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These reviews have been accessed times since September 1, 2009

Brief reviews for September 2009

Adams, Wayne & Reynolds, Cecil R. (2009). Essentials of WRAML2 and TOMAL-2 Assessment. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Pages: 289     Price: $36.95     ISBN: 978-0470-17911-6

A new addition to the Essentials of Psychological Assessment Series, Wayne Adams’ and Cecil Reynolds’ comprehensive examination of the Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning-Second Edition (WRAML2) and the Test of Memory and Learning-Second Edition (TOMAL-2) is a practical handbook for practitioners who are measuring memory abilities as part of a complete cognitive evaluation. With self-checks included at the end of each chapter, its format also lends itself well as a textbook for undergraduate and/or graduate courses in psychological assessment. Adams and Reynolds are co-authors with Sheslow and Voress of the WRAML2 and the TOMAL-2, respectively. Each brings authoritative knowledge to the discussion. In the preface the editors, Alan S. Kaufman and Nadine L. Kaufman, describe the books in the Essentials of Psychological Assessment Series as useful for both experienced and novice clinicians since they provide “a concise yet thorough way to master utilization of the continuously-evolving supply of new and revised instruments, as well as a convenient method of keeping up on the tried-and-true measures” (p. xi). The books in the series are designed to make practitioners more “intelligent” testers, better able to glean the kind of insights that will allow them to make more effective client recommendations based on the results of their assessments. Adams and Reynolds have certainly fulfilled this goal.

Consistent with other books in the Series, Drs. Adams and Reynolds begin their text with a theoretical understanding of the subject. In their case, the authors present a chronicle of the historical and neurological research of memory and memory assessment over the last century. There is a brief mention of a number of memory evaluation tools developed in the latter half of the 20th century; however, the authors acknowledge that despite increased awareness of the importance of memory in cognitive assessment, “widespread adoption of comprehensive memory batteries was not seen until the beginning of the 21st century” (p. 9). The chapter includes a detailed discussion of the brain as the authors remind practitioners of the importance of understanding the brain’s anatomical relationship to memory in order to enhance interpretations of clinical observations and test results. Before moving on to a thorough analysis of both the WRAML2 and the TOMAL-2, the authors caution that memory assessment is complex as memory can be broken into various subsets and that many factors, including age, medications, substance abuse and medical problems can also impair memory functions. They emphasize the significance of interpreting psychometric results in the broader context of extensive knowledge of clients’ histories and current conditions.

While Adams’ and Reynolds’ comprehensive examination of the “pioneers” in the field, of the progression of test development, and of the neurobiological part the brain plays in memory functions is interesting and enlightening, the most significant aspect of this text, particularly for clinicians, is its practical guidance. It could also provide a broad based background in history and application of memory assessment for students if used as a textbook. Those readers who conduct assessments and those who interpret evaluations for intervention strategies will find the discussion of the WRAML2 and the TOMAL-2 invaluable. Treatment of each test includes three chapters: (a) “Overview”, (b) “Administration and Scoring”, and (c) “Interpretation”. The overview provides background, describes user qualifications, explains the structure of the test; and gives detailed discussion of each subtest, the type of memory it taps, and index scores. The administration and scoring chapters are supplementary to the technical manuals that are provided with each test, but provide interesting observations that expand the clinician’s expertise. The most worthwhile sections are the interpretation chapters because they offer extensive suggestions for analysis and recommendations. These sections are invaluable for their advice regarding subtest and index analysis as well as comparisons between index and subtest scores. Evaluators will appreciate practical suggestions that help clarify possible causes of memory deficits and potentially helpful recommendations. Additional information is provided to help use test results to make inferential interpretations of other disorders like Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities (LDs), and neurological conditions.

As an addition to the Essentials of Psychological Assessment Series, Wayne Adams’ and Cecil Reynolds’ text, Essentials of WRAML2 and TOMAL-2 Assessment provides readers with both a historical/neurobiological understanding of memory and memory assessment as well as a practical training manual. This is a recommended guidebook for those conducting comprehensive psychological and educational evaluations. Examination of memory functions is an essential part of these types of assessments and this text will help both novices studying to learn more about memory evaluation as well as experienced clinicians to delve deeper into this aspect of cognitive analysis with resulting improved client recommendations.

Reviewed by Patricia Mytkowicz, Ed.D. Professor and Coordinator of PML, a program for multilingual students with learning disabilities at Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts.

Allen, David with Wichterle Ort, Suzanne; Constantini, Alexis; Reist, Jennie & Schmidt, Joseph. (2008). Coaching Whole School Change: Lessons in Practice from a Small High School. New York: Teachers College Press.

Pages: 160     Price: $24.95     ISBN: 0807749028

Working from within a school to promote whole school change is a daunting task. Working as an outsider, in this case a coach, to promote whole school change is a Herculean task. David Allen and colleagues describe coach Suzanne Wichterle Ort’s five year odyssey as she assists Park East High School transform itself by implementing the Institute for Student Achievement (ISA) principles. Coaching Whole School Change provides not only the coach’s perspective of what transpired at Park East, but those of the administrators and teachers.

Throughout the narrative coaching habits, “identifiable ways of interacting with practitioners that create the context for specific actions taken by teachers and administrators that will contribute to school change” (p. 7), are identified and illuminated. Four meta-habits were designated to organize the 29 coaching habits: Working through Relationships, Working Collaboratively, Working Deliberately and Planfully, and Working in the Open. Each chapter provides the context for the use of these habits through vivid descriptions.

