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Rating: 
Summary: Cutting-Edge Teaching
Review: I just finished reading the paperback version (considerably less expensive)of Contextual Teaching and Learning. I found it extraordinarly helpful in understanding how to really facilitate learning both in and out of the classroom. Dr. Johnson clarifies CTL (Contextual Teaching and Learning) for all of us, and explains how to put it to use with students. The concept of CTL, because it is based on current brain research and uses biology and physics as well as psychology, carries the potential to revolutionize teaching practices.
Unlike most books on education, this one goes much deeper, getting into universal principles that govern the activities of every living thing on the planet. Nevertheless, it does not bore readers with complex theory or elevated scientific language. The book is accessible and exciting for anyone who is searching for new ways to motivate and excite students. Johnson, a teacher herself, communicates the science in understandable terms and constantly relates them to teaching experience.
A major premise of the book is that all learners learn best in an environment reflecting three foundational, universal principles: 1) interdependence, 2) differentiation, and 3) self-organization. She translates these principles into eight components of a rich learning environment; each one is given a chapter, fully explaining how each works and providing real-life examples.
The book is a gold mine of ideas, presented coherently and with a great deal of love for the process and the people who make it work.
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Summary: Teaching in context: a Help to All Teachers
Review: This is an excellent book for teachers in K through university. Available in paperback, it is a readable, engaging, well-researched discussion of the practices that make for great teaching. The book illustrates that learning occurs when we discover meaning and that we discover meaning when we connect new information with things we already know. Aimed at helping ALL student achieve excellence in the classroom, "Contextual Teaching and Learning" explains how the human brain learns. It explains why certain teaching methods are brain-compatible and thus benefit students of all abilities. It explains that used together, these teaching methods constitute a holistic system that links lessons with students' daily lives, filling lessons with meaning. Parents should read this book to understand the kinds of instruction they should seek for their children. Teachers should read the book to get concrete ideas about classroom practices. Those interested in the history of ideas should read it to find out why "context" matters to the human brain.
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Summary: Contextual Teaching is Brain-Compatible
Review: This paperback book is a "must" for all teachers who care about helping every student achieve excellence. It provides a clear, easy to follow explanation of how the brain learns. It offers practical examples from classrooms around the country, of brain-compatible teaching. It shows that the brain weaves patterns and makes connections in its search for meaning. Because the brain learns best when it makes connections to find meaning, teaching needs to place lessons in the context of students' own lives and experiences. When teaching occurs in context-is contextual-students will excel.
Rating:
Summary: Contextual Teaching is Brain-Compatible
Review: This paperback book is a "must" for all teachers who care about helping every student achieve excellence. It provides a clear, easy to follow explanation of how the brain learns. It offers practical examples from classrooms around the country, of brain-compatible teaching. It shows that the brain weaves patterns and makes connections in its search for meaning. Because the brain learns best when it makes connections to find meaning, teaching needs to place lessons in the context of students' own lives and experiences. When teaching occurs in context-is contextual-students will excel.
Rating:
Summary: Filled with examples of CTL's success
Review: Written for professional educators yet comprehensible and practical in its presentation toward non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject matter, Contextual Teaching And Learning by education and business consultant Elaine B. Johnson (Executive Director of MBM Associates) is a solid, definitive guide to what "Contextual Teaching And Learning" (CTL) is and how it can enable teachers from grade school through university levels help students achieve academic excellence. Filled with examples of CTL's success, strategies to best apply CTL, and a thorough outline of the basics and history of CTL, Contextual Teaching And Learning is a welcome and invaluable addition to professional and academic teacher education supplemental reading lists and reference collections.
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