Recommending Books for Purchase (Bulletin 58 - February 2020): Choice Reviews

Price: GBP £51.00

This year marks the centenary publication of John Dewey's magnum opus, Democracy and Education. Despite its profound importance as a foundational text in education, it is notoriously difficult and--dare we say it--a little dry. In this charming and often funny companion, noted philosopher of education D. C. Phillips goes chapter by chapter to bring Dewey to a twenty-first-century audience. Drawing on over fifty years of thinking about this book--and on his own experiences as an educator--he lends it renewed clarity and a personal touch that proves its lasting importance.             Phillips bridges several critical pitfalls of Democracy and Education that often prevent contemporary readers from fully understanding it. Where Dewey sorely needs a detailed example to illustrate a point--and the times are many--Phillips steps in, presenting cases from his own classroom experiences. Where Dewey casually refers to the works of people like Hegel, Herbart, and Locke--common knowledge, apparently, in 1916--Phillips fills in the necessary background. And where Dewey gets convoluted or is even flat-out wrong, Phillips does what few other scholars would do: he takes Dewey to task. The result is a lively accompaniment that helps us celebrate and be enriched by some of the most important ideas ever offered in education.  

Price: GBP £25.00

A provocative examination of literacy in the American South before emancipation, countering the long-standing stereotype of the South's oral tradition Schweiger complicates our understanding of literacy in the American South in the decades just prior to the Civil War by showing that rural people had access to a remarkable variety of things to read. Drawing on the writings of four young women who lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Schweiger shows how free and enslaved people learned to read, and that they wrote and spoke poems, songs, stories, and religious doctrines that were circulated by speech and in print. The assumption that slavery and reading are incompatible--which has its origins in the eighteenth century--has obscured the rich literate tradition at the heart of Southern and American culture.  

Price: USD $122.00

What does educational policy-making and institutional practice entail in an era of globalization? Global interactions challenge conventional assumptions governing the certainty of geographical boundedness; simplistic notions of citizenship and identity; fixed notions of time, space and movement, and clear distinctions between economic modes of production and consumption. Irving Epstein argues that conventional educational institutions and the policies that support them tend to ignore such anxiety by affirming a belief in educational modernism to the exclusion of other possibilities. What is missing in most of these analyses is an appreciation for the role of affect in determining how our encounters with these practices become significant and how our efforts to find meaning in those policies and practices lead to their acceptance or rejection. This book is the first application of affect theory to comparative education themes and shows how it can help to form a more robust discussion of the policy-making process and the popular reactions to it. After discussing the key concepts associated with affect theory, he presents a total of six case studies. Three of the cases depict relationships between educational, cultural, and social organizations whose purposes conflict with one another but whose presence is indicative of a loss of faith in the efficacy of public schooling. Three of the cases are illustrative of an even greater systematic rejection of educational institutional aim and purpose.

Price: USD $90.00

This book presents an ambitious model for how educators can design high-quality, challenging, and supportive learning opportunities for English Learners and other students identified to be in need of language and literacy support. Starting with the premise that conceptual, analytic, and language practices develop simultaneously as students engage in disciplinary learning, the authors argue for instruction that amplifies--rather than simplifies--expectations, concepts, texts, and learning tasks. The authors offer clear guidance for designing lessons and units and provide examples that demonstrate the approach in various subject areas, including math, science, English, and social studies. This practical resource will guide teachers through the coherent design of tasks, lessons, and units of study that invite English Learners (and all students) to engage in productive, meaningful, and intellectually engaging activity. Book Features: A unique model for teaching English Learners and ALL students that highlights the centrality of interactions in the development of student academic autonomy. Discipline-specific examples to guide teachers in creating learning tasks, lessons, and units of study. A discussion of how teachers might begin designing such learning opportunities, along with suggestions for how school leaders and teacher preparation can support them. Grounded in sociocultural and ecological theories of language, language learning, and the development of disciplinary practices.

Price: GBP £22.99

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.

