Research Books

Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement

Robert J. Marzano, Debra Pickering, Jane E. Pollock

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Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Education -> Instruction Method -> General AAS
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 25 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

What works in education? How do we know? How can teachers find out? How can educational research find its way into the classroom? How can we apply it to help our individual students? Questions like these arise in most schools, and busy educators often don't have time to find the answers. Robert J. Marzano, Debra J. Pickering, and Jane E. Pollock have examined decades of research findings to distill the results into nine broad teaching strategies that have positive effects on student learning:

* Identifying similarities and differences.
* Summarizing and note taking.
* Reinforcing effort and providing recognition.
* Homework and practice.
* Nonlinguistic representations.
* Cooperative learning.
* Setting objectives and providing feedback.
* Generating and testing hypotheses.
* Questions, cues, and advance organizers.

This list is not new. But what is surprising is finding out what a big difference it makes, for example, when students learn how to take good notes, work in groups, and use graphic organizers. The authors provide statistical effect sizes and show how these translate into percentile gains for students, for each strategy. And each chapter presents extended classroom examples of teachers and students in action; models of successful instruction; and many "frames," rubrics, organizers, and charts to help teachers plan and implement the strategies.

Integrating Differentiated Instruction & Understanding by Design (Connecting Content and Kids)

Carol Ann Tomlinson, Jay McTighe

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Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Teachers struggle every day to bring quality instruction to their students. Beset by lists of content standards and accompanying "high-stakes" accountability tests, many educators sense that both teaching and learning have been redirected in ways that are potentially impoverishing for those who teach and those who learn. Educators need a model that acknowledges the centrality of standards but also ensures that students truly understand content and can apply it in meaningful ways. For many educators, Understanding by Design addresses that need.

Simultaneously, teachers find it increasingly difficult to ignore the diversity of the learners who populate their classrooms. Few teachers find their work effective or satisfying when they simply "serve up" a curriculum--even an elegant one--to students with no regard for their varied learning needs. For many educators, Differentiated Instruction offers a framework for addressing learner variance as a critical component of instructional planning.

In this book the two models converge, providing readers fresh perspectives on two of the greatest contemporary challenges for educators: crafting powerful curriculum in a standards-dominated era and ensuring academic success for the full spectrum of learners. Each model strengthens the other. Understanding by Design is predominantly a curriculum design model that focuses on what we teach. Differentiated Instruction focuses on whom we teach, where we teach, and how we teach. Carol Ann Tomlinson and Jay McTighe show you how to use the principles of backward design and differentiation together to craft lesson plans that will teach essential knowledge and skills for the full spectrum of learners.

Connecting content and kids in meaningful ways is what teachers strive to do every day. In tandem, UbD and DI help educators meet that goal by providing structures, tools, and guidance for developing curriculum and instruction that bring to students the best of what we know about effective teaching and learning.

Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Traditions

John W. Creswell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

introductory survey text 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book would be best used as an introduction to qualitative research methods. It provides a broad overview of five qualitative strategies; however, if you are thinking of conducting qualitative research, this text is insufficient.

basic foundation for beginning research students 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book is helpful in explaining the different approaches to qualitative methods. The comparison charts in the book helps you to compare and contrast against the methods and helps in choosing a method to undertake your research study.

Editorial Review:

This book explores the philosophical underpinnings, history and key elements of five qualitative inquiry traditions: biography, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography and case study. John W Creswell relates research designs to each of the traditions of inquiry and compares each of the research strategies for theoretical frameworks, writing introduction to studies, collecting data, analyzing data, writing the narrative, and employing standards of quality and verifying results. Five journal articles in the appendix offer fascinating reading as well as examples of the five different qualitative designs.

