Transforming education . . . one classroom at a time.
938179
I work full time and Im currently pursuing a doctoral degree.  I mention this because I have very little spare time and my reading has been limited to textbooks and research articles.  I purchased this book with the intention of reading it AFTER I finished my dissertation; however, once I got the book home, I decided to flip through a few pages.  Then I decided to read just a few pages.  Before I knew it, I had read a few chapters.  It was difficult to put the book down.  I found myself immediately connected to the authors story and therefore wanted to know what would happen next.  I recommend this book for anyone desiring to make an investment in the next generation.  Read this book and begin transforming education . . . one classroom at a time.
4010035
This text integrates the three principal themes of students, teaching, and learning.  Throughout the text, relevant material is highlighted which correlates to the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) Standards for Beginning Teacher Licensing and Development.  The text is replete with new research, case studies, practical applications, guides to programs and strategies, resources with detailed citations, and a preparation guide for the Praxis Exam (teacher certification tests).

In every chapter, the text models good teaching practices through the timely and strategic employment of content outlines, learning outcomes, introductory and attention-arresting case studies, real-life and cartoon graphics, charts and graphs, vocabulary highlights, reflective thought sections, summaries, and additional resources.  Using many examples and suggestions, the text demonstrates how to put educational research to work in the classroom.
2670471
This book changed the way I viewed myself as an educator.  It is an easy read, yet totally empowering.  We must get beyond compliance and just engaging our students.  We must empower them to want to change the world.  Every educator needs to read Empower!! It is a game changer.
1784002
This book presents a new idea in education.  It should be read by every teacher.  I hope it will be.
2400926
The notion that all kids learn differently is not new to those of us in the classroom and allied professions. What is new, and what this book brings home in a cogent, yet powerful and plain-spoken way, is how to appreciate these differences, understand them from a learning science standpoint, and then address them in ways that are not labor intensive for the teacher.
  The authors advocate a systemic approach that acknowledges the realities of school change while still embracing hope for the possibilities that such change could engender. The stories that are told about individual successes make these possibilities very vivid.
  I can see using this book with my faculty as a book study over the course of this year, as we learn about the different learning systems that all children use to do the work of school, how we can hone our observation skills to be aware of the clues, and how we can modify our intervention model to first ask why a child is struggling before we throw interventions at the problem. This will fit in well as we move forward with RTI in all its "scientifically-based" glory, so that we can stop blaming the child or the teacher when an intervention is not successful, but rather be reflective in our undestanding of the child's learning from the outset.
1156128
The 5-Minute Teacher, written by Mark Barnes, really opened my eyes as a pre-service teacher to revolutionize my teaching so that I am a "modern learner". This means teachers are transforming the way they teach to keep up with modern learning to appeal to students. Barnes discusses that by running a student-centered classroom with interactive (but brief) teacher instruction, can help teachers adapt to these methods of the modern learners.

I also thought that it was interesting that Barnes said that teachers in this sense are highly skilled and know when to "get out of the students way". This means teachers will learn when the time to let the students work is critical, and that it is up to their 5 minutes of the lesson to be thought provoking enough where the students will hear the instructions and go on assignments and activities. Reducing a lecture from 20 minutes to 5 minutes is quite the jump but Barnes does a great job explaining the standards for teachers in this sense, and what makes a lesson good enough to release students to go and work.

I highly recommend educators reading this book because it is an interesting view on how we can refresh our teaching by putting forth effort to little instruction, deeper meaning for students to find on their own, utilizing peers to help, and let them lead their own classroom. This is a very refreshing book that can enhance lessons and the classroom. The idea of delivering quick and stimulating lessons to motivate students to work is extraordinary and I would love to talk to a teacher that has read this book, and tried Barnes' advice. This was a really easy read and I don't regret buying this book at all! I encourage all teachers to read this just to see what you could change about your own classroom, and why this type of instruction is effective and beneficial for students. Barnes shares practical strategies that I think all educators can put into their own style and run with. Student-centered environments seem to be working in the education world, and Barnes is definitely on it!
34841
Inquiry Mindset is an excellent read that both validates who I am as an educator and provides inspiration, ideas, and processes to transform our classrooms right away.  I loved Trevor and Rebecca's narrative, their passion for teaching, and how they scaffold inquiry so it is less daunting but still rich, meaningful and authentic.  A definite read for today's educator.
1762351
"The World is Open", by Curtis J. Bonk, PhD, is tremendously filled with new ideas and innovations for education.  From the causal, on-demand learner to elementary schools and college students, this book identifies the latest trends and resources in learning.  This book has so much; it took me a long while to finish.  Every few pages I would get on the internet and look at the sites.  Wow!  Something in this book impacts everyone who is reading this review.

