Book Reviews
Real Talk- Lessons in Uncommon Sense, By Dr. Adolph Brown
Real Talk deserves mention in our summary as it fits in well with one of our two district pillars, Social Justice. In his book Dr. Brown mentions the need for educators to be attentive to the students commonly labeled, “at-risk.” He describes the inherent need of all students to gain attention. “Hip-hop” culture was a major focus of his discussion, as the author grew up in an impoverished neighborhood where drugs and gangs were the norm. Students today are under tremendous pressure from peers and media, even as many are missing adult mentors in their lives. In the school setting we cannot stand idly by waiting for them to come to us seeking help. Students need caring mentors, a structure of high expectations, honest conversation (the author calls it “Real Talk”), an understanding of how their choices impact their learning environment, and adults in school who live/lead by example. Our task is to acknowledge their issues, provide positive feedback, look for opportunities to build and nurture a relationship, and allow an environment where mistakes are accepted as part of learning.
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Making Thinking Visible, By: Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church, Karin Morrison Let's say you want to learn a new hobby, golf for instance. You could just go grab some clubs and start hacking away around the course, but is there a better way? What if, instead, you had a chance to watch a professional golfer and he/she wrote notes on what you were thinking as you practiced. Obviously, the second scenario is more helpful to learn the sport. That is the logic behind the book Making Thinking Visible. To foster higher level thinking and learning, students need to see the process of how thinking occurs. The professional (teacher) establishes routines in the classroom that create a culture of encouraging the sharing of thinking, and uses different strategies that records the process and keeps it in visible for the class. There are six keys to establishing this classroom environment (see “Six Key Principles of the Cultures of Thinking Project”). In using the techniques found students will be more open to share, express new possibilities, and the style of this instruction encourages all learners, regardless of disabilities and backgrounds, to have the confidence to share their ideas.
The book has three sections: The first, “Thinking About Thinking”, provides the research behind the process. In the second section, “Using Routines to Make Thinking Visible”, the authors provide a variety of techniques that can be used as templates in any classroom. Lastly, in part three, “Bringing the Power of Visible Thinking to Life”, there are discussions on scheduling, reflecting on student responses, and common pitfalls and struggles. A DVD is also included with sample classroom lessons. Making Thinking Visible fits perfectly with many of our current district initiatives.
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