Improving Classroom Performance

A Long awaited first book from one of the biggest teacher training companies in the UK. Dragonfly Training was founded in 1999 and has established an excellent reputation internationally for providing inspiring, realistic and practical training courses for teachers. In this, their first book, three of their top trainers provide some of the very best hands-on approaches to teaching. Dragonfly's six key principles are: Promote effective starters and plenaries; Provide constant reinforcement as a means of embedding knowledge and provide on-going revision; Introduce a variety of ideas; Do first, teach after - whenever possible; Encourage students to create teaching materials themselves; Demonstrate and articulate success by modelling the desired outcomes.

A practical, research-based guide for ensuring trustworthy classroom observations that provide teachers with meaningful feedback Better Feedback for Better Teaching is an essential resource for school, district, and state, leaders committed to high-quality classroom observations. This practical guide outlines the knowledge and skills classroom observers need to identify and help develop effective teaching, and explains how leaders can best facilitate the development of classroom observers. The best way to ensure high quality instruction in every classroom is to provide teachers with accurate, constructive feedback on practices proven to enhance student learning. Skilled classroom observers help teachers do their best work, so that they can guide students to their greatest potential. Better Feedback for Better Teaching provides helpful, reliable strategies from leading experts and practitioners involved in the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project, which carried out one of the largest, most influential studies of classroom observations to date. Among the many topics covered, Better Feedback for Better Teaching describes how to: Build a shared vision of effective teacher feedback among observers Ensure a common understanding of a classroom observation tool Train observers to collect objective evidence from a lesson, efficiently and free of bias Leverage data to improve how observers are trained and supported This comprehensive resource includes helpful starting points, as well as tips to refine techniques and address new challenges. Each section combines clear explanations of key ideas with concrete, adaptable examples and strategies. Self-assessments are included to help you quickly rank current needs and find the most relevant solutions. Filled with valuable, practical tools, Better Feedback for Better Teaching helps educators cultivate high-quality classroom observations that improve teaching and learning.

A practical guide to more effective assessment for improved student learning Learn how to be more consistent in judging student performance, and help your students become more effective at assessing their own learning This book o

Physical inactivity is a key determinant of health across the lifespan. A lack of activity increases the risk of heart disease, colon and breast cancer, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, osteoporosis, anxiety and depression and others diseases. Emerging literature has suggested that in terms of mortality, the global population health burden of physical inactivity approaches that of cigarette smoking. The prevalence and substantial disease risk associated with physical inactivity has been described as a pandemic. The prevalence, health impact, and evidence of changeability all have resulted in calls for action to increase physical activity across the lifespan. In response to the need to find ways to make physical activity a health priority for youth, the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Physical Activity and Physical Education in the School Environment was formed. Its purpose was to review the current status of physical activity and physical education in the school environment, including before, during, and after school, and examine the influences of physical activity and physical education on the short and long term physical, cognitive and brain, and psychosocial health and development of children and adolescents. Educating the Student Body makes recommendations about approaches for strengthening and improving programs and policies for physical activity and physical education in the school environment. This report lays out a set of guiding principles to guide its work on these tasks. These included: recognizing the benefits of instilling life-long physical activity habits in children; the value of using systems thinking in improving physical activity and physical education in the school environment; the recognition of current disparities in opportunities and the need to achieve equity in physical activity and physical education; the importance of considering all types of school environments; the need to take into consideration the diversity of students as recommendations are developed. This report will be of interest to local and national policymakers, school officials, teachers, and the education community, researchers, professional organizations, and parents interested in physical activity, physical education, and health for school-aged children and adolescents.

This updated report is an essential tool for school leaders and practitioners alike, and is the single most authoritative source for effective K-12 teaching and learning practices across the content areas. This one volume brings together in readable, concise language the authoritative research on effective classroom practices in all major disciplines currently taught in elementary and secondary schools: the arts, foreign language, health, language arts, physical education, mathematics, social studies, and science, as well as generic practices that apply across all disciplines. This third edition includes over 100 research-based classroom strategies, and features a new chapter that synthesises the research on high-performing school districts, and discusses ways school districts can support instructional improvement.

State education departments and school districts face an important challenge in implementing a new law that requires disadvantaged students to be held to the same standards as other students. The new requirements come from provisions of the 1994 reauthorization of Title I, the largest federal effort in precollegiate education, which provides aid to "level the field" for disadvantaged students. Testing, Teaching, and Learning is written to help states and school districts comply with the new law, offering guidance for designing and implementing assessment and accountability systems. This book examines standards-based education reform and reviews the research on student assessment, focusing on the needs of disadvantaged students covered by Title I. With examples of states and districts that have track records in new systems, the committee develops a practical "decision framework" for education officials. The book explores how best to design assessment and accountability systems that support high levels of student learning and to work toward continuous improvement. Testing, Teaching, and Learning will be an important tool for all involved in educating disadvantaged studentsâ€"state and local administrators and classroom teachers.

Practical classroom management applications assure that beginning and experienced teachers of all grade levels and instructional settings develop the cultural and managerial competence to make daily classroom practice easier, effective, and culturally-inclusive. Through developing culturally-competence, teachers learn to manage classrooms with a culturally-inclusive mindset in both mainstream and non-mainstream classrooms alike. They learn from start to finish how to structure and manage a culturally-inclusive classroom—how to establish the governance principles, how to set up the structure for operating the classroom with sensitivity and caring, and how to prevent and address student misbehavior. Emphasis is on helping students become disciplined caring individuals, and on assuring fairness and due process in applying penalties for misbehavior.

Culturally-transformative teaching restores teaching excellence to prominence in classroom practice through its systematic approach to precise teaching. It develops the pedagogical and cultural competence of both beginning and experienced teachers with learners in all instructional settings from the primary grades through university levels. Comprehensive explanations and examples throughout the volume help teachers get better and better at designing and conducting effective lessons so that all students have an equal opportunity to learn regardless of their cultural backgrounds or status in American society. The lesson framework and principles of the teaching model have been field-tested to serve as a growth-oriented university, school, or district-wide teacher development and evaluation system.