This contributed volume explores institutional and programmatic policies and practices which actively engage students as partners in improving student learning. This entails an examination of the degree to which students are partners in the assessment and learning processes and the characteristics of these partnerships. This volume showcases student partnerships, as well as presents a history of institutional culture affecting student learning, the role of students in teaching and learning, and brings student voices and perspectives to bare through research from a variety of institutional types. Case studies, current programs and activities, and a model for culturally-responsive assessment are highlighted to better understand student-focused learning and assessment. Implications for faculty, staff, and administrators are questioned. Overall, this volume links research to practice, and offers faculty, practitioners, and administrators different forms and methods of including students, while keeping issues of equity in mind.

Learning methods for the twenty-first century will include those which are student-centered, learning-focused, and digitally enhanced. Teaching will become learning management; the lecturer will become a learning guide, and students will become learning inventors. This book provides chapters describing a number of methods to be used in higher education in the twenty-first century. Some methods have been in existence for a period of time; others are literally at the front edge of development. Trying them out, piloting them, and experimenting with them for the benefit of the student is well worth the effort. It is best to be as prepared as possible for future changes rather than waiting to see what is going to happen. Those who try and are successful will be the leaders in learning management of the near future. In the digital world, being at the leading edge has definite advantages. No matter which method is used, it should focus on the student as learner with the faculty member as a learning guide. To survive in the twenty-first century, students will need to become continuous learners, developing with changes at an exponential velocity. Educators need to keep this critical concept in mind.

A widely used, highly effective approach to student success, Student-Focused Coaching (SFC) helps instructional coaches and teachers work collaboratively to improve student outcomes using evidence-based practices. This is your one-stop, step-by-step guide to instructional coaching in K-12 schools using the field-tested, research-based SFC model. Featuring a foreword by Jim Knight, the leading voice on instructional coaching, this book was coauthored by the lead developer of the SFC model (Jan Hasbrouck) and an experienced instructional coach and trainer (Daryl Michel). These expert authors help you master the three key roles of coaching: Facilitator, Collaborative Problem-Solver, and Teacher/Learner. You'll discover how to build respectful and mutually beneficial professional relationships with every teacher--from the most eager to the most reluctant--and work together to help all students learn and thrive in the classroom. To help you put the SFC model into action, the book offers practical activities and materials, including application exercises, reflection exercises, virtual coaching tips, and 20+ pages of ready-to-use downloadable forms. LEARN HOW TO Partner with teachers to tackle a range of classroom challenges--academic, behavioral, and social-emotional Develop collaborative communication skills to help you navigate even the most challenging conversations Work with teachers to set and achieve goals by identifying, selecting, and implementing evidence-based interventions Help teachers support struggling students with goal-based, targeted, and intensive instruction Improve time management skills using a four-step, systematic problem-solving process Collect different types of data and use it to give helpful feedback to the teachers you work with Design continuous professional learning opportunities that meet individual teacher needs Deliver support to administrators to make the most of the benefits coaches can provide PRACTICAL DOWNLOADS: The book includes access to 20+ pages of downloadable materials for coaches, including worksheets, checklists, tracking sheets, and self-assessments.

In this much needed resource, Maryellen Weimer-one of the nation's most highly regarded authorities on effective college teaching-offers a comprehensive work on the topic of learner-centered teaching in the college and university classroom. As the author explains, learner-centered teaching focuses attention on what the student is learning, how the student is learning, the conditions under which the student is learning, whether the student is retaining and applying the learning, and how current learning positions the student for future learning. To help educators accomplish the goals of learner-centered teaching, this important book presents the meaning, practice, and ramifications of the learner-centered approach, and how this approach transforms the college classroom environment. Learner-Centered Teaching shows how to tie teaching and curriculum to the process and objectives of learning rather than to the content delivery alone.

In this 2nd edition of Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning, Mike Schmoker extends and updates the case that our schools could be on the cusp of swift, unparalleled improvements. But we are stymied by a systemwide failure to simplify and prioritize; we have yet to focus our limited time and energy on the most essential, widely acknowledged, evidence-based practices that could have more impact than all other initiatives combined. They are: simple, coherent curricula; straightforward, traditional literacy practices; and lessons built around just a few hugely effective elements of good teaching. As Schmoker demonstrates, the case for these practices—and the need for them—has grown prodigiously. In every chapter, you’ll find late-breaking discoveries and practical advice on how to simplify the implementation of new state standards in the subject areas; on the hidden pitfalls of our most popular, but unproven instructional fads and programs; and on simple, versatile strategies for building curriculum, planning lessons, and integrating literacy into every discipline. All of these strategies and findings are supported with exciting new evidence from actual schools. Their success confirms, as Michael Fullan writes, that a focus on the best "high-leverage practices" won’t only improve student performance; they will produce "stunningly powerful consequences" in our schools.

