What is in the best interest of our students? Is it teaching to the newest standards movement, like the Common Core? Teaching that prepares students to take a test? Or is it something more meaningful and authentic? In his new book, In the Best Interest of Students, Kelly Gallagher notes that there are real strengths in the Common Core standards, and there are significant weaknesses as well. He takes the long view, reminding us that standards come and go but what remains constant is the need to stay true to what we know works in the teaching of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Instead of blindly adhering to the latest standards movement, Kelly advocates: - Dialing up the amount of reading and writing students are doing. - Balancing rigorous, high-quality literature and non-fiction with high-interest, student-selected titles. - Giving students much more choice when it comes to reading and writing activities. - Encouraging readers to deepen their comprehension by moving beyond the "four corners of the text." - Using modeling to enrich students' writing skills in the prewriting, drafting, and revision stages. - Helping young writers to achieve more authenticity through the blending of genres. - Resisting the de-emphasis of narrative and imaginative reading and writing. - Providing students with more opportunities to sharpen their listening and speaking skills - Planning lessons that move beyond Common Core expectations. In this provocative and insightful new book, Kelly surveys the teaching landscape since the publication of his highly regarded book Readicide, and finds that although some progress has been made, more needs to be done. Amid the frenzy of trying to teach to a new set of standards, Kelly Gallagher is a strong voice of reason, reminding us that instruction should be anchored around one guiding question: What is in the best interest of our students?

Best Interests of the Student presents both a theoretical model for guiding educators as they confront legal and ethical dilemmas in their schools, as well as highly accessible and annotated court cases for exploration. Stefkovich introduces an ethical decision-making model that focuses on strategies for determining what actions are in the "best interests of the student," and demonstrates the application of this theoretical model for examining legal and ethical dimensions of court cases. Discussion questions at the end of each case encourage readers to examine issues from differing viewpoints, helping them to become more self-reflective school leaders who can effectively address legal dilemmas in their own contexts. This important text is a valuable resource for both aspiring and practicing school administrators and leaders. This thoroughly revised edition features: An entirely new chapter focusing on issues surrounding technology, specifically bullying, harassment, and "sexting" 13 new legal cases to reflect recent developments in school law, including issues of free speech, teacher accountability, and school policies A continued focus on preparing leaders to meet the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) ethics standard

Strengthen programs of family and community engagement to promote equity and increase student success! When schools, families, and communities collaborate and share responsibility for students′ education, more students succeed in school. Based on 30 years of research and fieldwork, the fourth edition of the bestseller School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, presents tools and guidelines to help develop more effective and more equitable programs of family and community engagement. Written by a team of well-known experts, it provides a theory and framework of six types of involvement for action; up-to-date research on school, family, and community collaboration; and new materials for professional development and on-going technical assistance. Readers also will find: Examples of best practices on the six types of involvement from preschools, and elementary, middle, and high schools Checklists, templates, and evaluations to plan goal-linked partnership programs and assess progress CD-ROM with slides and notes for two presentations: A new awareness session to orient colleagues on the major components of a research-based partnership program, and a full One-Day Team Training Workshop to prepare school teams to develop their partnership programs. As a foundational text, this handbook demonstrates a proven approach to implement and sustain inclusive, goal-linked programs of partnership. It shows how a good partnership program is an essential component of good school organization and school improvement for student success. This book will help every district and all schools strengthen and continually improve their programs of family and community engagement.

Do your students often struggle with difficult novels and other challenging texts? Do you feel that you are doing more work teaching the novel than they are reading it? Building on twenty years of teaching language arts, Kelly Gallagher shows how students can be taught to successfully read a broad range of challenging and difficult texts with deeper levels of comprehension. In Deeper Reading: Comprehending Challenging Texts, 4-12 , he shares effective, classroom-tested strategies that enable your students to: Accept the challenge of reading difficult books and move beyond a "first draft" understanding Consciously monitor their comprehension as they read and employ effective "fix-it" strategies when comprehension starts to falter Use meaningful collaboration and metaphorical thinking to achieve deeper understanding of texts Reflect on the relevance the book holds for themselves and their peers by using critical thinking skills to analyze real-world issues Gallagher also provides guidance on effective lesson planning that incorporates strategies for deeper reading. Funny, poignant, and packed with practical ideas that work in real classrooms, Deeper Reading is a valuable resource for any teacher whose students need new tools to uncover the riches found in complex texts.

