Teacher as Activator of Learning

Teacher as Activator of Learning
Author: Gayle H. Gregory
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2016-02-11
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1506343090

Flip the Switch! How to Get Students Into Learning Mode Now. In his well-known meta-analysis, John Hattie suggests that facilitating learning is not as effective or powerful as activating learning. In this book Gayle Gregory shows you how to facilitate better and deeper learning. Packed with practical strategies that teachers can use every day to increase student achievement, you will also discover what educational neuroscience says about nurturing a "growth mindset" and creating classrooms that support and encourage students to take risks and "fail forward." Learn how to Foster student dialogue and thinking Orchestrate productive, reflective flexible student groups Develop respectful learning relationships between and among students and teachers Teacher competencies and clarity related to student goals and success criteria, with quality feedback, are essential for student success. This resource will enrich learning environments for students and increase the chance of success for all. "In going from ‘teachers as fount of knowledge’ to ′teacher as facilitator’ the field has overcorrected. Gayle Gregory corrects all that with a comprehensive and deep portrayal of the need for ’teachers to be activators’ of learning in partnership with students. Based on equal measure of research and practice Gregory gives is a compelling set of ideas and tools to maximize student learning and engagement. Read it and hit the ground running!" Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus, OISE/University of Toronto

Teacher as Activator of Learning

Teacher as Activator of Learning
Author: Gayle H. Gregory
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2016-02-11
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1506343082

Flip The Switch! How to Get Students Into Learning Mode Now. What is it that separates classrooms that have an atmosphere of stagnation and passivity from ones that are electric with motivation and engagement? In this book, education expert Gayle Gregory offers the conditions necessary to foster an environment of active, visible learning in a brain-compatible climate. In its pages you’ll find: What teachers should do to reach targeted standards using theories such as Growth Mindsets and Panksepp’s SEEKING system What an “instructionally intelligent” teacher has in her repertoire that impacts student success Strategies that activate student thinking and target learning intentions through differentiation and the use of collaboration, formative assessment, and feedback

Activators

Activators
Author: Nicole Frazier
Publisher:
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2013-08-26
Genre: Active learning
ISBN: 9780942349719

"This unique resource is a deep dive into Activators, a core teaching practice that incorporates individual think time with purposeful social interaction to increase emotional, cognitive, and behavioral engagement in learning. Featuring concrete, hands-on activities that can be completed efficiently at the start of a unit, lesson, or topic, Activators help to: Increase engagement in learning, Support a well-paced lesson, Generate connections to prior knowledge, Provide students with opportunities to practice skills and deepen understandings, [and] Support formative assessment. Although Activators have different formats, they all share two key components: individual think time and purposeful social interaction, which support students to develop quality responses to content and ideas while engaging with peers. Authors Nicole Frazier and Donna Mehle offer detailed facilitation tips for more than 20 Activators, providing a clear understanding of what they are and how they work in specific settings. Frazier and Mehle created Activators with careful attention to the latest research on the most effective ways to foster engagement among adolescent learners. They were motivated to write Activators to share this powerful core practice more widely. They note, 'In our 25+ combined years of teaching experience as well as our work as educational consultants who support middle and secondary teachers around the country, we've witnessed up close the ways in which these Activator formats ignite students' attention and interest, maximize participation and drive well-paced lessons that deepen learning in meaningful ways.' Content area examples for English language arts, math, science, social studies, and world languages accompany each Activator. The ELA and math content examples are aligned to Common Core Content Standards for grades 6-12." -- Publisher's description.

Activators

Activators
Author: Donna Mehle
Publisher:
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2013-08-26
Genre: Active learning
ISBN: 9780942349023

"This unique resource is a deep dive into Activators, a core teaching practice that incorporates individual think time with purposeful social interaction to increase emotional, cognitive, and behavioral engagement in learning. Featuring concrete, hands-on activities that can be completed efficiently at the start of a unit, lesson, or topic, Activators help to: Increase engagement in learning, Support a well-paced lesson, Generate connections to prior knowledge, Provide students with opportunities to practice skills and deepen understandings, [and] Support formative assessment. Although Activators have different formats, they all share two key components: individual think time and purposeful social interaction, which support students to develop quality responses to content and ideas while engaging with peers. Authors Nicole Frazier and Donna Mehle offer detailed facilitation tips for more than 20 Activators, providing a clear understanding of what they are and how they work in specific settings. Frazier and Mehle created Activators with careful attention to the latest research on the most effective ways to foster engagement among adolescent learners. They were motivated to write Activators to share this powerful core practice more widely. They note, 'In our 25+ combined years of teaching experience as well as our work as educational consultants who support middle and secondary teachers around the country, we've witnessed up close the ways in which these Activator formats ignite students' attention and interest, maximize participation and drive well-paced lessons that deepen learning in meaningful ways.' Content area examples for English language arts, math, science, social studies, and world languages accompany each Activator. The ELA and math content examples are aligned to Common Core Content Standards for grades 6-12." -- Publisher's description.

