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Abstract:

Universal Design for Learning is "a research-based set of principles that together form a practical framework for using technology to maximize learning opportunities for every student." Developed over 15 years by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), the concept of UDL "is the intersection where all our initiatives -- integrated units, multi-sensory teaching, multiple intelligences, differentiated instruction, use of computers in schools, performance-based assessment, and others -- come together." The program is described in the ASCD book,"Teaching Every Child in a Digital Age" (2002) which can be read (at no cost) in its entirety on the CAST website. The book explains the UDL concept and illustrates practical applications. Each chapter opens with a summary of key ideas and a graphic organizer that illustrates how the concepts fit together. Check out the Tools section, which includes items like the "Curriculum Barriers Finder" and the "Class Profile Maker."

Meyer, A. & Rose, D.H. (2002). ASCD. Book page retrieved from Teaching Every Student TOC 1 Apr 2008. Link: http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

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Abstract:

Laura Jones, a Virginia teacher, says that “this book makes you think.” Jacobson discusses the way bias manifests itself early and how to find “relearnable moments.”

Citation: Jacobson, T. (2003). Confronting our discomfort: Clearing the way for anti-bias in early childhood. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Full Text:

by Tamar Jacobson
2003 (160 pp/paperback)
Heinemann
ISBN: 0-325-00569-9/
$15.30

Reviewed by Laura Jones
Pre-School Special Education
Fairfax County VA Public Schools

This book makes you think. What more can you ask of a book about an uncomfortable subject? The author is a white African Jewish woman who grew up in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, immigrated to Israel at 19, and then to the US at age 38. Her professional experience has been as an early childhood educator and a university faculty member. She confronts the issues of bias and personal comfort level straight on, and offers help. She also delves into the rarely stated feelings of teachers' self-worth and attempts to confront that problem in a helpful way.

Dr. Jacobson starts out by assuring us that what we do as teachers matters. But she works through the obstacles we face in attempting to help children grow up without bias, and has as her objective to help teachers learn how to look at what stands in their way as they attempt to implement anti-bias values in their classrooms. She also bluntly states that one of the biggest obstacles is ourselves and the values we hold that we may not realize we hold.

She asks us to look at the feelings of discomfort we have as our teaching days go on. This struck a familiar chord with me as I move into the fourth month of being back with children after two years in the corporate world. I went right back to my lesson plans and materials as I worked with my preschoolers. But as I read one of my favorite books to one of the children, I realized that my little neighborhood had changed in the past two years and the world portrayed in this book was nothing like the world this child, or really any of the children I see, was experiencing. I have a serious feeling of discomfort, but no place to turn for more appropriate materials for next year.

Dr. Jacobson examines biases learned at an early age, particularly race, gender and religion. She also analyzes the difficulty teachers may have in engendering respect for others when they do not feel respected or valued themselves.

Examples given related to race and gender bias are particularly moving to me, as these are the ones I struggle with as I work with my preschoolers. I am struck once again by her comments as I unwrap my new toys — the Playmobil sets which become more and more male-dominated and violent, and the K'Nex sets which show no girls playing in the catalog. Her comments about women and voting rights were enlightening and caused many raised eyebrows in the doctors' waiting room as I read them aloud to my teenage daughter. I just kept wanting to say, "But she's right, don't you see???"

As you read this book, before you become too discouraged and ready to throw up your hands in despair, Dr. Jacobson offers glimmers of hope with her simple suggestions: become aware of "relearnable moments," begin self-reflection, and consider other tangible approaches to changing a lifetime of thinking. Her chapter on being "in or out of confidence" is thought-provoking and would be an excellent way to begin a study group for educators. She is particularly adamant about the lack of respect for early childhood educators as a profession and has many excellent points about the effect of this lack of support and respect upon all children.

Dr. Jacobson clearly has her finger on the pulse of the thinking teacher. While this book is slotted for early childhood educators, the talking points and critical thoughts are appropriate for all teachers. As my 19-year old talks about education as a major, I keep pushing her to realize that she has to be able to find her personal rewards within herself rather than from the community in the form of money or respect. Dr. Jacobson has stated the case much more clearly than I ever could.

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Abstract:

Mary K. Tedrow, a Virginia teacher, says that Caviglioli- and Harris’ book lets a teacher work through the exercises by him- or herself then do so with students. Tedrow calls mapping a way to “increase comprehension, ownership, and cement subject knowledge.”

Citation: . (2003). Thinking visually: Step-by-step exercises that promote visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers (Pembroke Publishers).

Full Text:

By Oliver Caviglioli and Ian Harris
2003 (120 pp./paperback)
Pembroke Publishers (Stenhouse)
ISBN: 1-55138-155-9
$19.00

Reviewed by Mary K. Tedrow
Millbrook High School
Frederick County, VA

What is going on in Canada? In my sideline as a freelance writer for a parent newsletter, very frequently the resources I find that are based on the latest educational theories, or are hands-on, student-empowered exercises, or return the responsibility for learning to the student come out of Canada or the United Kingdom. And here are two titles that reinforce the idea that the real reform in education is going on to our north. The Whole Brain Solution and Thinking Visually are two new titles from Pembroke Publishers in, you guessed it, Ontario, Canada.

