In A Nutshell Series – serie

Cooperative Learning reveals some of the structural complexities involved in implementing authentic cooperative learning in the classroom. It also suggests that when full cooperative learning structures are implemented, the benefits in student achievement often can be astounding. Descriptions, decisions, designs, and developments, a simple four-part scheme, introduce and refine the skillful use of cooperative learning in the K-12 classroom.

There is an intricate literacy to Gardner's multiple intelligences theory that unlocks key entry points for differentiated learning. Using a well-articulated framework, rich with graphic representations, Williams provides a comprehensive discussion of multiple intelligences. He moves the teacher and students from curiosity, to confidence, to competence in understanding and using the multiple intelligences theory in the most practical ways in curriculum, instruction and assessment.

Explicit instruction in thinking skills must be a priority goal of all teachers. In this book, the author presents a framework of the five Rs: Relevancy, Richness, Relatedness, Rigor, and Recursiveness. The framework serves to illuminate instruction in critical and creative thinking skills for K-12 teachers across content areas.Each chapter treats one category of thinking skills. A chapter begins with a brief anecdote that illustrates the category, then discusses the skill, presents relevant life questions, and concludes by examining chosen strategies for the three thinking levels.

A Look at Transfer examines the six levels of transfer and the adult learner. The book explores the seven bridging strategies to use with adult learners as they learn how the professional development content they are learning does, indeed, transfer into their classrooms and into their life situations.

The analysis of data for instructional decision making is a hallmark of the 21st century. Teachers and administrators alike need a process that links instant, consistent, and relevant data to instant, consistent, and relevant results. Data! Dialogue! Decisions! describes a simple process--selecting a piece of data, dialoging about the data, and making SMART goal decisions about how to increase student performance--that includes the critical elements for powerful school improvement: meaningful teams, managed data, and measurable goals. Using a collegial process, administrators and teachers choose their own school of class achievement data to analyze and interpret as they target "breakthrough" instructional decisions that yield rapid and quantifiable results. Results have been staggeringly successful.

The Adult Learner: Some Things We Know addresses the "warrior" who rises to the challenge of teaching the adult learner. The discussion is designed as a catalyst for dialogue about the adult learner and to uncover the complexities of teaching this rare and riveting species.This book is organized around three interlocking themes: some things we know about the adult learner; some things we know about change; and some things we know about professional development. In the process of reading the book, the reader gets a glimpse into the research that supports the theory of the adult learner, into the principles that guide the learning practices of the adult learner, and into the strategies that "work in the work setting" for the adult learner.

The idea that the person doing the talking is the person doing the learning seems counter-intuitive. Yet, that is exactly the case. When students put their thoughts into words, they internalize the learning. As they dialogue with peers, articulate their ideas, and express themselves, their oral language skills translate directly into written language skills. Explore six strategies that address the challenges of the achievement gap:1) Set High Expectations: Get Kids Emotionally Involved2) Challenges Students to Think: Teach Higher Order Thinking3) Require Rigor: Require Complete Sentences, Standard English, Formal Register4) Leave Nothing to Chance: Revisit! Review! Re-teach! Revise!5) Make No Excuses: Encourage At-Risk Participation6) Insist on Results: Emphasize Reading

How to Differentiate Learning provides guidance for schools and districts to start or improve the effort to differentiate instruction. Based on what educators know about the differences among children they teach, and based on what we know of brain research, teachers must find and embrace ways to differentiate curriculum, assessment and entry points to understanding in order to make all students successful. This book provides background from experts and clarifies what is not differentiation as well as what is. It offers ways for teachers to think about student interests and learning profiles and also looks at varied ways to approach instructional planning for differentiated learning.

The brain gets fed first! That is an important idea that directly relates to the nutrition/cognition connection in schools. As the education community faces the challenges of childhood obesity, malnutrition of the brain, food allergies, disorders of metal metabolism and biochemical imbalances, educators are eager to learn about how to guide students in the care of their bodies, and especially, in the feeding of the brain. Making "smart" choices for the very hungry brain is the focus of this cutting edge book that provides the busy teacher with vital information on nutrition and behavior. Dr. Marcus develops a rich discussion about three food groups: animal foods, plant foods and junk foods. She explains why breakfast is still the most important meal of the day, provides brain joggers for easy integration into classroom activities, and presents a host of practical strategies for teaching nutrition as part and parcel of a "learning for a lifetime" curriculum.

Use assessment as a powerful tool to inform instruction and learning!

With practical, informed assessment techniques, you can increase your instructional effectiveness and demonstrate improvements in student learning. This research-based book, part of the In A Nutshell series, provides a succinct yet substantive discussion about formative assessments and how they impact the teaching/learning cycle. The authors present results-oriented methods, offer invaluable tips, and examine three types of inFormative assessments:

Routine inFormative Assessments to weave into everyday instructionReflective inFormative Assessments to foster self-assessment for students and teachersRigorous inFormative Assessments to provide continuous tools that inform teaching practices and student learning