Reviews (1)

OK text...
Used this book for two different classes... book is written in easy to understand language and gives a pretty good overview of ed psych... liked the definitions in the margins as a study aid when it came time to review for tests... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Educational Psychology    2. General    3. Movements - Humanism    4. Psychology    5. Psychology & Psychiatry / General   

Reviews (1)

Great book!
I got this days ago from halfvalue at 56 dollar for my online course study, and I found it the best textbook ever in educational administration so far. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Administration - General    2. Education    3. Education / Teaching    4. Education / General    5. Educational administration    6. Teaching of those with special educational needs   

Subjects:  1. Cognitive Psychology    2. Education    3. Education / Teaching    4. Educational Psychology    5. Learning Styles    6. Learning, Psychology of    7. Philosophy & Social Aspects    8. Philosophy Of Education    9. Learning    10. Psychology & Psychiatry / General   

Reviews (4)

Woodcock-Johnson III: Reports, Recommendations and Strategies
This manual is extremely useful when preparing for PPTs and when you are writing reports.I have found the new forms very useful.I would recommend this manual for every special education teacher.

A bargain at twice the price
This is a very powerful reference that can be a helpful tool for school psychologists and private practice clinicians.Mather and Jaffe divide this book into four helpful sections.The first has much to do with the Woodcock Johnson-III tests of cognitive abilities and academic achievement.They provide guidelines for assessment interpretation, including hypotheses of origins for varied subtest combinations.The second section of the book provides the reader with samples of varied examples of comprehensive psychological reports.These can help provide guidelines for report writing that includes (but is not limited to) the Woodcock Johnson-III.
Woodcock-Johnson III: Reports, Recommendations, & Strategies
Woodcock-Johnson III: Reports, Recommendations, and Strategies (Nancy Mather & Lynne Jaffe, New York: Wiley, 2002) is an essential resource, not only for evaluators who use the Woodcock-Johnson III and teachers who use the results of Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ III) assessments, but also for anyone involved in educational evaluation or planning individual educational programs. Read more

Subjects:  1. Assessment, Testing & Measurement    2. Education    3. Educational Psychology    4. Psychological Testing    5. Psychology    6. Testing & Measurement    7. Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educat    8. Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery    9. Examinations & assessment    10. Intelligence    11. Psychological testing & measurement    12. Psychology & Psychiatry / Testing & Measurement   

Reviews (2)

Ecxellent merchant
Book was as if fresh off the press. Hope to do more business with this merchant.

Helpful for exactly what it is intended for...
I wouldn't say that I read the book cover to cover, but for a class textbook in graduate school, I think it was very helpful for its intended purpose. I used it where I need it (where I needed brushing up in certain areas of statistics especially) - and I think this book is a good reference book. The indexes are great, and the workbook actually does a good job of clarifying certain aspects of research that I was unceratin on. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Research    4. Education / Research    5. Research methods: general    6. Teaching skills & techniques   

Reviews (13)

Good observations, good data, but the conclusion is a bit overdrawn
The authors open with a number of anecdotes about the ways in which excessive homework interferes with family dinners, vacations, family conversations, conversations among siblings, pleasure reading, and a variety of other activities that teenagers are normally engaged in.This sets the tone for the whole book; the authors rely extensively on anecdotes to carry their story.
Let children play!
"What can I say-- thank you, thank you so much Nancy Kalish for all
Children Are Fleeing The Dinner Table To Rush To Finish Homework Assignments?
Whether there is too much homework, or not enough, assigned to public school students is debatable, but what is becoming more evident is that Sara Bennett and Alfie Kohn share the same crib notes.
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Subjects:  1. Child Care/Parenting    2. Education    3. Education (Specific Aspects)    4. Educational Policy & Reform    5. Family & Relationships    6. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    7. Homework    8. Life Stages - School Age    9. Parent participation    10. Parenting - General    11. Parents And Education    12. United States    13. Family & Relationships / Parenting   

Reviews (7)