If you've been reading up on brain research and are wondering how to incorporate strategies that make the most out of what we know about how we learn, The Whole Brain Solution is a good resource. Subtitled Thinking tools to help students observe, make connections, and solve problems it is not a theory book, but one of practical application. I plan to use selections from the book when my students need to connect old knowledge to new or think in divergent ways.

Tricia Armstrong has collected teaching strategies and grouped them into chapters reflecting the kind of thinking accomplished (observing, making analogies, connecting, asking questions). The lesson plans and reproducible handouts included are open-ended enough to adapt to any subject area. For some activities, Armstrong has included specific suggestions for making cross-curricular changes.

Many of the activities move the responsibility for learning to the student by examining thinking and setting goals for improvement. Students are introduced to the value of an open mind and how we should never consider that learning is 'done.' Some of the activities are ones I remember as "brain teasers" from my own childhood, but it is good to have these mind exercises all in one place.

I wouldn't recommend reading The Whole Brain Solution from front to back. It's a great resource to have on the shelf when you're ready to incorporate brain theory into your classroom.

Interestingly, one of Armstrong's activities in the chapter on Connecting is Mind-Mapping ­ the subject of the second title Thinking Visually.

If you're already convinced of the value of mapping as a means for organizing thinking and helping kids use their visual, auditory and kinesthetic skills, skip the first chapter. It is heavy in theory and reads like a master's thesis. But if you aren't sure that mind mapping is sound educationally, be sure to read Chapter 1. The best teachers know why they do what they do before implementing new exercises in the classroom.

If you're like me and have been unable to teach mapping because you cannot use it yourself, start with Chapter two and work through the exercises. The book is designed like a good professional development class where the reader/teacher learns by becoming the student and experiencing the activity. The same activities can be done step by step with students who are learning to map on their own. Some of the exercises I found redundant, but strong classroom teachers can make choices based on how much reinforcement a group of students need before going on to the next step.

I confess I have not tried mapping with my students because I am still struggling with the amount of time it might take from the AP curriculum I am currently teaching. I do plan to use the activities on the importance of nouns in reading comprehension. This would be a valuable lesson for my college bound students who will be faced with heavy reading demands.

Teaching the mapping to students at any level to increase comprehension, ownership, and cement subject knowledge would clearly be a gift to students who have not yet learned how to learn on their own Šso perhaps in the springŠ.

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Abstract:

Cossondra George, a Michigan teacher, gives examples from Faber and Mazlish’s book: the lasting effect seemingly innocuous phrases like “Don’t be silly!” can have, and different ways of communications, such as offering a choice (“You can pick the trash up off the floor or sweep it with

Citation: Faber, A. & Mazlish, E. (1995). How to talk so kids can learn at home and in school. New York: Scribner.

Full Text:

By Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
1995 (272 pp/paper
Scribner
ISBN: 0-68481-333-5
$13

Reviewed by Cossondra George
Newberry Middle School
Newberry, MI

Those words that echo in our thoughts long after the sound is gone: we've all said them, either in the classroom or to our own children.

Words like:

"Don't be silly; of course you can do it!"

"If you paid attention, you'd find it more interesting."

"Don't worry. You'll do better next time."

"I can't believe you are acting so childish! Why don't you act your age?"

How to Talk so Kids Can Learn gives examples and ideas of how parents and teachers can improve their communication skills to improve their relationships with the youths in their lives. The book is divided into eight chapters which address common break-downs in communication, and how the adult can help the child express the feelings evoked in the situation, and think through the solution to the problem, all the while leaving the child feeling empowered and unpunished.

According to Faber and Mazlish, we have largely been programmed to feel any indiscretion by a child warrants a punishment. This book offers alternatives which help the child change undesirable behaviors without enduring punitive measures. As educators, we should strive to turn the "desire to misbehave" into the "desire to behave appropriately."

Each chapter offers commentary on situations in a mock school setting; questions from teachers and parents, complete with practical answers; vignettes of experiences of educators which exemplify strategies; and perhaps most refreshing, cartoons. These cartoons offer the "what not to do's" and the "what to do's" of these situations in cute simple conversations with adorable illustrations that make the strategies real-life-applicable in an easy to read format.

Common mistakes made by teachers are offered such as: The child who does poorly on a test often is told, "Don't worry. You'll do better next time." This book advises instead of dismissing the child's feeling this way, alternatives might include: Identify the child's feelings by acknowledging their disappointment, either with a simple comment on how you understand their frustration, or even with a simple sound or word, such as, "Oh" or "I see;" or, giving the child a fantasy alternative like offering a magic pencil which could erase mistakes before they are made.

When adults are unhappy with a situation, instead of criticizing or punishing, the book offers such alternatives as:

-Describe the problem. (I see paper on the floor.)

-Give information. (Paper needs to be put in the garbage can.)

