Resources

The authors present to the reader, meaningfully and responsibly, the quality and quantity of contact between African Americans and whites on predominantly white campuses across our nation. (From the Publisher)

As poor, non-white communities on "the other side" of the digital divide become immersed in electronic media, how can we evaluate their experiences to transform the teaching of writing and literature and improve student learning? This important book offers a balanced view of instructional technology and critical multiculturalism as experienced in today’s public schools. With valuable insights to help English educators at all levels working in all types of schools, this accessible volume features: * Case studies of high-poverty secondary schools as they come online, offering an examination of the literacy practices of some of the country’s most underserved students on Indian reservations and in central cities. * A unique approach to teaching writing and literature at both high school and middle school levels, including practical suggestions for classroom practice. * A compelling analysis and critique of the contrasting rhetoric of American adolescent minority groups, differences in their early language socialization, and the impact of those differences on academic performance. * A fresh angle on the public policy debate on access to technology, arguing that high-poverty schools do not have student access and, when they do, computers are used to "reform," rather than "transform" schooling. (From the Publisher)

Those of us who care about the young and their education must find ways to remember what teaching and learning are really about. We must find ways to keep our hearts alive as we serve our students. Poetry has the power to keep us vital and focused on what really matters in life and in schooling. Teaching with Fire is a wonderful collection of eighty-eight poems from such well-loved poets as Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Billy Collins, Emily Dickinson, and Pablo Neruda. Each of these evocative poems is accompanied by a brief story from a teacher explaining the significance of the poem in his or her life's work. This beautiful book also includes an essay that describes how poetry can be used to grow both personally and professionally. Teaching With Fire was written in partnership with the Center for Teacher Formation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Royalties from this book will be used to fund scholarship opportunities for teachers to grow and learn. (From the Publisher)

Communities of Practice presents a theory of learning that starts with this assumption: engagement in social practice is the fundamental process by which we learn and so become who we are. The primary unit of analysis of this process is neither the individual nor social institutions but rather the informal "communities of practice" that people form as they pursue shared enterprises over time. In order to give a social account of learning, the theory explores in a systematic way the intersection of issues of community, social practice, meaning, and identity. The result is a broad conceptual framework for thinking about learning as a process of social participation. (From the Publisher)

In Cultivating Communities of Practice, Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, and William M. Snyder argue that while communities form naturally, organizations need to become more proactive and systematic about developing and integrating them into their strategy. This book provides practical models and methods for stewarding these communities to reach their full potential - without squelching the inner drive that makes them so valuable. (From the Publisher)

Journal Issue.

The contributors to "Spirituality and the Curriculum" explore ways in which spirituality can be diverted from its confinement as an academic subject and be incorporated into education to help children develop in this important area of human endeavour. (From the Publisher)

The learning portfolio—grounded in a process of reflection, evidence, and collaboration—is a rich, flexible document that engages students in continuous, thoughtful analysis of their learning. The portfolio may be paper, electronic, or another creative medium, but at its center, the power of writing and reflection combine in the portfolio with purposeful, selective collection and assessment of learning endeavors and outcomes to improve learning. Straightforward and easy to understand, this book offers readers both an academic understanding of and rationale for learning portfolios and practical information that can be custom tailored to suit many disciplinary, pedagogical, programmatic, and institutional needs. The Learning Portfolio reflects the intellectual growth and excitement that both professors and students have experienced in developing learning portfolios. Organized into four parts, this book includes: • A foundation for and review of the value of reflective practice in student learning and how learning portfolios support reflection, sound assessment, and collaboration • Diverse contributions by practitioners in two- and four-year institutions in the U.S. and Canada who implement portfolios in a variety of ways, including the use of digital technology • Fourteen practical and adaptable examples of actual student learning portfolios • A wealth of assignment sheets, guidelines, criteria, evaluation rubrics, and other materials used in developing print and electronic learning portfolios from across disciplines, programs, and types of institutions in higher education (From the Publisher)

This book is designed to help those who are interested in Christian higher education explore anew the unique features, opportunities, and contemporary challenges of one distinct type of educational institution - the Christian college. What distinguishes Conceiving the Christian College from the many other books on this subject is its incisive discussion of a set of crucial ideas widely misunderstood in the world of Christian higher education. Now serving in his eleventh year as president of one of the nation's foremost Christian colleges, Duane Litfin is well placed to ask pressing questions regarding faith-based education. What is unique about Christian colleges? What is required to sustain them? How do they maintain their bearing in the tumultuous intellectual seas of the twenty-first century? Litfin's themes are large, but they are meant to refocus the conceptual challenges to Christian education in ways that will strengthen both the academic environment of today's Christian colleges and their impact on culture at large. (From the Publisher)