Politicians and businesspeople, determined to get tough with students and teachers, have increased the pressure to raise standardized test scores. Unfortunately, the effort to do so typically comes at the expense of more meaningful forms of learning. That disturbing conclusion emerges from Alfie Kohn's devastating new indictment of standardized testing. Drawing from the latest research, he concisely explains just how little test results really tell us and just how harmful a test-driven curriculum can be. Written in a highly readable question-and-answer format, The Case Against Standardized Testing will help readers respond to common questions and challenges-showing, for example, that:- high scores often signify relatively superficial thinking- many of the leading tests were never intended to measure teaching or learning- a school that improves its test results may well have lowered its standards to do so- far from helping to "close the gap," the use of standardized testing is most damaging for low-income and minority students- as much as 90 percent of the variations in test scores among schools or states have nothing to do with the quality of instruction- far more meaningful measures of student learning - or school quality - are availableKohn's central message is that standardized tests are "not like the weather, something to which we must resign ourselves . . . They are not a force of nature but a force of politics - and political decisions can be questioned, challenged, and ultimately reversed." The final section demonstrates how teachers, parents, and students can turn their frustration into action and successfully turn back the testing juggernaut in order to create classrooms that focus on learning.Also available on Audiotape: The Case Against Standardized Testing: Raising the Scores, Ruining the Schools, read by Alfie Kohn.

    Itprovides readers with concepts, theories, models and frameworks to helpunderstand behaviour in organizations. Readers are encouraged to challengecurrent thinking in relation to their own ideas and experiences, exploring otherperspectives. The text also shows how organizational behaviour ideas and methodsapply in practical settings.Content new to this edition includes: * the organizational context* postmodernism and the post-modern organization* teleworking, call centres and employee surveillance* the learning organization* behavioural self-modification* emotional intelligence* communication theory and organizational communication* neuro-linguistic programming* job sculpting* teamworking trends* contemporary applications of scientific management* corporate strategy and organizational design* interorganizational relationships* network and virtual organizations* human resource management* the new leadership, superleaders and dispersed leadership Pedagogical f

    They reveal a nation of boys who are hurting--sad, afraid, angry, and silent. Kindlon and Thompson set out to answer this basic, crucial question: What do boys need that they're not getting? They illuminate the forces that threaten our boys, teaching them to believe that "cool" equals macho strength and stoicism. Cutting through outdated theories of "mother blame," "boy biology," and "testosterone," the authors shed light on the destructive emotional training our boys receive--the emotional miseducation of boys.Kindlon and Thompson make a compelling case that emotional literacy is the most valuable gift we can offer our sons, urging parents to recognize the price boys pay when we hold them to an impossible standard of manhood. They identify the social and emotional challenges that boys encounter in school and show how parents can help boys cultivate emotional awareness and empathy--giving them the vital connections and support they need to navigate the social pressures of youth.

    Lunsford's latest findings show that today's students write more than ever before -- and make rhetorically appropriate choices in texts they create outside the classroom. “We're in the midst of a literacy revolution the likes of which we haven't seen since Greek civilization,” she notes. The St. Martin's Handbook, Seventh Edition is the first handbook to help students build on the smart decisions they make as recreational writers in order to succeed in their academic and professional work. And, The St. Martin's Handbook is the all-in-one teaching tool and reference that shows students how to write effectively for any purpose.

    Yet we still don't know what, precisely, makes a teacher great. Is it a matter of natural-born charisma? Or does exceptional teaching require something more? Building a Better Teacher introduces a new generation of educators exploring the intricate science underlying their art. A former principal studies the country s star teachers and discovers a set of common techniques that help children pay attention. Two math teachers videotape a year of lessons and develop an approach that has nine-year-olds writing sophisticated mathematical proofs. A former high school teacher works with a top English instructor to pinpoint the key interactions a teacher must foster to initiate a rich classroom discussion. Through their stories, and the hilarious and heartbreaking theater that unfolds in the classroom every day, Elizabeth Green takes us on a journey into the heart of a profession that impacts every child in America.What happens in the classroom of a great teacher? Opening with a moment-by-moment portrait of an everyday math lesson a drama of urgent decisions and artful maneuvers Building a Better Teacher demonstrates the unexpected complexity of teaching. Green focuses on the questions that really matter: How do we prepare teachers and what should they know before they enter the classroom? How does one get young minds to reason, conjecture, prove, and understand? What are the keys to good discipline? Incorporating new research from cognitive psychologists and education specialists as well as intrepid classroom entrepreneurs, Green provides a new way for parents to judge what their children need in the classroom and considers how to scale good ideas. Ultimately, Green discovers that good teaching is a skill. A skill that can be taught.A provocative and hopeful book, Building a Better Teacher shows that legendary teachers are more than inspiring; they are perhaps the greatest craftspeople of all."