Chapter 7, “Growing Leadership”, illustrates the meta-habit Working Through Relationships. Whole school change requires distributed leadership. Administrators must allow and encourage teachers to take on leadership roles beyond their classroom walls. Working with the school’s administrators, Wichterle Ort established open lines of communication, planned open and inclusive professional development activities, scheduled regular faculty meetings, provided models and tools for discussion facilitation, and created roles for teachers that fostered their leadership skills.

Working Collaboratively is discussed in Chapter 2, among others. A teacher describes how Wichterle Ort, early in her work with Park East High School, had the foresight to democratically develop teacher support of a new structure, working groups. Wichterle Ort also modeled the norms for collaboration. She kept minutes of the working groups’ meetings and posted them publicly. Wichterle Ort made connections and celebrated success by identifying and sharing examples of best practice at Park East.

Chapter 4 examines Working Deliberately and Planfully. This chapter provides the perspectives of three teachers who worked with Wichterle Ort to plan engaging and innovative instructional units. One teacher is inspired by a question posed in her class by one of the students concerning waste water. Another teacher is assigned to teach a new course that has no curriculum or text. Wichterle Ort helps develop the course plan and suggests that the teacher use a trade book rather than a text book for the class readings. The third teacher is a social studies instructor who wants to make writing a priority in his classes. Wichterle Ort assists him in developing well structured, relevant writing tasks and rubrics for assessing them.

An excellent example of Working Openly is provided in Chapter 3. Wichterle Ort describes one of her major tools of communication, the Sunday E-mail. In this weekly memo she posted her schedule, described her activities, discussed professional responsibilities, and reported on meetings held the previous week. A typical e-mail is included in the text.

Coaching Whole School Change is not a guide for just school coaches (I have actually never heard this term before reading the book). The book provides invaluable insights for those of us who routinely work with schools to bring about instructional improvement. Coaching Whole School Change is a rich addition to the literature on school change.

Reviewed by Allen H. Seed, an Associate Professor at the University of Memphis. His research interests include school change, middle level education, and experiential education.

Baldwin, Carol. (2008). Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8. Gainesville, FL: Maupin House.

Pages: 181 +CD     Price: $23.95     ISBN: 978-1-934338-35-3

In Teaching the Story, Baldwin provides many sample mini-lessons and suggestions for developing a writing unit focused on fiction writing in the upper elementary and middle school grades. Baldwin suggests that teachers pick and choose which lessons would work best with their students considering their skills and ages.

Throughout the book, there are three instructional themes:

  • Showing the story rather than telling the story
  • Including specific details
  • “The red pencil is the writer’s best friend.”

Each of these themes has specific mini-lessons. For example, in one lesson the students practice showing the setting rather than telling the setting by using specific, descriptive details. There are six chapters in the text which follow the writing process. For instance, chapter six focuses on editing and revision strategies. Through this series of lessons, Baldwin provides ways to help students critique their own writing and edit other students’ writing.

The CD included with the text provides many resources such as writing samples, checklists, and writing prompts. One resource Baldwin provides is a recommended reading list for grades 4-5 and one for grades 6-8. On these lists, she suggests books in a variety of genres from modern fiction to mystery to fantasy. The section on historical fiction is especially detailed and divided by time period. This list is an excellent resource for teachers looking to build specific genres within a classroom library or seeking specific kinds of texts to match students’ interests. These texts can also be used as mentor texts throughout the unit to show students strong samples of writing. In addition, there are several “how-to” guides focused on technology such as creating podcasts and using wikis. The guides provide a brief overview of the technology and how to get started. For teachers not already employing these technologies in the classroom, the guides may serve to generate interest. However, new users will likely need more specific help than what is provided in the how-to guides. Teachers already familiar with these technologies will be able to use them throughout the unit in creative ways.

One thing missing from this text is how to evaluate student work in fiction writing. Baldwin includes guidelines for grading based on points awarded up to 100 points. However, this is a rather dated grading system and not particularly useful for teachers using a standards-based approach to grading. The unit would be more robust through the use of a strong rubric which could be threaded throughout the unit.

Overall, this may be a helpful guide for teachers at the beginning stages of developing and implementing a fiction writing unit. The lessons and resources provided would likely spark many ideas for creating a successful unit.

Reviewed by Kathleen Carroll Luttenegger, Assistant Professor in Elementary Education, Metropolitan State College of Denver.

Barrera, Isaura & Kramer, Lucinda. (2009). Using Skilled Dialogue to Transform Challenging Interactions: Honoring Identity, Voice, and Connection. Baltimore, MDPaul H. Brookes.

Pages: 268     Price: $34.95     ISBN: 1557669554

Using Skilled Dialogue to Transform Challenging Interactions: Honoring Identity, Voice, and Connection is a book that is easy to understand and can be used by educators, parents, counselors, and other practioners interested in transforming and developing working relationships to promote learning. Readers are given guidance for "crafting respectful, reciprocal, and responsive interactions using Skilled Dialogue" (p. 167).

Barrera and Kramer bring to light the importance of focusing on the "practitioner's reflections" (p. 195), versus negative behaviors to resolve conflicts and attain desired objectives. In addition, the authors emphasize collaboration to achieve new attitudes and learning priorities to build knowledge.

I appreciated Barrera and Kramer beginning the text with an overview of the Skilled Dialogue fundamentals. Across the chapters, readers have an opportunity to examine the concepts and procedures of Skilled Dialogue which can facilitate a process for responding to teaching and learning issues. One of the strengths of the text is the identification and practicality of implementing the various concepts of Skilled Dialogue.

For me personally, the use of tables and charts were a great resource as these illustrated the concepts presented in the book. To further support the material, the authors provide the reader with excellent exercises for creating thought-provoking discussion and brainstorming ideas. The format provides the reader opportunities to implement alternative ways of understanding differences. The book, therefore, provides informative and insightful perspectives.