SPSS Survival Manual

Julie Pallant

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Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A lifeline to students and researchers grappling with SPSS data analysis software

This fully revised and updated edition of the SPSS Survival Manual guides readers through the entire research process, helping them choose the right data analysis technique for any project. From the formulation of research questions, to the design of the study and analysis of data, to reporting the results, the author discusses basic and advanced statistical techniques. Each technique is clearly outlined, with step-by-step procedures for performing the analysis, a detailed guide to interpreting SPSS output, and an example of how to present the results in a report. Statistical techniques covered include:

• Descriptive statistics
• Correlation
• Multiple regression
• Logistic regression
• Factor analysis
• T-tests
• Analysis of variance
• Multivariate analysis of variance
• Analysis of covariance
• Non-parametric tests

Illustrated with screen grabs, examples of output, and tips, the SPSS Survival Manual can be used by researchers at any level across all disciplines. It is supported by a website with sample data and guidelines on report writing and is fully updated for SPSS Version 12.

Pocket Guide to APA Style

Robert Perrin

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Subjects -> Reference -> Foreign Languages -> Instruction -> English as a Foreign Language -> Coursebooks
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Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

An ideal tool for students writing research papers across the disciplines, the concise and inexpensive Pocket Guide to APA Style provides straightforward explanations, annotated examples, and margin notes to help students write properly documented papers in the latest APA style. In addition to step-by-step coverage of documentation, the book includes an overview of the research-writing process entitled "Writing Scholarly Papers" and three useful appendices. Thorough and practical, this convenient reference guide is also less expensive and easier for undergraduates to use than the APA Manual. The Second Edition features expanded coverage of electronic sources to keep students up-to-date on using and evaluating Internet references in their research. In addition, this new edition provides more guidance on avoiding plagiarism. The two sample APA-style papers--one argumentative and one experimental--are carefully annotated to give students extra support as they master the elements of manuscript preparation and documentation principles.

What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action

Robert J. Marzano

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Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action

Any school in the United States can operate at advanced levels of effectiveness-if it is willing to implement what is known about effective schooling. "If we follow the guidance offered from 35 years of research," says author Robert J. Marzano, "we can enter an era of unprecedented effectiveness for the public practice of education." In What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action, Marzano synthesizes that research to provide clear and unequalled insight into the nature of schooling.

Marzano defines the factors affecting student achievement and offers compelling answers to once-elusive questions:

* How can schools set academic goals that do not underestimate student potential? * How critical are staff collegiality and professional development? * Do all students have equal opportunity to learn given current curriculum requirements? * Supplemental versus required content-is there room for redefinition? * What types of parental and community involvement make a real difference? * What instructional strategies really work? * What influence can an individual teacher have on students? * How can teachers manage classrooms that promote positive student-and-teacher relationships? * How can teachers structure their curricula to better sequence and pace content? * Can teachers really overcome a student's negative home environment? * How does an understanding of motivation theories help students and teachers overcome learning obstacles? * What specific learning strategies can enhance learned intelligence and background knowledge?

In each chapter, Marzano recommends specific-and attainable-action steps to implement successful strategies culled from the wealth of research data.

Schools can and do affect student achievement. In his latest work, Marzano leads the way in establishing positive approaches that can make the long-held dream of effective public education a reality.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Applications (with MyEducationLab) (9th Edition) (MyEducationLab Series)

Lorrie R. Gay, Geoff Mills, Peter W. Airasian

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 25 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Textbook 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The book was in excellent condition. It was shipped out quickly and I received it about a week before my class started.

Helpful, but expensive. 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is a pretty good introduction into research methods - I'd recommend it especially to Master's students in the areas of education, library and information science, and maybe public policy/administration.

Editorial Review:

This market-leading book offers all the skills and procedures readers need to become competent consumers and producers of educational research. It uses a direct, step-by-step approach to the topic, while placing a strong emphasis on evaluation of reader performance. The accessible writing style and light, humorous tone demystify this demanding course. This comprehensive instructional resource encompasses the full spectrum of the field, making it appropriate as a core book for an introductory course in educational research. Includes expanded coverage of qualitative methods and learning to read and evaluate research effectively. Helps readers develop a complete quantitative research study, a qualitative research design, and an action research design. For professionals in the field of educational research.

Bright Minds, Poor Grades

Michael D. Whitley

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 26 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Very worthwhile, very constructive 4 out of 5 stars.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.

