Synopses & Reviews
In the first edition of The Teaching Gap, the authors drew on the conclusions of the 1999 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) -- an innovative study of teaching in several cultures -- to refocus education reform efforts. Foremost among the authors' initial discoveries was that reform must start with dramatic changes in the culture of teaching. Using videotaped lessons from dozens of randomly selected eighth-grade classrooms in the United States, Japan, and Germany, the authors offered a surprising view of teaching and a bold action plan for improving education inside the American classroom. They called for a cultural shift within schools that would demand perpetual teacher training, with stricter requirements, better peer review, higher academic standards, and more shoptalk between teachers. Ten years on, the authors share their latest discoveries and offer fresh solutions for the American school system, which has long lagged behind international standards in nearly every area of academic achievement. If given the opportunity, teachers can change the way our students learn.
Review
Paul L. Kimmelman Superintendent of Schools, Northbrook, Illinois A must for all educators, not only for the knowledge that can be gained about teaching, but also as a tool for building collaborative efforts to enhance curriculum and instruction.
Review
Sandra Feldman President, American Federation of Teachers For a decade now we've looked hard at how other countries deliver good education. We've studied their standards, their curricula, their exams, and their student performance. Finally, here's a book that says none of this will make a difference unless teachers have a professional life -- the opportunity to develop and teach the good lessons that enable other reforms to have an impact in typical classrooms with real kids. Stigler and Hiebert's comparative analysis of Japanese, German, and U.S. teaching advises us to make schools places where teachers have the time and support to systematically study and improve upon their daily work. How sensible!
Review
Gary K. Hart Secretary of Education, State of California Provides valuable insights and cautionary notes that should guide the education reform debate in the years ahead.
Review
Lee S. Shulman President, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching A revolutionary book...brilliantly documents the ways in which America's teaching, rather than its teachers, contributes to deficits in student learning. Stigler and Hiebert help us recognize how many opportunities other nations' teachers have to learn from one another and to improve as professionals. andlt;Iandgt;The Teaching Gapandlt;/Iandgt; offers far better hope for the improvement of American education than most other initiatives.
Synopsis
Ten years after its first publication,
The Teaching Gap remains "a critical resource" (
Publishers Weekly) for anyone involved in education. In paperback for the first time, it has been fully revised and includes a new preface and afterword by the authors.
American schools have famously lagged behind foreign schools in all areas of academic achievement. When James W. Stigler and James Hiebert made their assessment of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) ten years ago, they discovered that the problem with American education is neither one of testing nor curricula, but teaching. A clarion call for treating teaching like the craft it is, The Teaching Gap lays out a clear program for change that administrators, teachers, and parents can implement together. Newly updated with fresh teaching solutions drawn from new research, this educational classic is as vital a teaching tool as ever.
Synopsis
Ten years after its first publication, andlt;iandgt;The Teaching Gap andlt;/iandgt;remains "a critical resource" (andlt;iandgt;Publishers Weeklyandlt;/iandgt;) for anyone involved in education. In paperback for the first time, it has been fully revised and includes a new preface and afterword by the authors.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;American schools have famously lagged behind foreign schools in all areas of academic achievement. When James W. Stigler and James Hiebert made their assessment of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) ten years ago, they discovered that the problem with American education is neither one of testing nor curricula, but teaching. A clarion call for treating teaching like the craft it is, andlt;iandgt;The Teaching Gap andlt;/iandgt;lays out a clear program for change that administrators, teachers, and parents can implement together. Newly updated with fresh teaching solutions drawn from new research, this educational classic is as vital a teaching tool as ever.
About the Author
andlt;Bandgt;James Stigler, Ph.D.,andlt;/Bandgt;andnbsp;Professor of Psychology at UCLA and Director of the TIMSS video studies, is coauthor of Simon andamp; Schuster's highly praised bookandnbsp;andlt;iandgt;The Learning Gap: Why Our Schools Are Failing and What We Can Learn from Japanese and Chinese Education.andlt;/iandgt;andnbsp;He lives in Los Angeles.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andnbsp;andlt;bandgt;James Hiebert, Ph.Dandlt;/bandgt;., is H. Rodney Sharp Professor of Education at the University of Delaware and coauthor of the popular book for teachers, andlt;iandgt;Making Sense: Teaching and Learning Mathematics with Understandingandlt;/iandgt;. He lives in Kemblesville, Pennsylvania.
Table of Contents
andlt;Bandgt;Contentsandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Prefaceandlt;BRandgt;Chapter 1: The Teaching Gapandlt;BRandgt;Chapter 2: Methods for Studying Teaching in Germany, Japan, and the United Statesandlt;BRandgt;Chapter 3: Images of Teachingandlt;BRandgt;Chapter 4: Refining the Imagesandlt;BRandgt;Chapter 5: Teaching Is a Systemandlt;BRandgt;Chapter 6: Teaching Is a Cultural Activityandlt;BRandgt;Chapter 7: Beyond Reform: Japan?s Approach to the Improvement of Classroom Teachingandlt;BRandgt;Chapter 8: Setting the Stage for Continuous Improvementandlt;BRandgt;Chapter 9: The Steady Work of Improving Teachingandlt;BRandgt;Chapter 10: The True Profession of Teachingandlt;BRandgt;Notesandlt;BRandgt;Indexandlt;BRandgt;Preface