Foreword by Marilee Sprenger A Preface From the Superpower Guardians Acknowledgments About the Authors Chapter 1. Anything Is Possible: So Why Do Our Classrooms Have So Many Limits? What's the Point of School? The Knowing-Doing Gap Teachers Are Designers I'm Busy! Where Does This Fit? Research Reminders What About the Standards? All About the Common Core State Standards Look Back and Step Forward A Question to Consider as You Reflect Chapter 2. The Student Superpowers The Student Superpowers What Is an Instructional Journey? How Does It Promote Student Superpowers? The Superpowers Are Bigger Than Specific Journeys Debunking Departmentalization Included Components of Each Instructional Journey A Few Final Considerations Look Back and Step Forward A Question to Consider as You Reflect Chapter 3. The Wondering Instructional Journey: What Do You Wonder? Superpower Summary and Overview Wondering Journey at a Glance Instructional Journey Goals Student-Friendly Authentic Learning Problem General Progression Connecting the Standards Learning Activities and Tech Upgrades Formative Assessment and Tracking Student Progress Toward Goals Final Assessment: Have Your Goals Been Achieved? GAME SHOW REDESIGN Differentiation: Meeting the Needs of All Learners Window Into the Classroom A Question to Consider as You Reflect Chapter 4. The Curating Instructional Journey: Solving a Puzzle Superpower Summary and Overview Curating Journey at a Glance Instructional Journey Goals Student-Friendly Authentic Learning Problem General Progression Connecting the Standards Learning Activities and Tech Upgrades Formative Assessment and Tracking Student Progress Toward Goals Final Assessment: Have Your Goals Been Achieved? CREATING SCHOOL CLUBS Differentiation: Meeting the Needs of All Learners Window Into the Classroom A Question to Consider as You Reflect Chapter 5. The Connecting Instructional Journey: Sharing Stories Superpower Summary and Overview Connecting Journey at a Glance Instructional Journey Goals Student-Friendly Authentic Learning Problem General Progression Connecting the Standards Learning Activities and Tech Upgrades Formative Assessment and Tracking Student Progress Toward Goals Final Assessment: Have Your Goals Been Achieved? CONNECTING AROUND THE WORLD Differentiation: Meeting the Needs of All Learners Window Into the Classroom A Question to Consider as You Reflect Chapter 6. The Digital Inking Instructional Journey: What Should We Tweet? Superpower Summary and Overview Digital Inking Journey at a Glance Instructional Journey Goals Student-Friendly Authentic Learning Problem General Progression Connecting the Standards Learning Activities and Tech Upgrades Formative Assessment and Tracking Student Progress Toward Goals Final Assessment: Have Your Goals Been Achieved? CREATING AN INTERACTIVE CAMPAIGN Differentiation: Meeting the Needs of All Learners Window Into the Classroom A Question to Consider as You Reflect Chapter 7. The Designing Instructional Journey: What Can You Make? Superpower Summary and Overview Designing Journey at a Glance Instructional Journey Goals Student-Friendly Authentic Learning Problem General Progression Connecting the Standards Learning Activities and Tech Upgrades Formative Assessment and Tracking Student Progress Toward Goals Final Assessment: Have Your Goals Been Achieved? DESIGN A SCHOOL BUS Differentiation: Meeting the Needs of All Learners Window Into the Classroom A Question to Consider as You Reflect Chapter 8. The Gaming Instructional Journey: Make Life More Fun! Superpower Summary and Overview Gaming Journey at a Glance Instructional Journey Goals Student-Friendly Authentic Learning Problem General Progression Connecting the Standards Learning Activities and Tech Upgrades Formative Assessment and Tracking Student Progress Toward Goals Final Assessment: Have Your Goals Been Achieved? GAMIFY YOUR HOMEWORK Differentiation: Meeting the Needs of All Learners Window Into the Classroom A Question to Consider as You Reflect Chapter 9. The Superpower Audit: How Am I Doing? How Can I Track Progress? How Should These Audits Be Used? Summary A Question to Consider as You Reflect Chapter 10. Start Today: Ten First Steps Finding Small Wins 1. It's All About Choice 2. What Does Good Work Look Like? 3. Knowing What I Know 4. Different Every Day 5. List-Group-Label 6. Student-Directed Share 7. Think Time 8. Three-Finger Self-Assessment 9. Gallery Walk 10. A Class Blog A Question to Consider as You Reflect Chapter 11. More Readings: The Fab Five Continuing the Journey A Question to Consider as You Reflect References Index
Written by two dynamic educational leaders, this book provides elementary school teachers with strategies to unleash the learning superpowers of students that foster inquiry-based, student-driven classrooms. The student learning superpowers Swanson describes are: Wondering Developing Designing Digital Inking Seeking Advising Swanson provides easy to use frameworks and examples that are aligned to the Common Core Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening, the Next Generation Science Standards and the National Curriculum Standards for Social Standards. The book is filled with practical instructional frameworks about 2-3 weeks long that teachers can use to promote student superpowers. The superpowers and frameworks help students see connections between ideas and disciplines and lead to student-driven success.
Kristen Swanson helps teachers design meaningful, interactive curricula at the local and national level. She has taught at the elementary level, served as a regional consultant for Response to Intervention, and worked as an educational technology director for a public school district in Pennsylvania. She holds a B.A. degree from DeSales University, two M.A. degrees from Wilkes University, and an Ed.D. degree from Widener University. Kristen is currently an adjunct in the DeSales University instructional technology M.Ed program and a senior technology leader for BrightBytes. In addition to her experience as an educator, Kristen is also passionate about meaningful professional learning. She serves on the board of the Edcamp Foundation, a nonprofit organization designed to facilitate local, grassroots professional development. She has shared her ideas and expertise at ASCD conferences, TEDxPhiladelphiaEd, TEDxNYED, and Educon. She has also been published in academic journals, including Literacy Learning: The Middle Years and the Journal of Reading, Writing, and Literacy. She is the author of Professional Learning in the Digital Age: The Educator's Guide to User-Generated Learning and Teaching the Common Core Speaking and Listening Standards. Kristen is active in the educational technology sphere. She is a Google Certified Teacher, Twitter Teacher, Edublog Award Nominee, and avid blogger. She strongly believes that rigorous curriculum fosters meaningful technology integration, and she is also interested in the learning opportunities provided by asynchronous learning. Hadley Ferguson is a middle school teacher at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, an independent school in Philadelphia. She teaches History and Humanities as well as Entrepreneurship. Hadley is passionate about developing new curriculum to meet the needs of her students, working with other teachers, both in her building and through her personal learning network, to develop the best strategies to enhance the learning in her classroom. Hadley has a B.A. and an MEd from Smith College. Because of her experiences of how important collaboration is for learning and growing as an educator, Hadley is actively involved in helping to develop connections among educators. She is a member of the Library of Congress' Teaching with Primary Sources Mentor Advisory group, where she helps teachers connect with the Library. She also advises groups of teachers on strategies for working together to develop curriculum that includes the resources from the Library of Congress. She was named a "Teacher of the Future" by the National Association of Independent Schools and part of a network to enhance support for independent school teachers. Hadley also seves on the board of the Edcamp Foundation, a nonprofit organization designed to facilitate local, grassroots professional development. She has presented at a variety of conferences, including ISTE, National Middle School Association, Educational Computing Conference of Ontario and Educon. She has written articles for ISTE's Learning and Leading on how teachers can take control of their professional development to directly impact the classroom. Her latest presentation is "On Being a Risk-Taking Teacher," based on her work with ungrading. Her blog explores the challenges of teaching middle school in a digital world.