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Engaged Learning
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Engaged Learning

Edited by:

Foreword by Richard Sterling



March 2009 | 176 pages | Corwin

"No other book on teaching has excited me as much as this one. It should be the core text for prospective teachers in any field."
—Jonathan Potter, English and Drama Teacher
Camden Hills Regional High School, Rockport, ME

"VanDeWeghe presents powerful instructional practices to help students use both their hearts and their minds in learning."
—Louann Reid, Professor
Colorado State University

Spark genuine enthusiasm in your classroom by engaging students' hearts and minds!

To generate truly compelling learning experiences and increase retention of new information, educators need the knowledge and tools to engage students from both a neurological and humanistic perspective.

Richard VanDeWeghe provides an inside look at what happens in students' minds and hearts when they are engaged and "in the groove." Based on Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's idea of "flow"—a state of intrinsic control, curiosity, interest, and inquiry that is the ultimate experiential goal for learning—this book provides holistic strategies for encouraging students to become motivated, engaged learners. Teachers will find:

  • Information on brain function and memory pathways
  • Spiritual and emotional principles of the heart that influence learning
  • Strategies for guiding open-ended discussions, quality questioning, and teacher modeling
  • Immediate, practical applications for language arts, science, math, and social studies
  • Vignettes illustrating effective teacher dialogue and classroom involvement

Engaged Learning is a clear, concise, and elegant resource that helps teachers understand what it means to be a highly motivated learner.


 
Foreword by Richard Sterling
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
Part I. Flow, Minds, and Hearts
 
1. Engagement as Flow
Engagement

 
Engagement as Flow

 
The Conditions of Flow

 
 
2. Engaged Brains
#1: Brains Search for Meaning

 
Looking for Meaningful Patterns

 
Constructing Personal Theories

 
Paying Attention in Personally Significant Ways

 
#2: Emotions Drive Brains in Learning

 
#3: Engaged Brains Engender Mind-Body States

 
 
3. Engaged Hearts
#1: Mindfulness

 
#2: Unity

 
#3: Compassion

 
 
4. Engagement and Instructional Practice
Decisions About Engaged Learning

 
Brain Decisions

 
Heart Decisions

 
Flow State Decisions

 
A Way of Thinking

 
 
Part II. Teaching for Engaged Learning
 
5. Modeling Engaged Learning
Teacher Modeling

 
Modeling Habits of Mind and Heart

 
Modeling Work Habits

 
Thinking

 
Writing

 
Reading

 
History Class Revisited

 
 
6. Using Words That Support Engaged Learning
Talking About Learning

 
Noticing and Naming

 
Identity

 
Agency

 
Generalizing

 
Knowing

 
Democratic Learning Community

 
Talking About Intelligence

 
Fixed Intelligence

 
Malleable Intelligence

 
Talking About Intelligence

 
Intelligence Praise

 
Science Class Revisited

 
 
7. Using Discussions to Engage Learners
Engaging Ideas

 
Engaging Questions

 
Engaging Silence

 
The Dynamics of Engaging Discussion

 
Biology I Revisited

 
 
8. Supporting Engaged Readers
Engaged Reading

 
Trinal (Three-Part) Approaches to Reading

 
Before-Reading Comprehension Strategies

 
During-Reading Comprehension Strategies

 
After-Reading Comprehension Strategies

 
Carmen and School Reading

 
 
9. Supporting Engaged Writers
Engaged Writing

 
Purposes for Writing

 
Audiences for Writing

 
Forms of Engaged Writing

 
Teachers Respond to Engaged Writing

 
Courtney and School Writing

 
 
10. Promoting Engagement Through Memory Pathways
Memory Pathways

 
Semantic Pathways

 
Episodic Pathways

 
Procedural Pathways

 
Emotional Pathways

 
Spatial Pathways

 
Multiple Memory Pathways

 
Engaged Remembering in Ms. Gonzales' Classroom

 
 
Afterword: Lingering Questions
What About Assessment?

 
What About Classroom Research?

 
What About Study Groups?

 
What Now?

 
 
References
 
Index

"It’s tough to bring heart and soul into the classroom. The author makes a clear and concise case for doing this, and does so elegantly."

Nancy Foote, Math Specialist
Higley Unified School District, Gilbert, AZ

"The author offers a basis for understanding and developing lessons that not only engage students’ minds but ensure the connection with the heart of learning."

Debby Chessin, Associate Professor of Curriculum & Instruction
The University of Mississippi

"This work could make a distinctive change in educational practice."

Kathleen Choma, Math Teacher
South Brunswick High School, NJ

"This book is a breath of fresh air in this age of 'buzz words' and linear thinking."

Cindy Corlett, Middle School Science Teacher
Parker, CO

"No other book on teaching has excited me as much as this one. It should be the core text for prospective teachers in any field."

Jonathan Potter, English and Drama Teacher
Camden Hills Regional High School, Rockport, ME

"VanDeWeghe presents powerful instructional practices to help students use both their hearts and their minds in learning."

Louann Reid, Professor
Colorado State University

Good

Dr Michael Jerpbak
Other, Crossroads College
July 7, 2010
Key features
  • The author has been an educator for 35 years.
  • The book contains many examples and vignettes to make the material more relatable to the reader.
  •  The book is incredibly research-based, supporting the author's vignettes and claims.
  • The author combines both the humanistic side and the scientific side of learning and engagnig students to learn in a new and intriguing manner that has not been attempted by any other author.

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ISBN: 9781452272993

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ISBN: 9781412966290
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ISBN: 9781412966283
$79.95