Teaching to Learn, Learning to Teach: A Handbook for Secondary School Teachers

by Alan J. Singer

Overview

Teaching to Learn, Learning to Teach uniquely addresses three problems that frequently concern pre-service and beginning teachers: classroom control, satisfying state and federal mandates, and figuring out exactly what is the role of the teacher. Integrating practical, theoretical, and critical teaching considerations, it presents a model student-centered approach for designing lessons, developing personal connections with students, and building classroom communities: PRO/CLASS Practices (Planning, Relationships, Organization, Community, Leadership, Assessment, Support, Struggle). Pre-service teachers are encouraged to reinterpret the principles and continually redefine them as they develop their own reflective practice.

Changes in the Second Edition

• Updates throughout with attention to the Common Core State Standards, high stakes testing, the possibilities and limitations of technology use in the classroom, and preparing for the job market

• Fully revised chapter on literacy

• New interviews with teachers

• Companion Website: Supplemental planning, teaching, and assessment materials; 32 extended essays including a number of the author’s widely read Huffington Post columns; interviews with beginning and veteran teachers; Ideas for Your Professional Portfolio, Resume, and Cover Letter; Recommended Websites for Teachers

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415534598
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/29/2013
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Alan J. Singer is Professor of Secondary Education and Director of Social Studies Education in the Department of Teaching, Literacy and Leadership at Hofstra University in New York and the editor of Social Science Docket (a joint publication of the New York and New Jersey Councils for Social Studies).

Table of Contents

BOOK I: GOALS AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR TEACHERS

A Letter to Future Teachers

Why I Knead the Bread

1. Goals: Why Do You Want to Be a Teacher?

2. Responsibilities: What Is a Teacher?

BOOK II: PRO/CLASS PRACTICES–PLANNING, RELATIONSHIPS, ORGANIZATION, COMMUNITY

3. Planning: How Do You Plan a Lesson?

4. Relationships: Why Are Relationships With Students Crucial to Successful Teaching?

5. Organization: How Are Classrooms and Schools Organized?

6. Community: How Do You Build Classroom Communities Committed to Educational Goals?

Concluding Thoughts for Book II: A PRO/CLASS Practices Approach to Dealing With Classroom and Other Professional Problems

BOOK III: PRO/CLASS PRACTICES-LITERACY, ASSESSMENT, SUPPORT, STRUGGLE

7. Literacy: How Can Teachers Encourage Student Literacies?

8. Assessment: How Should Teachers Assess Student Learning and Their Own Performance?

9. Support: How Can Teachers Provide Support for Students Having Difficulty in School and Life?

10. Struggle: How Can We Struggle to Be More Effective Teachers and Build Better Schools?

Editorial Reviews

"… forces readers to confront their own attitudes and prejudices and leads them to a truer understanding of what it means to teach and learn in today’s society."

Dennis Banks, State University of New York-Oneonta, USA

"This book is a must for every teacher…. It provides a framework for forcing readers to ask questions that promote self-reflection about their choices for becoming a teacher, how their experiences have created individual mental models of what teaching is about, and how they can become a member of the learning community."

Felica Hirata, Baruch University, USA

From the Publisher