Teaching with Intention: Defining Beliefs, Aligning Practice, Taking Action, K-5

by Debbie Miller, Peter Johnston

Overview

"I believe in the power of collaborative classroom communities where everyone's ideas are valued and respected. But had you been in my classroom that day, you'd have never known it. You'd have thought I believed that I was the one with all the answers."

Effective, intentional teaching begins with a strong set of beliefs, but even the best teachers -- including Debbie Miller -- struggle to make sure that their classroom practice consistently reflects their core convictions. In Teaching with Intention, Debbie shares her process of defining beliefs, aligning practice, and taking action to ensure that children are the true beneficiaries of her teaching. As Peter Johnston writes, "Through this book we have Debbie's teaching mind on loan. She engages us in the details of a teaching life from inside her mind, showing the thinking behind her teaching and the consequences of her actions."

While Debbie's previous book, Reading with Meaning, chronicled a year in her own classroom, Teaching with Intention brings us into classrooms of teachers and children she has met over the last five years in her work as a literacy consultant. From setting up the classroom environment to the intentional use of language, from comprehension instruction to lesson design, Debbie is explicit about what she does and why. At the same time, she encourages teachers to develop their own belief statements concerning teaching and learning, and includes key questions to guide them in this important process.

In an environment where the handing down of scripted programs and "foolproof" curricula is increasingly the norm, Teaching with Intention offers a compelling reminder that truly transformative teaching is built from the ground up, and is rebuilt every year, by every teacher, in every classroom, with every new group of students.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781571103871
Publisher:	Stenhouse Publishers
Publication date:	01/28/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	149
Sales rank:	82,084
Product dimensions:	7.80(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	5 - 10 Years

About the Author

Debbie Miller taught and learned from children in The Denver Public Schools for thirty years. Author of Reading with Meaning: Teaching Comprehension in the Primary Grades, 2nd edition (Stenhouse, 2012) and Teaching with Intention: Defining Beliefs, Aligning Practice, Taking Action K-5 (Stenhouse, 2008), Debbie now presents workshops across the country and internationally, and works extensively with schools and districts on long-range planning and development of literacy programs.

She worked for many years with the Denver-based Public Education and Business Coalition (PEBC), a nonprofit group committed to providing ongoing support and leadership for schools in the Denver area and nationally. Debbie has also been an adjunct professor at The University of Denver and Regis University.

Editorial Reviews

"Teaching with Intention is recommended for both teachers and teacher educators who want to work through the age-old theory-versus-practice struggle. Indeed, if Miller's story and classroom experiences are read and reflected on with the purpose of finding one's own solution to this ongoing dilemma, true teaching with intention might result."  - Education Review

From the Publisher