Price: USD $349.99

In this third, fully revised edition, the 10 volume Encyclopedia of Language and Education offers the newest developments, including an entirely new volume of research and scholarly content, essential to the field of language teaching and learning in the age of globalization. In the selection of topics and contributors, the Encyclopedia reflects the depth of disciplinary knowledge, breadth of interdisciplinary perspective, and diversity of socio-geographic experience in the language and education field. Throughout, there is an inclusion of contributions from non-English speaking and non-western parts of the world, providing truly global coverage. Furthermore, the authors have sought to integrate these voices fully into the whole, rather than as special cases or international perspectives in separate sections. The Encyclopedia is a necessary reference set for every university and college library in the world that serves a faculty or school of education, as well as being highly relevant to the fields of applied and socio-linguistics. The publication of this work charts the further deepening and broadening of the field of language and education since the publication of the first edition of the Encyclopedia in 1997 and the second edition in 2008.

Price: USD $55.00

A guide to both theory and practice of blended learning offering rigorous research, case studies, and methods for the assessment of educational effectiveness. Blended learning combines traditional in-person learning with technology-enabled education. Its pedagogical aim is to merge the scale, asynchrony, and flexibility of online learning with the benefits of the traditional classroom--content-rich instruction and the development of learning relationships. This book offers a guide to both theory and practice of blended learning, offering rigorous research, case studies, and methods for the assessment of educational effectiveness. The contributors to this volume adopt a range of approaches to blended learning and different models of implementation and offer guidelines for both researchers and instructors, considering such issues as research design and data collection. In these courses, instructors addressed problems they had noted in traditional classrooms, attempting to enhance student engagement, include more active learning strategies, approximate real-world problem solving, and reach non-majors. The volume offers a cross-section of approaches from one institution, Georgia Tech, to provide both depth and breadth. It examines the methodologies of implementation in a variety of courses, ranging from a first-year composition class that incorporated the video game Assassin's Creed II to a research methods class for psychology and computer science students. Blended Learning will be an essential resource for educators, researchers, administrators, and policy makers. Contributors Joe Bankoff, Paula Braun, Mark Braunstein, Marion L. Brittain, Timothy G. Buchman, Rebecca E. Burnett, Aldo A. Ferri, Bonnie Ferri, Andy Frazee, Mohammed M. Ghassemi, Ashok K. Goel, Alyson B. Goodman, Joyelle Harris, Cheryl Hiddleson, David Joyner, Robert S. Kadel, Kenneth J. Knoespel, Joe Le Doux, Amanda G. Madden, Lauren Margulieux, Olga Menagarishvili, Shamim Nemati, Vjollca Sadiraj, Donald Webster

Price: USD $67.00

Building Academic Literacy: Engaging All Learners in Every Classroom

Price: USD $71.00

Can I Teach That? Negotiating Taboo Language and Controversial Topics in the Language Arts Classroom is a collection of stories, strategies, advice, and documents collected for teachers who are using or plan to use materials or implement policies they know may be controversial. It is for any teacher dedicated to engaging their students in the complex, challenging, and rewarding activities of reading and writing, for any teacher committed to speaking honestly with students. For any teacher, period. Because when we decide to work with young people, when we commit to sharing books and ideas that engage their hearts and minds, when we strive to get adolescents to think critically and write honestly, we open ourselves up to suspicion and critique from someone, somewhere, no matter how above reproach we feel our materials and strategies are. Few language arts teachers will experience a full-blown challenge to the content of their curriculum, but many may self-censor or suffer through awkward and challenging conversations with colleagues, administrators, parents, and other members of their community. This book is for those times when teachers are called on to defend and legitimize their use of controversial material in their classroom--material that they know reflects students' reality, even as it makes adults uncomfortable and fearful about their inability to protect children from that very reality.

Price: USD $175.00

Case Studies on Safety, Bullying, and Social Media in Schools addresses the most topical issues facing school leaders today--including bullying, harassment, inappropriate use of social media, drug use, and school safety. Bridging theory and practice, each chapter includes a detailed case, artifacts for analysis, explanation of relevant case and federal law, and guiding questions for discussion. Adapted from real-world examples, the case studies in this timely resource serve as essential exercises for aspiring and practicing leaders to ensure student safety and success. This case book helps aspiring educational leaders prepare and respond to even the most difficult situations that occur on school campuses and in the school community.

