Extreme Learning - by Keen J Babbage (Paperback)

About the Book

Keen Babbage shows educators how to cause extreme learning in the classroom while also creating a classroom learning community in which the teacher and the student team up in a vibrant, symbiotic, fulfilling partnership.

Book Synopsis

When asked the question, 'Think of the best teacher you ever had. What did that teacher do to make you consider him or her your best teacher?' the answers are never 'My best teacher gave us lots of worksheets to do, ' or 'My best teacher covered a lot of material.' Instead, typical answers range from the teachers who challenged, to the teachers who cared and the teachers who loved their subjects. Babbage calls those teachers 'extreme teachers, ' whose ultimate goal for students is 'extreme learning'. In the 'extreme learning' classroom, the students and the teacher create learning experiences which connect the real-life knowledge, talents, and interests of students with what needs to be learned today in the standards-based school curriculum. School becomes relevant to the outside world, and working harder to learn at school becomes important, beneficial, and meaningful. Babbage uses anecdotes, both his own and hypothetical, to demonstrate 'extreme learning'. He shows the disparity between training and understanding, where students are trained in standards, but they begin to truly understand the real-life application. 'Extreme learning' creates a partnership between teacher and student, where all learn and improve from each other.

Review Quotes

"Extreme teaching and learning in an extraordinary blend of idealism and practicality. This book confirms that Dr. Babbage's understanding of the teaching/learning process is indeed profound." --Michael T. Romano, professor emeritus, University of Kentucky

"Babbage's book offers a challenge to educators-complete with plain language, clear examples, and passionate argument-to meet their students, whatever their ages or abilities, as real people with real lives, interests, and knowledge, and to build from those elements a learning community that will prove that learning is rewarding, empowering, and even fun." --Lexington Herald-Leader

"All professional educators-but particularly practicing classroom teachers-could benefit from reading this interesting, relevant, and practical book. Truly it is one of those books that will inform our practice!" --Kentucky Teacher

"This book shows educators how to connect with students' energy and curiosity, using a fictional classroom based on the author's experiences with students." --Reference and Research Book News

"Extreme Learning takes educators back to the basics: giving students meaningful work to do by connecting-in exciting and powerful ways-prior learning with new learning. In this book Dr. Babbage reminds us that extreme teaching produces extreme learning for students; and he clearly gives practitioners realistic, reasonable and attainable strategies for achieving both." --Richard Hughes, superintendent, Hardin County Schools, Elizabethtown, KY

About the Author

Keen J. Babbage has taught social studies in grades 7 - 12 and education classes at the college and graduate levels. He has school administration experience with grades 6 - 12 and has executive experience with three large corporations. In addition to this book, Dr. Babbage has written four others: 911 The School Administrator's Guide to Crisis Management (1996), Meetings for School-Based Decision Making (1997), High-Impact Teaching: Overcoming Student Apathy (1998), and Extreme Teaching (2002), all by ScarecrowEducation.