I found the book created a basis for revisiting and rethinking complex issues in educational settings. Overall, Using Skilled Dialogue to Transform Challenging Interactions: Honoring Identity, Voice, and Connection illustrates clear strategies to transform relationships with others, such as, teacher-student and parent-teacher.

Reviewed by Maria S. Hernandez-Becerra, Ed.D. She received her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from St. Mary’s of California.

Krasa, Nancy, and Shunkwiler, Sara. (2009). Number Sense and Number Nonsense: Understanding the Challenges of Learning Math. Baltimore, MDPaul H. Brookes.

Pages: 227     Price: $29.95     ISBN: 978-1-59857-020-5

As an educator, have you wondered why similar students grasp math so differently? You begin to wonder what makes the difference. Is it the student? Is it the teacher? Perhaps it’s the teaching method. Number Sense and Number Nonsense will help to answer your questions and give you strategies to be an effective math teacher with all students. This book is not the “be all to end all” book on teaching math, but it definitely is an effective tool. It will also give you an appreciation for the complexity of math and how often we take the ability of students to learn math for granted.

Number Sense and Number Nonsense is formatted into four sections: “Thinking Spatially”, “Language of Mathematics”, “Solving Problems”, and “Professional Implications”. The chapters in each section handle the given topic thoroughly as well as offer a section on classroom implications. That’s where the following question gets answered: “What does this information mean to the students in my classroom?” Summery conclusions are also written at the end of each chapter, and I found it helpful to read them first to prepare myself for the ensuing information.

The first two chapters under “Thinking Spatially” are fundamental to the book and to understanding what it takes for students to grasp math. It is a complex situation and only looks easy because many students have the fundamental preparedness and ability to make it look easy. Two concepts necessary for understanding math are having a number sense and spatial skills. The first is knowing what numbers actually mean and how they relate to each other. This translates into having a mental number line in one’s mind. Number-line activities such as linear numerical board games may help a deficiency in number sense (Siegler & Ramani, 2007).

The second concept necessary is spatial skill which is the individual’s ability to understand the location of a relationship among objects in space. Mental rotation is a favorite way to decipher this skill. The book tells how spatial skills enable students to learn geometry, fraction sense, and problem solving. If number sense can be enhanced in students, can spatial skills be taught? The good news is that Krasa and Shunkwiler believe they can. Music and rhythm instruction are just two of the ways to do this (Graziano, Peterson, & Shaw, 1999).

The “Language of Mathematics” section stresses the importance of counting and what can interfere with this basic building block in learning math. The mathematical language, not too unlike the alphabetical language, requires students to learn symbols, vocabulary, and grammar. Case profiles were introduced in this chapter and are throughout the book. These profiles do three things. They illustrate the disability well, add the human element to mathematics, and may coincide with what the reader is dealing with in the classroom and how to remedy it.

If you like knowing how and where in the brain mathematics are learned, Chapter 6 is for you. I found this chapter encouraging because it stated the difference between the brain activity needed for an adult to learn math as opposed to a child. Also, all children’s brains do not develop the same; hence maturity plays a part in learning as well. One fascinating reason that word problems asking “how many more . . . than” are confusing for an elementary student is that the word “more” up to that time is used with addition not subtraction. Another example wherein vocabulary may be the stumbling block is in the question, “The number 6 is 2 less than what number?” Up until now, “less” has been used to subtract not add. When an educator knows these simple trouble spots, he or she can offer explanations which students can understand.

The “Solving Problems” section gives an outstanding explanation of the executive functions required for problem solving including attention and mental control, working memory, planning and sequencing, self-monitoring, and mental flexibility. What happens when a child has an impairment of any of these functions and how does that play out in the classroom? The chapter “Executive Functions” will answer those questions. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is also discussed here.

Math requires abstract and logical thinking. The more students can think this way, the more they can transfer their math learning to the real world. How can you, as an educator, encourage this in your students? Six helpful steps are given. Let me insert here that the authors are adamant in saying that more research is needed on this topic and several others in the book. However, at the end of each chapter there is a wealth of research articles giving in-depth information on many areas of math. This is a field of research that is opening up wide as reading did decades ago and it is thought that we are approaching the cutting edge of information now.

The book ends with two important pieces to the puzzle, i.e., evaluation and teaching. Knowing your student and his or her limitations is the over-arching umbrella in both these areas. Specifically, informal and formal evaluations are discussed, and there is an interesting summary comparing U. S. and Asian math education programs. All in all, I found this book gave me more compassion for my struggling math students, and it increased my ability to teach math well.

References

Siegler, R.S., & Ramani, G.B. (2007). Playing linear numerical board games promotes low-income children’s numerical development. Developmental Science, 11, 655-661.

Graziano, A.B., Peterson, M., & Shaw, G.L. (1999). Enhancing learning of proportional math through music training and spatial-temporal training. Neurological Research, 21, 139-152.

Reviewed by Carol Brooks, a second grade teacher at Eastside Christian School in Bellevue, Washington. Mrs. Brooks recently received her Master’s Degree from Seattle Pacific University.

McCardle, Peggy; Chhabra, Vinita & Kapinus, Barbara. (2008). Reading Research in Action. Baltimore, MDPaul H. Brookes.

Pages: 256     Price: 24.95     ISBN: 978-1557669643

In this research-grounded practical volume, McCardle, Chhabra, and Kapinus coalesce their years of experience and extensive expertise to give a fresh look at research-based instructional practices. The authors not only convincingly assert the effectiveness of research-grounded teaching in classroom reading instruction, they also successfully link application-level examples to those underlying explanations of research. In part, the book aims to provide a teacher-friendly research-reference text to meet and answer everyday teachers’ questions and challenges. In doing so, the book is written and organized in an accessible and legible manner. Reading Research in Action may well transform many of those predispositions of apprehensive readers approaching research-based texts.