Price: USD $29.00

Today's standards challenge middle and high school teachers to teach their content deeply and meaningfully. This book provides an innovative coaching model for helping science, social studies, and English language arts teachers promote the reading, writing, listening, speaking, and thinking skills needed for high-level work in each discipline. Seventeen specific strategies are presented for large-group, small-group, and individual coaching, including step-by-step instructions and implementation tips. Profiles of highly effective disciplinary literacy coaches illustrate the nuts and bolts of the job and highlight ways to deal with common challenges. In a large-size format for easy photocopying, the book includes 21 reproducible forms. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials.

Price: USD $75.00

Common Sense about Common Core breaks down everything you need to know about the Common Core, from how it was implemented to where we are now. Common Core has emerged as a significant political issue and, therefore, a concern with the general public. Special interest groups are spinning messages which are inaccurate or biased in order to confuse parents and the public. Therefore a transformative educational initiative developed on sound principles is jeopardized because special interest groups, including politicians seeking to garner support from these groups, are taking positions based on inaccurate information. This book will show that Common Core is a necessary initiative for achieving America's Race to the Top.

Price: GBP £109.99

The book synergizes research on number across two disciplines--mathematics education and psychology. The underlying problem the book addresses is how the brain constructs number. The opening chapter frames the problem in terms of children's activity, including mental and physical actions. Subsequent chapters are organized into sections that address specific domains of number: natural numbers, fractions, and integers. Chapters within each section address ways that children build upon biological primitives (e.g., subitizing) and prior constructs (e.g., counting sequences) to construct number. The book relies on co-authored chapters and commentaries at the end of each section to create dialogue between junior faculty and senior researchers, as well as between psychologists and mathematics educators. The final chapter brings this work together around the framework of children's activity and additional themes that arise in the collective work. The book is aimed to appeal to mathematics educators, mathematics teacher educators, mathematics education researchers, educational psychologists, cognitive psychologists, and developmental psychologists.

Price: USD $125.00

Contested Issues in Troubled Timesprovides student affairs educators with frameworks to constructively think about and navigate the contentious climate they are increasingly encountering on campus. The 54 contributors address the book's overarching question: How do we create an equitable climate conducive to learning in a dynamic environment fraught with complexity and a socio-political context characterized by escalating intolerance, incivility, and overt discrimination? Rather than attempting to offer readers definitive solutions, this book illustrates the possibilities and promise of acknowledging multiple approaches to addressing contentious issues, articulating a persuasive argument anchored in professional judgment, listening attentively to others for points of connection as well as divergence, and drawing upon new ways of thinking to foster safe and inclusive campuses. Among the issues this volume addresses are such topics as sexual violence; historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups; transgender and undocumented students; the professional skills, knowledge and/or dispositions needed to thrive and facilitate systemic change in contemporary higher education organizations; the implications of maintaining personal and professional identities via social media; and self-care. In this companion volume to Contested Issues in Student Affairs(whose issues remain as relevant today as they were upon publication in 2011), a new set of contributors explore new questions which foreground issues of equity, safety, and civility - themes which dominate today's higher education headlines and campus conversations. The book concludes with calls to action, encouraging student affairs educators to exhibit the moral courage needed to critically examine routine practices that (un)knowingly perpetuate inequity and enact the foundational values and principles upon which the student affairs profession was founded.

Price: USD $150.00

The inspiration for this book arose out of a large international conference: the ninth World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) organized under the theme of Culture/Environment. Similarly, the theme for this book focuses on the Culture/Environment nexus. The book is divided into two parts: Part 1 consists of a series of research studies from an eclectic selection of researchers from all corners of the globe. Part 2 consists of a series of case studies of practice selected from a wide diversity of K-Postsecondary educators. The intent behind these selections is to augment and highlight the diversity of both cultural method and cultural voice in our descriptions of environmental education practice. The chapters focus on a multi-disciplinary view of Environmental Education with a developing view that Culture and Environment may be inseparable and arise from and within each other. Cultural change is also a necessary condition, and a requirement, to rebuild and reinvent our relationship with nature and to live more sustainably. The chapters address the spirit of supporting our praxis, and are therefore directed towards both an educator and researcher audience. Each chapter describes original research or curriculum development work.

