In today’s climate of accountability and standards, increasing attention is focused on teacher "quality," with less emphasis on what teachers actually do to interest and engage students in learning. This path-breaking volume addresses this research problem with a clear definition and a content-specific analysis of the most essential teaching moment—the instructional explanation—for vital new perspectives on educational method and process. Rich in examples from science, mathematics, and the humanities, Instructional Explanations in the Disciplines explores a variety of interactive contexts for teaching and learning, which may be collaborative between teachers, students, and others, performed in non-classroom settings, or assisted by technology. The book’s subject-matter-specific framework reveals key elements in the process, such as carefully examining the question to be answered, making connections with what is already known, and developing examples conducive to further understanding. Instructional Explanations in the Disciplines is a valuable addition to the education library, giving researchers new methods of unpacking educational process as few books before it.

With a focus on what mathematics and science educators need to know about academic language used in the STEM disciplines, this book critically synthesizes the current knowledge base on language challenges inherent to learning mathematics and science, with particular attention to the unique issues for English learners. These key questions are addressed: When and how do students develop mastery of the language registers unique to mathematics and to the sciences? How do teachers use assessment as evidence of student learning for both accountability and instructional purposes? Orienting each chapter with a research review and drawing out important Focus Points, chapter authors examine the obstacles to and latest ideas for improving STEM literacy, and discuss implications for future research and practice.

This research-based book dissects and explores the meaning and nature of Inquiry in teaching and learning in schools, challenging existing concepts and practices. In particular, it explores and contests prevailing attitudes about the practice of inquiry-based learning across the Science, Geography and History disciplines, as well as focusing on the importance of the role of teacher in what is frequently criticised as being a student-controlled activity. Three frameworks, which are argued to be necessarily intertwined for discipline-specific literacy, guide this inquiry work: the classroom goals; the instructional approach; and the degree of teacher direction. The foundation of the analysis is the notion of educational inquiry as it is structured in the Australian Curriculum, along with the locating of the study in international trends in inquiry learning over time. It will be of great interest to researchers, higher degree students and practicing professionals working in Education and Sociology.

Answering calls in recent reform documents to shape instruction in response to students’ ideas while integrating key concepts and scientific and/or mathematical practices, this text presents the concept of responsive teaching, synthesizes existing research, and examines implications for both research and teaching. Case studies across the curriculum from elementary school through adult education illustrate the variety of forms this approach to instruction and learning can take, what is common among them, and how teachers and students experience it. The cases include intellectual products of students’ work in responsive classrooms and address assessment methods and issues. Many of the cases are supplemented with online resources (http://www.studentsthinking.org/rtsm) including classroom video and extensive transcripts, providing readers with additional opportunities to immerse themselves in responsive classrooms and to see for themselves what these environments look and feel like.

Designed to strengthen the teaching of mathematics in the elementary grades, this book focuses on helping teachers engage in instruction based on learning trajectories (LTs). Renowned scholars, including professional development researcher Hilda Borko, examine four exemplary projects with details on professional development design, teacher learning, and project implementation. Contributors include Hilda Borko, Douglas H. Clements, Susan B. Empson, Victoria R. Jacobs, and Julie Sarama. “This is an amazingly important and valuable resource for mathematics teachers and leaders at any level. It provides the background and understandings so critical for teachers and teacher leaders to regularly consider and use learning trajectories to inform teacher planning and instruction.” —Dr. Francis (Skip) Fennell, professor emeritus, McDaniel College, and past president of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics “This is the first book that I’ve come across that unpacks what it means to have a framework for student learning at the center of one’s instruction.” —Mary Kay Stein, University of Pittsburgh School of Education “I find this book useful for mathematics educators interested in framing learning trajectories across several domains—including tasks, discourse, curriculum, learners’ understanding, and assessment—to support professional development. Learning trajectories help us make connections among the domains and deepens professional knowledge and understanding.” —Robert Q. Berry III, University of Virginia, and president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