Easy-to-apply, scientifically-based approaches for engaging students in the classroom Cognitive scientist Dan Willingham focuses his acclaimed research on the biological and cognitive basis of learning. His book will help teachers improve their practice by explaining how they and their students think and learn. It reveals-the importance of story, emotion, memory, context, and routine in building knowledge and creating lasting learning experiences. Nine, easy-to-understand principles with clear applications for the classroom Includes surprising findings, such as that intelligence is malleable, and that you cannot develop "thinking skills" without facts How an understanding of the brain's workings can help teachers hone their teaching skills "Mr. Willingham's answers apply just as well outside the classroom. Corporate trainers, marketers and, not least, parents -anyone who cares about how we learn-should find his book valuable reading." —Wall Street Journal

`This is an extremely readable volume and those who work in this field will find themselves nodding in agreement. It is hoped that this is not just read by those like-minded educationalists but reaches a broad readership. It gives a wide-angle view of the problem of disaffection, which cannot fail to cause concern. It is hoped that the recent proliferation of government initiatives - learning mentors, 14-19 alternative curricula, and Connexions, to name but a few - will soon begin to solve some of the problems highlighted in this study′ - Emotional & Behavioural Difficulties `Working with Disaffected Students is an interesting, informative and accessible book which should appeal to the target audience of practitioners and policy makers. The recommendations in this book are sound and highly relevant to the target audience. Everyone, particularly the disaffected young people themselves, should benefit from sound research presented in such and engaging and accessible way′ - British Journal Educational Studies `The book stresses the importance of early (and real) inter-agency co-operation, and of good initial and on-going teacher training′ - Michael Duffy, The Times Educational Supplement `I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed the grown up approach of this book, soundly grounded in evidence, and not afraid to talk in terms of a really inclusive approach. In particular, I loved to hear the clear statements on the need for trust between Government and Schools′ - Education Review `This is a humane and reflective book. One for all teachers, heads and other professionals involved in children′s welfare. It should be compulsory reading for the target-setters accountability merchants, as it demands a very different king of responsibility towards vulnerable children and their future′ - Improving Schools `An insightful, powerful and, at times, worrying exploration of reasons for children choosing, or being forced, not to attend school. I feel that this book is a must-read for teachers, parents and carers alike. If the powerful messages are absorbed and internalized, then perhaps new ways of exploring the relationships required with children who become disaffected can be found′ - Lynne Westwood, Working with People Who Have a Learning Disability ′This book is a welcome and timely addition to the growing body of research and writing on educational inclusion.... It is a rich source of good practice, policies and ideas. Used skillfully, it could be a powerful resource to influence a school′s approach to the management of student disaffection.... I would recommend this book as essential source of empowerment for all who aspire to improve schools and include all′ - Alan J Child, Journal of InService Education `This book provides policy-makers and practitioners with positive strategies for best practice, helping them to formulate and implement policies that will improve prospects for disaffected pupils. The authors encourage inclusive solutions that emphasise working in partnership′ - SENCO Update This accessible book is about pupil disaffection. It tackles some of the issues which confront policy makers and practitioners in many countries and contexts. Education has become a political priority for many governments, and many have sought to tackle the issues of underachievement and failure. But if education is a political priority, why aren′t school days `the best days of your life′? Why are so many students - and their teachers - unhappy with their lot? Most children start school at five, or thereabouts, with enthusiasm and curiosity. Most parents want the best for their children. Most teachers enter the teaching profession because they are motivated by enthusiasm for their subject, or by a commitment to support children′s learning. Most teachers who become head teachers do so because they want to make a difference to young people′s lives. For many teachers and their pupils, education is a rewarding experience. But what happens over the years to lead to disaffection in a sizeable minority? Why does the partnership between schools and families succeed for some, but fall apart for others? Why do some young people reject school and become excluded from learning? What forces the different ′camps′ to blame each other ? International studies have shown that education attainment at age 16 is the most important predictor of future participation in learning, and of labour market opportunities. Young people with no qualifications are between two and three times more likely to be unemployed as their peers, and to be excluded from society. They become disenfranchised by their lack of educational opportunities. This book is more than another tale of pupil disengagement. From talking to parents, pupils and teachers, the authors provide some answers to the questions: - What can be done to realize the high expectations that are shared by parents, pupils and teachers alike when children first start their schooling? - What can be done to make a difference?

