Teaching with Rich Learning Tasks: A Handbook

This excellent book goes beyond the rhetoric to look in detail at rich learning tasks: what makes them "rich", what makes them important, and what learning, teaching and assessment look like when both students and teachers are engaged in them. It contains a wealth of information and practical advice, along with plenty of examples of tasks and suggestions for how to use and explore the ideas in your own practice. The text includes detailed discussion of examples, compares rich and pseudo-rich learning tasks, examines problem-solving in the context of sense-making, useful Internet sites, introduces important influential concepts, and more. This second edition includes updated text and five new appendices. While it uses mathematical examples from mainly middle school content, the book would be useful to teachers across disciplines and at all year levels. It is highly relevant for teacher education courses.

Table of Contents:
CONTENTSWho is this handbook designed for?Why was this handbook produced?Summary of Chapters and AppendicesProject BackgroundA Vision of Tomorrow's ClassroomAcknowledgmentsChapter 1 Oh Rats! Characteristics of Rich Learning TasksChapter 2 Simon Says Do This. An Indictment of Rote LearningChapter 3 Better by Design. Structuring Learning Tasks for GrowthChapter 4 Why Am I Doing This? The Relevance of Learning TasksChapter 5 How Am I Doing? Assessing Student PerformanceChapter 6 How Good Is It? Assessing the Richness of a Learning TaskChapter 7 Rich Learning Tasks Aren't Enough. Ten Essential Conditions for LearningChapter 8 We Need Learning Tasks That Support Sense Making. Comparing Rich Tasks With Pseudo-Rich TasksChapter 9 Where Do A Problem Solver's Problems Come From? A Problem Cycle/A Sense-Making CycleAppendix 1 Sense Making. Changing the Game Played in a Typical Classroom Appendix 2 Comparing the Games We Play in the Classroom. Action vs Acquisition Appendix 3 Which Game Are You Playing in the Classroom? Some (Teaching) IndicatorsAppendix 4 Which Game Are Students Playing in the Classroom? Some (Student) IndicatorsAppendix 5 MOM, Tut, Sense Making, and Rich Learning Tasks. Essential Ingredients for Sense MakingAppendix 6 And They All Lived Happily Ever After. Sense Making As Story Making Appendix 7 How Can I Use This Handbook? Suggestions to the ReaderAppendix 8 The World Wide Web. A Tool For TeachersAppendix 9 The Tomorrow's Classroom Logo. The 4 Elements of Sense Making Appendix 10 Giant Shoulders. The Intellectual Foundations of Rich Learning TasksReferencesIndex