May 2017 Bookshelf
Books 11 May 2017
Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta- Analyses Relating to Achievement
John A.C. Hattie
What if learning environments set aside the use of standardized test score data as evidence to the effectiveness of their pedagogy and, instead, turned their attention to the learner as an individual? John A.C. Hattie had a similar thought and decided to take massive action on it. After gathering evidence from over one million learners on the influences of “student, home, school, curricula, teacher, and teaching strategies,” Hattie synthesized his finding in his pivotal work, Visible Learning. Discover how his findings might translate to your transformational work.
The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life
Parker J. Palmer
The Courage to Teach was written for an audience of educators who began their careers with their hearts open to the endless joy learners’ passions bring and, over time, found the traditional systems trying to shut their hearts down. As educators move to transform their learning environments into learner-centered spaces, Parker Palmer’s words are more relevant than ever. The road is challenging and can oftentimes feel impassable. But, by reconnecting with your purpose, Palmer shows just how far you can go.
Preparing for a World that Doesn't Exist—Yet: Framing a Second Enlightenment to Create Communities of the Future
Rick Smyre and Neil Richardson
It might be overstated (but that doesn’t make it any less true): The world is changing at an alarming rate. So, how do we prepare ourselves and our learners for such an unpredictable future? Rick Smyre and Neil Richardson dedicated years to pondering this very question because they realized little was actually being done to prepare communities for this new future. In Preparing for a World that Doesn’t Exist—Yet, join the authors on a journey of self-discovery into the knowledge, skills, and dispositions we will all need to stay ahead of the curve.
Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity
John Holland
What is a complex adaptive system (CAS), and how does it relate to education? A CAS can never be fully understood if you only assess its properties piece by piece. Whenever changes are made to a single part, the consequences have a rippling effect on the system as a whole. This is exactly how changes to the education system work. To better understand the possible effects from future changes, it’s beneficial to have a strong grasp of a CAS’s general properties. A great place to start is with John Holland’s Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity.
Innovative Educators: An Action Plan for Teachers
Gretchen Morgan
With our focus on the bottom-up, top-enabled transformation of the education system, we believe empowering educators to explore the five elements with their cohort of learners is of great value and importance. Supporting this belief and wanting to take action on it, Gretchen Morgan provides great insight on how educators can invent new practices to guide learners in developing the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to succeed in an ever-changing world. Pick up Innovative Educators, and discover new possibilities in engaging every learner in your environment.
How to Personalize Learning: A Practical Guide for Getting Started and Going Deeper
Barbara Bray and Kathleen McClaskey
Taking the first step in any new endeavor takes great courage and will. But, when equipped with the right tools and support, a seemingly insurmountable task can become fantastically possible. Along those lines, some powerful tools for recognizing and acting on the unique needs of each learner can be found in Barbara Bray and Kathleen McClaskey’s newest work, How to Personalize Learning. In their second book, you can explore multiple strategies for improving your learner-centered system and, if you’re just getting started, ways to begin implementing these strategies as quickly as possible.
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