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Home » Resources » Scholarship on Teaching » Developing a Learning Classroom: Moving Beyond Management Through Relationships, Relevance, and Rigor
Scholarship July 3, 2025

Developing a Learning Classroom: Moving Beyond Management Through Relationships, Relevance, and Rigor

The Wabash Center

Author
Cooper, Nic, and Garner, Betty K.
Publisher
Corwin Press, A SAGE Publications Company, Thousand Oaks, CA
ISBN
9781452203881
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
About the Authors

ch. 1 What Is a Learning Classroom? How to Develop Relationships, Relevance, and Rigor
ch. 2 Who Am I Who Teaches? How Knowing Oneself Impacts Practice
ch. 3 Who Are the Students We Teach? How Knowing Our Students Affects Teaching and Learning
ch. 4 How Do We Reach Our Students? How Procedures and Clear Expectations Develop a Learning Classroom
ch. 5 How Do We Teach Our Students? How to Engage Students in Their Own Learning With Rigor and Relevance
ch. 6 How Do We Know If Our Students Are Learning? How to Assess and Motivate Students
ch. 7 How Do We Stay in the Game? How to Cultivate Learning Communities for Continual Professional Growth

Appendix A - Introductory Student Survey
Appendix B - Advanced Student Survey
Appendix C - Sample Socratic Questions: Tools to Stimulate Critical Thinking
Appendix D - Flexible Lesson Design
Appendix E - Personal Education Plan

References
Index
All too often, managing a classroom means gaining control, dictating guidelines, and implementing rules. Designed for any teacher struggling with student behavior, motivation, and engagement, Developing a Learning Classroom explores how to create a thriving, learning-centered classroom through three critical concepts?relationships, relevance, and rigor. Discover how you can:

• Develop an interactive learning mindset
• Create a safe environment where students question, explore, and discover
• Uncover a student's learning profile as well as your own teaching style
• Use student input to create classroom practices and procedures
• Apply brain-based instructional strategies to keep students engaged
• Use student surveys and a personal education plan to improve learning environments

Filled with classroom stories, starter worksheets, and action steps, this book reveals the secrets to transforming an ordinary classroom into an extraordinary learning community! (From the Publisher)