What constitutes "good thinking"? How do analytical, practical, and
creative thinkers differ? Which teaching strategies promote thinking to
learn as well as learning to think? Can asking the right kinds of
questions enhance student thinking? In what ways do tests squelch
creative and insightful problem solving? Why do some good thinkers
fail? How can teachers prepare for the challenges of teaching for
thinking? The authors consider these issues and others as they explore
the thinking classroom. Richly illustrated with lively classroom
vignettes and inventive teaching activities, this volume is undergirded
with an empirically validated and classroom-tested psychological theory
that lays out the three ways of thinking and the cognitive processes
that underlie them.
Most new psychology instructors enter their first undergraduate
classrooms with little or no formal preparation for their role as a
teacher. The goal of this book is to review the body of teaching
research that is available as well as some of the well-accepted lore,
so as to make the first foray into teaching psychology a positive
experience.
The course in this volume asks the fundamental questions: What is writing (and what might it be for those entering the university), what are its possible uses (both inside and outside the academy), and how it might be valued (what makes
writing good, and good for what)? The course described in these pages was developed in the context of the distinctive and influential NYU writing program. And from within that program, Kristin Dombek and Scott Herndon have created an intriguing and compelling course, one they have designed and taught and presented to others, a course that negotiates the wonderful (and surprising) conjunction of grammar, theory, and popular culture. In the current academic market, books like this are few and far between. It is not a textbook, yet it is a book addressed to teachers
and students.
From the Introduction:
Schooling is one of the top domestic policy issues of the day, and testing and the effectiveness of teaching, broadly considered, are among the top issues in education. Nearly all states have developed standards and have begun state testing programs in the last several years. The 2002 federal No Child Left Behind act makes testing and accountability policies even more crucial because poorly performing schools may be closed; already many failing schools must allow and pay for their students to attend successful schools.
This book blends practical ideas with sound principles of art
education. For the teacher or trainee-teacher looking for ideas, there
are plenty of tested classroom examples. For those looking for firm
principles of art teaching and 'best practice', this book presents many
important issues in art education with clarity and insight.
Based
on first-hand experience of teaching children, the book uses many
examples from the school situation. Essential topics, such as
developing skills through using media, how children draw, producing
original artwork, developing ideas and Art and the digital image are
tackled with realism and imagination.