The pro's: It got right to the heart of the matter and outlined the most common psychological causes of underachievement. It helped to put things in perspective: my child is not a robot that is programmed to perform academically according to my standards, he is a thinking, feeling individual who has his own fears and needs. The book reminded me that it's not all about academic achievement (although that's why I bought the book), the larger issue that is undeniably intertwined is the continued development a loving, constructive relationship with my child and how it affects his ability to accept responsibility.

The con's: Had high hopes when I bought the book, but in the first 40 pages I found myself despairing over what then appeared to be a hopeless situation. Positive testimonials would've been helpful early on. (Parents, push through this part, it gets better.) The 10-step program section had a few examples of his own dialog with students -- additional sample parent-student dialogs would've been VERY helpful in this section.

My experience with this book:
First of all, I was lucky enough to have just finished reading "How to talk to kids so kids will listen, and listen so kids will talk", and it's "sequel" "How to talk so teens will listen." Without those two books, I think we'd still be floundering. (Parents, if you have a strained relationship with your teen, then read both books. I promise, you won't regret it.)
Next, my husband and put the program in place with my two boys. My middle schooler immediately responded positively, he cheerfully does his work and enjoys our nightly discussions. He's very proud of his achievements, he just brought home 3 A's and 2 B's on his report card. My high schooler is a tougher case: he is behaving exactly as the book predicted (very resistant), but I'm seeing some chinks in his armor as he's going through the inevitable, necessary struggle of owning his responsibilities. This last report card period he brought home 3 B's and 2 C's. Not great, but our relationship and his personal development are showing definite signs of improvement.

Overall, it's a tough challenge and requires true commitment on the part of the parents. The author makes no bones about this: "you must understand that it is you, not the child, who will change first." Don't be scared off or discouraged by this. It is the best thing you could do for your child.

Editorial Review:

For any parent who has ever been told, "your child isn't performing up to his or her potential," this book has the answer. Renowned clinical psychologist Michael Whitley, Ph.D. offers a proven ten-step program to motivate underachieving children. This easy-to follow book identifies the six types of underachievers from the procrastinator to the hidden perfectionist to the con artist, and it presents the ten steps to help children succeed in school-and ultimately, in life.

Interviewing As Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in Education And the Social Sciences

Irving Seidman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The third edition of this bestselling resource provides clear, step-by-step guidance for new and experienced interviewers to help them develop, shape, and reflect on interviewing as a qualitative research process. While proposing a phenomenological approach to in-depth interviewing, the author also includes principles and methods that can be adapted to a range of interviewing approaches. Using concrete examples of interviewing techniques to illustrate the issues under discussion, this classic text helps readers to understand the complexities of interviewing and its connections to broader issues of qualitative research.

Equally popular for individual and classroom use, the new Third Edition of Interviewing as Qualitative Research features:

* An introduction to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process in its historical context, including an expanded discussion of informed consent and its complexities.
* Special attention to the rights of participants in interview research as those rights interact with ethical issues.
* Updated references and suggestions for additional reading for a deeper consideration of methodological, ethical, and philosophical issues, including relevant Internet resources.

Building Background Knowledge For Academic Achievement: Research On What Works In Schools

Robert J. Marzano

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement, Robert J. Marzano shows how a carefully structured combination of two approaches--sustained silent reading and instruction in subject-specific vocabulary terms--can help overcome the deficiencies in background knowledge that hamper the achievement of many children.

Readers will learn
* The principles that underlie an effective sustained silent reading program
* A five-step process for using sustained silent reading to enhance background knowledge
* The defining characteristics of effective vocabulary instruction
* A six-step process for direct instruction in vocabulary in each discipline
* The vocabulary terms critical to students’ success in every academic subject

Vignettes suggest how the recommended reading and vocabulary instruction programs might be implemented in elementary schools, middle and junior high schools, and high schools. The book also includes a list of 7,923 vocabulary terms culled from the national standards documents and other publications, organized into 11 subject areas and 4 grade-level categories.

With its research-based recommendations and step-by-step approach, Building Background Knowledge equips educators with the tools they need to help close the achievement gap and enable all students to succeed.