Rethinking Class Size: The complex story of impact on teaching and learning

Rethinking Class Size: The complex story of impact on teaching and learning
Author: Peter Blatchford
Publisher: UCL Press
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2020-11-12
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1787358798

The debate over whether class size matters for teaching and learning is one of the most enduring, and aggressive, in education research. Teachers often insist that small classes benefit their work. But many experts argue that evidence from research shows class size has little impact on pupil outcomes, so does not matter, and this dominant view has informed policymaking internationally. Here, the lead researchers on the world’s biggest study into class size effects present a counter-argument. Through detailed analysis of the complex relations involved in the classroom they reveal the mechanisms that support teachers’ experience, and conclude that class size matters very much indeed. Drawing on 20 years of systematic classroom observations, surveys of practitioners, detailed case studies and extensive reviews of research, Peter Blatchford and Anthony Russell contend that common ways of researching the impact of class size are limited and sometimes misguided. While class size may have no direct effect on pupil outcomes, it has, they say, significant force through interconnections with classroom processes. In describing these connections, the book opens up the everyday world of the classroom and shows that the influence of class size is everywhere. It impacts on teaching, grouping practices and classroom management, the quality of peer relations, tasks given to pupils, and on the time teachers have for marking, assessments and understanding the strengths and challenges for individual pupils. From their analysis, the authors develop a new social pedagogical model of how class size influences work, and identify policy conclusions and implications for teachers and schools.

PLC+

PLC+
Author: Douglas Fisher
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2019-05-16
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1544385730

What makes a powerful and results-driven Professional Learning Community (PLC)? The answer is collaborative work that expands the emphasis on student learning and leverages individual teacher efficacy into collective teacher efficacy. PLC+: Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design calls for strong and effective PLCs plus—and that plus is YOU. Until now, the PLC movement has been focused almost exclusively on students and what they were or were not learning. But keeping student learning at the forefront requires that we also recognize the vital role that you play in the equation of teaching and learning. This means that PLCs must take on two additional challenges: maximizing your individual expertise, while harnessing the power of the collaborative expertise you can develop with your peers. PLC+ is grounded in four cross-cutting themes—a focus on equity of access and opportunity, high expectations for all students, a commitment to building individual self-efficacy and the collective efficacy of the professional learning community and effective team activation and facilitation to move from discussion to action. The PLC+ framework supports educators in considering five essential questions as they work together to improve student learning: Where are we going? Where are we now? How do we move learning forward? What did we learn today? Who benefited and who did not benefit? The PLC+ framework leads educators to question practices as well as outcomes. It broadens the focus on student learning to encompass educational equity and teaching efficacy, and, in doing so, it leads educators to plan and implement learning communities that maximize individual expertise while harnessing the power of collaborative efficacy.

The Power of Teacher Rounds

The Power of Teacher Rounds
Author: Vivian Troen
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2014-05-05
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1483349969

The definitive, step-by-step guide for conducting teacher rounds! With teacher rounds, educators benefit from the observant peer learning that’s common in other demanding fields. From practical strategies to ready-to-use templates, this invaluable book offers a complete toolkit for leading a thriving teacher rounds program. Readers will learn how to: Create positive, empowering teams that lift both instruction and student performance Link teacher rounds with Common Core implementation Develop rounds facilitation skills through vignettes, video clips, and group learning exercises Lead productive year-end program reviews Understand how principals and department chairs can best support the rounds program

Deep Learning

Deep Learning
Author: Michael Fullan
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2017-11-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 150636859X

New Pedagogies for Deep Learning (NDPL) provides a comprehensive strategy for systemwide transformation. Using the 6 competencies of NDPL and a wealth of vivid examples, Fullan re-defines and re-examines what deep learning is and identifies the practical strategies for revolutionizing learning and leadership.

The Teacher Credibility and Collective Efficacy Playbook, Grades K-12

The Teacher Credibility and Collective Efficacy Playbook, Grades K-12
Author: Douglas Fisher
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2020-04-21
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1071811029

Explore the powerful synergy between your credibility with students and your collective efficacy as a member of a team. When you increase your credibility with students, student motivation rises. And when you partner with other teachers to achieve this, students learn more. This one-stop resource illuminates the connection between teacher credibility and collective efficacy and offers specific actions educators can take to improve both. It includes: Tips for becoming more trustworthy, competent, and responsive in the eyes of students Tools for teams to use to polish their collective effectiveness through better communication and problem-solving Coaching videos that challenge teachers to improve teacher practice and grow professionally

The PLC+ Activator’s Guide

The PLC+ Activator’s Guide
Author: Dave Nagel
Publisher: Corwin
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2020-04-21
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1071822071

Keeping professional learning communities focused on goals: High functioning professional learning communities don’t happen by chance. They require deliberate efforts and structures to ensure efficiency and focus, and to ignite action. The PLC+ Activator's Guide offers a practical approach and real-life examples that show activators what to expect and how to navigate the PLC team on a successful and collective journey. Readers will find: Templates to help activators prepare for meetings Approaches for fostering and nurturing collaboration Vignettes from real schools that are implementing PLC+ Reflection questions with spaces for activators to record notes Solutions for addressing barriers that often arise in PLC+ teams