The widely used STEM education book, updated Teaching and Learning STEM: A Practical Guide covers teaching and learning issues unique to teaching in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines. Secondary and postsecondary instructors in STEM areas need to master specific skills, such as teaching problem-solving, which are not regularly addressed in other teaching and learning books. This book fills the gap, addressing, topics like learning objectives, course design, choosing a text, effective instruction, active learning, teaching with technology, and assessment—all from a STEM perspective. You’ll also gain the knowledge to implement learner-centered instruction, which has been shown to improve learning outcomes across disciplines. For this edition, chapters have been updated to reflect recent cognitive science and empirical educational research findings that inform STEM pedagogy. You’ll also find a new section on actively engaging students in synchronous and asynchronous online courses, and content has been substantially revised to reflect recent developments in instructional technology and online course development and delivery. Plan and deliver lessons that actively engage students—in person or online Assess students’ progress and help ensure retention of all concepts learned Help students develop skills in problem-solving, self-directed learning, critical thinking, teamwork, and communication Meet the learning needs of STEM students with diverse backgrounds and identities The strategies presented in Teaching and Learning STEM don’t require revolutionary time-intensive changes in your teaching, but rather a gradual integration of traditional and new methods. The result will be a marked improvement in your teaching and your students’ learning.

A bold, brain-based teaching approach to culturally responsive instruction To close the achievement gap, diverse classrooms need a proven framework for optimizing student engagement. Culturally responsive instruction has shown promise, but many teachers have struggled with its implementation—until now. In this book, Zaretta Hammond draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain-compatible culturally responsive instruction. The book includes: Information on how one’s culture programs the brain to process data and affects learning relationships Ten “key moves” to build students’ learner operating systems and prepare them to become independent learners Prompts for action and valuable self-reflection

First released in the Spring of 1999, How People Learn has been expanded to show how the theories and insights from the original book can translate into actions and practice, now making a real connection between classroom activities and learning behavior. This edition includes far-reaching suggestions for research that could increase the impact that classroom teaching has on actual learning. Like the original edition, this book offers exciting new research about the mind and the brain that provides answers to a number of compelling questions. When do infants begin to learn? How do experts learn and how is this different from non-experts? What can teachers and schools do-with curricula, classroom settings, and teaching methodsâ€"to help children learn most effectively? New evidence from many branches of science has significantly added to our understanding of what it means to know, from the neural processes that occur during learning to the influence of culture on what people see and absorb. How People Learn examines these findings and their implications for what we teach, how we teach it, and how we assess what our children learn. The book uses exemplary teaching to illustrate how approaches based on what we now know result in in-depth learning. This new knowledge calls into question concepts and practices firmly entrenched in our current education system. Topics include: How learning actually changes the physical structure of the brain. How existing knowledge affects what people notice and how they learn. What the thought processes of experts tell us about how to teach. The amazing learning potential of infants. The relationship of classroom learning and everyday settings of community and workplace. Learning needs and opportunities for teachers. A realistic look at the role of technology in education.

The movement away from teacher-centered toward student-centered learning and teaching (SCLT) in higher education has intensified in recent decades. Yet in spite of its widespread use in literature and policy documents, SCLT remains somewhat poorly defined, under-researched and often misinterpreted. Against this backdrop, The Routledge International Handbook of Student-Centered Learning and Teaching in Higher Education offers an original, comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the fundamentals of SCLT and its discussion and applications in policy and practice. Bringing together 71 scholars from around the world, the volume offers a most comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the fundamentals of SCLT and its applications in policy and practice; provides beacons of good practice that display how instructional expertise manifests itself in the quality of classroom learning and teaching and in the institutional environment; and critically discusses challenges, new directions and developments in pedagogy, course and study program design, classroom practice, assessment and institutional policy. An essential resource, this book uniquely offers researchers, educators and students in higher education new insights into the roots, latest thinking, practices and evidence surrounding SCLT in higher education.

This practical resource is grounded in a simple but powerful premise: that school-based coaching programs can be designed in a way that more directly impacts student achievement. In a student-centered coaching relationship, the focus is on using data and student work to drive conversations between coaches and teachers to make informed decisions about instruction. In other words, coaches and teachers work collaboratively to support students. The book also underscores the critical role of the principal in developing systems and structures to support teacher learning and fostering a culture of learning. The book is suitable for use with both new and experienced coaches and the principals who support them.