the volume articulates how improvisation can breathe new life into old curricula; how it can help teachers and students to communicate more effectively; how it can break down damaging ideological boundaries between classrooms and communities; and how it can help students become more thoughtful, engaged, and activist global citizens. In the last two decades, a growing number of music educators, music education researchers, musicologists, cultural theorists, creative practitioners, and ethnomusicologists have suggested that a greater emphasis on improvisation in music performance, history, and theory classes offers enormous potential for pedagogical enrichment. This book will help educators realize that potential by exploring improvisation along a variety of trajectories. Essays offer readers both theoretical explorations of improvisation and music education from a wide array of vantage points, and practical explanations of how the theory can be implemented in real situations in communities and classrooms. It will therefore be of interest to teachers and students in numerous modes of pedagogy and fields of study, as well as students and faculty in the academic fields of music education, jazz studies, ethnomusicology, musicology, cultural studies, and popular culture studies.
Improvise This!: How to Think on Your Feet so You Don't Fall on Your Face
by Mark Bergren Molly CoxBusinesses are sending their top managers to improvisational classes to learn how to give presentations, how to talk to clients, and how to finesse difficult situations. But those same skills can be mastered with the help of the simple and fun exercises found in this book. The authors explain how improvisation comes into play in our daily lives, and the rewards of taking risks in those situations. Improvise This! is filled with true-to-life business scenarios and offers methods for not only surviving but triumphing in those situations, making this a valuable and entertaining resource.
The Improvising Teacher: Reconceptualising Pedagogy, Expertise and Professionalism (Routledge Research in Education)
by Nick SorensenThe Improvising Teacher offers a radical reconceptualization of improvisation as a fundamental element of teacher expertise. Drawing on theories of improvisation and expertise alongside empirical research, the book argues that teacher expertise is fundamentally improvisatory. The book provides a theoretical model for teacher expertise that is relevant internationally and illustrates the nature of advanced practice in a global classroom through case studies of expert teachers in England. It makes a theoretical and conceptual case to support the case for the improvising teacher as a prototype model of expert practice. Sorensen draws on critical studies in improvisation and the study of expertise and expert practice, and argues that now more than ever, teachers must be flexible, creative and skilled in adaptation. Providing a critical evaluation on how to approach the professional development of the improvising teacher, the book outlines how the improvising teacher signifies a broader cultural shift in the way we understand teaching and teacher professionalism. This book will be essential reading for academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of teacher education, professional practice, professional development and critical studies in improvisation. It will also be highly relevant for teacher educators who are attempting to understand, research and promote teacher expertise and teacher autonomy in education across the globe.
Improvising the Curriculum: Alternatives to Scripted Schooling (Routledge Research in Education #167)
by Michael Corbett Mary Green Ann VibertEquipped with cultural tools like cell phones, computers and video cameras, youth are called upon to improvise and construct themselves symbolically in a continuously connected world; yet new teachers and students are still expected to learn and deliver standardized, placeless forms of scripted curriculum. This volume argues for improvisation as an approach to curriculum that recognizes the fundamentally creative aspects of learning that are often marginalized in communities of disadvantage. It provides interesting possibilities for schools that are working hard to keep up with technological, economic and cultural change, and argues for an improvised middle ground between structure and creativity. This volume outlines a two-year research project performed in a Canadian middle school, where school staff used student filmmaking as a way to expand teachers’ conceptions of literacy. It analyzes the response of students and parents as well as the student teachers that brought the program to the school. The improvisational techniques used while making the films paved the way for larger benefits of curricular improvisation to be explored.
Improvising Theory: Process And Temporality In Ethnographic Fieldwork
by Liisa H. Malkki Allaine CerwonkaScholars have long recognized that ethnographic method is bound up with the construction of theory in ways that are difficult to teach. The reason, Allaine Cerwonka and Liisa H. Malkki argue, is that ethnographic theorization is essentially improvisatory in nature, conducted in real time and in necessarily unpredictable social situations. In a unique account of, and critical reflection on, the process of theoretical improvisation in ethnographic research, they demonstrate how both objects of analysis, and our ways of knowing and explaining them, are created and discovered in the give and take of real life, in all its unpredictability and immediacy. Improvising Theory centers on the year-long correspondence between Cerwonka, then a graduate student in political science conducting research in Australia, and her anthropologist mentor, Malkki. Through regular e-mail exchanges, Malkki attempted to teach Cerwonka, then new to the discipline, the basic tools and subtle intuition needed for anthropological fieldwork. The result is a strikingly original dissection of the processual ethics and politics of method in ethnography.
