Visible Thinking--a research-based approach developed at Harvard's Project Zero -- prompts and promotes students' thinking. This approach has been shown to positively impact student engagement, learning, and development as thinkers. Visible Thinking involves using thinking routines, documentation, and effective questioning and listening techniques…

How do you organize what may seem like a chaotic mess into a classroom that empowers students to engage with content and pursue their passions? "A Meaningful Mess" offers suggestions and specific tools that can be used to engage this generation of students in meaningful, relevant, and student-driven learning experiences--even if things…

"Place: it's where we're from; it's where we're going. . . . It asks for our attention and care. If we pay attention, place has much to teach us." With this belief as a foundation, "The Power of Place" offers a comprehensive and compelling case for making communities the locus of learning for students of all ages and…

Let's face it--teaching can be stressful. In this generation of Common Core Standards and highstakes testing, educators are often left without the time to plan positive behavioral supports or the sanity to cultivate compassionate relationships with their students. Even though they understand the critical relationship between behavior and…

Traditionally, schools have often made decisions about instruction, discipline, and other schoolwide policies without youth involvement. And yet, research suggests that when students have choice, control, and leadership opportunities, their motivation and engagement increase, which in turn is linked with better educational outcomes. This new guide…

This Toolkit forms part of the project entitled "Time for a New Paradigm in Education: Student-Centred Learning" (T4SCL), jointly led by the European Students' Union (ESU) and Education International (EI). This is an EU-funded project under the Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) administered by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture…

The changing demographics in U.S. institutions have contributed to the increasingly multicultural nature of classrooms. Thus, it is imperative that teachers become cultural brokers and social engineers who have the ability to lead and empower their students. The multicultural construct is seen as a conducive rationale to prepare teachers for the…

This book discusses the centrality of rhetoric in the academy, asserting the intimate connection between language and knowledge making and stressing the need for a change in the roles of teachers and students in today's classroom. The goal is mutuality, or sharing authority between teachers and students, and allowing everyone an equal voice. For…

The resilience that individuals who have learning disabilities can demonstrate is highlighted through a case study. Examples from a student's description of his school history illuminate resilience themes. The article culminates in a list of things teachers can do to instill resilience in their students. (Author/CR)

This report discusses increasing demands on teachers' time, particularly with more students with disabilities in regular education classes, and describes how teachers can use strategies, routines, and support systems to empower students to become more independent and more responsible for their own learning and study. The five underlying principles…

This book about classroom management provides teachers with information on how to help students become the kind of people they want them to be. It offers a guide to the Responsive Classroom approach, a social and emotional learning program that creates an ideal environment for learning. Section 1, "Building a Learning Community,"…

This text examines the forces that keep educators and students from feeling fully empowered, that is, gaining the power to self-actualize and to facilitate this process for others. A feminist perspective is used to consider directions for educational reform and innovation broadly under an umbrella philosophy of empowerment, suggesting a paradigm…

Lack of relevant course work is a top reason why high school students drop out, and studies have shown that low-income and minority students are less likely to be enrolled in college preparatory curricula than their more affluent peers. In today's world, it is critical to ensure that all students have access to a rigorous, high-quality education…

Targeted at special education teachers/special population instructors, work experience coordinators, vocational assessment personnel, and guidance counselors, this guide examines the relationships among career development, transition, and self-determination for students with disabilities. The guide uses a question-and-answer format to identify and…

This article explores ways that teachers can build competence in students who have difficulties in communicating with others, rather than focus on their deficits. Tips include ways to interpret body language, encourage group membership, ways to influence student behavior, and ways to encourage communication and independent decision making by…