Powerful Ideas in Teaching: Creating Environments in which Students Want to Learn

About the Book

True learning—the kind that stays with students long after the grades are in—requires risk. Ownership. Change. But what does it look like for students to really understand your subject? How can you structure assignments so that Googling becomes an asset, not a threat, to demonstrating knowledge? Veteran teacher Mickey Kolis invites you to reflect on how you “do learning” in your classroom. Real-life classroom examples demonstrate how you can shift the drive for learning into students’ hands—while still meeting your learning benchmarks. From making assignments meaningful to students to assessing the results, Powerful Ideas in Teaching explores key ideas for creating environments where students want to learn.

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgements

Foreward

Introduction

Chapter 1 - Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

Chapter 2 - Why We Do What We Do (and They Do What They Do)

Chapter 3 - The Power of Learning

Chapter 4 - Working with Students: a Collaborative Approach

Chapter 5 - Practice makes___?

Chapter 6 - Teachable Moments and Safety Nets: Frustrations and Failures
as Learning Tools

Chapter 7 - Living in a Changing World: The Complimentary Roles of
Creativity and Critical Thinking

Chapter 8 - How Much to Expect? Setting Appropriate Expectations

Chapter 9 – You Think That’s Funny? Humor as a Teaching Tool

Chapter 10 - Being Explicit

Chapter 11Real and True: Making it Mean Something for Students

Chapter 12 - Where are We Going, and Why Does it Matter?

Chapter 13 - Inquiry: The Process that Continues to Give

Chapter 14 - Flexible yet focused: Teacher Flexibility

Chapter 15 - Dimensions of Understanding

Chapter 16 – It’s Always Perfect: Student Learning Data

Chapter 17 – Including Parents

Chapter 18 - From Classroom to Community

Chapter 19 - It’s All Connected

About the Author :

Mickey Kolis is the author of Student Relevance Matters, he draws upon his work with public school students, pre-service and professional teachers to talk about some Powerful Ideas that matter in teaching and learning. He would like to thank all the teachers who have shared their powerful ideas about what works in their classroom so that others can benefit from those hard won lessons.

Emily Bright Krusack received her BA from Williams College and her MFA from the University of Minnesota. She taught in the English department of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire before becoming a freelance writer.

Review :
Kolis and Krusack have written a book for those seeking to make changes to education in the 21st century. The book is divided into 19 chapters that are content rich, easy to understand, and appropriate to multiple audiences. The book begins with a chapter on self-reflection. This chapter sets the stage for the reader to focus on the significance and role of self-reflection in professional development. The authors begin with the importance of beliefs and explore the power of learning, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, appropriate expectations, inquiry, and flexibility. Toward the end of the book they note that parents and the community are included in this process, and this insight reflects the book's theme of interconnectedness. The final chapter brings the reader back to the first chapter in which they list their 19 ideas. The authors indicate that the point of the final chapter is to invite the reader to think in terms of influences on belief rather than causes of beliefs. People act on what they truly believe. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers, undergraduate students, and professionals Powerful Ideas in Teaching has real life examples, thought provoking student profiles, and practical advice for the classroom. There are stories and advice here from which every reflective teacher can benefit—insight into our students, our methods, and ourselves, with ideas to create the positive learning environment for which every teacher is looking. No matter where you are in your teaching career, this book offers up something for everyone. The ideas presented here range from those that will have an immediate impact on your classroom, to those that will influence your entire outlook on your profession. [Powerful Ideas in Teaching guides you through the process that will help you reflect upon your philosophical views and envision the type of learning that you want to take place in your classroom. There are practical examples of effective strategies that are applicable in all classrooms.] This book should be required reading for all teachers. Powerful Ideas has 19 clear ideas that uplift the art of teaching while standing strong in the belief that teachers teach people and the best teaching comes when we teach who we are. I left this book encouraged and challenged to be the best I can be for the students I teach and reminded of the many ways to succeed in helping students reach beyond their highest potential.