Developing Minds – A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking

Edited by Arthur L. Costa

Publisher: ASCD

Alexandria, VA

© 2001

At last, this bible of the thinking skills movement has been updated with the fresh, new insights and current approaches you need to create schools and classrooms that truly challenge students to use their thinking skills and intelligence.

Retaining just 10% of the timeless material from earlier editions, this substantial up-date presents the leading authorities on a) Best reasons to teach thinking skills; b) Characteristics of effective and creative thinkers and problem solvers; c) Classroom strategies for teaching thinking; d) Proven ways to assess thinking skills; e) Technologies that help teachers develop their students’ thinking skills; and f) Effects of new standards and increased accountability on teaching thinking.

Interdisciplinary Curriculum Design and Implementation

Edited by Heidi Hayes Jacobs

Publisher: ASCD

Alexandria, VA

© 1989

Here's a good introduction to why and how an interdisciplinary approach can work in your school. Explore the two important criteria to which every interdisciplinary program must adhere. Read about six design options for an interdisciplinary curriculum and a useful process for integrating the teaching of science, math, language arts, social studies, and the arts. Examine two successful case studies of interdisciplinary programs.

Understanding by Design

Grant Wiggins; Jay McTighe

Publisher: ASCD

Alexandria, VA

© 1998

How do you know when students understand something? Can you design learning experiences that make it much more likely that students understand content and apply it in meaningful ways?

Since 1998, thousands of educators have used Understanding by Design to answer these questions and create more rigorous and engaging curriculums. Now, this expanded second edition gives you even more tools and strategies for results-oriented teaching:

• An improved template for creating curriculum units based on the breakthrough "backward design" method
• More specific guidelines on how to frame the "big ideas" you want students to understand
• Better ways to develop the "essential questions" that form the foundation of high-quality curriculum and assessment
• An expanded toolbox of instructional approaches for obtaining the desired results of a lesson
• More examples, across all grade levels and subjects, of how schools and districts have used the UbD framework to maximize student understanding

Educators from K through college can get everything they need--guidelines, stages, templates, and tips—to start designing lessons, units, and courses that lead to improved student performance.

Classroom Instruction that Works – Research-based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement

Robert J. Marzano; Debra J. Pickering; Jane E. Pollock

Publisher: ASCD

Alexandria, VA

© 2001

What works in education? How do we know? How can teachers find out? How can educational research find its way into the classroom? How can we apply it to help our individual students? Questions like these arise in most schools, and busy educators often don't have time to find the answers. Robert J. Marzano, Debra J. Pickering, and Jane E. Pollock have examined decades of research findings to distill the results into nine broad teaching strategies that have positive effects on student learning:

* Identifying similarities and differences.
* Summarizing and note taking.
* Reinforcing effort and providing recognition.
* Homework and practice.
* Nonlinguistic representations.
* Cooperative learning.
* Setting objectives and providing feedback.
* Generating and testing hypotheses.
* Questions, cues, and advance organizers.

This list is not new. But what is surprising is finding out what a big difference it makes, for example, when students learn how to take good notes, work in groups, and use graphic organizers. The authors provide statistical effect sizes and show how these translate into percentile gains for students, for each strategy. And each chapter presents extended classroom examples of teachers and students in action; models of successful instruction; and many "frames," rubrics, organizers, and charts to help teachers plan and implement the strategies.

Succeeding with Standards – Linking Curriculum, Assessment, and Action Planning

Judy F. Carr; Douglas E. Harris

Publisher: ASCD

Alexandria, VA

© 2001

Standards have little value unless they are implemented by teachers in their everyday practice. That’s why you need this book on how to link all aspects of your local curriculum to state and national standards. Explore the 11 components involved in the standards-linking process, and know the key issues to address at every stage, including

• Who is responsible for meeting standards?
• How are established assessments and instructional guidelines linked to standards?
• How are results tracked and reported?
• When and where are professional development and teacher supervision aligned?

Sample standards, planning guides and tools, and a detailed action plan ensure you get started and stay on track.

The Art and Science of Teaching - a Comprehensive Framework for Effective Instruction

Robert J. Marzano

Publisher: ASCD

Alexandria, VA

© 2007

Through classroom instructional strategies should clearly be based on sound science and research, knowing when to use them and with whom is more of an art. In The Art and Science of Teaching: A Comprehensive Framework for Effective Instruction, author Robert J. Marzano presents a model for ensuring quality teaching that balances the necessity of research-based data with the equally vital need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of individual students. He articulates his framework in the form of 10 questions that represent a logical planning sequence for successful instructional design.

Project Learning Tree

Project Wild

The Interpreter's Guidebook:  Techniques for Programs and Presentations

Author: Kathleen Reigner, Michael Gross and Ron Zimmerman;

Publisher: UW-SP Foundation Press, Inc.

University of Wisconsin Stevens Point

@ 1992

Understanding by Design

Author: Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

How Students Learn Science in the Classroom

 Author:National Research Council

Environmental Education in the School Creating a Program that Works

Author:Judy A. Braus and David Wood