Deborah Meier - Böcker

An examination of the role of play in the lives of children. Based on close observations of a school playground, this shows children at play in a relatively natural, unstructured environment, and makes a strong case for the importance of free exploration, wonder, imagination, and play to the learning and growth of children.

How do teachers and schools create meaningful learning experiences for students with diverse skills, abilities, and cultures? How can teachers authentically assess the learning of their students and build on their strengths and interests in ways that enrich the larger community? How can schools be turned into places where everyone is learning from each other? These are the big questions that guide the work of teachers at the well-known Mission Hill School in Boston and that are addressed in this book. Teaching in Themes will help schools incorporate a whole-school, theme-based curriculum that engages students across grade levels K–8. The authors provide detailed descriptions of four thematic units: What’s Baking in Kathy’s Classroom?, The Impact of Nature and Play, The Struggle for Justice: U.S. History Through the Eyes of African-Americans, and Astronomical Inquiries. Readers will see how teachers and students design “emergent inquiries” within the themes and create artwork, music, presentations, and a variety of hands-on learning experiences that support differentiated instruction across the curriculum.Book Features:Examples of whole-school projects designed to create a deep sense of immersion in a curricular theme and to build a multi-age learning community.Details of how teachers developed rich curriculum tailored to their unique students.The insights of legendary educator Deborah Meier on how whole-school thematic units were used to encourage collaboration among teachers.An afterword by teachers (and film makers) about the thinking behind their work featured in the widely-viewed film series “A Year at Mission Hill.”

Beyond Testing describes seven forms of assessment that are more effective than standardized test results. These assessments are more honest about what we can and cannot know about children’s knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Readers can compare and contrast each approach to determine which is most appropriate for their school.

The authors of this timely book argue that a fundamentally complex problem—how to assess the knowledge of a child—cannot be reduced to a simple test score. Beyond Testing describes seven forms of assessment that are more effective than standardized test results: (1) student self-assessments, (2) direct teacher observations of students and their work, (3) descriptive reviews of the child, (4) reading and math interviews with children, (5) portfolios and public defense of student work, (6) school reviews and observations by outside professionals, and (7) school boards and town meetings. These assessments are more honest about what we can and cannot know about children's knowledge, skills, and dispositions, and are more adaptable to varying educational missions. Readers can compare and contrast each approach and make informed decisions about what is most appropriate for their school.Book Features:Legendary educator Deborah Meier's thinking on assessments as they relate to the central goal of educating for democracy.Effective approaches for getting to know the strengths and challenges of individual students and schools.Multiple examples of children and schools for each assessment.A case study of 38 successful high schools in New York using performance assessments in place of standardized tests.