Price: GBP £47.95

This 2nd edition presents strategies and answers questions, based on research and best practices, on how to develop curriculum and instruction, from philosophical base through assessment, to ensure excellence in curriculum beyond boiler plate standards. Current vocabulary describes this process as Value Added. However, since the current political paradigm requires school systems to map the curriculum to state and national assessments, attention is also given to curriculum mapping, pacing guides and other contemporary strategies designed to meet common cores, and other accountability issues. The book provides a process for school systems to follow in order to maximize teacher expertise and involvement, which creates the highest level of ownership and responsiveness from those charged with instruction and assessment. The text is a platform to encourage and enable school systems and universities to lead curriculum, instruction, and assessment that addresses, but goes beyond boiler plate standards, moves away from "teaching to the test," and toward critical thinking, innovative thinking, and maximizing student potential.

Price: GBP £79.95

During the rise of fascism in the early twentieth century, American philosopher and educational reformer John Dewey argued that the greatest threat to democracy was not a political regime or even an aggressive foreign power but rather a set of dispositions or attitudes. Though not fascist in and of themselves, these habits of thought-rugged individualism and ideological nationalism-lay the foundation for fascism. In this study, Nathan Crick uses Dewey's social thought and philosophy of education to provide insight into and resources for transforming our present-day politics. Through a close reading of Dewey's political writings and educational theory, Crick elaborates Dewey's vision of democratic social life and the education required for its foundation. He shows that for Dewey, communication is essential to cultivating sympathy, intelligence, and creativity-habits of thought that form the core of democratic culture. Crick then lays out a broad curriculum of logic, aesthetics, and rhetoric for inculcating these habits in the classroom, arguing that if we are to meet the challenge of fascism, we must teach these new arts as if our civilization depends on it-because in our new age of politics, it does. Comprehensive and pragmatic, this book presents an experimental model of education that can be applied across the humanities curriculum. It will be of interest to teachers of writing, composition, and rhetoric as well as scholars and students of communication studies, pedagogy, and political theory.

Price: USD $86.00

Being a good digital citizen means to be an ethical and responsible member of the online community. Digital citizenship is the practice and teaching to help individuals, particularly young people, know how to navigate, create, communicate and protect themselves online. As more and more technology is used in personal lives and schools, the need for digital citizenship grows. Digital Citizenship: Research and Practice from the Field provides research-based strategies that can help any educator working with technology and youth. Through experience and data collected by teaching in-depth digital citizenship classes with K-12 students, special populations and educator trainings, this book can provide real-life advice on what works, and what doesn't. The models and advice in this title are based on prevention science. Prevention Science is the application of scientific method to prevent dysfunctional human behavior before it even starts. In addition, this book will give its readers worksheets, activity sheets, lesson plans and assessment tools for implementing digital citizenship instruction in their organization. Digital citizenship is a growing, multi-faceted, interdisciplinary subject in need of research and practical and applicable advice. This book brings together past studies, independent research and knowledge from other disciplines to provide solutions.

Price: GBP £120.00

Exploring the relationship between the role of education and Indigenous survival, Digital Storytelling in Indigenous Education is an ethnographic exploration of how digital storytelling can be part of a broader project of decolonization of individuals, their families, and communities. By recounting how a remote Indigenous (Métis) community were able to collectively imagine, plan and produce numerous unique digital stories representing counter-narratives to the dominant version of Canadian history, Poitras Pratt provides frameworks, approaches and strategies for the use of digital media and arts for the purpose of cultural memory, community empowerment, and mobilization. The volume provides a valuable example of how a community-based educational project can create and restore intergenerational exchanges through modern media, and covers topics such as: Introducing the Métis and their community; decolonizing education through a Métis approach to research; the ethnographic journey; and translating the work of decolonizing to education. Digital Storytelling in Indigenous Education is the perfect resource for researchers, academics, and postgraduate students in the fields of Indigenous education, comparative education, and technology education, or those looking to explore the role of modern media in facilitating healing and decolonization in a marginalized community. .

Price: GBP £104.17

Disability Studies and the Inclusive Classroom is a core textbook that integrates knowledge and practice from the fields of disability studies and special education. The second edition has been fully revised and updated throughout to include stronger connections between race, class, sexual orientation, gender, and disability to emphasize intersecting identities and experiences; stronger emphasis on curriculum and teaching rather than on attitudes toward disability; and updates to current events, cultural references, resources, research literature, laws, and policies.