This book follows master educator Elizabeth (Betty) Jones as she teaches an introductory course in early childhood education. She actively engages the students, encouraging them to make decisions, ask questions, and engage in collaborative problem solving--herself modeling the behaviors that should be practiced by adults working with young…

The chapters in this book reflect the work of science and mathematics educators who have worked for many years at the international level. As members of the International Consortium for Research in Science and Mathematics Education, their work provides readers with issues, models, practices, and research results that have applicability and…

This book details the studio setting of a history workshop in which learners discuss the meaning of artifacts, oral history transcriptions, historical photographs, and other firsthand sources from the past. Teachers facilitate interactions among children and play the role of elders, guiding younger learners as they explore a variety of historical…

This guide aims to help teachers plan, reflect on, and revise learning expeditions. Growing out of the metaphor of an Outward Bound wilderness expedition, learning expeditions are long-term, in-depth investigations of a topic that engage students in the world through authentic projects, fieldwork, and service. The work centers on critical…

Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound (ELOB) is a framework for comprehensive school improvement that uses the philosophy and pedagogy of Outward Bound to make learning more hands-on, project-based, and adventurous. One of the 10 ELOB design principles is service and compassion. This book by teachers in ELOB schools contains accounts of students'…

From adding richness and variety to learning, to redesigning a playground, this highly accessible text will provide early years practitioners with a wealth of ideas on how to foster creative play and learning in the outdoor environment with a focus on interacting with the natural world. "Nature and Young Children" contains many simple ideas on the…

A total of 54 designs for successful active learning strategies for library instruction in the classroom are presented in this sourcebook. These librarian-authored strategies have been developed and used successfully in instruction. The lesson designs are divided into five sections: Basic Library Instruction; Searching Indexes and Online Catalogs;…

Teaching science means doing science and involves three elements: knowing content, knowing children, and teachers knowing themselves as teachers and learners. The authors describe principles and requirements that reflect National Science Education Standards for the active learning of science. They identify key ingredients for primary students and…

This guide to interactive training provides tools and techniques to stimulate the trainer's imagination to provide enriching, engaging training and an energizing learning experience. An introduction describes a REST Stop: give time to Reflect on the concept, Expand the content and Extract ideas with the intent of Stimulating imaginative Thinking.…

This book presents case studies of six "pockets of hope," democratic educational projects in which empowered students and their teachers actively engage with relevant academic and social problems. Although seemingly very different, the projects share a core commitment to democratic pedagogy and demonstrate practices consistent with…

Intended to help teachers put early childhood theories and information into daily lesson planning, this guide provides a system for organizing lesson objectives, methods, and materials in order to write effective lesson plans. Chapter 1 introduces the guidebook and covers a lesson planning system, developmentally appropriate practice, standards in…

Author Lyn Lesch advocates that learning cannot be measured by empirical results like testing and grading. As the founder of Chicago's The Children's School, Lesch didn't give grades or submit students to standardized testing. Such conditions may seem blasphemous to most educators, but the results spoke for themselves. Without the high-stakes…

Young children are active learners who touch, feel, experiment, and create. Learning centers are designed to relate to their world of active learning and to encourage their involvement, thereby enhancing development of choice making, oral language, creativity, social skills, responsibility, and understanding of symbols. This book includes…

In recent years, schools have been moving away from centralized decision making, granting teachers the authority to determine course content. This book explores the concept of including students in curricular decision making. Chapter 1 explains why students at all grade levels should be involved in choosing topics of study. Educational research…

This guide provides activities that have pupils actively involved, obtaining knowledge through cognitive, affective, or kinesthetic approaches to learning. The book is divided into three sections. Section 1, "Map Skills--Physical and Political Features", includes simulations, simulated review games, and problem-solving dilemmas to employ the use…