2nd Edition

Teaching Practices from America's Best Urban Schools A Guide for School and Classroom Leaders

    186 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
    by Eye On Education

    186 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
    by Eye On Education

    186 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
    by Eye On Education

     Discover the teaching practices that make the biggest difference in student performance! The new edition of this practical, research-based book gives leaders and teachers an even closer look at instructional practices from top award-winning urban schools. With refreshed examples from high-performing teachers and detailed analyses of these practices, the authors demystify the achievement of these schools while offering a practical guide to help educators apply these practices in their contexts. Teaching Practices from America's Best Urban Schools is a valuable tool for any educator in both urban and non urban schools that serve diverse student populations, including English language learners and children from low-income families.

    What’s New:

    • Additional "What It Is/What It Isn’t" boxes help educators distinguish the subtle differences in the implementation of practices that lead to impressive learning results
    • "Practice Guides" and "Practical Next Steps" for each of the 8 Success Factors encourage self-assessment and collaboration
    • Expansion of topics address current developments in education and additional examples from award-winning elementary, middle, and high schools provide new insights.

    About the Authors

    Acknowledgments

    Preface

    Intended Audience

    About the Schools Studied, Awarded, and Featured in This Book

    Contents of the Book

    How to Use This Book

    1 Making Students Feel Valued and Capable

    Caring Enough to Know and Value Individual Students

    Caring Enough to Model Courtesy and Respect

    Caring Enough to Praise and Acknowledge

    Caring Enough to Demand the Best

    Caring Enough to Transform Classroom Practices

    Caring Enough to Create Attractive and Educationally Rich Physical Environments

    Summary

    What It Is & What It Isn’t

    Practice Guide

    Practical Next Steps

    References

    2 Focusing on Understanding and Mastery

    Planning for Understanding and Mastery

    Designing Objective-Driven Lessons

    Generating Depth of Understanding

    Maximizing Time on Objective

    Focusing on All Students

    Summary

    What It Is & What It Isn’t

    Practice Guide

    Practical Next Steps

    References

    3 Promoting Clarity

    Promoting Clarity in Learning Outcomes

    Promoting Clarity in Lesson Organization

    Promoting Clarity in the Representation of Ideas

    Summary

    What It Is & What It Isn’t

    Practice Guide

    Practical Next Steps

    References

    4 Ensuring Culturally, Socially, and Personally Responsive Teaching

    Assuming Student Ability

    Building Connections

    Ensuring Culturally Responsive Teaching

    Ensuring Socially and Personally Responsive Teaching

    Summary

    What It Is & What It Isn’t

    Practice Guide

    Practical Next Steps

    References

    5 Checking Understanding, Providing Feedback, and Adapting

    Frequency of Checking for Understanding

    Well-Distributed Checking for Understanding

    Checking for Higher Levels of Understanding

    Providing Feedback

    Adapting Instruction

    Summary

    What It Is & What It Isn’t

    Practice Guide

    Practical Next Steps

    References

    6 Building Fluency with Gatekeeper Vocabulary

    Pre-Identifying Gatekeeper Vocabulary

    Making New Vocabulary Seem Familiar

    Building Fluency with and "Ownership" of Critical Vocabulary

    Sustaining Fluency

    Summary

    What It Is & What It Isn’t

    Practice Guide

    Practical Next Steps

    References

    7 Promoting Successful Practice

    Guiding Students toward Independent Learning

    Guided Students to Learn Difficult Concepts

    Monitoring Independent Work

    Building Student Capacity to Self-Monitor

    Providing Independent Work (Including Homework) Worth Completing

    Summary

    What It Is & What It Isn’t

    Practice Guide

    Practical Next Steps

    References

    8 Leading Students to Love Learning

    Teaching Enthusiastically

    Highlighting Relevance

    Utilizing Project-Based, Problem-Based, Experiential Learning

    Integrating the Arts, Technology, and Physical Education throughout Curricula

    Maximizing Student-to-Student Engagement

    Providing Students Opportunities to Excel with Challenging Content

    Summary

    What It Is & What It Isn’t

    Practice Guide

    Practical Next Steps

    References

    9 Developing Best Teaching Practices Throughout a School

    Pursuing the Right Goal

    Building a Coherent Educational Improvement System

    Summary

    References

    Conclusion

     

    Appendix A: America’s Best Urban Schools Award 2019 Eligibility Criteria

    Appendix B: About the Schools Awarded and Studied

    Appendix C: America’s Best Urban Schools Award Winners

    References

    Biography

    Joseph F. Johnson, Jr., Ph.D., is the Executive Director of the National Center for Urban School Transformation and Provost and Senior Vice President Emeritus, Dean Emeritus of the College of Education, and Professor Emeritus of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University, USA.

    Cynthia L. Uline, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University, USA.

    Lynne G. Perez, Ph.D., served as the Deputy Director of the National Center for Urban School Transformation at San Diego State University, USA.