For the most part, the book is concerned with three major issues: what is research; what research says about reading; and how research can support and improve instructional practices. In the first part of the book, the authors explain the very concept of scientific research and its fundamental rationale of conducting and using such research in relation to classroom teaching. McCardle, Chhabra and Kapinus also address basic terminologies in research from the processes and development of research design to research methods. Within the major portion of the book, the authors describe and expand upon various sources of research findings in relation to the major components of reading skills such as vocabulary, alphabetics, and fluency. The remaining sections place evidence-based research in the context of classroom teaching vis-à-vis the significant roles that teachers play in students’ academic achievement.

As an active ESL instructor teaching university-level reading, I find myself constantly referring to the explication of research and seeking explanations in terms of (re)affirming the justification of my very own instructional practice. Overall, the book should be highly recognized and regarded for its strong effort and wider contribution to the field of reading despite my personal dissatisfaction with the book in terms of its attention to second language learners.

Nevertheless, the book touches upon a wide range of issues, research, and inquiries in relation to classroom reading instruction concerning the fundamental skills of reading and the impact of students’ motivation and engagement for student success. Many reading teachers at all levels or types will find this book deeply enlightening and practical. Thus, Reading Research is in Action with the help of a book that makes gibberish and hair-pulling research something sensible and sane.

Reviewed by Joon Yeol Yoon, ESL instructor, PhD student in Culture, Literacy, and Language, University of Texas at San Antonio in the division of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies.

Moe, Terry M. and Chubb, John E. (2009). Liberating Learning: Technology, Politics, and the Future of American Education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Pages: 223     Price: $24.95     ISBN: 978-0-470-44214-2

Technology has exploded in recent years in terms of new forms being created, and in where and how technology is used. Businesses are using new online tools such as social networking sites to increase their sales, and colleges and universities are using many types of electronic applications to create distance education courses and recruit for special events and programs happening on and off campus. In Liberating Learning, Terry Moe and John Chubb discuss why technology has not yet expanded to its full potential in the American elementary and secondary educational system.

According to Moe and Chubb, technology initiatives are limited within the American education system by politics and especially by the influence of teachers unions on politics. The majority of this book describes how unions and politics have blocked major technology initiatives such as cyber charter schools and partial online learning from taking place in the majority of public schools. This is allowed to happen due to the influence many teachers unions have on politicians and state legislatures. States with weaker teachers unions, which are mostly in the South, are able to pass technology reforms such as the Florida State Virtual School, but most states have been limited in how they can expand their education system.

The authors maintain that most teachers unions fear the accountability that comes with increased use of technology. Teachers feel the technology will be used to determine how well or poorly they and their students perform which could then be used to determine their salary and if they are able to keep their jobs. However, as Moe and Chubb indicate, “The single most important influence on student achievement is teacher quality” (p. 76). Without accountability, schools and districts are able to employ both effective and ineffective teachers no matter how well their students do in the classroom or on standardized tests. Technology would change this. Although, this change might be good for the students since it will mean that all students would have access to effective teachers and all students would have the same access to educational materials.

Another issue is the creation of cyber charter schools. While it is legal to create charter schools in most states, some states have attempted to create cyber charter schools using the charter rules. This creates problems within teachers unions and school districts. A cyber school can recruit students from anywhere in the state and not just in the district the school is based in. This means that the education funding for the districts goes to the district where the school is located not where the student is from. The problem with this is that it causes the student’s home district to have to cut services and pay since that district’s budget has decreased. Several states’ teachers unions have been successful in limiting the capacity of cyber charter schools by being instrumental in the passage of laws that limit where students can be recruited from for charter schools and what percentage of education money follows the student.

The issue is that the students become the losers. Technology would allow students who for family or other reasons, cannot make it to school every day or who are typically homeschooled to be able to interact with other students, to have access to a variety of advanced placement courses, as well as, to receive the same education as any other student. Basically technology initiatives would provide equal access of education to all students no matter their status or circumstances. Furthermore, technology would allow teachers to supervise more students which creates a need for fewer teachers. This potentially could result in districts being able to focus their funding more on curriculum development rather than teacher salaries. In addition, with the accountability that technology offers, districts could provide better salaries for their more effective teachers.

One major issue this book does not take up is how these technology initiatives would be funded, if, as the authors say, it is just a matter of time before the initiatives take place. For many states and school districts these technology initiatives would be extremely costly to initiate especially in the current economic time. Technology does offer some great benefits to students and to teachers but there has to be a means to support and fund any new way of teaching and educating our children. In addition, this book focused solely on public elementary and secondary schools. However, what about the private and parochial schools as well as the university and college level schools. If the technology initiatives are to be effective they need to be continued throughout a child’s academic career. This means technology changes at the university level need to be more fully implemented and all types of schooling, including private schooling, need to be included in on any education changes that take place.

The authors do a nice job of explaining the politics of blocking and why and how it has been taking place but it would have been more beneficial if they also focused more on the benefits of using technology and ways it could be more successfully implemented in conjunction with the teachers unions instead of against or overriding them. This book seems to place most of the blame for the lack of ‘liberated learning’ via technology solely on the politics of blocking through teachers unions; however, there may be additional reasons such as lack of funding and resources, lack of support, and lack of research on the effects of all types of newer technology, that could account for the hesitancy of states and school districts in attempting to fully implement technology initiatives. However, Moe and Chubb do make an important point that the public, and most especially parents, need to pay more attention to these issues so they can make sure their children are getting a quality education provided by quality instructors.