If you are reading this, then you have learned how to blog, or a t least how to surf the internet.  Maybe even how to use Twitter or Facebook.  This is an example on on-demand, on-line, blended learning.  For The Flat classroom project has students from Westwood Schools in Camillia, Ga., collaborating with students and schools in Doha, Qatar and Dhaka, Bangladesh for project-oriented activities judged by judges in China, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.  MIT has the open course project has their class curriculum on-line and free to use.  Since 2006, Michigan requires high school students to complete at least 20 hours of meaningful online learning to graduate and Florida has an on-line high school.

Dr. Bonk's book illustrates current trends and technologies of using Web 2.0 in learning of all types, not just education.  It really brings home the how the world will be taught in the upcoming years.  What is evident from Japan, China, Africa, South America, and Canada, is those countries are investing and using the new technology to educate and train their people, and if the U.S. does not change its educational delivery, then it will fall behind.

Here are just some of the things for learners, students, and educators Bonk lists in his exciting book:  Big Think, Teacher Tube, PLoS, SciVee, MIT, Chinswing, Connexions, Curriki, Wikispecies, MoOM, GNG, Global Kids, WEbook, Scribd, ePal, Chumby and Livemocha (which I am using now to learn Chinese).  Go by his website, google the above items, and get into the future of learning.
1795668
Improving Your School One Week at a Time is an excellent book for a school leadership team to read together for a book study. It is practical yet thought provoking. Each chapter delves into different educational experiences, methodologies, and strategies that will inspire a new educator or a veteran. Reading Dr. Zoul's educational experiences and those of his staff will leave you motiviated to teach another 20 years.......

Margaret
4113558
To Become A Teacher...Making a Difference in Children's Lives edited by William Ayers.
This is not a book that one should ingest at one single reading.  This IS a book that needs to be read at a pace so that one's mind can process and digest each sentence with the words being broken down in order to become one with the reader.  Every person pursuing the "call" of becoming a teacher needs to read this book.  It is impossible to condense this book into a few well-written paragraphs.  This book is a compilation of advice written by educators of diverse backgrounds.  Each chapter is penned by a different author who addresses a different viewpoint of teaching.  Each chapter is full of gold nuggets of wisdom and thought-provoking statements.
The book is divided into three parts:  Becoming a Teacher, Thinking and Teaching, and Reinventing Schools.  Chapter titles are:
1. Letter to a Young Teacher
2. Taking Teaching Seriously
3. I Just Want to Be Myself: Discovering What Students
  Bring to School "In Their Blood"
4. Seeing the Child, Knowing the Person
5. Choosing a Past and Inventing a Future: The Becoming of
  a Teacher
6. A Teacher's Awesome Power
7. Get Ready, Get Set, Teach!
8. Reconstruction Alternatives: Opening the Curriculum
9. Building a Safe Community for Learning
10. Harout and I: A Short Story for the Becoming Teacher
11. Reexaminations: What is the Teacher and What is
  Teaching?
12. Is There Room for Children's Inventive Capacity in the
  Curriculum?
13. Democratic Classrooms, Democratic Schools
14. The Complexity of Teaching
15. How to Write a Lesson Plan
16. The Scary Part Is That It Happens Without Us Knowing
17. Conclusion: Ten Alternative Classrooms I
I discovered this book at Umbreit Library at Muskegon Community Class, but I am going to purchase my own so that I can underline and comment in the margin, as well as read it over and over again.  This is a book that should be on every educator's bookshelf and would make a great gift for anyone who is seeking a career in education.  William Ayers notes, "When teaching is done well, it resonates in the deepest parts of your being--it satisfies the soul."  Jonathan Kozol writes in the foreword, "To me, this is the heart of the whole matter: teaching as something that one does not because, when it's successful, one fulfills some arbitrary and external expectation, not because we hope to see our students pass another set of seemingly irrelevant exams, not because the skills they gain are 'useful' to society, not because the business leaders in our cities will be grateful for an adult population trained to meet their mercenary needs and job-demands, but because it is a joyful way to spend one's life and because, when we feel satisfaction or exhilaration, we will often see it also in our children's eyes."  This is what I desire to do as a teacher, and this book will help to do this.
Another statement by William Ayers also gives us all something to think about: "Seeing children 'at promise' is the antidote for all the talk of children at risk.  Assuming an intelligence in children-perhaps obscure, perhaps hard to access, but nevertheless there-is the only hopeful way to approach teaching."  We have discussed this in my PSYC 202 class several times, and I think this is one of the most important things to remember as I go into education...to see the potential in each student.  This book is one that I will refer to over and over again throughout my career.
1167064
This book contains a number of helpful, innovative ideas that will allow me to revamp how my students use reading time in the classroom. It takes Nancy Atwell's Reading Workshop to the next level.
1421427
In many ways the methods of instructing students have changed very little from the little one-room schoolhouse days of the last century. In this book the authors discuss a systems analysis aproach to instruction that treats instruction not as an end in itself, but as a process that is trying to reach a defined goal. It doesn't matter what the goal is, but the establishment of a goal is the first step. Then following their model, their set of procedures to measure the attainment of that goal you can adjust or modify the goals or procedures to achieve the best results.

