Customer Reviews

Instructional Strategies for Middle and High School

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the only book that I plan to keep after my first semester of a graduate-level teacher training program (and, based on the ed professor's customer review of this book, I am not alone). Here's why I like it:
1) Breadth. It offers information on most if not all of the teaching methods and classroom skills a teacher may want. This makes it a great reference tool. Read a chapter or part of a chapter when you need it.
2) Clarity. I find a lot of education-related books to be pretty nebulous, but this one cuts right to the meat of every issue with its clear, well written definitions and examples.
3) Size. A medium-sized paperback. It fits in your bag or on your shelf without much of a struggle. I do wish it were available on Kindle, but not yet.
4) Chapter summaries. Each chapter ends with a concise but thorough summary of the key concepts. Whether you're a practicing teacher or a teacher in training, time is of the essence; in a pinch, just read the summaries. They're excellent.
5) No stupid graphics! So many education books are full of charts and other visuals that add weight to the book, kill trees, and, worst of all, waste your time because all they do is restate what the text says. None of that here.
To summarize, this book the leanest, meanest teaching methods book that I've come across.

I have not read too deeply into the book yet, but it is required for a graduate course I'm taking. I really love the size of the book. It's full of valuable information, but doesn't take up space with text that is too big, or unnecessary images. Paperback and lightweight.

As an education professor of mostly graduate students already in the classroom, I was impressed by how often I was told that this was one text that would be kept for future reference. Teachers found it to be well-written, organized, and practical--yet professionally rigorous. Of all the texts I've used, this one was the most highly regarded.