Reviewed by Mandy Reinig, Pennsylvania State University - Altoona.

Morgan, Peggy Lou. (2009). Parenting an Adult with Disabilities or Special Needs: Everything You Need to Know to Plan for and Protect Your Child’s Future. New York: AMACOM.

Pages: 203     Price: $19.95     ISBN: 978-0-8144-0991-6

One of the many great concerns for parents of children with complex disabilities is that of how to prepare the child for adulthood. Parents may ask themselves "What happens when I can no longer care for my child? Where will they live? Who will care for them?" It is unlikely that parents will be around for the duration of their child's years. That is a fact of life that must be prepared for.

Once again Peggy Lou Morgan has succeeded in writing a guide for parents of adults with complex disabilities transitioning into adulthood. Though the topic is very complex, Parenting an Adult with Disabilities or Special Needs addresses the important questions and issues to the transitioning adult. She provides tips to aid both the child and the entire family during this process as it is not only the child's life that is changing.

Right out of the gate Morgan tackles some of the core issues for people with disabilities; social acceptance, inaccessibility and lack of adequate employment. These are enormous concerns and while many battles have been won in the area of disability rights there remains a lot of work to be done. Parenting an Adult with Disabilities or Special Needs does not delve too deeply into these areas but instead focuses in detail on the preparation for independent life. This process is not dictated by age and while the term independence means different things to different people, in this context independent life refers to the child no longer living at home or no longer having their parent or guardian as their primary caregiver.

Though some parents plan to care for their child for as long as they can, Morgan makes it clear that the transition process will be smoother for a person with a disability whose parents are still alive. For then they can be involved in the planning and training of future caregivers and prepare the child's future in detail. It is best not to leave anything to chance.

It would take years for support workers and staff to learn every cue to every single need or want that a parent or guardian took years and years of careful observation to learn and understand. It is for this reason, Morgan argues, that parents must hand over while they still can, as much detailed information as possible to future members of your child's team. She understands that every child is unique but offers her experience and know-how as templates for a place in which to start.

This book offers so much: advice on healthy living, tips for nurturing relationships outside of paid staff, resources and helpful tools, emergency backup plans and caregiver manuals. In addition, Morgan addresses the problem of the poverty trap, the importance of meaningful and appropriate work, plus many questions and concerns parents have regarding vocational and residential planning.

The million dollar question for parents of children with disabilities is "What happens to my child once I'm gone?" There is so much to do, so much to prepare, to plan for, to worry about especially concerning a child with complex disabilities and multiple health concerns. These nagging questions are quieted with preparation for his or her future while you are still able to advocate on their behalf. Peggy Lou Morgan makes all of these tasks seem a little more manageable in her clear, comprehensible and incredibly informative book.

Like Morgan's Parenting an Adult with Disabilities and Special Needs is written from parent-to-parent perspective but certainly professionals can benefit greatly from her experience and advice as well.

Reviewed by Andrena Lockley, Public Awareness & Education Coordinator, Independent Living Centre Waterloo Region, Kitchener, Ontario.

Plaut, Suzanne, (Ed). (2009). The Right to Literacy in Secondary Schools: Creating a Culture of Thinking. New York: Teachers College Press.

Pages: 203     Price: $24.95     ISBN: 978-0-8077-4918-0

Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) is a non-profit business and education partnership which has had far-reaching influence beyond its home in Denver, Colorado. Two stellar publications written by PEBC staff developers, Mosaic of Thought: Teaching Comprehension in a Reader's Workshop (2007) by Ellin Keene and Susan Zimmermann and I Read It, But I Don't Get It: Comprehension Strategies for Adolescent Readers (2004) by Cris Tovani, have become bestsellers that are widely used in teacher education courses and inservice professional development programs. Now, out of a PRBC study group of teachers and staff developers comes The Right to Literacy in Secondary Schools: Creating a Culture of Thinking, edited by Suzanne Platt with the purpose of explaining why and showing how a culture of reading, writing, and discussion is the cornerstone of effective secondary school education.

The authors in this text share the insight that creating a culture of thinking in secondary schools requires not just common goals but a common language of thinking and learning. The first section of the book, which presents a vision of secondary school teaching in which literacy learning is central, is also a primer on the language that has been used by literacy experts since the early 1980’s. In Chapter 1 history and politics teacher Baynard Woods asks the question, “What does thinking look like?” While his answers--drawing inferences, making connections, asking questions, and so forth--are familiar to anyone who has studied writers on critical thinking, such as Richard W. Paul (1995), Woods’ discussion of reading and thinking is based on the idea that the books that students read and study are less important than the way students read and study them. Teachers can be quite knowledgeable about books but not conversant on the many ways students can think about them. In Chapter 2 language arts teacher Jennifer Swinehart explains why both teachers and students need to use the language of metacognition to make meaning of difficult texts. She shows how teachers frequently can promote more successful and independent learning by asking students questions like, “What did you do when you didn’t understand that paragraph?” and “What inferences did you make as you read this prompt?” and teaching students to reflect regularly on their goals for writing and the strategies used in their writing notebooks.

