"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.

"Chock full of great ideas and easy to use! Whether you are a novice teacher or an established pro, there is a great deal of worthwhile information in this book. It′s obvious that the author has spent most of his life in the classroom. The strategies he offers meet the needs of any teacher." —Al Diver, Principal Grosse Pointe South High School, Grosse Pointe Farms, MI Proven ideas to keep all students attentive and motivated while learning! This handy guide is a fun, creative collection of practical strategies that teachers of all grade levels can use to stimulate, invigorate, and re-energize learners whenever they need a "brain break." Each section presents specific activities and engaging techniques to capture and maintain students′ attention. These state-changing activities use movement, games, groups, and adjustments to the classroom environment to help students refocus, be creative, and learn more effectively. The author provides techniques based on brain research to: Keep the learning environment fresh Help students focus on the task at hand Stimulate students′ brains in the middle of a lesson Build a sense of community, teamwork, and rapport in the classroom Classroom Activators illustrates how simple changes can transform the energy level in your classroom, keep students engaged, and improve learning outcomes.

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 first books in the PLC+ series challenged PLC teams to engage in difficult discussions about equity of access, high expectations for all students, and a commitment to building individual and team efficacy. All of this requires activation and skilled facilitation to move from discussion to action. The PLC+ Activator′s Guide offers a practical approach, real-life scenarios, and examples that show activators what to expect and how to navigate their PLC+ on a successful and collective journey. Readers will find: Templates to help activators prepare for PLC+ 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 Activators will find this an essential guide to keeping PLC+ team discussions goal-focused and the work centered on building the collective efficacy of the team.

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

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.

This essential Handbook outlines the latest research on operations management teaching, and identifies new developments in the overall trends of (de)globalisation, sustainability and digitalisation. It highlights contemporary developments in teaching practice, providing theoretical insights into potential future pedagogical directions.

Build cohesive PLC+ teams to improve learning outcomes Effective teacher collaboration can amplify student learning and well-being outcomes, increase teacher satisfaction rates, and improve the onboarding of new teachers. Yet developing a cohesive PLC+ team isn’t always so simple. Designed as a companion to PLC+: Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design and The PLC+ Playbook, this easy-to-use playbook for school leaders provides strategies, techniques, and evidence-based approaches to help leaders foster successful collaboration among teachers and positively impact student learning. Four cross-cutting values are infused within each guiding question: high expectations, activation, individual and collective teacher efficacy, and equity. Building on this framework and drawing from Visible Learning research, the guide offers specific instructional leadership actions and behaviors to promote cohesion in PLC+ teams. Leaders will learn: Contextual information to boost knowledge about effectively engaging with adults Essential information on how to lead PLC+ teams to become strong, interdependent, and productive Leadership tools to support and inspire others to work at optimal levels Examples and insights into time management, decision-making, successes, failures, and learning opportunities Discover how to build social, human, and decisional capital within your organization, equipping teachers with the skills they need to drive school improvement.

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.

"I feel that this is a book that principals will be interested in purchasing and reading. It has practical advice and relevant examples of how the advice can and has been implemented." Phillip Silsby, Principal Belleville West High School, Belleville, IL "I could hear the voices of some of the principals who were interviewed speaking to me. The author clearly knows how to gather information and present it in a meaningful way." Bonnie Tryon, Zone 2 Director National Association of Elementary School Principals "This is a powerful guidebook for new principals. More than that, it also contains valuable insight and examples to assist veteran principals in growing and improving professionally." Kimberly Kay Janisch, Principal Watertown High School, Watertown, SD How can principals raise achievement levels, energize teachers, and get results? How can you remain productive and effective in this age of accountability? Highly effective principals have strong communication skills, high levels of knowledge about teaching and learning, and the ability to provide instructional leadership. This excellent, new resource provides principals, administrative teams, and educators with tremendous resources to hone these skills and traits. Ten Traits of Highly Effective Principals contains ideas, reflections, behaviors, habits, and stories from the trenches to guide and inspire as you seek to increase your own effectiveness. Each chapter in this resource describes an essential component of personal effectiveness. A highly effective principal is A communicator—listen, empathize, and connect An educator—with a depth of knowledge; motivates intellectual growth An envisioner—focused on the vision of what schools can be A facilitator—building strong relationships A change master—flexible, futuristic, and realistic, and can motivate change A culture builder—communicating and modeling a strong, viable vision An activator—with motivation, energy, and enthusiasm to spare A producer— building intellectual development and academic achievement A character builder—whose values are trustworthiness, respect, and integrity A contributor—whose priority is making contributions to the success of others Transform your school into a community of learners, set high academic and behavioral expectations, and create a culture where children feel special and safe.

If your STEM lessons are falling on disinterested ears, it's time to mix things up. What you need are more engaging, brain-based science and math strategies to captivate your students' attention, activate their prior knowledge, and invigorate their interest. Blending current research on the student brain with practical methods for teaching science and math, John Almarode and Ann M. Miller identify six essential "ingredients" in a recipe for student success. In their book you'll discover A customizable framework you can use right away Classroom-ready, content-specific attention grabbers Overt and covert strategies to boost behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement Techniques for making relevant connections that maximize retention With this new approach to captivating STEM lessons, you'll energize classroom time and keep your students on task and engaged-every day.