Working on the Work
After reading the reviews given to this book, it is obvious to me who are the ones who were told to read the book and who are the ones who were asked to read it as well as offered support with the content.It is just like our students.If we just say "read the book", how engaging is that?If we are given the support to utilize the theory, the book makes much more sense.So, I can understand both ways of seeing the book.I, fortunately, am in a district where we were asked to look into this program (which is really what Working on the Work is) and decide if we would like to use it, as a district.We first, though, were given the opportunity to attend a conference where the presenter was from the Schlechty school.This was where the "practicality" came from.The reviewers are correct in that the book does not give those practical, concrete examples and studies we, as teachers, crave for our own learning.But, that is exactly the point of the program.How can we make our tasks as engaging as we are?The standards at the back of the book are going to be the most useful for teachers.Those are how you structure a lesson to be most engaging.So, I highly recommend that if you get this book that you pair it with some kind of support or research, so that the practical part can be understood along with the theory.

Working on the Work
The thesis of the author, offer students work that is meaningful and engaging, is a paradigm shift.The usual way of improving students' experience in the classroom is to offer professional development seminars to teachers so that they might become better educators.However, Schlechty shifts the focus away from improving instruction to working on the work that we require students to do.
Edu-speak
This is the sort of book school administrators love and teachers hate.It's long on vague, lofty sounding goals and absolutely no specifics to help teachers get there.What teacher wouldn't want to be more engaging?Who wouldn't want to inspire their students?Simply stating "be more engaging" doesn't get a teacher there any more than the teacher telling their student to "be smarter".But admin types love Schlechty's program.It puts the burden on the teacher to "work smarter, not harder...", "work the work" and "be more engaging and entertaining",and absolves students, parents and administrators from any responsibility for student improvement.
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Subjects:  1. Academic achievement    2. Administration - General    3. Curriculum change    4. Education    5. Education / Teaching    6. Educational Policy & Reform    7. School Management And Discipline    8. School environment    9. School improvement programs    10. Teaching Methods & Materials - General    11. United States    12. Education / Teaching Methods & Materials / General    13. Teaching skills & techniques   

Reviews (26)

Mosaic of Thought : Teaching Comprehension in a Reader's Workshop
This is an excellent reference for teaching comprehension strategies in the elementary classroom. As a teacher, I refer to this book often. The authors have presented a straight forward guide explanining the importance and logic of their teaching methods. I have used these techniques in my own classroom. I have seen definite improvement in my sudents' comprehension. These improvements have been apparent in boh informal assessments as well as formal evaluations. I would definitely recommend this book to other teachers and homeschooling parents.

Excellent book for the progressive teacher
As an educator, I try to look for teacher's literature that goes beyond the worksheets and attempts to get at the belief system and structure of what is considered "best practices" in education. This book challenges teachers to delve/question their belief systems, practices and own schema to help better understand how our students think and eventually teaching them a new and deeper way of looking at literature.
Are you kidding me?
I read this during my master's program. It is alot of wasted text. I wish it had listed the strategies, attached appendices and not had so much additional mumbo jumbo. This is awesome for discussions on comprehension, but useless as a day to day guide. I will keep my Atwell and Fountas books on hand instead. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Language Arts & Disciplines    4. Language Experience Approach    5. Literature    6. Reading Education (General)    7. Reading Skills    8. Reading comprehension    9. Study and teaching    10. Teaching Methods & Materials - Reading    11. English    12. English (ie as school subject)    13. Teaching of a specific subject   

Reviews (2)

Comprehensive Classroom Management
I had to buy and read this book for a classroom management class.It is a great book for comparing the most recent research available.However, you usually need to read five to ten pages of what could have been stated in a paragraph.I do feel that I really understand the material by the time I finish reading the book.I have also used many of the ideas in my classroom to try and improve my classroom management in my student teaching experience.

