eBook downloads, eBook resources & eBook authors
This indispensable guide combines proven curriculum design with teaching methods that encourage students to learn concepts as well as content and skills for deep understanding across all subject areas.
Teach higher-order thinking while you’re teaching concepts, skills, and content! This indispensable guide combines proven curriculum design with teaching methods that encourage students to learn concepts as well as content and skills for deep understanding across all subject areas. Synthesizing Lynn Erickson’s past 15 years of field work with teachers, curriculum developers, teacher educators, and instructional leaders, this resource offers a complete guide for designing curriculum and instruction to foster the continuous growth and development of students’ critical, abstract, and creative learning skills. Educators will learn how to: Bring coherence and clarity to high-quality curriculum design and instructional planning Teach the way that students’ minds learn best Encourage students’ creative and abstract thinking, regardless of level or subject area Gain the support of principals and district administrators
Develop students’ critical thinking, abstract reasoning, and creative learning skills with concept-based teaching! Take learning beyond the facts with a teaching approach that develops conceptual thinking and problem-solving skills. A Concept-Based curriculum recaptures students’ innate curiosity about the world and provides the thrilling feeling of using one’s mind well. Concept-Based teachers will learn how to: Meet the demands of rigorous academic standards Use the Structure of Knowledge and Process when designing disciplinary units Engage students in inquiry through inductive teaching Identify conceptual lenses and craft quality generalizations
For literacy teachers looking for practical ways to implement a Curriculum and Instruction Model that’s more inquiry-driven and idea-centered, look no further than this book. This resource helps bridge the divide between conceptual curriculum and actionable practice, and provides practical support for teachers implementing Concept-Based literacy lessons. Readers will find Step-by-step help with lesson planning for conceptual understanding and transfer Ideas for supporting inductive learning Classroom Snapshots that showcase familiar literacy practices in Concept-Based classrooms Strategies to promote critical, reflective, and conceptual thinking Model elementary and secondary Concept-Based lesson and unit plans A chapter devoted to answering frequently asked questions
In this book the author provides specific strategies for designing and developing a seamless learning programme that teaches students to grasp broad concepts and integrate the information they have learned. This is a companion volume to the author′s Stirring the Head, Heart, and Soul Second Edition and an ideal resource for teachers, curriculum developers, and staff developers who must guide students toward higher academic standards for content knowledge, process abilities, quality performance, and school-to-work transitions.
Create a thinking classroom that helps students move from the factual to the conceptual Concept-Based Inquiry is a framework for inquiry that promotes deep understanding. The key is using guiding questions to help students inquire into concepts and the relationships between them. Concept-Based Inquiry in Action provides teachers with the tools and resources necessary to organize and focus student learning around concepts and conceptual relationships that support the transfer of understanding. Step by step, the authors lead both new and experienced educators to implement teaching strategies that support the realization of inquiry-based learning for understanding in any K–12 classroom.
A cutting-edge model for 21st century curriculum and instruction Looking for that one transformative moment when a student’s eyes light up, signaling he or she has finally grasped that big idea behind critical academic content? Concept-based curriculum and instruction is a way to make those moments many. H. Lynn Erickson and Lois Lanning offer new insight on: How to design and implement concept-based curriculum and instruction across all subjects and grade levels Why content and process are two equally important aspects of any effective concept-based curriculum How to ensure students develop the all-important skill of synergistic thinking
How to ensure your ELA teaching sticks How can you teach for understanding and meet Common Core standards at the same time? The answer: with a concept-based curriculum. Fusing Lynn Erickson's groundbreaking curriculum model with implementation guidelines and sample units, this book puts you on the fast track to using concept-based curriculum in your school or district. Lanning shows you how to design a curriculum that: Functions as a framework for lesson plans Unites the efforts of ELA teachers district-wide Addresses core standards while focusing on student understanding Creates a ripple effect helping to align curriculum, assessments, and instruction
Give math students the connections between what they learn and how they do math—and suddenly math makes sense If your secondary-school students are fearful of or frustrated by math, it’s time for a new approach. When you teach concepts rather than rote processes, you show students math’s essential elegance, as well as its practicality—and help them discover their own natural mathematical abilities. This book is a road map to retooling how you teach math in a deep, clear, and meaningful way —through a conceptual lens—helping students achieve higher-order thinking skills. Jennifer Wathall shows you how to plan units, engage students, assess understanding, incorporate technology, and even guides you through an ideal concept-based classroom. Practical tools include: Examples from arithmetic to calculus Inquiry tasks, unit planners, templates, and activities Sample assessments with examples of student work Vignettes from international educators A dedicated companion website with additional resources, including a study guide, templates, exemplars, discussion questions, and other professional development activities. Everyone has the power to understand math. By extending Erickson and Lanning’s work on Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction specifically to math, this book helps students achieve the deep understanding and skills called for by global standards and be prepared for the 21st century workplace. "Jennifer Wathall’s book is one of the most forward thinking mathematics resources on the market. While highlighting the essential tenets of Concept-Based Curriculum design, her accessible explanations and clear examples show how to move students to deeper conceptual understandings. This book ignites the mathematical mind!" — Lois A. Lanning, Author of Designing Concept-based Curriculum for English-Language Arts, K-12 "Wathall is a master at covering all the bases here; this book is bursting with engaging assessment examples, discussion questions, research, and resources that apply specifically to mathematical topics. Any math teacher or coach would be hard-pressed to read it and not come away with scores of ideas, assessments, and lessons that she could use instantly in the classroom. As an IB Workshop Leader and instructional coach, I want this book handy on a nearby shelf for regular referral – it′s a boon to any educator who wants to bring math to life for students." — Alexis Wiggins, Instructional Coach, IB Workshop Leader and Consultant
A thinking student is an engaged student Teachers often find it difficult to implement lessons that help students go beyond rote memorization and repetitive calculations. In fact, institutional norms and habits that permeate all classrooms can actually be enabling "non-thinking" student behavior. Sparked by observing teachers struggle to implement rich mathematics tasks to engage students in deep thinking, Peter Liljedahl has translated his 15 years of research into this practical guide on how to move toward a thinking classroom. Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K–12 helps teachers implement 14 optimal practices for thinking that create an ideal setting for deep mathematics learning to occur. This guide Provides the what, why, and how of each practice and answers teachers’ most frequently asked questions Includes firsthand accounts of how these practices foster thinking through teacher and student interviews and student work samples Offers a plethora of macro moves, micro moves, and rich tasks to get started Organizes the 14 practices into four toolkits that can be implemented in order and built on throughout the year When combined, these unique research-based practices create the optimal conditions for learner-centered, student-owned deep mathematical thinking and learning, and have the power to transform mathematics classrooms like never before.