Teaching at Its Best This third edition of the best-selling handbook offers faculty at all levels an essential toolbox of hundreds of practical teaching techniques, formats, classroom activities, and exercises, all of which can be implemented immediately. This thoroughly revised edition includes the newest portrait of the Millennial student; current research from cognitive psychology; a focus on outcomes maps; the latest legal options on copyright issues; and how to best use new technology including wikis, blogs, podcasts, vodcasts, and clickers. Entirely new chapters include subjects such as matching teaching methods with learning outcomes, inquiry-guided learning, and using visuals to teach, and new sections address Felder and Silverman's Index of Learning Styles, SCALE-UP classrooms, multiple true-false test items, and much more. Praise for the Third Edition of Teaching at Its BestEveryone veterans as well as novices will profit from reading Teaching at Its Best, for it provides both theory and practical suggestions for handling all of the problems one encounters in teaching classes varying in size, ability, and motivation." Wilbert McKeachie, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, and coauthor, McKeachie's Teaching TipsThis new edition of Dr. Nilson's book, with its completely updated material and several new topics, is an even more powerful collection of ideas and tools than the last. What a great resource, especially for beginning teachers but also for us veterans!" L. Dee Fink, author, Creating Significant Learning ExperiencesThis third edition of Teaching at Its Best is successful at weaving the latest research on teaching and learning into what was already a thorough exploration of each topic. New information on how we learn, how students develop, and innovations in instructional strategies complement the solid foundation established in the first two editions." Marilla D. Svinicki, Department of Psychology, The University of Texas, Austin, and coauthor, McKeachie's Teaching Tips

Read-i-cide: The systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools. Reading is dying in our schools. Educators are familiar with many of the factors that have contributed to the decline, poverty, second-language issues, and the ever-expanding choices of electronic entertainment. In this provocative book Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It , author and teacher Kelly Gallagher suggests it is time to recognize a new and significant contributor to the death of reading: our schools. Readicide , Gallagher argues that American schools are actively (though unwittingly) furthering the decline of reading. Specifically, he contends that the standard instructional practices used in most schools are killing reading by:Valuing standardized testing over the development of lifelong readersMandating breadth over depth in instructionRequiring students to read difficult texts without proper instructional support and insisting students focus on academic textsIgnoring the importance of developing recreational readingLosing sight of authentic instruction in the looming shadow of political pressuresReadicide provides teachers, literacy coaches, and administrators with specific steps to reverse the downward spiral in reading-;steps that will help prevent the loss of another generation of readers.

Beat burnout with time-saving best practices for feedback For ELA teachers, the danger of burnout is all too real. Inundated with seemingly insurmountable piles of papers to read, respond to, and grade, many teachers often find themselves struggling to balance differentiated, individualized feedback with the one resource they are already overextended on—time. Matthew Johnson offers classroom-tested solutions that not only alleviate the feedback-burnout cycle, but also lead to significant growth for students. These time-saving strategies built on best practices for feedback help to improve relationships, ignite motivation, and increase student ownership of learning. Flash Feedback also takes teachers to the next level of strategic feedback by sharing: How to craft effective, efficient, and more memorable feedback Strategies for scaffolding students through the meta-cognitive work necessary for real revision A plan for how to create a culture of feedback, including lessons for how to train students in meaningful peer response Downloadable online tools for teacher and student use Moving beyond the theory of working smarter, not harder, Flash Feedback works deeper by developing practices for teacher efficiency that also boost effectiveness by increasing students’ self-efficacy, improving the clarity of our messages, and ultimately creating a classroom centered around meaningful feedback.

This multidisciplinary volume offers an essential, comprehensive study of perspectives on the scope and application of the best interests of the child and focuses mainly on its application in relation to child custody. With expert contributions from psychological, sociological and legal perspectives, it offers scientific analysis and debate on whether it should be the primary consideration in deciding child custody cases in cases of divorce or separation or whether it should be one of several primary considerations. It explores complex dilemmas inherent in shared parenting and whether the advantages it offers children are sufficient when compared to attributing custody to one parent and limiting visitation rights of the other. Offering a comprehensive analysis of this complex topic, chapters provide detailed insight into the current state of research in this area, as well as expert guidelines aimed at resolving the controversies when parents agree or disagree over their children’s living arrangements. Cutting-edge topics explored include: transnational shared parenting; alternative dispute resolution; breastfeeding parents; religious disputes between parents and the psychological, social and economic factors that affect shared parenting. The Routledge International Handbook of Shared Parenting and Best Interest of the Child will be essential reading for scholars and graduate students in law, psychology, sociology and economics interested in shared parenting and family law.