    The economic benefits of expensive large-scale infrastructure projects have not trickled down. Increasing concern about the environmental effects of rapid industrialization and a recognition of the need for sustainable development has led to tension between the industrial countries that have already damaged their environments and the poorer countries now being urged to take a globally responsible view. In this book Maggie Black traces the history of development from its post-colonial beginnings, and examines the relationship between development and economic growth, the impact development has had on the living conditions of the poor and on the environment, and whether development will have a specific role in the future or whether it will simply be subsumed under the concept of globalization.

    Written in a lucid style and documented with suitable maps and diagrams, the uniqueness of the book lies in the wide coverage of the subject. In the process the book will be of immense interest to acadmic students, teachers, researchers and those who have a secial interest in the subject. Contents: 1. Structure of India 2. Physiography 3. Drainage 4.Climate 5.Natural vegetation and National Parks 6.Soils 7.Resources 8. Energy Resources 9. Agriculture 10.Spatial Orgainisation of Agriculture 11.Industries 12.Transport, Communication and Trade 13.Cultural Setting 14.Settlement 15.Regional Development and planning 16.India- Political Assets 17.Contemporary Issues, About the Author: Majid Husain Majid Husain, Prof.(Retd.) Jamia Millia Islamia, Central University, New Delhi

    Quite simply, his book outlines one way of viewing an instructional program as a functioning instrument of education.The four sections of the book deal with ways of formulating, organizing, and evaluating the educational objectives that have been chosen for the curriculum. Tyler emphasizes the fact that curriculum planning is a continuous cyclical process, involving constand replanning, redevelopment, and reappraisal. Substitution of such an integrated view of an instructional program for hit-or-miss judgment as the basis for curriculum development cannot but result in an increasingly effective curriculum.

    A four-part organization covers: Some Primal and Bygone Religions, The Religions of South Asia, The Religions of E

    Although verbal learning offers a powerful tool for humans, this book explores ways of going beyond the purely verbal. An alternative to purely verbal presentations is to use multimedia presentations in which people learn from both words and pictures--a situation the author calls multimedia learning. Multimedia encyclopedias have become the latest addition to students' reference tools, and the world wide web is full of messages that combine words and pictures. This book summarizes ten years of research aimed at realizing the promise of multimedia learning.

    It was the night everything changed. It was the night Leisel died.Now, two years later, as Jared reflects on his life, he can't help but wonder at the chain reaction of choices that led him to this: a black nametag and a calling to serve as a missionary of God.It had been Leisel who had first sparked Jared's interest in the gospel. She and Rob had befriended Jared early on in his senior year of high school. But even as all of Rob's choices seem to be leading him away from the Church, all of Jared's choices were drawing him closer to it--and to Leisel. And on the night of the horrible crash, Jared finally understands how life-changing the consequences of a choice can be.

    Teaching Music with Passion is a one-of-a-kind, collective masterpiece of thoughts, ideas and suggestions about the noble profession of music education. Both inspirational and instructional, it will surely change the way you teach (and think) about music. Filled with personal experiences, anecdotes and wonderful quotations, this book is an easy-to-read, essential treasure! "One of the most 'real' writings I have read during my 35 years in music education." Mel Clayton, President, MENC: The National Association for Music Education Click here for a YouTube video on Teaching Music with Passion

    This guide to teaching writing and to major theoretical issues includes a brief anthology of scholarly essays and new coverage of construct-ing successful assignments using visual, oral, and electronic texts; teaching multilingual writers; and using technology in the writing classroom.

    This brand new book from Ross Morrison McGill, bestselling author of 100 Ideas for Secondary Teachers: Outstanding Lessons and Teacher Toolkit, is packed full of practical ideas that will help teachers refine the key elements of their profession. Mark. Plan. Teach. shows how each stage of the teaching process informs the next, building a cyclical framework that underpins everything that teachers do.With teachers' workload at record levels and teacher recruitment and retention the number one issue in education, ideas that really work and will help teachers not only survive but thrive in the classroom are in demand. Every idea in Mark. Plan. Teach. can be implemented by all primary and secondary teachers at any stage of their career and will genuinely improve practice. The ideas have been tried and tested and are supported by evidence that explains why they work, including current educational research and psychological insights from Dr Tim O'Brien, leading psychologist and Visiting Fellow at UCL Institute of Education.Mark. Plan. Teach. will enable all teachers to maximise the impact of their teaching and, in doing so, save time, reduce workload and take back control of the classroom.

    Each essay is written by an experienced teacher/scholar and describes one of the major pedagogies employed today: process, expressive, rhetorical, collaborative, feminist, critical, cultural studies, community service, and basic writing. Writing centers, writing across the curriculum, and technology and the teaching of writing are also discussed. The essays are composed of personal statements on pedagogical applications and bibliographical guides that aid students and new teachers in further study and research. Contributors include Christopher Burnham, William A. Covino, Ann George, Diana George, Eric H. Hobson, Rebecca Moore Howard, Susan C. Jarratt, Laura Julier, Susan McLeod, Charles Moran, Deborah Mutnick, Lad Tobin, and John Trimbur. An invaluable tool for graduate students and new teachers, A Guide to Composition Pedagogies provides an exceptional introduction to composition studies and the extensive range of pedagogical approaches used today.