Synopses & Reviews
Filled with strategies for reaching at-risk students, Helping Struggling Learners Succeed in School provides teachers with a process and plan to move students from risk to resilience. Taking a step-by-step approach, it follows the teaching-learning process and covers the core concepts of planning, management, instruction and assessment. The narrative style and authentic anecdotes capture common classroom situations, while the strategies show how to help transform struggling learners into successful students. A classroom-ready appendix includes all templates contained in the book and can be adapted to specific classroom needs.
About the Author
Harriet D. Porton started teaching in 1966 and since then has taught every grade from first through graduate school. Her many experiences and opportunities for research and advancement taught her to always be open to new learning and new opportunities for growth. As a result, she was chosen to be the co-editor for Adolescent Behavior and Society: A book of Readings Fifth Edition (Muuss, R.E. & Porton, H.D., 1999, McGraw Hill). As a graduate student, Ms. Porton was asked to write Chapter 10 A Feminist Perspective: Carol Gilligan’s Theory of Sex Differences in Adolescent Development for the Sixth Edition of Rolf E. Muuss’ Theories of Adolescence (1996, McGraw Hill). She co-authored a monograph in The Genetic Social and General Psychology Monographs (November 1995, Volume 121, Number 4) “Relational Processes and Identity Formation in Adolescence: The Example of A Separate Peace (Flum, H & Porton, H.). In addition, an article she co-authored for “The High School Magazine” resulted in Joppatowne High School’s being featured on a major television news show. Ms. Porton served as the Coordinator for Reconstitution-eligible Schools for the State of Maryland, and soon after that, she was appointed to become the director of a master of arts in teaching program at a liberal arts college. During her work towards her doctorate, she and her thesis advisor co-authored a research monograph, “The Quest for School Improvement,” a case study of one low performing school. Harriet’s major research interests have centered on state and local policy regarding struggling learners and examining gender bias in education. During her years as a practitioner and in academia, she observed teachers who have worked hard to reach success with struggling learners and those who have been at a loss with the same population. The combination of all these experiences has given her the unique perspective of an academic-practitioner who can translate theory into successful practice.
Table of Contents
INTASC STANDARDS
PART ONE- PREPARATION
I PLANNING
Chapter 1 How to Plan for Instruction
Chapter 2 Identifying Struggling Learners
Chapter 3 Effective Grouping Strategies
Chapter 4 Practices of Reflective Planners
II MANAGEMENT
Chapter 5 Successful Management Skills — Rules, Routines, and Boundaries
Chapter 6 Successful Management Skills — Guidelines for Effective Implementation
Chapter 7 Mistakes in Management
Chapter 8 Practices of Reflective Managers
PART TWO- SUCCESS
III INSTRUCTION
Chapter 9 Guidelines for Effective Instruction
Chapter 10 Discovery Learning
Chapter 11 Practices of Reflective Teachers
IV ASSESSMENT
Chapter 12 How to Create Effective Assessments
Chapter 13 Formative v. Summative Assessments
Chapter 14 Practices of Reflective Assessors
Appendix