Book Promotes

Teachers Learning Together

Most learners respond well to caring and communicative educators who are willing to listen thoughtfully to their ideas and allow them to have some choice in the classroom. That belief is at the core of a new publication from the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Creating a Community of Learners: Solving the Puzzle of Classroom Management.

The 260-page, peer-reviewed book, authored by Jayne Sowers, is intended as a resource for individuals and small groups of teachers. Ideally, it will be used by learning teams to study, discuss, implement, and evaluate their instructional practices and classroom management strategies.

Sowers and other members of NWREL's Quality Teaching and Learning Team worked together to align the publication with requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act and to address the concerns of Northwest schools, identified in NWREL's 2002 Educator Survey. Chief among those concerns is meeting the unique needs of students who are English language learners and those of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Latino heritage.

"The book takes a developmental approach," notes Sowers, who has an Ed.D. from Portland State University, "focusing on the social, emotional, cultural, and cognitive needs of students." The six chapters include activity and learning team discussion sections to assist small groups of teachers working together. A "Research Refresher" helps teachers actively participate in reviewing terminology and qualifications of good research, while "Dig Deeper" outlines additional resources to support the text.

"Creating a Community of Learners is different from many other texts in its approach to managing a classroom," says Sowers. "(It) recommends approaches that are learner-centered rather than teacher-centered, providing an appropriate learning environment rather than controlling student behavior." The book can be ordered online at www.nwrel.org/comm/catalog/detail.asp?RID=15336. The cost is $24.90 for members ($26.65 for non-members).