In recent years, school improvement initiatives have been the focus of political agendas, professional conferences, and publication topics. While a plethora of school improvement resources and techniques exist, most explanations regarding how to employ school improvement strategies in differing contexts is extremely vague at best, and non-existent…

Each student is capable of achieving excellence, but it requires a nurturing, vigorous classroom environment. To help current and future high school English teachers create and maintain this kind of environment, this book offers concrete ways to reconceive what it means to foster excellent performance in the classroom and vivid examples of student…

Noting that when students are immersed in reading and writing poetry they benefit from revisions in writing and learn to critically analyze text, this book outlines the ways that poetry workshops can excite students' interest. Chapter 1, "Laying a Foundation for Poetry Workshop" defines poetry workshop and explains its value in the reading and…

This book transforms William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night,""A Midsummer Night's Dream," and "Much Ado about Nothing" into adaptable "Caught'ya" sentences that appeal to high school students at any level--from basic skills and dropout prevention through high honors and advanced placement. The book makes…

This book examines the characteristics and educational needs of unmotivated adolescents. It suggests that many of these students suffer from low self-esteem and are learning disabled and/or have an attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity. It offers a definition of learning disabilities that emphasizes the presence of significant differences…

Practical and engaging, this book contains 21 case studies that help students apply curriculum theory to classroom reality. Each case is authored by an in-service teacher, reflecting on ways to improve instruction by making changes to various aspects of the curriculum. These real-life examples investigate up-to-date curricular issues ranging from…

This reference is intended to provide teachers with a wide variety of intervention plans for responding to behavior, discipline, and motivation problems. While most interventions are based on behavioral research, others are derived from counseling, Adlerian psychology, social learning theory, and cognitive/behavior modification approaches. An…

This book examines recent theoretical and empirical contributions in the field of interest research. Chapters in part one address some general questions in the study of interest, while those in part two cover individual interest and learning in school. Chapters in part three examine situational interest, and the chapters in part four present…

In a previous book entitled "Zapp! The Lightening of Empowerment", a new system for motivating employees and improving productivity in a corporate setting was presented. This book adapts that empowerment guide to the classroom with workable, hands-on suggestions to help educators motivate their students and themselves. Empowerment in…

This book, for preservice and beginning teachers, emphasizes instruction as the focal point of teaching. It is intended to be a primer on general secondary instructional practices. Decision making, the most pervasive aspect of teaching, leads the presentation as the topic of chapter 1. Chapter 2 addresses the teacher's role in providing for a…

This guidebook attempts to move theory into application by sharing ways that teachers fuse the teaching of learning processes with the teaching of course content. Chapters focus on: (1) motivating students to learn; (2) concentration and learning to focus; (3) time management; (4) remembering; (5) technical vocabulary; (6) streamlining study; (7)…

A glyph--short for hieroglyphic--is a form of picture writing that conveys information. This book uses 10 glyphs to teach math concepts that are linked to the new NCTM Standards. There are four key parts to each glyph: (1) a legend (or survey questions); (2) directions for the teacher that tell students what to draw, color, or write based on…

Here is an easy-to-read and inspiring text that explores the nature of young people and the effects traditional discipline strategies have on them. The author recommends humanistic approaches that promote personal growth in students rather than the common system of reward and punishment that aggravates underlying psychological issues and…

Taking into consideration the motivational needs of different students, the book discusses both internal and external motivators such as attaining a sense of achievement or leadership versus earning a physical reward such as candy or a field trip. These and other motivating factors are then incorporated into discussions of how to create productive…

This book consists of 15 papers addressing issues and conceptions of self-directed learning. The following are included: "Self-Directed Learning as a Political Idea" (Stephen D. Brookfield); "Social Influences on Individual Commitment to Self-Directed Learning at Work" (Alan J. Brown); "Goals of Self-Learning" (Rosemary S. Caffarella); "From…