Teaching Bearing The Torch

Teachers are torchbearers—leaders who impart knowledge, truth, or inspiration to others. Pamela Farris, joined by Patricia Rieman in the latest edition of this exceptional foundations text, clearly demonstrates how teachers bear the torch. The authors’ well-researched approach provides both positive and negative aspects of education trends. Their generous use of examples shows how teaching and schooling fit into the broader context of U.S. society and how they match up with other societies throughout the world. Farris and Rieman’s lively writing style instills teacher education candidates with a lucid understanding of such topics as philosophy and history of education, national trends, requirements of becoming a teacher, teachers’ salaries, how schools are governed and funded, demographic changes and expectations for the future, differences in rural and urban schools, and use of technology. Detailed lists of a variety of websites provide additional resources. Anecdotes of professionals in the field—authentic-voice narratives with frank insights into real-world teaching experiences—punctuate the text. Boxed scenarios concentrate on important issues and educators, energize readers’ interest, and stimulate proactive thinking. Other outstanding features are the book’s affordability and versatility. Instructors can easily assign all or a portion of the chapters to fit course needs.

Developing Teachers adds a totally new level of specificity to the understanding of fifth year programs as a solid entrance into the teaching profession. The special feature of the programs at many of these universities are compelling innovations that other universities will want to copy. The book is a guide for outstanding students who want to enter such programs, a rough template for other universities who want to construct such a program, and a careful analysis of the field for scholars and other persons interested in some of the best efforts in teacher education.

This book defines over 3,000 terms from the field of education to assist those charged with teaching students to become global citizens in a rapidly changing, technological society. John W. Collins and Nancy Patricia O'Brien, coeditors of the first edition of The Greenwood Dictionary of Education published in 2003, have acknowledged and addressed these shifts. This revised second edition supplements the extensive content of the first through greater focus on subjects such as neurosciences in educational behavior, gaming strategies as a learning technique, social networking, and distance education. Terms have been revised, where necessary, to represent changes in educational practice and theory. The Dictionary's focus is on current and evolving terminology specific to the broad field of education, although terms from closely related fields used in the context of education are also included. Encompassing the history of education as well as its future trends, the updated second edition will aid in the understanding and use of terms as they apply to contemporary educational research, practice, and theory.

This volume explores and evaluates community-based literacy programs, examining how they bridge gaps in literacy development, promote dialogue, and connect families, communities, and schools. Highlighting the diversity of existing literary initiatives across populations, this book brings together innovative and emerging scholarship on the relationship between P20 schools and community-based literacy programming. This volume not only identifies trends in research and practice, but it also addresses the challenges affecting these community-based programs and presents the best practices that emerge from them. Collaborating with leading scholars to provide national and international perspectives, and offering a clear, birds-eye view of the state of community literacy praxis, chapters cover programming in a multitude of settings and for a wide range of learners, from early childhood to incarcerated youths and adults, and including immigrants, refugees, and indigenous communities. Topics include identity and empowerment, language and literacy development across the lifespan, rural and urban environments, and partnership programs. The breadth of community literacy programming gathered in a single volume represents a unique array of models and topics, and has relevance for researchers, scholars, graduate students, pre-service educators, and community educators in literacy.

"Reforming Schools" will transform the study of school reform, development and improvement. It not only provides an overview of research findings, professional and political issues and policy developments and their history; it also relates such thinking to practice through a rich and multi-faceted case study of school reform. Particular emphasis is given to urban schooling, with a candid look at what can be learnt not only from successful school reforms but also from failure. The authors provide questions and exercises throughout to help readers interact with case-study material. "Reforming Schools" enables the readers to experience what it is like to work in the field in a way that no other book on school reform does.