required class reading
I was required to purchase this book for a class I am currently taking. While the content of the book could be useful, the manner in which it is written is laden with ridiculous run-on ideas that could be communicated much more clearly. Here is an example from page 28:
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Subjects:  1. Classroom Management    2. Decision Making & Problem Solving    3. Education    4. Education / Teaching    5. Interaction analysis in education    6. Motivation in education    7. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    8. Teaching Methods & Materials - General    9. Education / Classroom Management    10. Industrial or vocational training    11. Organization & management of education    12. Teaching skills & techniques   

Reviews (2)

Little Detail
I have read many methods books over the past 4 years. This book was the initial text required in a methods class. I found it to be very poor in detail (especially for the preservice teacher). I finished the book wondering, "where are the specific how to's?" I felt that I wasn't prepared to go into a classroom to teach a lesson. We were all struggling in class.
Teachers are Pivotal for Learner-Centeredness to Occur
Finally... I found an author and educator who states the obvious. In order to be a successful teacher, one has to first understand oneself as a person - the positive and negative aspects of our personality and identity that impact our instruction. Only by understanding these issues are teachersfreed to "move the learner to the center".Read more

Subjects:  1. Curricula    2. Curriculum Planning    3. Education    4. Education / Teaching    5. Effective teaching    6. Lesson planning    7. Research    8. Teaching    9. Teaching Methods & Materials - General    10. United States    11. Education / Teaching Methods & Materials / General   

Reviews (3)

A Great Introductory Research Book
Having previously purchased a required research textbook that was written in a truly "mind-numbing" fashion, I went online to find a supplemental text.I was looking for something to help me develop some background knowledge in order to better understand my assigned readings.I consider myself very lucky for having found "Exploring Research".The writing style is very straightforward.I was easily able to read the textbook within a few days, and this made understanding the assigned readings in my course textbook much easier to do.
The Best!
Regardless of what your research needs are, this books could be called "research for dummies" in its excellent and easy-to-follow explanations. Buy this book, even if your required text is something else - It's filled with examples and can be read like an adventure novel in bed WHILE being truly comprehended! I've taken statistics, research classes, etc. - I wished I had read this book along with my first class! There's nothing dry about this and 1000 words are too few to praise it adequately!

Impressive
One can read the pictures of a book to define the logic or knowledge in it. How? Look at the many different views. What scans through ones mind? The past. It did mine. Fifty dollars is just the beginning of an adventures enterance into the unknown. Have a great day! Norma ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Educational Research    3. Methodology    4. Psychological Research    5. Psychology    6. Research    7. Research & Methodology    8. Philosophy & psychology    9. Psychology & Psychiatry / General    10. Research & development management    11. Social research & statistics   

Reviews (29)

Weak study guide - Could Be Better
I don't know what all the hype is about, especially from the poster above.The book is an abbreviated, outline version of what you need to know.
Basic Overview, well organized
I bought this book, along with the REA book with the CD and the Boosalis How to Beat the CSET books.I read this book first and I feel like it was very good in covering many subjects, and was especially helpful as the first book I read to prepare for the CSET because it is organized in such a concise, easy outline manner.The Human Development chapter was enough to pass the test.The Art section lacked a good explanation on reading music and that was unfortunately what my short answer question was on.The math section was good, but I am strong in math so I didn't study math at all.The science section was good, I was surprised how easy the science section of the CSET test was.The reading acquisition section was thorough and effective.I bought the Boosalis book because it was supposedly the strongest one on Language Arts, but I found it too long winded.I liked the Cliffs version better.The History section was the only section that I feel was way too brief.I would not have passed the CSET History section if I had only read this book, you must do outside reading if you are not strong on Social Studies/History.I would strongly suggest buying this book along with doing other studying.I passed all 3 sections of the CSET in one day by studying this book and the History section of the Boosalis book.