-Offer a choice. (You can pick up the scraps or get a broom and sweep them up.)

-Say it with a word or gesture. (Point to scraps on floor.)

-Describe what you feel. (I don't like scraps all over the floor.)

-Put it in writing. (Post a message such as: Please leave the floor clean when you leave the classroom. Thank you!)

-Be playful. (Sing a funny tune: "I see paper, I see paper, Pick it up, Pick it up!" to the tune of "Frere Jacques")

By focusing on the solution rather than the problem, the adult shows the child the desired behavior without getting into a power struggle.

Other advice focuses on giving appropriate praise that "gives a child a sense of his own abilities and accomplishments" rather than creating a "dependency upon the approval of others." For example, when a child scores well on an assignment, rather than saying, "I'm proud of you" which encourages the child to seek adult approval for accomplishments, this book suggests encouraging the child to be proud of himself, and acknowledging instead the hard work that went into the child's earning of the grade.

Some teachers shun this "feel good" approach to discipline with such excuses as lack of time to deal with negative behaviors, or a reluctance to do what they feel is the counselor's job. The response to this complaint is simple, "It may be better to spend a few minutes dealing with a student's strong feelings than letting them mushroom into a problem that consumes valuable class time."

By presenting a huge array of examples and solutions, this books shows the classroom teacher that indeed, it takes little time to acknowledge a child's feelings respectfully, which will in turn actually equate to more time on task for teacher and child.

One moving passage points out, "You think only grownups have 'real' worries. It's easy to forget that kids can have them, too. And just like us, they need someone to listen and take their worries seriously."

And when a book like How to Talk so Kids Can Learn is available, easy and enjoyable to read, why shouldn't we as teachers strive to improve our communication skills with our students?

A paragraph in the first chapter says it all:

As teachers our goal is greater than just passing on facts and information. If we want our students to be caring human beings, then we need to respond to them in caring ways. If we value our children's dignity, then we need to model methods that affirm their dignity. If we want to send out into the world young people who respect themselves and respect others, then we need to begin by respecting them. And we can't do that unless we show respect for what it is they feel.

I initially bought this book about a year ago, when it was discussed on a listserv as a classroom management resource. I read the book, tried some of the suggestions, and found it to be an incredibly user-friendly approach to improving my day-to-day dealings with my students.

When I was going to be gone from my classroom last spring for several days, I left the book on my desk for my sub to read during AR time. The young man is a college student at a nearby university majoring in elementary education. When he asked to borrow my book to share in his university classes, I gladly loaned it to him.

When I found myself still without my book almost a year later, I gladly purchased another copy to write this review. The second payout of the $13 price of the book is a small sacrifice for such a worthwhile resource.

[Editor's note: Also see the authors' more recent book, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk.]

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Abstract:

Carol Hill, a South Carolina teacher, describes how Schmidt present a scenario of poor teaching in each chapter, then presents solutions such as multiple intelligences, inquiry instruction, etc., while recommending many primary sources.

Citation: Schmidt, L. (2004). Classroom confidential: The 12 secrets of great teachers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Full Text:

By Laurel Schmidt
2004 (280 pp./paperback)
Heinemann
ISBN: 0-325-00660-1
$22.00 ($19.50 at Heinemann website)

Reviewed by Carol Hill
Pendleton High School
Pendleton, South Carolina

In reading this book, be prepared for a significant degree of negative tone at the start of each chapter. The arrangement of the chapters is such that Schmidt invents a negative scenario containing some combination of uninspired curriculum, an uninspiring classroom teacher and/or unengaged students. Once she has done this, she then presents, "the answer" to the problem in one of the "secrets" she has learned over the years. Schmidt gives basic background explanation and classroom applications relevant to the following "secrets":

• multiple intelligences
• inquiry instruction
• classroom cultures
• constructivist learning
• cultural sensitivity
• the writing process
• self-actualization and social reconstructionism curriculums
• using arts in instruction
• teacher professional development opportunities like National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

I would definitely agree that all teachers should know about these. If they do not, then this book might provide a good introduction to some. Schmidt acknowledges the introductory nature of her book and repeatedly references and recommends more primary sources regarding these complex issues.

I would agree that any educator who has not read Lisa Delpit's Other People's Children or Rafe Esquith's There Are No Shortcuts, should. And those are just two of many titles and websites that Schmidt references and recommends. Any teacher who has not read vignettes about teachers like Barbara Henry who taught Ruby Bridges, and Bill Coate, who is known for his graveyard histories should. And Schmidt includes those and several other equally inspiring stories in this book. For me, these were the highlights of the book. Some of them were new to me, others were inspiring rereads.

Who is a good audience for this book? The classrooms and teacher vignettes are predominantly elementary school settings. Many of the classroom practices are creative and fun but are definitely focused for elementary school learners. So perhaps elementary school teachers more so than high school, but even as a high school teacher, I gained some new inspiration and ideas for my classroom. The book is also helpful as a "works cited" resource for other good reading for any level of classroom teacher.

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