In Part 2 of The Right to Literacy, teachers in four content area-- math, science, social studies and language arts--describe specific instructional practices based on the idea that literacy learning is central to disciplinary knowledge. In Chapter 6 Moker Klaus-Quinlan and Jeff Cazier provide a vivid example of a teacher showing students how to read like a scientist:

Jeff never hands his students a text without first modeling how readers of science approach a text and record their thinking. As he passes out the volcano article, he asks, ‘When I say read, what do I mean?’
Students chime in: ‘Code the text.’ ‘Underline.’ ‘Write what you think it means.’
‘Exactly. Pick out the things that help you answer today’s question. When you have questions, write them down. Also be looking for answers.’
He displays the article on the overhead projector and models how he would read the first paragraph ...” (page 90)

Another outstanding illustration of reading-as-thinking content area instruction is presented by Joanna Leeds in Chapter 7. She describes how high school social studies teacher, Gerardo Munoz, first engaged students in understanding persuasive techniques used by authors and then in using those techniques in oral arguments about socially relevant topics presented in a variety of texts. To help students develop skills in listening to others and expressing their own views, Munoz employed the fishbowl technique, in which half of the class sits in an inner circle and discuss the texts and topics while the other half sits in an outer circle and monitors 17 different discussion features, such as “states an opinion,” “draws another person into the discussion,” “builds on a previous point,” and “interrupts.”

Part 3 reiterates the main theme of creating a culture of reading, writing and thinking and connects it to a framework of schooling that also includes academic rigor, student independence in learning (instead of always relying on teachers), and using a workshop approach that provides daily time to read, write and discuss. In Chapter 11 high school science teacher Jennifer Kirmes described her use of a six step process that began with naming and defining a skill to be learned, proceeded through modeling and guided practice stages, and ended with students practicing the skill with peers and independently. This “Gradual Release of Teacher Responsibility” model helped Kirmes identify and reduce the times she was teaching, but the students were not learning. Chapter 12 describes a demonstration workshop conducted by master teacher, Cris Tovani, and synthesizes the themes of academic rigor, student independence in learning and reading- and writing-as-thinking. It is the strongest section of the book and remarkable in its own right for the extensive, detailed example of how the elements of teaching described in other chapters fit together during several days of instruction. Author and instructional coach Samantha Bennett first provides the structure for Tovani’s workshop approach in which students will explore a chapter from an American history textbook: opening, minilesson, student work time, the "catch," and the debrief. This is followed by a minute-by-minute description of the lesson that includes teacher prompts, student responses, dialogue from student groups, and excerpts from student writing. It is the one chapter that shows the potential of the instructional approach implemented by the team of PEBC teachers and facilitators, not just the promises.

There is nothing new in the instructional design described by the authors in this text. Teaching for thinking and academic rigor have been around since Plato and Aristotle. Reading and writing in the content areas has been advocated since the mid-1970’s (Herber, 1978). The reading and writing workshop was described more than twenty years ago by Nancie Atwell (1987). What is new and important about this book is that it contains descriptions of teachers who are still passionate about the elements and effectiveness of this kind of instruction. While so many others in education are pursuing the phantom goal of helping students improve standardized test results, the authors and teachers described in this book have much more authentic goals.

There is one area in which all of the authors in Right to Literacy in Secondary Schools fall short and that is in describing reading comprehension. To be sure, a progressive picture of reading comprehension is presented in the various chapters through exploring the features of active reading (questioning, making connections, visualizing), metacognition, and the use of reading strategies. The authors even use the phrase "making meaning" consistently instead of "getting the meaning" or "reading for information." However, the act of "making meaning" is much messier than is portrayed in the classroom dialogue descriptions in this book. When high school students “make meaning,” they make it in the context of the social groups to which they belong, such as their families, religious communities, neighborhood groups, peer groups, and socio-economic groups, just to name a few (Finders, 1997). Adolescents face many meaning-making conflicts as they wrestle with creating an identity that can participate in groups that have conflicting values and beliefs. It is nearly always a weakness of literacy methods texts to downplay the struggle and negotiation involved when 20 to 30 students are making meanings with texts and the authors of this text fare no better than any of the others. Perhaps these struggles and negotiations will be the topic of the next PEBC study group.

References

Atwell, N. (1987). In the middle. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.

Finders, M. (1997). Just girls: Hidden literacies and life in junior high. New York: Teachers College Press.

Herber, H. L. (1978). Teaching reading in content areas. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Keene, E. O., & Zimmermann, S. (2007). Mosaic of thought: The power of comprehension strategy instruction (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Paul, R. W. (1995). Critical thinking: How to prepare students for a rapidly changing world. Dillon Beach, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking.

Tovani, C. (2000). I read it, but I don’t get it: Comprehension strategies for adolescent readers. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Reviewed by Alan Frager, Ed.D., Arizona State University. He has taught reading methods courses for 24 years at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) and has published widely in the field of reading education.

Reigeluth, Charles M., & Carr-Chelman, Alison, A. (2009). Instructional-Design Theories and Models: Building a Common Knowledge Base. Volume III. New York: Routledge.

Pages: 416     Price: $50.00     ISBN: 978-0-8058-2859

Instructional designer is a phrase relegated to a small subset of individuals concerned with the creation of instructional resources (frequently digital). Often teachers do not consider themselves instructional designers, but after a thorough reading and collaborative discussion of Instructional-Design Theories and Models (and its two prior volumes), teachers and administrators may start to recognize that educators are instructional designers and will start to understand how instructional design theories and models can elevate the quality and impact of their efforts to facilitate students' learning.

A major strength of these volumes lies in the organization and presentation of the ideas they contain. The invited chapter authors provide explanations of various instructional theories and their benefit for specific instructional goals and settings. Reigeluth and Carr-Chelman provide forewords and ending comments which "translate" the theory into accessible ideas, and point out key terminology for application in classrooms by concerned educators. The foreword sets the stage for the chapter, and could in some respect, provides time-strapped teachers an overview for further discussion and application of these theories and models.

