Al James – författare

The key to your child's educational success is in your hands "Knowledge Essentials is a remarkable series that will benefit children of all abilities and learning styles. . . I highly recommend it for all parents who want to make a difference in their children's education." --Michael Gurian, author of Boys and Girls Learn Differently and The Wonder of Boys "Finally, a book about teaching young children by somebody who knows her stuff!" --LouAnne Johnson, author of Dangerous Minds and The Queen of Education Part of the new Knowledge Essentials series, First Grade Success shows you how to enrich your child's classroom learning and take an active role in your first grader's education by exploring:* What your first grader is learning at school and the educational standards to expect in math, language arts, science, and social studies* Your child's learning style--visual, auditory, or kinesthetic--and how it affects the way your child learns and processes information* Hundreds of easy-to-do activities designed to help your child meet specific learning requirements* Environmental learning sections that identify learning opportunities in the everyday world* Methods and checklists to assess your child's academic progress* Information on how teachers evaluate performance--portfolios, rubrics, test scores, and other tools of the trade * Recommendations of age-appropriate books and software that will enhance learning Give your child the gift of your time--and help him or her get the most out of school with First Grade Success.

The key to your child's educational success is in your hands "Knowledge Essentials is a remarkable series that will benefit children of all abilities and learning styles. . . I highly recommend it for all parents who want to make a difference in their children's education." --Michael Gurian, author of Boys and Girls Learn Differently and The Wonder of Boys "Finally, a book about teaching young children by somebody who knows her stuff!" --LouAnne Johnson, author of Dangerous Minds and The Queen of Education Part of the new Knowledge Essentials series, Second Grade Success shows you how to enrich your child's classroom learning and take an active role in your first grader's education by exploring:* What your second grader is learning at school and the educational standards to expect in math, language arts, science, and social studies* Your child's learning style--visual, auditory, or kinesthetic--and how it affects the way your child learns and processes information* Hundreds of easy-to-do activities designed to help your child meet specific learning requirements* Environmental learning sections that identify learning opportunities in the everyday world* Methods and checklists to assess your child's academic progress* Information on how teachers evaluate performance--portfolios, rubrics, test scores, and other tools of the trade * Recommendations of age-appropriate books and software that will enhance learning Give your child the gift of your time--and help him or her get the most out of school with Second Grade Success.

In this new addition to the Knowledge Essentials series, Kindergarten Success shows you how to enrich your child's classroom learning and take an active role in your kindergarten’s education by exploring: What your child is learning at school and the educational standards to expect in math, language arts, science, and social studies—as well as the developmental skills expected of your kindergartenerYour child's learning style—visual, auditory, or kinesthetic— and how it affects the way your child learns and processes informationHundreds of easy-to-do activities designed to help your child meet specific learning requirementsEnvironmental learning sections that identify learning opportunities in the everyday worldMethods and checklists to assess your child's progressThe developmental and social changes expected of your kindergartener as well as information on how to determine readiness to move up to the first gradeRecommendations of age-appropriate books and software that will enhance learning

How to nurture creativity in tomorrow’s innovators—today’s college students When asked what they want colleges to emphasize most, employers didn’t put science, computing, math, or business management first. According to AAC&U’s 2013 employer survey, 95% of employers give hiring preference to college graduates with skills that will enable them to contribute to innovation in the workplace. In Engaging Imagination: Helping Students Become Creative and Reflective Thinkers, two leading educators help college instructors across disciplines engage students in nurturing creativity and innovation for success beyond the classroom. Alison James, an expert in creative arts education, and Stephen D. Brookfield, bestselling author, outline how creative exploration can extend students’ reflective capabilities in a purposeful way, help them understand their own potential and learning more clearly, and imbue students with the freedom to generate and explore new questions. This book: shows why building creative skills pays dividends in the classroom and in students’ professional lives long after graduation;offers research-based, classroom-tested approaches to cultivating creativity and innovation in the college setting;provides practical tools for incorporating “play” into the college curriculum;draws on recent advances in the corporate sector where creative approaches have been adopted to reinvigorate thinking and problem-solving processes; andincludes examples from a variety of disciplines and settings.Engaging Imagination is for college and university faculty who need to prepare students for the real challenges of tomorrow’s workplace.

Work-Life Advantage analyses how employer-provision of ‘family-friendly’ working arrangements - designed to help workers better reconcile work, home and family - can also enhance firms’ capacities for learning and innovation, in pursuit of long-term competitive advantage and socially inclusive growth.  Brings together major debates in labour geography, feminist geography, and regional learning in novel ways, through a focus on the shifting boundaries between work, home, and familyAddresses a major gap in the scholarly research surrounding the narrow ‘business case’ for work-life balance by developing a more socially progressive, workerist ‘dual agenda’Challenges and disrupts masculinist assumptions of the “ideal worker” and the associated labour market marginalization of workers with significant home and family commitmentsBased on 10 years of research with over 300 IT workers and 150 IT firms in the UK and Ireland, with important insights for professional workers and knowledge-intensive companies around the world

Work-Life Advantage analyses how employer-provision of ‘family-friendly’ working arrangements - designed to help workers better reconcile work, home and family - can also enhance firms’ capacities for learning and innovation, in pursuit of long-term competitive advantage and socially inclusive growth.  Brings together major debates in labour geography, feminist geography, and regional learning in novel ways, through a focus on the shifting boundaries between work, home, and familyAddresses a major gap in the scholarly research surrounding the narrow ‘business case’ for work-life balance by developing a more socially progressive, workerist ‘dual agenda’Challenges and disrupts masculinist assumptions of the “ideal worker” and the associated labour market marginalization of workers with significant home and family commitmentsBased on 10 years of research with over 300 IT workers and 150 IT firms in the UK and Ireland, with important insights for professional workers and knowledge-intensive companies around the world