Supporting Literacy And Numeracy

A practical guide to the ways in which the Learning Support Assistant can effectively support the class teacher with regard to literacy and numeracy frameworks.

There are many approaches to researching the difficulties in learning that students experience in the key areas of literacy and numeracy. This book seeks to advance understanding of these difficulties and the interventions that have been used to improve outcomes. The book addresses the sometimes complementary and sometimes contradictory results, and generates new approaches to understanding and serving students with difficulties in literacy and numeracy. The book represents a departure from conventional wisdom as most scholars and graduate students draw upon ideas from only one of the three domains focal in the book and usually from one single or dominant theoretical frame. Typically, readers will affiliate with reading education, mathematics education, or learning disabilities and belong to one of the corresponding professional associations such as IRA, NCTM, or CLD. This book’s scope will open a scholarly forum for engaging readers with a familiarity with one of these domains while providing insight into the others on offer in the book.

Ask mathematicians to describe mathematics and they' ll use words like playful, beautiful, and creative. Pose the same question to students and many will use words like boring, useless, and even humiliating. Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You' d Had, author Tracy Zager helps teachers close this gap by making math class more like mathematics. Zager has spent years working with highly skilled math teachers in a diverse range of settings and grades and has compiled those' ideas from these vibrant classrooms into' this game-changing book. Inside you' ll find: ' How to Teach Student-Centered Mathematics:' Zager outlines a problem-solving approach to mathematics for elementary and middle school educators looking for new ways to inspire student learning Big Ideas, Practical Application:' This math book contains dozens of practical and accessible teaching techniques that focus on fundamental math concepts, including strategies that simulate connection of big ideas; rich tasks that encourage students to wonder, generalize, hypothesize, and persevere; and routines to teach students how to collaborate Key Topics for Elementary and Middle School Teachers:' Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You' d Had' offers fresh perspectives on common challenges, from formative assessment to classroom management for elementary and middle school teachers No matter what level of math class you teach, Zager will coach you along chapter by chapter. All teachers can move towards increasingly authentic and delightful mathematics teaching and learning. This important book helps develop instructional techniques that will make the math classes we teach so much better than the math classes we took.

This comprehensive and up-to-date review of learning and educational quality in developing countries, written by 16 highly knowledgeable specialists from around the world, provides policymakers and researchers accessible perspectives with the Millennium Development Goals in mind.

This publication "provides information on the latest thinking about concept formation and presents three professional learning workshops for staff working with young children"--Back cover.

“Arguably the most common sense, and certainly the most informative, contemporary text onliteracy… Glynn, Wearmouth and Berryman bring a wealth of experience to the field of literacy,culture and family/school collaboration. We are indebted to the authors for putting together such aninformative and groundbreaking text that has overarching relevance in today’s multicultural society.” Dr Gavin Reid, University of Edinburgh, UK “A much needed text to counter the overly psychological approach to teaching literacy. It emphasizes asocio-cultural approach which puts the focus on the interactive, responsive and social elements of thechild learning to read in relation to the world around them.” Wally Penetito, Victoria University, New Zealand In many countries, school populations are becoming increasingly socially and culturally diverse, and delivering effective literacy programmes is becoming more challenging and complex. This book shows schools how to address difficulties with literacy learning experienced by students of diverse backgrounds, by employing strategies that respond to and affirm difference. This ‘responsive approach’ actively engages with students’ prior knowledge and experiences and ensures that these are fully validated in the literacy activities of the classroom. The responsive approach includes members of students' homes and communities collaborating to facilitate their participation in defining and delivering literacy programmes. This book illustrates ways in which teachers and other adults can create responsive social contexts at school and at home, to enable all children to participate fully in reading, writing and oral language activities in the classroom. It offers effective strategies for overcoming barriers to literacy learning, including: Reading tutoring that promotes comprehension and independence Writing partnerships that respond to children’s messages Responsive feedback strategies Interactive contexts that promote student responsibility for learning Community and school collaboration to develop authentic learning tasks Supporting Students with Literacy Difficulties: A Responsive Approach is key reading for teacher education students, practising teachers and parents.