Contexts of Teaching Methods for Middle and High School Instruction

This unique new book enters into the middle and high school teaching methods market with an intimate, first-person approach, and an emphasis on reflective teaching. Reader, biography, teaching philosophy, and portfolio activities make this a practical book rich in applications. Teaching is portrayed as a process of ongoing learning, growth and developmentand a strong emphasis is placed on multiculturalism and diversity. While most books tend to take a more traditional, skills-based approach,Contexts of Teachingpresents teaching methods from a constructivist, inquiry perspective consistent with current educational trends.Chapter topics include Knowing Middle and High School Students, Rethinking Classroom Management, considering Curriculum, planning instruction, Selecting Instructional Materials, Teaching with Technology, Implementing Instruction: Strategies and Methods, Assessing Student Learning, Understanding the Role of Community, Making a Difference in Today's Classrooms, and Reflecting for Professional Renewal.For teachers of middle and high school students.

PREFACE GENERAL DESCRIPTION Contexts of Teaching: Methods for Middle and High School Instructionrepresents a break from the majority of general methods books now available for undergraduate and graduate courses in teacher education. In our experiences as teacher educators, we have grown increasingly uncomfortable with texts that describe teaching in abstract terms and in an impersonal voice. We have come to believe that a credible depiction of teaching must include descriptions of the professional daily work of contemporary teachers, and that lists of general principles of teaching followed by recipes on how to implement particular teaching practices are less and less useful in today's diverse middle- and high-school classrooms. We suspect that the generic, distant style of many educational textbooks contributes to prospective teachers' perceptions of a gulf separating theory from practice and university coursework from the "real life" of schools. As the title suggests, this book provides the reader with a realistic portrayal of public schools, teachers, and learners in context. We address topics traditionally covered in general methods courses (e.g., classroom management, planning for instruction), cover current issues in middle and high schools (e.g., standards, assessment, interdisciplinary teaming), and integrate some topics which, though often dealt with in separate courses in teacher education curricula, are crucial to a discussion of general teaching methods (e.g., cultural diversity, gender, adolescent culture). Whenever possible, we contextualize topics in the experiences of real teachers and students we know and have known. Contexts of Teachingis also unique because we contextualize ourselves for the reader. Often, textbooks leave readers wondering, "Did a human being actually write this book?" As a team of authors, we agree that it is critical for readers of this book to be able to answer that question. Therefore, throughout this book we tell stories of our own experiences as students, as teachers in public schools, and as teacher educators, and describe how these experiences have shaped our teaching perspectives and philosophies. We begin each chapter with personal narratives that illustrate how our own successes and failures have helped us to grow and become who we are today as teachers and researchers. In sharing our autobiographies, we risk being accused of "tooting our own horns." But that is not our intent. Our goal is to connect with readers on a personal level and to model the process of reflection that is critical to one's development as a teacher. This book is multicultural, but not in the traditional sense. We do not present a chapter on the disadvantaged or at-risk learner. Rather, we treat human diversity as an intellectual concept--not as a political imperative. We present the reader with an inclusive definition of multicultural education and infuse this concept throughout the text. The examples we use in the text--schools, classrooms, and students--convey to the reader that (1) issues and problems when viewed analytically may be described culturally; (2) learners, teachers, and administrators are culturally diverse; (3) there is a need for instruction that provides students with national and multiple perspectives on issues and problems that impact our lives; and (4) the educational community can better address the needs of minorities and other groups who traditionally have not performed well in schools. Throughout the book, we fuse theory with practice. We consistently refer to our own experiences: teaching, researching in middle and secondary schools, and working with professional organizations. Our intent is to demonstrate to prospective teachers the value of integrating university learning with field experiences. In reading the chapters and working through the Reader Activities, prospective teachers are introduce