Section III
After stuying for the third section of the CSET using this book, I was able to pass it with flying colors on my first try.This testprep was very usefull to me but I would recommend "What Your Fourth, fifth and sixth Grader Needs to Know" series for the other 2 sections of the CSET. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Praxis    2. Study Aids    3. Study Guides    4. Test Prep    5. Tests    6. California    7. Study Aids / Tests    8. Teacher assessment   

Reviews (34)

Therapeutic and Entertaining
Rubinstein may hope that first year teachers will read his book and not make the mistakes he made, but chances are the readers who pick up his book already have completed their first year.While this book does not give an encyclopedic array of tips like the "First Days of School", it is a funny and reflective treatise on classic first teacher mistakes.I used it as part of my summer "therapy" after a disasterous first year -- it helped me get over being a complete failure and start thinking about how I was going to approach my second year.

A MUST for new or struggling inner-city secondary teachers
The other books on the subject (and I've read the top seven or so) are all too theoretical, dense, boring, and advocate techniques that simply don't work in an out-of-control secondary class. "First Days of School" is one of the few books that is decent in terms of practicality and readability. However, it is too elementary-focused for secondary teachers. Also, it advocates a standard pattern of incremental steps (writing names on the board with checks and so on).
OK
He does not tell you how to make the transformation from reluctant to strong willed.I figured he would have some words of advice or to think of something else when the class is out of control or arguing back............. but he doesnt.
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Subjects:  1. Classroom Management    2. Education    3. Education / Teaching    4. Rewards and punishments in edu    5. School discipline    6. Teacher-student relationships    7. United States    8. Education / Classroom Management    9. Teaching skills & techniques   

Reviews (2)

An indispensible and seminal text!!
Kolb's "Experiential Learning" is a masterpiece. In it, he deftly synthesizes the strands of learning theory and psychological research that inform his 4 stage learning cycle. All committed "experiential educators" should consult this book in order more deeply to understand the deep and rich conceptual foundation(s) of our potent pedagogical practice. In his "Foreword" to the volume, Leadership guru Warren Bennis positively hyperventilates in applauding Kolb's achievement in this work. And for good reason! From thence comes Kolb's elegant & powerful "Learning Styles Inventory" (or LSI), among other things. Even if you're a cynic or skeptic re: the merit of experiential education, you would do well to peruse this tour-de-force in order better to appreciate what you may be missing.

Please pass the molasses
When one encounters the word " dialectic" while reading academic texts it should be as a clear signal as a fire to forest ranger that trouble is on the horizon. This statement may be a bit of an exaggeration but it woulddefinitely be accurate to say that Kolb's Experiential Learning is no easyread. Of course, this does not diminish the value of the book, in spite ofdifficult passages. Ironically, this is the essence of the concept of"dialectic". Liberal doses of psychology are ladled throughout thebook as the masters (Piaget, Jung, et. al) are consistently consulted toback up theory. Although not professing to have knowledge about psychology,it is clear that their work is essential to establish the interrelationshipbetween cognition and experiential learning. Theory of learning and theopposing learning styles of apprehension and comprehension are explored.This book is clearly the cure for a stubborn case of insomnia. I can't saythat the book is without merit, however, because it held some greatinformation that will be useful now and in future applications when I havethe chance to practice my current endeavors. Some passages even caused asense of anticipation for the succeeding ones because there was aconsiderable amount of interesting information that I had not yet pondered.I would compare this book to putting molasses on pancakes on a winter day.It is thick and doesn't go down easily but great once you warm up to it ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education / Teaching    2. Educational Psychology    3. Experiential learning    4. Learning by discovery    5. Management - General    6. Methods Of Instruction And Study (General)    7. Skills    8. Business & Economics / Skills   

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. General    4. Children's literature studies: general    5. Education / General    6. Philosophy of education    7. Serials, periodicals, abstracts, indexes    8. c 1700 to c 1800    9. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (1)

Great resource!
This book is very helpful for practitioners and chock-full of information. I especially enjoyed the section on regional teaching institutions. A must for all educators. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Administration    2. Aims & Objectives    3. Education    4. Education / Teaching    5. Higher    6. Strategic planning    7. Universities and colleges    8. Education / Higher    9. Educational administration    10. Management & management techniques    11. Universities / polytechnics   

Reviews (4)

Solid technology book that is not outdated when published
Many technology books are outdated by the time they are published. I am pleased to say that this book methodically moves through effective instruction and then how to use technology to aid it. I will be using this book as a reference for some time to come.

