Teaching the Whole Class
September 1997 | 256 pages | Corwin
"A wonderful book! I would use it with my classes and would hand it out to any colleagues who want to improve teaching."
Rebecca L. Oxford, Associate Dean, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
Leaver bases her book on the premise that all students deserve positive, successful learning experiences. It has one focus: All students can learn.
The fourth edition of this successful handbook shows you how to take charge of your classroom and give students back the major responsibility for their own learning. Help students resolve their "cognitive conflicts" - whether it's with teaching style, curricular orietation, or some other classroom aspect - and see a dramatic difference in their
The guidance you'll get here is as close as possible to a hands-on demonstration of her techniques. You'll find out how to
* Recognize that your students' learning styles differ
* Identify the different ways your students learn (learner profiling)
* Expand your teaching style to better accommodate the needs of each student and avoid "style wars" no one wins
* Deal successfully with conflicts that arise due to students' different methods of learning
* Empower students to become more style-flexible, so that they can achieve with different teachers and subjects and succeed on tests
The author balances the ideal world of accommodating each student with the real world of students taking responsibility for their own learning. She shows how to focus on the "needs of the one" while teaching for the "needs of the many" - and doing so sanely.
Leaver provides a firm foundation to combine with your personal experience to create your own custom method for reaching different styles of learners. She includes real-world questions and answers to help you solve problems that may arise from teaching to different learning styles.
Reaching and Teaching the Whole Class is about leaving method aside and concentrating on how students learn. It can work for any teacher or school administrator who's ever had a seemingly unsuccessful student.
Tested for more than 12 years in classrooms in America and ten other countries. Includes practice exercises at the ends of chapters, as well as a series of resources at the back, including learning styles tests, observation checklists, and answers to the practice exercises.
Introduction
Rationale for Teaching the Whole Class
Styles and Profiles
Failure to Learn
In an Ideal World
In the Real World
Reducing the Risk
Epilogue