The Impulsive, Disorganized Child: Solutions for Parenting Kids With Executive Functioning Difficulties
by James W. Forgan Mary Anne RicheyImpulsive, scattered, lost, unfocused, unprepared, disorganized: These are just a few of the words used to describe kids with executive functioning deficits, which commonly affect many children already diagnosed with ADHD, learning disabilities, and autism. The Impulsive, Disorganized Child: Solutions for Parenting Kids with Executive Functioning Difficulties helps parents pinpoint weak executive functions in their children, then learn how to help their kids overcome these deficits with practical, easy solutions. Children who can't select, plan, initiate, or sustain action toward their goals are children who simply struggle to succeed in school and other aspects of life. Parents need the helpful, proven advice and interactive surveys and action plans in this book to empower them to take positive action to teach their disorganized, impulsive child to achieve independence, success, and a level of self-support.
Impulsivity
by Jeffrey R. StevensAs the 64th volume in the prestigious Nebraska Series on Motivation, this book focuses on impulsivity, a multi-faceted concept that encompasses such phenomena as the inability to wait, a tendency to act without forethought, insensitivity to consequences, and/or an inability to inhibit inappropriate behaviors. Due to this multi-faceted nature, it plays a critical role in a number of key behavioral problems, including pathological gambling, overeating, addiction, adolescent risk-taking, spread of sexually transmitted diseases, criminal behavior, financial decision making, and environmental attitudes. This broad and interdisciplinary scope has historically resulted in separate subfields studying impulsivity in relative isolation from one another. Therefore, a central achievement of this volume is to convey an integrative exploration of impulsivity. To provide a comprehensive and cohesive understanding of impulsivity, this volume brings together eminent scholars and rising researchers from different domains (developmental psychology, neuroscience, animal cognition, anthropology, addiction science), who use different techniques (behavioral assays, imaging, endocrinology, genetics). Moreover, it includes perspectives and analyses from the two primary types of impulsivity: impulsive choice (or decision making) and impulsive action (or disinhibition). The authors present expert analyses of topics such as delayed gratification, discounting models, and adaptive foraging decisions. Leveraging breadth of coverage and renowned scholarship, Impulsivity: How Time and Risk Influence Decision Making advances our understanding of this complex topic and sheds light on novel research directions and potential future collaborations.
In a Boat in the Middle of a Lake: Trusting the God Who Meets Us in Our Storm
by Patrick and SchwenkYour Storm Doesn&’t Have to Sink YouAt some point in our lives, we all find ourselves in a boat in the middle of a lake. We might be there due to a job loss or the death of a loved one. Maybe disability, divorce, or financial insecurity has stranded us. Patrick and Ruth Schwenk found themselves feeling battered after five miscarriages and then surrounded by the waves with Patrick&’s cancer diagnosis at age forty-three. They were alone. Drifting. And that&’s when their transformation began.In this compassionate and powerful book, the Schwenks weave together lessons from their own experience with insightful Bible teaching to remind us that one of the greatest ways God transforms us is through trials. As they unpack why Jesus called the disciples into the middle of a lake when dry ground was so safe and comfortable, they help us understand why the depth of our hurt enables us to experience deep hope;learn to conquer fear to experience the freedom God has for us; anddiscover how God uses chaos, and not just the classroom, to shape and work through us.Today—in your confusion about God&’s intentions, your disappointment over lost dreams, your disillusionment about prayer—God is offering hope. Because Jesus is still Lord over the water. And while he is not moved by the waves, he is moved by you. And this flood might just be a path to abundance. &“A powerful reminder that our current reality is not our final reality, and God is Lord over all chaos and suffering!&”—Candace Cameron Bure, actress and New York Times bestselling author
In a Class of Your Own: Essential Strategies for the New K–6 Teacher
by Rhoda M. SamkoffCombining classroom anecdotes and advice from experienced teachers, this guide demystifies the early stages of an education career and offers strategies for common challenges.
In a Classroom of Their Own: The Intersection of Race and Feminist Politics in All-Black Male Schools (Dissident Feminisms)
by Keisha LindsayMany advocates of all-black male schools (ABMSs) argue that these institutions counter black boys’ racist emasculation in white, “overly” female classrooms. This argument challenges racism and perpetuates antifeminism. Keisha Lindsay explains the complex politics of ABMSs by situating these schools within broader efforts at neoliberal education reform and within specific conversations about both "endangered” black males and a “boy crisis” in education. Lindsay also demonstrates that intersectionality, long considered feminist, is in fact a politically fluid framework. As such, it represents a potent tool for advancing many political agendas, including those of ABMSs supporters who champion antiracist education for black boys while obscuring black girls’ own race and gender-based oppression in school. Finally, Lindsay theorizes a particular means by which black men and other groups can form antiracist and feminist coalitions even when they make claims about their experiences that threaten bridge building. The way forward, Lindsay shows, allows disadvantaged groups to navigate the racial and gendered politics that divide them in pursuit of productive—and progressive—solutions. Far-thinking and boldly argued, In a Classroom of Their Own explores the dilemmas faced by professionals and parents in search of equitable schooling for all students—black boys and otherwise.