Technology presented with clarity
Pay no attention to one gentleman's "Apple Pie" comment about the step-by-step instructions included in this book. After all, not everyone is as technologically adept as he may be. If you have already mastered such technology, then this material is possibly too basic for you. But for the rest of us, one of the major benefits of this book is indeed the fact that the instructions have been so clearly presented!
Light and introductory with the scent of apple pie
I wasn't impressed with this book for two separate reasons.Firstly, the production standard struck me as almost 1960s' in style - black and white photos (nice 'grainy' look), big bulky monitors and a general aged format.It is peculiar I agree, but the book looks like it was written at least 30 if not 40 years ago.The second set of quibbles I have with the text is that it presume the reader is almost completely ignorant of any kind of presentation technology.This assumption may have been acceptable several decades ago but the universality of TV seriously undermines its value.Television is constantly exposting the public to new technologies.For instance, in the text there is a piece with graphic devoted to how to load a slide projector.How relevant is that to today's classroom?Moreover, any decent bit of kit comes with instructions.I accept that the authors wish to do a thorough hand holding with the reader, but the book assume too little exposure to technology which renders it advice mediocre in places. Possibly it should be retitled Instructional Media Technology for Complete Dummies. The bits on the web are small (literally bits) which is not a good sign.Overall, the book was lightweight - possibly I am being unfair as I am not looking for the technology it covers, but forreview of current and future developments.In any event I regret buying the book as it doesn't fit my needs and I didn't like its presentation style.It is a tired book, more like jaded, that does not mesh well with the style culture of modern multimedia technology. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Administration - General    2. Audio-visual education    3. Computers & Technology    4. Education    5. Education / Teaching    6. Educational technology    7. General    8. Education / Computers & Technology    9. Educational resources & technology   

Reviews (3)

A Framework for Leadership in Today�s World
During a time of rapid change and so-called leadership gurus, Michael Fullan draws from a wealth of research, case study scenarios, and theory to present an interconnected framework of five capacities for leadership which are relevant in today's world. These five components include moral purpose, understanding change, relationship building, knowledge creation and sharing, and coherence making. When effective leaders possess characteristics of energy-enthusiasm-hopefulness and practice the five components, one can expect the outcome that "more good things happen" and "fewer bad things happen." Leading with Clarity
In this book, Fullan integrates theory, research, case studies, and anecdotes to flesh out the dynamics of effective leadership in this post-modern era of complexity, interconnectedness, and rapid (often transformational) technological and social change.He identifies and elaborates on the five components of leadership, which can affect sustainable change: Moral purpose, understanding change, relationship building, knowledge creation and sharing, and coherence making.Fullan sees leadership as a process that all organizational stakeholders, who strive for survival and improvement in a competitive and complex world, need to embrace.Drawing from Heifetz (Leadership Without Easy Answers, 1994), Fullan stakes out new territory for change agents: "Leadership, then, is not mobilizing others to solve problems we already know how to solve, but to help them confront problems that have never yet been successfully addressed." (p.3) No recipe, but a new mind-set
In an increasingly complex and fast-changing world, we cannot just rely on charismatic leaders to solve our problems. We need to cultivate leadership at all levels of any organization, business or education, "to face problems for which there are no simple, painless solutions" (p.3). Instead of prescribing recipes of set steps for leaders, Fullan gives a framework or new mind-set of 5 themes or capacities. Figure 1.1 (p.4) gives a clear image of the non-linear interacting components: the inner pie of moral purpose (acting with the intention of making a positive difference), understanding change, relationship building, knowledge creation and sharing, and coherence making. It is surrounded by an outer rim of the personal characteristics of leaders: "energy-enthusiasm-hopefulness". Effective leaders thus mobilize commitment, both external (based on management policies) and internal (getting a job done is intrinsically rewarding). The aim or outcome of leadership is to make sure that "more good things happen" and "fewer bad things happen" defined according to different contexts. Read more

