Natural Learning For A Connected World

Why do video games fascinate kids so much that they will spend hours pursuing a difficult skill? Why don't they apply this kind of intensity to their school work? In their most penetrating and important work in years, these two leaders in the field of brain-based education build a bridge to the future of education with a dynamic model of teaching that works for all grade levels and in all cultural and ethnic groups. The authors' education model, the "Guided Experience Approach," is based on the way that biologists see learning as a totally natural, continuous interaction between perception and action. Natural Learning for a Connected World provides a practical, step-by-step description and successful examples from practice of this perception action cycle so that we can finally provide the learning environments essential for our children to thrive in the knowledge age.

Raise the bar with the best of what is known about how the brain/mind learns Higher-order skills such as critical thinking, planning, decision-making and persistence are the key to success for today’s students. Fully revised to respond to the Common Core and other timely developments, this indispensable guide builds the bridge from brain research to classroom practice. The updated third edition offers More strategies to deeply engage students and build foundational learning skills Guidance on peer-based professional development through Process Learning Circles Reflective questions and checklists for assessing progress Updated, real-life examples Bridge research to practice through these innovative strategies to create a school environment where students and faculty learn and thrive.

The application of emerging technology in educational settings has proven to significantly enhance students’ experiences. These tools provide better learning opportunities and engagement between students and instructors. Integration of Cloud Technologies in Digitally Networked Classrooms and Learning Communities is a pivotal reference source for the latest scholarly research on the implementation of cloud pedagogies and innovations in classroom environments. Highlighting concepts related to learning engagement, curriculum design, and theoretical perspectives, this book is ideally designed for researchers, practitioners, professionals, and students interested in the use of cloud technology in digital classrooms.

Publishers Weekly bestseller · A joyful and accessible homeschool guide to making learning a part of everyday life Parents who are deeply invested in their children's education can be hard on themselves and their kids. When exhausted parents are living the day-to-day grind, it can seem impossible to muster enough energy to make learning fun or interesting. How do parents nurture a love of learning amid childhood chaos, parental self-doubt, the flu, and state academic standards? In this book, Julie Bogart distills decades of experience--homeschooling her five now grown children, developing curricula, and training homeschooling families around the world--to show parents how to make education an exciting, even enchanting, experience for their kids, whether they're in elementary or high school. Enchantment is about ease, not striving. Bogart shows parents how to make room for surprise, mystery, risk, and adventure in their family's routine, so they can create an environment that naturally moves learning forward. If a child wants to pick up a new hobby or explore a subject area that the parent knows little about, it's easy to simply say "no" to end the discussion and the parental discomfort, while dousing their child's curious spark. Bogart gently invites parents to model brave learning for their kids so they, too, can approach life with curiosity, joy, and the courage to take learning risks.

Even though 95% of Americans consider critical thinking an essential skill that schools should teach, our students’ problem-solving skills rank among the lowest in the world. Students actually show lower brain activity in class than while watching TV or sleeping, and most college students, as well as half of American adults, fail critical thinking tests. But why? Written by an expert who trains educators and executives, America’s Critical Thinking Crisis shows that the problem doesn’t fall on educators or Gen Z, but on a fundamentally flawed conception of what education means. Drawing on neuroscience, psychology, and educational research, it demonstrates how we can create legions of divergent thinkers and problem solvers by tapping the hardwiring that innately makes children think all the time, in all areas of life – just not so much in school. Pearlman’s timely book is an essential text for understanding why our students don’t think critically. It also demonstrates what education should be and how it could transform our students and our culture. The book is a needed addition to the library of any educator or parent, or just anyone concerned about the direction our culture is headed. Chris Hakala Director, Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship Springfield College Pearlman calls us to reimagine our education system as a whole and redefine what it means to teach and learn. We must understand that reason and critical thinking should be the primary outcomes of any quality education. America’s Critical Thinking Crisis speaks to us with urgency, and calls educators at every level to rethink, revise, and repurpose our work. Heeding Pearlman’s call may well be our only existential hope. Matthew Bristow-Smith 2019 North Carolina Principal of the Year Principal, Edgecombe Early College High School Pearlman's America’s Critical Thinking Crisis is a book written by a true college classroom pedagogue--one who eats, breathes, sleeps, and, for all I know, smokes college pedagogy as well. Filled with quirky asides, the book is flush with ideas about learning that only someone who has spent a life at the lectern (and deconstructing "the lectern") could imagine. Easygoing in its tone and passionate in its commitments, the book is strongly recommended for all of those dismayed at the state of American higher education and willing to get their hands dirty to fix it anew. Dr. Jacques Berlinerblau Author of Campus Confidential Professor, Georgetown University Helping students develop critical thinking is at the core of what most educators and society see as the essential role of higher education. In clear prose and with a dose of dark humor, Pearlman eviscerates current practices and lays out the urgent necessity for change. He also suggests strategies that could actually work, strategies that must become part of ongoing conversations in every facet of our society. Anton Tolman, Ph.D., Co-author, Why Students Resist Learning

As traditional classroom settings are transitioning to online environments, teachers now face the challenge of using this medium to promote effective learning strategies, especially when teaching older age groups. Because adult learners bring a different set of understandings and skills to education than younger students, such as more job and life experiences, the one-size-fits-all approach to teaching does not work, thus pushing educators to create a student-centered approach for each learner. The Handbook of Research on Student-Centered Strategies in Online Adult Learning Environments is an important resource providing readers with multiple perspectives to approach issues often associated with adult learners in an online environment. This publication highlights current research on topics including, but not limited to, online competency-based education, nontraditional adult learners, virtual classrooms in public universities, and teacher training for online education. This book is a vital reference for online trainers, adult educators, university administrators, researchers, and other academic professionals looking for emerging information on utilizing online classrooms and environments in student-centered adult education.

Harnessing the Dynamics of Public Education: Preparing for a Return to Greatness is a comprehensive look at the American public education system. Building on the current system, the book takes on the War on Education in an effort to rethink, redesign and develop a new state-of-the-art system of learning that will regain international competiveness and be the “best choice” for parents in a growing system of choice. The authors provide critical analysis of the current system while also offering specific solutions and hope for one of the greatest institutions in America…..as it Return’s to Greatness!

Education for the Human Brain: A Road Map for Natural Learning in Schools is an all inclusive book on understanding and implementing a natural and brain-compatible instructional strategy from early childhood to adult learners.