The Practical Teacher

You don't need a tweed jacket to be a researcher—in thousands of schools across North America, practising teachers conduct studies on best practices, alternative approaches, and effective learning strategies. Classroom teachers have experiences and opportunities unavailable to researchers in a university setting, and action research—site-based, teacher-conducted research—can have a valuable impact on the educational community. Yet many teachers don't see their work as real research, and many other teachers have great ideas for research projects but don't know where to begin. For these teachers, Engaging in Action Research demystifies the world of educational research and provides support, guidance, and encouragement. From creating a research plan to reporting findings, this book provides step-by-step instructions to help teachers conduct research projects in the classroom, using strategies that work. Get ready to investigate, analyze, and share!

Research-Informed Teacher Learning explores career-long improvements in knowledge building and the skills required in curriculum reform, transformations in teaching methods, alterations to assessment, and restructurings in school administration and management. This extends to meeting the needs and interests of different and diverse students and groups of students, mentoring student teachers and beginning teachers, and supporting experienced teachers, so they are all responsive to their local school-communities, thereby contributing to democratic schooling and the public good. The book mainly focuses on the professionals working in teaching and teacher education from pre-service training and development through early-mid career and into later stages of career mobility. It pinpoints the ways that practitioners need to be involved in the design and delivery of changing models of teacher education which helps in the development of their own professional activities at all levels of the teaching service. Dedicated to the late Professor Carey Philpott, the book takes his ideas forward, particularly in the current conjuncture when teacher learning is curtailed and constrained by power brokers, politicians and policy makers in various undemocratic ways. This book will be of great interest for academics and researchers in the fields of teacher education, educational policy and politics, and lifelong learning and development.

In Teaching Critical Thinking, renowned cultural critic and progressive educator bell hooks addresses some of the most compelling issues facing teachers in and out of the classroom today. In a series of short, accessible, and enlightening essays, hooks explores the confounding and sometimes controversial topics that teachers and students have urged her to address since the publication of the previous best-selling volumes in her Teaching series, Teaching to Transgress and Teaching Community. The issues are varied and broad, from whether meaningful teaching can take place in a large classroom setting to confronting issues of self-esteem. One professor, for example, asked how black female professors can maintain positive authority in a classroom without being seen through the lens of negative racist, sexist stereotypes. One teacher asked how to handle tears in the classroom, while another wanted to know how to use humor as a tool for learning. Addressing questions of race, gender, and class in this work, hooks discusses the complex balance that allows us to teach, value, and learn from works written by racist and sexist authors. Highlighting the importance of reading, she insists on the primacy of free speech, a democratic education of literacy. Throughout these essays, she celebrates the transformative power of critical thinking. This is provocative, powerful, and joyful intellectual work. It is a must read for anyone who is at all interested in education today.

Originally published in 1983. A broad examination of the ways in which teachers gain and use knowledge about their work is presented in this book. At the time, within curriculum studies, there was a developing greater understanding of the major role that teachers play in the implementation of materials within the classroom - as autonomous agents holding, using and creating knowledge of particular kinds which informs all of their work. This book presents a case study using retrospective interviews with a high school English teacher. Through analysis of this series of interviews, this study describes and outlines the structure of the knowledge she uses and the views she has of her concerns.

How to be a Brilliant FE Teacher is a straightforward, friendly guide to being an effective and innovative teacher in post-compulsory education. Focussing on practical advice drawn from the author’s extensive and successful personal experience of both teaching and training teachers, it offers sound guidance, underpinned by the latest research, theory and policy in the field. Structured around the questions that all new teachers and lecturers ask in their first teaching post, it is an introduction to both essential teaching skills and what to expect from working in this exciting, fast-paced sector. Key chapters cover: The learners – who they are, diversity and motivation; What will actually happen – organising teaching, technology and resources; How to keep your students’ interest – understanding and responding to learning styles; How will I know if they’ve learned it? – assessment and feedback; Making sure it’s working – student evaluation, reflecting on and improving practice. Packed throughout with information about where to find the best materials and resources to support your teaching, this book also offers sensible advice on balancing home and life, working effectively with your colleagues and progressing in your career. How to be a Brilliant FE Teacher will be a source of support and inspiration for all those embarking on their initial training and first post in the sector, as well as qualified professionals looking for reassuring, fresh ideas.

A comprehensive guide to teacher research that explores effective strategies for teacher research and explains what can be learned by that research and how it can be used to improve the classroom structure, curriculum, and atmosphere.

Practical Teaching: A Guide to Teaching in the Education and Training Sector is the perfect companion for those studying or teaching the new Award, Certificate and/or Diploma in Education and Training, PGCE, Cert Ed and all Initial Teacher Training Qualifications. This comprehensive new title is the ultimate handbook for the student teacher wishing to pursue the next stage of training in the Further Education Sector, and it follows the success of Linda Wilson’s previous Practical Teaching guides.Drawing on years of experience in the field, Linda Wilson takes readers through all aspects of teaching and learning; from the initial interviews and inductions through the learning process, to assessment and finally reflection, offering helpful and workable tips for success along the way.Her book offers practical ideas for teaching in an easy-to-read style. Essential theory is introduced on a need-to-know basis, and is set in the context of its application within the classroom.This text is also updated to include strategies for improving teaching and learning in line with guidance from the Common Inspection Framework, and it is a useful tool to provide CPD for qualified teachers.