The Teaching Gap: Best Ideas from the World's Teachers for Improving Education in the Classroom

Discusses ways to improve the American educational system, arguing that the art of teaching is far more important than increased spending.

Review :
Gary K. HartSecretary of Education, State of CaliforniaProvides valuable insights and cautionary notes that should guide the education reform debate in the years ahead. Lee S. ShulmanPresident, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of TeachingA revolutionary book...brilliantly documents the ways in which America's teaching, rather than its teachers, contributes to deficits in student learning. Stigler and Hiebert help us recognize how many opportunities other nations' teachers have to learn from one another and to improve as professionals. "The Teaching Gap" offers far better hope for the improvement of American education than most other initiatives. Paul L. KimmelmanSuperintendent of Schools, Northbrook, IllinoisA must for all educators, not only for the knowledge that can be gained about teaching, but also as a tool for building collaborative efforts to enhance curriculum and instruction. Sandra FeldmanPresident, American Federation of TeachersFor a decade now we've looked hard at how other countries deliver good education. We've studied their standards, their curricula, their exams, and their student performance. Finally, here's a book that says none of this will make a difference unless teachers have a professional life -- the opportunity to develop and teach the good lessons that enable other reforms to have an impact in typical classrooms with real kids. Stigler and Hiebert's comparative analysis of Japanese, German, and U.S. teaching advises us to make schools places where teachers have the time and support to systematically study and improve upon their daily work. How sensible! Gary K. HartSecretary of Education, State of California Provides valuable insights and cautionary notes that should guide the education reform debate in the years ahead. Lee S. ShulmanPresident, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching A revolutionary book...brilliantly documents the ways in which America's teaching, rather than its teachers, contributes to deficits in student learning. Stigler and Hiebert help us recognize how many opportunities other nations' teachers have to learn from one another and to improve as professionals. "The Teaching Gap" offers far better hope for the improvement of American education than most other initiatives. Paul L. KimmelmanSuperintendent of Schools, Northbrook, Illinois A must for all educators, not only for the knowledge that can be gained about teaching, but also as a tool for building collaborative efforts to enhance curriculum and instruction. Sandra FeldmanPresident, American Federation of Teachers For a decade now we've looked hard at how other countries deliver good education. We've studied their standards, their curricula, their exams, and their student performance. Finally, here's a book that says none of this will make a difference unless teachers have a professional life -- the opportunity to develop and teach the good lessons that enable other reforms to have an impact in typical classrooms with real kids. Stigler and Hiebert's comparative analysis of Japanese, German, and U.S. teaching advises us to make schools places where teachers have the time and support to systematically study and improve upon their daily work. How sensible!