The model they have developed is simple to follow and has been evolving over several editions of this book. The latest edition, the sixth, incorporates all of the changes brought about through feedback from using the system.
1269196
Future Driven addresses the need for schools to adapt to the rapidly changing technology culture. David Geurin's focus on creating "life-ready" and "future-ready" students is inspiring for any school leader or teacher who is struggling with how to create an environment that will prepare students to be adaptable learners. This book keeps relationships as the core foundation while pushing educators to think of innovative ways to structure classrooms, course selections, as well as daily schedules. It's a must read for any educator!
3039480
We all have to up our game.

The world is flat. We collaborate and compete with people across the globe. Technology obsoletes everything we teach. The amount of knowledge in the world doubles every 5 years.

Tom and Steve show us how to connect, learn, and adapt, so that we can prepare our students for whatever the future holds.
869419
Learning Transformed is THE book we need now for our learners. Tom Murray and Eric Sheninger start in the introduction with why there is a sense of urgency to transform learning now. They get to the heart of what matters most in leading change: its all about learners and learning. This book is a realistic blueprint with Eight Keys for intentionally designing the schools of tomorrow while providing the background and history on how we got to our schools today. The authors offer evidence-based research along with examples of successful practice at the end of each chapter. Learning Transformed is a necessary resource for school leaders, teachers, and policymakers who seek strategies to transform schools to flexible learner-centered environments that focus on equity and high level learning experiences for all learners.

Barbara Bray @bbray27
Author, Creative Learning Strategist, Rethinking Learning
1813869
Having been able to attend a workshop series presented by Dr. Ford using this as our textbook I was able to delve deeply into this text. It is a timely work because we are a nation of unparalleled diversity and differences and this can be seen on every evening newscast. As an educator I face a more diverse student body every year and I am always trying to promote higher level thinking and problem solving to help my students succeed in life. This text is a carefully prepared balance of theory and practice and gave me an understanding of what multiculturalism is and how to implement it in a classroom. I learned how little I knew on the subject and it gave me practical information that I can easily use to make changes in my thinking and practice and to make a difference in the lives of my students. This book gives an overview on how our students are racially and culturally different, a historical and legal perspective on the subject , what we need to do as educators, ideas for gifted and multicultural educational practices, and an overview of the current educational system and what changes we need to make in classrooms, with curriculum, and within ourselves. Using the case studies and scenarios for reflection helps the reader make sense of all the technical data. I have already recommended this book to others, especially a fellow teacher hoping to get her Ph. D in multicultural education as the "bible" to use to frame their development in this area. I give this book five stars!
4916418
I want to change the way we prepare teachers in  our teacher preparation programs. I'm using some of these principles at my college.