This work provides an analysis of how knowledge is constructed and defined by teachers and lecturers in schools and universities/colleges. It considers how everyday uses of reading, writing, numeracy and science are cast aside in favour of academic language and academic discourse, arguing that such discourses are alien to learners' daily experiences and are, therefore, difficult to acquire and adopt.; Chapters examine literacies of English, mathematics and science as practised in and outside schools and colleges. The book is interdisciplinary and multicultural, adopting perspectives from the UK, USA, South Africa, India, Brazil and Kenya. It should be of interest to a wide market of educationalists, including those involved in educational policy making, teacher education, cultural/multicultural studies, development studies, anthropology, and adult and continuing education.

First Published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Embrace challenge and celebrate eureka! Challenge makes learning more interesting. That’s one of the reasons to encourage your students to dive into the learning pit—a state of cognitive conflict that forces students to think more deeply, critically, and strategically until they discover their "eureka!" moment. Nottingham, an internationally known author and consultant, will show you how to promote challenge, dialogue, and a growth mindset through: Practical strategies that guide students through the four stages of the Learning Challenge Engaging lesson plan ideas and classroom activities Inspiring examples from Learning Challenges across the world If you and your students focus on grades alone then rich learning opportunities might be missed along the way. A more rigorous and exploratory path to learning leads to a deeper understanding of concepts. When students experience The Learning Challenge, learning lasts for a lifetime. "Nottingham shows us how to use generative concepts as focal points for engaging deep student thinking and discourse. His visual model of ′pits and peaks′ helps us realize that cooperatively grappling with cognitive conflicts in the pit is necessary to eventually reach new peaks of understanding. Nottingham provides a wealth of strategies, tools and examples to aid the teacher. The vast array of questions to stimulate student thinking is second to none." H. Lynn Erickson, Educational Consultant Author, Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction for the Thinking Classroom, 2nd ed. "Nottingham has provided a clear, concise, and research-based approach to creating cognitively challenging classrooms that captivate, activate, and invigorate learners. This book takes every reader through the learning pit, challenging their prior beliefs, and leads them to construct and consider an innovative way to promote stronger and deeper learning for their students." John Almarode, Professor of Education & Co-Director of the Center for STEM Education and Outreach James Madison University, College of Education, Harrisonburg VA

What are the goals of Early Years education? A lot of people ask this question and receive answers ranging from keeping children safe; introducing them to the values of society; encouraging a love of language; giving them experience of socialising, harmonising and behaving appropriately. This book shares the best strategies to help children grow into even more curious, resilient, happy, articulate and thoughtful learners. Challenging Early Learning takes James Nottingham's tried and tested and acclaimed 'learning to learn' methodology and applies it to teaching three- to seven-year-olds. Each chapter includes: Colourful and stimulating learning activities that will help children learn how to learn. Practical 'Now Try This' sections that encourage readers to think about current practice and explore new ideas. A Review section that focuses on building a broad tool kit of teaching strategies. Covering a range of key topics such as feedback, dialogue, growth mindset and the Learning Pit, this book is aimed at all pedagogues, teachers, parents and leaders wanting to challenge the way in which we learn and make learning more challenging.

Teachers and trainers are dual-professionals – they are required to have up-to-date industry skills and also skills in teaching and learning. The issue of professional identity, and the promotion of maintaining and building pedagogic expertise in relation to their vocational work, is therefore an extremely important one. This book argues that quality teaching and learning is very much dependent upon teachers and trainers undergoing continuing professional development (CPD), engaging actively in professional learning activities, generating professional learning communities and building their level of professionalism to meet increasing teaching standards. Unfortunately, CPD is battling a context of intensification of work, pressure of time and economic restrictions. The completion of CPD under such conditions can often become tokenistic and hitherto there has been very little research or evidence base for determining what approaches to CPD are most effective and efficient. Challenging Professional Learning draws on a wealth of recent research and evidence on what ingredients are necessary for effective and efficient (crucial at a time of such fiscal constraints) professional learning. It also explores the wider implications of these findings and the concept of learning as a collective activity. It argues that real professionalism cannot be achieved in isolation but instead takes place in a context that has political, social and cultural influences. The book brings together research from the Institute for Learning and practice around professional learning to link both individual and collective professional learning to organisational learning, leadership and the management of change whilst offering practical suggestions for improving these practices. It will be of great interest to teacher educators and their students at undergraduate and post-graduate levels, as well as anyone who works in higher education and with professional development.

Practical strategies for bringing The Learning Challenge to life in your secondary ELA classroom The Learning Challenge has captured the imaginations of educators, students, and their parents by introducing the idea of Learning Pit"—a state of cognitive conflict that causes students to think more deeply, critically, and strategically until they discover their "eureka!" moment. Now, fans of the The Learning Challenge who want practical examples and ready-to-use lessons for their secondary ELA classrooms need not look any further. This book provides teachers with everything they need to run thoughtful, dialogue-driven challenges so that students engage more deeply with the classics and develop literary skills critical to ELA standards. Students will analyze texts in lessons grounded in cognitive conflicts such as We are all responsible for our own actions, and yet we sometimes act because we are following orders or instructions from others (Lesson 1: Who was responsible for the death of William in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein?) To be successful you cannot fail, but most successful people have experienced many failures along the way (Lesson 7: Was Jay Gatsby a success?) Love is impossible to define, and yet everyone knows what love is (Lesson 11: Is Romeo really in love?) From detailed lesson plans and activities for running Learning Challenges in the classroom, to full-color activity cards that enhance each lesson, this must-have resource offers relevant and timely instructional strategies on topics that interest and engage secondary students.

Service-Learning and Educating in Challenging Contexts explores the potential of service-learning identified as a way to integrate community service with academic study to enrich the on-going professional development of educators, especially in schools that are located in challenging contexts. This collection offers a further refinement of what typically comes under the remit of service-learning, switching the focus from the learning experience of the learner, to the educator and the deep and enriching professional learning opportunities that service-learning can offer. This approach to service-learning promotes collaborative practices amongst professional and in-service educators, and encourages an integration of theory and practice. The international contributors use their own experiences as well as current research to provide a thorough exploration of service-learning from national and international perspectives.

The Learning Challenge Lessons have been created to accompany The Learning Challenge and provide teachers with everything they need to run thoughtful, dialogue-driven Challenges. The Learning Challenge Lessons, Primary, book includes 20 developmentally-appropriate lesson plans that will help young learners: • Learn new vocabulary in the context of dialogue • Challenge themselves to think through complex concepts • Encourage their natural curiosity and seek answers to questions they pose themselves

Disability can affect adults across the life span—and it is the one minority group every person could join. This sourcebook aims to broaden the view of disability from a medical or economic concern to a social justice concern. It examines practical, theoretical, and research aspects of disability—including those who question disability classifications—and situates it as a political and social justice concern, technical and pragmatic concern, and personal experience. The authors present the perspectives of individuals with disabilities, service providers, parents, and teachers and offer analyses that range from the personal to the broadly political. This is the 132nd volume in this Jossey Bass higher education quarterly report series. Noted for its depth of coverage, this indispensable series explores issues of common interest to instructors, administrators, counselors, and policymakers in a broad range of adult and continuing education settings.