Building Executive Function and Motivation in the Middle Grades - by Susanne Croasdaile (Paperback)

About the Book

Croasdaile integrates Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into a roadmap for any educator who seeks practical, research-based strategies to help their students survive and thrive to become expert learners in the middle grades.

Book Synopsis

Using real-life examples and the popular Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, Croasdaile provides a roadmap for anyone who seeks practical, research-based strategies to help their students survive and thrive to become expert learners in the middle grades.

"So much of what middle grade students need to do each day depends on their executive function, or the ability to self-monitor and carry out the steps of a plan effectively," writes Susanne Croasdaile in her first book, Building Executive Function and Motivation in the Middle Grades: A Universal Design for Learning Approach.

In an easy-to-follow, 8-step process, Croasdaile offers numerous strategies that will enhance instruction and support student social and emotional competency. By highlighting practices related to students' executive function and sustained effort, this book is a useful addition to the toolkit of every classroom teacher, coach, and administrator.

Review Quotes

"Dr. Croasdaile presents a compelling discussion on building expert "middle school" learners through the UDL lens. Her points and examples are relevant and reflect many of the issues teachers often face in the classroom. Her connections to the literature are deep and promote the importance of how the UDL lens correlates with well-designed instruction. A must-read for any educator to understand why we teach UDL - to build that all important learner expertise!" - Dr. Fran Smith, Adjunct Faculty, GW University

"Croasdaile integrates real-life situations and scholarly research in a well-written book every instructional leader should have and use. This timely and valuable book answers a common question in middle school environments, how do we motivate students? How do you address executive functioning? Those questions, and others, related to engaging students, are in this book. It's encouraging to see a book about motivation and UDL presented in a way that is easy to read, understand, and implement. The institutional calendar is the tool you didn't know you needed until you saw it. This is a must-read if you want to know how to address student motivation." - Phyllis L. M. Haynes, Ph.D., Co-Director, Training & Technical Assistance Center, Virginia Commonwealth University

"Impressively informative, exceptionally well written, thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, 'Building Executive Function and Motivation in the Middle Grades: A Universal Design for Learning Approach' is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, school district, college, and university library Teacher Education, Educational Psychology, and Behavioral Science collections.." - Midwest Book Review, August 2023