Krishnamurti believed that “education is the heart of the matter.” His longstanding concern with the nature and problems of education led him to found schools in India, England, and America, and his conversations with students, teachers, and parents form the major part of Beginnings of Learning. These lively, often intimate exchanges turn on practical, everyday matters as well as wider philosophical issues, as Krishnamurti encourages his audience to appreciate that the beginning of wisdom is self-knowledge. Jiddu Krishnamurti was born in southern India in 1895 and died in 1986. The essence of his teachings is that societal change and world peace can only occur through a complete change of individual consciousness.
Provitera McGlynn (psychology, Mercer County Community College) discusses tools and strategies for setting the right tone in college courses. She offers advice on making expectations clear, creating a welcoming environment, promoting civility, motivating students, and keeping them involved. The book emphasizes tools for use at the beginning of a course. An appendix discusses syllabus creation, and teaching resources are listed. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.
"Play and language are both important learning tools for the prekindergarten child. Through play and language, they learn about their world and about themselves. Play and language are also the most important tools for early literacy learning. Think of the young child who takes a memo pad and marker around to family members, 'taking orders' for dinner. Like all emergent readers and writers, this child makes no distinction between play and literacy -- both involve curiosity, excitement, learning, and discovery. In Literacy Beginnings, Gay Su Pinnell and Irene Fountas bring their characteristically rich, comprehensive, and practical insights to the frontier of early literacy. They show you how to tap into young children's curiosity to introduce them to the world of literacy in joyful, engaging ways. Based on their many experiences in real prekindergarten classrooms they demonstrate how to: create a classroom community that is play-based, but that also prepares children for the literary-rich world in which they live, promote constructive learning through inquiry, recognize the language and literacy behaviors and understandings that are appropriate instructional goals for preschoolers, use powerful and playful ways to guide children to learn about letters, sounds, and words, [and] support emergent readers and writers through an array of literacy activities"--Back cover.
The primary strength of BEGINNINGS AND BEYOND: FOUNDATIONS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, 10th Edition, is its blend of simplicity and depth. In a clear and easy-to-understand style, the book lays out basic questions any student of early childhood education would want answered -- and presents key concepts, the latest research, and practical examples so that questions are thoroughly answered. Coverage of the current Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) is woven throughout the text, as is material on diversity and development, which enables readers to understand that issues of age, gender, race/ethnicity, ability, and family are part of every aspect of teaching and learning. Every chapter has a feature focused on how brain-based research is connected to development, and another that highlights intentional teaching. Through its tone, visuals, and pedagogy, the book is accessible to and respectful of readers with a range of abilities and learning styles. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.
Introductory and capstone experiences in the undergraduate psychology program are crucial ways to engage students in their major and psychology department, impart realistic expectations, and prepare them for life beyond college. Providing the right orientation and capstone courses in psychology education is increasingly a concern of instructors, department chairs, program directors, and deans, and both types of courses have become important sources for gathering pre- and post-coursework assessment data for degree learning outcomes. The strategies presented here have been designed to help educators examine issues around teaching the introductory or careers course and developing a psychology-specific orientation program. The authors also provide concrete suggestions for building capstone experiences designed to fit the needs of a department, its pedagogical philosophy, or the educational agenda of the college or university. Undergraduate psychology curriculum designers and instructors can benefit from learning innovative and effective strategies for introducing the major to first-year students and, at graduation, for bringing closure, reinforcing the overall departmental learning outcomes, and helping students apply their disciplinary knowledge in capstone experiences and post-graduate life. In this collection of articles, psychology instructors involved in the improvement of teaching and learning review the research and share their own successes and challenges in the classroom. Discussions include effective practices for helping students become acclimated to and engaged in the psychology major, application of developmental knowledge and learning communities to course design, and use of quality benchmarks to improve introductory and capstone courses. Other chapters describe innovations in the design of stand-alone courses and offer concrete advice on counseling psychology graduates about how to use what they have learned beyond their higher education experiences.
Forget the 10,000 hour rule— what if it’s possible to learn the basics of any new skill in 20 hours or less? Take a moment to consider how many things you want to learn to do. What’s on your list? What’s holding you back from getting started? Are you worried about the time and effort it takes to acquire new skills—time you don’t have and effort you can’t spare? Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to develop a new skill. In this nonstop world when will you ever find that much time and energy? To make matters worse, the early hours of practicing something new are always the most frustrating. That’s why it’s difficult to learn how to speak a new language, play an instrument, hit a golf ball, or shoot great photos. It’s so much easier to watch TV or surf the web . . . In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition— how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct complex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By completing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you’ll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. Kaufman personally field-tested the methods in this book. You’ll have a front row seat as he develops a personal yoga practice, writes his own web-based computer programs, teaches himself to touch type on a nonstandard keyboard, explores the oldest and most complex board game in history, picks up the ukulele, and learns how to windsurf. Here are a few of the simple techniques he teaches: Define your target performance level: Figure out what your desired level of skill looks like, what you’re trying to achieve, and what you’ll be able to do when you’re done. The more specific, the better. Deconstruct the skill: Most of the things we think of as skills are actually bundles of smaller subskills. If you break down the subcomponents, it’s easier to figure out which ones are most important and practice those first. Eliminate barriers to practice: Removing common distractions and unnecessary effort makes it much easier to sit down and focus on deliberate practice. Create fast feedback loops: Getting accurate, real-time information about how well you’re performing during practice makes it much easier to improve. Whether you want to paint a portrait, launch a start-up, fly an airplane, or juggle flaming chainsaws, The First 20 Hours will help you pick up the basics of any skill in record time . . . and have more fun along the way.
Although recent research on children's numerical thinking has much to say to teachers, little attempt has been made to communicate it directly to them. This book attempts to build a bridge between theory, research, and classroom practice with the aim of supporting informed change in the schools. The ultimate goal is to promote children's numerical thinking and to ensure their survival in a rapidly changing world.