To be noted, volume II of this series, Instructional-Design Theories and Models: A New Paradigm of Instructional Theory, published in 1999, is available as an e-book through NetLibrary (www.netlibrary.com). Volume I of this series, Instructional Theories in Action, published in 1987, is available in university libraries. These three volumes provide a bridge between theory and practice, especially when practitioners are reading and discussing the theories and models presented in these chapters and experimenting to see the impact of these relatively new concepts.

Volume III is divided into four units: "Frameworks for Understanding Instructional Theory"; "Theories for Different Approaches to Instruction"; "Theories for Different Outcomes of Instruction"; and "Tools for Building a Common Knowledge Base". The first unit focuses on frameworks for instructional theories and provides readers with an overview of the six major kinds of instructional design theories and their interrelationships. Reigeluth and Carr-Chelman and other authors explain how these theories and models can facilitate educational reform initiatives. At the end of Chapter 2, Reigeluth and Keller provide an appendix of instructional methods so readers can have a common understanding of current terminology used in professional development sessions and research articles. In chapter 3, M. David Merrill presents a sequential explanation of the various tasks associated with effective instruction, Merrill's Principles of Instruction. Most chapters which follow relate each introduced instructional approach to these principles. By the end of the first unit, readers should have a clearer understanding of the diverse approaches and strategies teachers can employ for various instructional settings and goals.

The second unit focuses on how teachers can design resources for instruction and apply strategies often mentioned in professional development: direct approach to instruction, discussion, experiential learning, problem-based learning and simulations. In the foreword to each of these chapters, Reigeluth and Carr-Chelman provide a list of preconditions, values, methods and principles related to the chapter's instructional approach. William Huitt, David Monetti, and John Hummel review the attributes, model and elements of the transactional model of direction instruction, emphasizing how these combined and sequenced methods work toward our contemporary demand for high quality instruction and accountability. Joyce Taylor Gibson demonstrates how Merrill's Principles of Instruction are activated through seven recommendations for creating a classroom atmosphere and routine where students readily engage in discussion of relevant topics. Gibson also suggests four strategies, five processes, and three guidelines that can scaffold or support students in their discussions. After an overview of the history of experiential learning, Lee Lindsey and Nancy Berger describe the principles of experiential learning enacted through the 3-step process of framing the experience, activating the experience and reflecting on the experience. John Savery defines problem-based approaches to instruction and its connection to knowledge construction and authentic, experiential learning. Savery explains implementation and assessment strategies. With the advent of multimedia-developed virtual spaces, Andrew Gibbons, Marck McConkie, Kay Kyeongju Seo, and David Wiley provide guidelines for effective design of microworlds and simulations. Critical characteristics and elements of effective instructional simulations are explained in detail, for those educators who are eager to use multimedia to create instructional resources to meet their students' needs and interests.

The third unit focuses on theories related to instructional outcomes. These chapters address multiple questions: How can teachers effectively foster skill development? How can we measure and identify competence and distinguish skill from knowledge? How can we stimulate retention and transfer? How can instruction be organized and presented so students' understanding is demonstrated through performance? How can students become members of reflective and collaborative communities? How can we create opportunities for students to develop emotional intelligence, to advance their affective development? What are the key characteristics of planning when seeking to effectively implement thematic units or interdisciplinary instruction?

The fourth and final unit of this volume provides explanations of conceptual and cognitive tools that Reigeluth and Carr-Chelman found compelling. Andrew Gibbons and P. Clint Rogers distill several explanations of how what we are to teach can be analyzed as a series of interacting layers of terminology, ideas, and principles. Through application of this layered architecture of design, Gibbons and Rogers anticipate that instructional designers can more consistently and efficiently create and communicate their products to others. With the interest to create learner-centered education, C. Victor Bunderson, David Wiley, and Reo McBride describe the impact of quantitative domain mapping (QDM). QDM supports instructional designers' need to develop valid measurements of student learning, linked to either internally constructed validity or external evidence of validity. Bunderson, Wiley, and McBride describe a sequence of tasks through several examples using instruments that are theory-connected and designed to provide adaptive instructional feedback to students. David Wiley's chapter on learning objects presents a history and an explanation of three kinds of learning objects: (a) content objects; (b) strategy objects; and (c) discourse objects, and the need to acknowledge constraints inherent in any instructional setting. Charles Reigeluth and Yun-Jo An explain the purpose, role and four approaches to develop theories to support improvement or confirmation of instructional design theories. Three research methods (grounded theory, design-based and formative research) are also suggested to aid the construction of instructional theory within the context of common knowledge. In the final chapter of this volume, Reigeluth focuses on the demands of the 21st century Information Age and how educational settings should be changing to respond to these realities and expectations. Characteristics of these Information Age environments and the roles of various participants and the technology are explained in great detail so educators can adjust their practices to align with these relatively novel demands.

As you consider all of the topics and concepts introduced and explained in these chapters, Instructional-Design Theories and Models: Building a Common Knowledge Base, could become a reference book for educators who want to apply these strategies and ideas as they plan or design instruction. A source book, these volumes could continue to provide novice and experienced teachers valuable, theoretical supports as they design instruction to address specific student-defined instructional needs.

References

Reigeluth, C. M. (1999). Instructional-design theories and models. Vol. II, A new paradigm of instructional theory. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. http://www.netLibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=19406.

Reigeluth, C. M. (1987). Instructional theories in action: Lessons illustrating selected theories and models. Hillsdale, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates.

Reviewed by Susan Farber, doctoral candidate in Curriculum and Instruction (with a focus on Instructional Design and Technology) at the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services, the University of Cincinnati.

