2017-2018 Featured Books
Title: Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing our kids for the innovation era
Authors: Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith
Overview: From two leading experts in education and entrepreneurship, an urgent call for the radical re-imagining of American education so that we better equip students for the realities of the twenty-first century economy. Today more than ever, we prize academic achievement, pressuring our children to get into the “right” colleges, have the highest GPAs, and pursue advanced degrees. But while students may graduate with credentials, by and large they lack the competencies needed to be thoughtful, engaged citizens and to get good jobs in our rapidly evolving economy. Our school system was engineered a century ago to produce a work force for a world that no longer exists. Alarmingly, our methods of schooling crush the creativity and initiative young people need to thrive in the twenty-first century. In Most Likely to Succeed, bestselling author and education expert Tony Wagner and venture capitalist Ted Dintersmith call for a complete overhaul of the function and focus of American schools, sharing insights and stories from the front lines, including profiles of successful students, teachers, parents, and business leaders. Most Likely to Succeed presents a new vision of American education, one that puts wonder, creativity, and initiative at the very heart of the learning process and prepares students for today’s economy. This book offers parents and educators a crucial guide to getting the best for their children and a roadmap for policymakers and opinion leaders.
Option 1: Individual Work
Watch 4 of the learning sparks videos posted at: http://sparks.mltsfilm.org/ in addition to reading the book. Choose one book study question (linked below) per chapter and based off of the learning sparks videos and write a 400-500 word reflection about the questions and videos and how you can make changes this coming year to reimagine your own classroom.
Option 2: Book Group: Create a group of 2-6 teachers who will read the book together and determine the meeting schedule. Meet for a minimum of 5 hours to reflect on the text and to collaborate on how the content in the text can be transferred to their own school or team practice. For the meetings, use the book study questions for the chapters linked below. At the end of the last session, choose four of the questions from the book study question list (1 per week listing) and write a 300-400 word reflection about those three questions, using specific examples from the text.
Book Study Questions:
Authors: Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith
Overview: From two leading experts in education and entrepreneurship, an urgent call for the radical re-imagining of American education so that we better equip students for the realities of the twenty-first century economy. Today more than ever, we prize academic achievement, pressuring our children to get into the “right” colleges, have the highest GPAs, and pursue advanced degrees. But while students may graduate with credentials, by and large they lack the competencies needed to be thoughtful, engaged citizens and to get good jobs in our rapidly evolving economy. Our school system was engineered a century ago to produce a work force for a world that no longer exists. Alarmingly, our methods of schooling crush the creativity and initiative young people need to thrive in the twenty-first century. In Most Likely to Succeed, bestselling author and education expert Tony Wagner and venture capitalist Ted Dintersmith call for a complete overhaul of the function and focus of American schools, sharing insights and stories from the front lines, including profiles of successful students, teachers, parents, and business leaders. Most Likely to Succeed presents a new vision of American education, one that puts wonder, creativity, and initiative at the very heart of the learning process and prepares students for today’s economy. This book offers parents and educators a crucial guide to getting the best for their children and a roadmap for policymakers and opinion leaders.
Option 1: Individual Work
Watch 4 of the learning sparks videos posted at: http://sparks.mltsfilm.org/ in addition to reading the book. Choose one book study question (linked below) per chapter and based off of the learning sparks videos and write a 400-500 word reflection about the questions and videos and how you can make changes this coming year to reimagine your own classroom.
Option 2: Book Group: Create a group of 2-6 teachers who will read the book together and determine the meeting schedule. Meet for a minimum of 5 hours to reflect on the text and to collaborate on how the content in the text can be transferred to their own school or team practice. For the meetings, use the book study questions for the chapters linked below. At the end of the last session, choose four of the questions from the book study question list (1 per week listing) and write a 300-400 word reflection about those three questions, using specific examples from the text.
Book Study Questions:
Title: Empower: What Happens When Students Own Their Learning
Authors: John Spencer and A.J. Juliani
Overview: Kids begin their learning journey as curious problem solvers who ask questions and create solutions. As they go through school, something happens to many of our students, and they begin to play the game of school, eager to be compliant and follow a path instead of making their own.
As teachers, leaders, and parents, we have the opportunity to be the guide in our kids’ education and unleash the creative potential of each and every student. In a world that is ever changing, our job is not to prepare students for something; instead, our role is to help students prepare themselves for anything.
In Empower, A.J. Juliani and John Spencer provide teachers, coaches, and administrators with a roadmap that will inspire innovation, authentic learning experiences, and practical ways to empower students to pursue their passions while in school. Compliance is expecting students to pay attention. Engagement is getting students excited about our topics, interests, and curriculum. But when we empower students, they crave learning that is both meaningful and relevant to their life, now and in the future.
Empower is focused not only on what happens when students own their learning but also on how to reach a place where that is possible in the midst of standards, set curriculum paths, and realities of school that we all have to deal with. Written by real educators who are still working in schools and with teachers, Empower will provide ways to overcome these challenges and turn them into opportunities for our learners to be unabashedly different and remarkable.
Option 1: Individual Work After reading the book and watching the John Spencer videos posted below write a 400-500 word reflection about the questions and videos and how you can make changes this coming year to reimagine your own classroom.
Option 2: Book Group: Create a group of 2-6 teachers who will read the book together and determine the meeting schedule. Meet for a minimum of 5 hours to reflect on the text and to collaborate on how the content in the text can be transferred to their own school or team practice. As part of the book group conversation, view some of the videos by John Spencer (posted below) and integrate those summaries in the discussion. At the end of the last session, and write a 300-400 word reflection about how you plan to make changes in the classing using specific examples from the text.
10 Ways to Empower Students With Choice
The Shift from Engaging Students to Empowering Learners
7 Things That Happen When Students Own Their Learning
What is the SAMR Model and what does it look like in schools?