Subjects:  1. Administration    2. Administration - General    3. Education    4. Education / Teaching    5. Educational Administration    6. Educational change    7. Educational leadership    8. Leadership    9. School management and organiza    10. School management and organization    11. Schools    12. Business & Economics / Leadership    13. Management & management techniques    14. Organization & management of education   

Reviews (33)

A Dream to Keep Alive
Though Ladon-Billings leans towards idealism constructing a perfect model of societal bliss, this book does show the underlying lack of knowledge many people have regarding educational issues. Those who say that the African-Americans' educational problems are their own fault show incredible short-sightedness to the truth of history. Have we forgotten that the Africa diaspora of colonialism was a forced migration to this country that treated blacks as inferior, and thus that it was a waste of time to educate them? In order for racism to stop, people have to recognize that there is no one race better than any other. All races have value and thus all races should be celebrated. God created them all. An understanding of this will lead to advances in the educational system which often has curricula that have no connection to many of its students. Ladson-Billings book, though primarily focused on African-Americans, is still an important blueprint toward removing some of the blinders people wear when it comes to historical truth. This book is for those who have ears to hear.

The education problem is never a one race or one minority problem
Author Ladson-Billings (1994) book "The Dreamkeepers", gave me valuable inside on examples of various challenging and rigorous classrooms, and the emphasis the author put in presenting the cultural and social aspects of schooling when framing education as a whole, was evident. However the author makes the problems of African American children the main issue at stake in her book. Therefore I was presented with a fact and a different point of view based on statistics while conducting my research: One cannot lobby to change the system for one type of minority, to be successful at change. One has to see the "spreading tumor' per se, as a culturally diverse illness, affecting all of us. We, as a diverse society cannot try to make only one minority the beneficiary of our input, improvement, and educational reform. According the U.S. Department of Education (2004) NCLB (No child left behind) report, it showed that among the reading and math proficiency levels of performance for 4th graders in 2003, African American children were slightly lower, by one to five percent, under performing the Hispanics, meaning Hispanics proficiencies in reading and math are slightly better, just slightly, but this does not justify viewing the problem of minority children as being only an African American one. To be successful at change, one has to be more objective and start change for all minorities, why is it so vital to start with only one? I know poverty and lack of social skills are a major factor, but imagine how difficult it is to learn with a new language too.
a useful book
The Dreamkeepers isn't a necessarily groundbreaking book, but i think white teachers (or any teachers for that matter) who haven't had much experience working with african american children will find the book helpful.If you've read any other stuff that falls under anti-racist or critical pedagogy, there won't be much that is new in terms of concepts.But what i found most useful are her sketches of the eight or so teachers who are very successful with african american children.She talks about their their upbringing, how that has influenced their teaching practices, and why they are successful in the classroom. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adult & Continuing Education    2. African Americans    3. Education    4. Education / Teaching    5. Educational anthropology    6. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General    7. Multicultural Education    8. Teaching    9. United States    10. Black studies    11. Education / Multicultural Education    12. Educational administration    13. Educational systems    14. Philosophy of education    15. Teaching of ethnic minorities    16. USA    17. Urban communities   

Reviews (1)

Very easy to understand
This book is good for any college student in need of guidance on how to conduct research. The chapters are well sequenced, the topics flowing from the previous ones. Each start with an overview and the objectives of the chapter, and finish with a "self-check list" (in the form of a multiple choice quizz) to help the reader know if she/he understood what was read. Also, any new vocabulary is highlighted and defined in the glossary. The authors even put a suggestion sheet at the end of the book for when they write the next edition (I thought it was "cute" yet scientific the way they did this; if you get the book, you'll know what I mean!). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Research    4. United States    5. Education / Research