You are here

Choose to Learn
Share
Share

Choose to Learn
Teaching for Success Every Day



July 2008 | 136 pages | Corwin

"There is a real power in this book that offers a way of understanding failure and overcoming it. The authors present a message of possibility and hope to learners and teachers alike and foster a resolve to put the strategies for changing behavior and attitudes into practice."
—Robert S. Patterson, Emeritus Professor of Education
Brigham Young University

Discover powerful principles that help students raise their goals, expect success, and make extraordinary strides in achievement!

Education becomes exciting and successful when both learners and teachers accomplish what they previously thought to be impossible. Written in an inspirational, compelling style, this resource shows educators how to motivate students to be successful learners through the development of key personal attributes that foster success.

This user-friendly book is organized around an easy-to-use, research-based model derived from multiple fields, including education, psychology, and philosophy, and is focused around eight field-tested principles, including the "Three D's of Success"—desire, decision, and determination—that can

  • Increase every learner's self-confidence
  • Create new expectations and infuse students with new energy and motivation
  • Encourage individuals to go beyond familiar goals, take manageable risks, and achieve desired outcomes

Choose to Learn gives teachers a proven approach for helping students exceed their expectations and experience academic growth by making a conscious decision to learn and to succeed.


 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Authors
 
Introduction
 
1. The Three Ds of Success
Desire

 
Decision

 
Determination

 
Expectations

 
Applying the Three 's of Success

 
Making It Happen

 
 
2. Urgency, Not Pressure
Differences Between Pressure and Urgency

 
Urgency and Learning

 
Making It Happen

 
 
3. Do Something You've Never Done Before
Why Avoid the Unfamiliar?

 
The Zone of Attainable Success

 
Teacher as Designer

 
Making It Happen

 
 
4. Light the Fire
Linked to the Life of the Learner

 
Challenging

 
Inspiring

 
Making It Happen

 
 
5. Help Is on the Way
Help That Invites

 
Help That Instructs

 
Help That Confirms

 
Think It, Choose It, Do It, Succeed

 
Making It Happen

 
 
6. Do the Right Thing for the Right Reason
The Opposite of an Addiction to Failure

 
Motives and Actions

 
The Three Ds of Success

 
Lighting the Fire

 
Can One Judge Another's Motives?

 
Making It Happen

 
 
7. Extinguish the Negative
Make No Excuses

 
An Eye of Faith

 
Help and Faith

 
Vision and Faith

 
Making It Happen

 
 
8. Choose to Lead
Who Should Lead?

 
Leading and Helping

 
Perception and Leadership

 
Making It Happen

 
 
Epilogue: Expect Success
 
References
 
Index

"By recognizing the addictive and cyclical nature of failure, the educator and student alike can overcome this barrier and reach their full potential. The authors identify the core issues of classroom failure and provide solutions to promote lifelong learning and achievement."

Yvette Marrin, President
National Cristina Foundation

"A richly researched book, both in terms of educational literature and two lives spent in the service of student learning. The authors have developed clear models and methods that are helpful for educators to fulfill the promise of pedagogy—that is, to lead a child toward learning. This book is a significant contribution to move our conversations of what education is truly about in a successful direction."

Barclay Burns, Chairman and Founder
Learning.com

"There is a real power in this book. It offers a way of understanding failure and of helping to counter and overcome it. Not only does it offer a message of possibility and hope to learners and teachers alike, but it fosters an eagerness and resolve to put the strategies for changing behavior and attitudes into practice."

Robert S. Patterson, Emeritus Professor of Education
Brigham Young University

"The authors have taken learning theory and captured the essence in a highly engaging and readable style. Their work has so much application to the field. I'm thinking now about how I can incorporate the principles in my instruction. Particularly meaningful to me was the point that teachers should not try so hard to explain why children are not learning; they should spend their efforts on helping them experience authentic success."

Eula Ewing Monroe, Professor of Mathematics Education
Brigham Young University

“This little book is full of big and powerful ideas. The authors write from rich experience as well as drawing on sound research. Teachers are a natural audience, of course, but the models are applicable to anyone who is trying to live a happier, more satisfying life. As a teacher of teachers, I have often promoted the idea that great teaching ignites both students and teachers. This book describes how teachers can turn away from excuse-making and really commit themselves to helping EVERY student succeed. In essence, it's a book about using the power of choice to spark great teaching and learning.”

Maggie Austin, Educational Leader
Technology & Innovation in Education

“Once in a while, a book comes along that has the potential to change how we view learning. The authors address a perennial problem in our educational system: how easily some students become addicted to failure. I thoroughly enjoyed their model, the approach, and how easy it is to understand and incorporate—elegant, yet simple.”

Karen W. Pool, Author and Adjunct Professor
Utah Valley University

"The concept of 'inspiring' helped me define who I have been! I want to inspire my students to seek until the answer is found. I don't want to stop searching for new ways to help students learn. I want them to find the 'highest in them,' a yearning to do something more."

Janeen Graham, Teacher
Northridge Elementary School, Orem, UT
Key features
  • Offers field-tested, research based principles fundamental to all successful human endeavors--such as making the decision to succeed/learn, having high expectations, understanding the difference between internal and external motivation, etc;
  • Shows how these principles affect teaching and learning and how to put it into practice;
  • Provides examples in every chapter from the lives of teachers, administrators, students, and parents that show how these principles can be lived out;
  • Is written in an inspirational, compelling style that engages and inspires the reader;
  • Includes a section in every chapter, entitled "Helping It Happen," consisting of 2 cases and hints for teaching these principles to young and adult learners.

Sample Materials & Chapters

Preface

Chapter 1. The Three D's of Success


Select a Purchasing Option


Rent or Buy eBook
ISBN: 9781452280530

Paperback
ISBN: 9781412961394
$26.95

Hardcover
ISBN: 9781412961387
$66.95