One of the seminal management books of the past 75 years, The Fifth Discipline is an international multi-million-copy bestseller. Written in an engaging and accessible way, with diagrams and illustrations, it will change the way you think and therefore way you and your team grows and develop. In the long run, the only sustainable source of competitive advantage is your organisation's ability to learn faster than its competitors.... 'Senge explains why the learning organization matters, provides an unvarnished summary of his management principals, offers some basic tools for practicing it, and shows what it's like to operate under this system. The book's concepts remain stimulating and relevant as ever' -- Amazon.com '500 pages that I will no doubt keep coming back to' -- ***** Reader review 'This is a book about growth, improvement and continuous development. If you wish to achieve these results for yourself, your home, or your organization, then you MUST read this' -- ***** Reader review 'Has the power of revolutionizing your thinking on how to build organizations' -- ***** Reader review 'Enlightening from start to finish' -- ***** Reader review ************************************************************************************************ Peter Senge, founder and director of the Society for Organisational Learning and senior lecturer at MIT, has found the means of creating a 'learning organisation'. In The Fifth Discipline, he draws the blueprints for an organisation where people expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning together. He fuses these features together into a coherent body of theory and practice, making the whole of an organisation more effective than the sum of its parts. Mastering the disciplines will: *Reignite the spark of learning, driven by people focused on what truly matters to them. *Bridge teamwork into macro-creativity. *Free you from confining assumptions and mind-sets. *Teach you to see the forest and the trees. *End the struggle between work and family time. The Fifth Discipline is a remarkable book that draws on science, spiritual values, psychology, the cutting edge of management thought and case studies of Senge's work with leading companies - reading it is a searching personal experience that guarantees a professional shift of mind. Written in an engaging and accessible way, with diagrams and illustrations, this publishing phenomenon is a must read for anyone interested in approaches to business growth, personal development and management coaching.

This book conceptualizes the nature of mathematical modeling in the early grades from both teaching and learning perspectives. Mathematical modeling provides a unique opportunity to engage elementary students in the creative process of mathematizing their world. A diverse community of internationally known researchers and practitioners share studies that advance the field with respect to the following themes: The Nature of Mathematical Modeling in the Early Grades Content Knowledge and Pedagogy for Mathematical Modeling Student Experiences as Modelers Teacher Education and Professional Development in Modeling Experts in the field provide commentaries that extend and connect ideas presented across chapters. This book is an invaluable resource in illustrating what all young children can achieve with mathematical modeling and how we can support teachers and families in this important work.

Museum Gallery Interpretation and Material Culture publishes the proceedings of the first annual Sackler Centre for Arts Education conference at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London. The conference launched the annual series by addressing the question of how gallery interpretation design and management can help museum visitors learn about art and material culture. The book features a range of papers by leading academics, museum learning professionals, graduate researchers and curators from Europe, the USA and Canada. The papers present diverse new research and practice in the field, and open up debate about the role, design and process of exhibition interpretation in museums, art galleries and historic sites. The authors represent both academics and practitioners, and are affiliated with high quality institutions of broad geographical scope. The result is a strong, consistent representation of current thinking across the theory, methodology and practice of interpretation design for learning in museums.

In this book, author K. L. Reynolds express the critical need for school-wide discipline. The lessons he learned as a seasoned educator. Thus, giving his, and many other educational perspectives for a sound school environment. Thereby, creating growth for the entire student body, and ensuring the school's success.

* What should students be able to do and how should they be able to think as a result of study in a discipline?* What does learning in the disciplines look like at different developmental levels?* How does one go about designing such learning and assessment in the disciplines?* What institutional structures and processes can assist faculty to engage and teach their disciplines as frameworks for student learning?Creating ways to make a discipline come alive for those who are not experts–even for students who may not take more than one or two courses in the disciplines they study–requires rigorous thought about what really matters in a field and how to engage students in the practice of it.Faculty from Alverno College representing a range of liberal arts disciplines–chemistry, economics, history, literature, mathematics and philosophy–here reflect on what it has meant for them to approach their disciplines as frameworks for student learning. They present the intellectual biographies of their explorations, the insights they have gained and examples of the practices they have adopted.The authors all demonstrate how the ways of thinking they have identified as significant for their students in their respective disciplines have affected the way they design learning experiences and assessments. They show how they have shaped their teaching around the ways of thinking they want their students to develop within and across their disciplines; and what that means in terms of designing assessments that require students to demonstrate their thinking and understanding through application and use. This book will appeal to faculty interested in going beyond mere techniques to a more substantive analysis of how their view of their respective disciplines might change when seen through the lens of student learning. It will also serve the needs of graduate students; trainers of Tas; and anyone engaged in faculty development or interested in the scholarship of teaching.