Staunton, John A. (2008). Deranging English/Education: Teacher Inquiry, Literary Studies, and Hybrid Visions of "English" for 21st Century Schools. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

Pages: 229     Price: $39.95     ISBN: 978-0-8141-1083-6

In Deranging English/Education: Teacher Inquiry, Literary Studies, and Hybrid Visions of "English" for 21st Century Schools, John Staunton shares his vision for "deranging" English/Education through the lens of his teaching and collaborative work with colleagues, including secondary teachers, university instructors, and students.

Throughout this text, Staunton explores the complexities and complications that occur at the sites where pedagogical and literary studies intersect in the field of English/Education. He questions current paradigms, suggesting that "...it may be time for us to acknowledge that both college and secondary English need to change radically at the curricular and pedagogical levels if either is to succeed or even survive" (p. 22). In this call for change, he makes the case for "deranging" traditional conceptions of teaching English. For him, this means calling upon the lessons of regionalism and teacher research. Regionalism "invites a shift in perspective about what it means to be an American, to be a reader, and to be a writer" (p. 13). Thus, regionalism offers opportunities to re-see ourselves, others, and the world. Similarly, teacher research upends traditional notions of research because the focus is on a particular context: the practitioner's classroom. Both regionalism and teacher research focus on unsettling the taken-for-granted paradigms of what English is, and what and whom English is for. Staunton asks, "How can students re-vision their understanding in ways that will not simply mirror back to those in power their own cherished assumptions (however high-minded)?" (p. 15). This book offers intriguing and imminently practical approaches for working with this issue.

Deranging English/Education is a theoretical book, but it is also a teaching book. Staunton includes rich examples of his exploration of pedagogical practices across diverse settings with a variety of co-teachers and co-researchers. Chapter two recounts his collaborative work with three other teacher researchers--a middle school teacher in western Massachusetts, a high school teacher in Philadelphia, and an adjunct instructor teaching basic writing at an urban university--while Staunton was teaching a writing course for international graduate students at Indiana University. These four teacher researchers chose "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams as a common text and visited each other's classrooms to see the different ways the poem could be taught. Staunton describes how this experience of writing and research "created possibilities and scenarios for changing or resisting the scripts of our prior practice" (p. 33). He notes that it is not general notions of chickens, rain, or wheelbarrows that create meaning, "but the fact that they are there here and now and in this way" (p. 66, italics his). This account offers some key learning points for the participants, including looping back to the importance of focusing on the particular, "an image of witnessing things in context and in contact" (p. 66).

Chapters three and four offer additional narratives of teacher research in which Staunton continues to trouble the waters, or derange his teaching, in order to help undergraduate students "re-vision" their conceptions of English and what it means to teach English. In chapter three, he discusses his quest to move beyond two common, either/or approaches to teaching poetry: treating poetry as a box full of stuff to be unpacked, or as a way to express deeply held emotions. He documents his journey with two pre-service teachers as they move beyond the paradigm of teacher success--the teacher offers new ways of looking at poetry, the students rise to the challenge, and everyone learns--to a place where his students were "at the fore of both pedagogy and content for classroom encounters with poetry" (p. 83). During this process, he develops a name for all this unsettling, calling it found pedagogy, or "what you discover you're capable of doing in the face of student confusion, textual resistance, or serendipitous collisions..." (p. 85). By re-positioning himself and his students to be co-teachers and co-learners, Staunton argues that this work alters the relationship between teacher and student, students with one another, and students with poetry.

Staunton expands on the theme of collaborating with students and found pedagogy, by focusing on "new reckonings about what teaching literature for and with students--rather than to students--might look like" (p. 90). Staunton describes the successes and troubling moments as he invites his students to consider multiple ways of looking at American canonical literature. Some were able to embrace these perspectives, but others resisted. Staunton points to the systemic problems that stand in the way of deeper understandings, positing that a more nuanced consideration of American literature relies upon exposure to primary documents and cultural artifacts such as music and art, something anthologies cannot offer.

Staunton concludes by moving across the quad from English to Education--from teaching content to teaching pedagogy. He describes the literacy engagements utilized in his methods courses where he attempts to get his future teachers to derange their conceptions of what English is, and what teachers do. He writes:

...the task of the methods course is not to help fix a static identity as a teacher with a plentiful though finite bag of tricks or strategies to use on students for the next twenty years. Rather, pedagogy courses in the teaching of English ought to unsettle fixed propositions and allow for explorations into the very hermeneutic and interpersonal nature of the classroom and teaching. Pedagogy is about the making of understandings, after all, which means that our task isn't simply to articulate meanings about literature or texts more broadly, but to put those meanings into conversation with others (p. 148).

That is the essence of this book: the struggle to resist settled notions of what English is, and what it means to teach it. By teaching and researching with his colleagues and with his students, Staunton highlights what it means to unsettle English/Education. This is not just an academic, theoretical exercise, nor is it one that is a simple protest against governmental and outside forces that attempt to control how and what is taught. Instead, this book demonstrates how thoughtful inquiry into our own practices, along with a deliberate reaching across the division between English Departments and Education Schools on college campuses, can serve to help all of us "re-vision" what English is, so that all of us, including students, are "allowed a hearing about what 'English' is for" (p. 158).

Staunton's interrogation of his own practice, in addition to the 50+ pages of Appendixes filled with "Materials for Deranging English/Education" (p. 161), offers insight into his own experiences and practical, concrete ideas for teacher educators in English to become derangers themselves. By melding theory and practice, this text supports the notion of teachers and teacher educators as public intellectuals.

Reviewed by Janet D. Johnson, Assistant Professor of Secondary Education, Department of Educational Studies, Rhode Island College.

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