Preparing Teachers for a Changing World - by Linda Darling-Hammond & John Bransford (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Based on rapid advances in what is known about how people learn and how to teach effectively, this important book examines the core concepts and central pedagogies that should be at the heart of any teacher education program. Stemming from the results of a commission sponsored by the National Academy of Education, Preparing Teachers for a Changing World recommends the creation of an informed teacher education curriculum with the common elements that represent state-of-the-art standards for the profession. Written for teacher educators in both traditional and alternative programs, university and school system leaders, teachers, staff development professionals, researchers, and educational policymakers, the book addresses the key foundational knowledge for teaching and discusses how to implement that knowledge within the classroom.

Preparing Teachers for a Changing World recommends that, in addition to strong subject matter knowledge, all new teachers have a basic understanding of how people learn and develop, as well as how children acquire and use language, which is the currency of education. In addition, the book suggests that teaching professionals must be able to apply that knowledge in developing curriculum that attends to students' needs, the demands of the content, and the social purposes of education: in teaching specific subject matter to diverse students, in managing the classroom, assessing student performance, and using technology in the classroom.

From the Back Cover

PRAISE FOR PREPARING TEACHERS FOR A CHANGING WORLD

"This collection of chapters represents the best of contemporary thinking and writing on teaching and is built upon a conceptual framework of enormous importance to every teacher educator. Relevant to a variety of audiences, this book appeals for greater coherence and consistency across preparation programs. It is essential reading for all teacher educators as they renew preparation programs and focus on the needs of today's schools."
--DAVID G. IMIG, president and chief executive officer, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE)

"Preparing Teachers for a Changing World is by far the most comprehensive, thorough, deeply knowledge-based treatment of teacher education anywhere in the literature. A jewel of a book in a field badly in need of intellectual and moral leadership."
--MICHAEL FULLAN, author, Leading in a Culture of Change

"Well organized, meticulously researched, and well written, I have no doubt that Preparing Teachers for a Changing World will make a significant contribution to the field of teacher education. The authors have done an exceptionally good job of capturing the major trends, differing perspectives, and many challenges of teacher education today, while putting forth a vision for the future that is solidly grounded in research and in current and evolving knowledge."
--SONIA NIETO, professor, University of Massachusetts at Amherst

"The knowledge base for teacher preparation and teaching is maturing and becoming very relevant to practice. This state-of-the-art compendium is essential reading for teacher educators committed to preparing professionals who can teach so that all children will, in fact, learn."
--ARTHUR E. WISE, president, National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education

Review Quotes

"this book will be a valuable resource to guide curriculum design, education policy, and teachers' prof development." (Childhood Education, Winter 2007-2008)

About the Author

John D. Bransford joined the University of Washington in Seattle in 2003 where he holds the title of the James W. Mifflin University Professorship and Professor of Education. Prior to this he was Centennial Professor of Psychology and Education and codirector of the Learning Technology Center at Vanderbilt University. Early works by Bransford and his colleagues in the 1970s included research in the areas of human learning, memory, and problem solving, and helped shape the "cognitive revolution" in psychology. Author of seven books and hundreds of articles and presentations, Bransford is an internationally renowned scholar in cognition and technology. He and his colleagues have developed and tested innovative computer, videodisc, CD-ROM, and Internet programs including the Jasper Woodbury Problem Solving Series in Mathematics, The Scientists in Action Series, and the Little Planet Literacy Series--programs that have received many awards.

Linda Darling-Hammond is the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education at Stanford University, where she has served since 1998 as faculty sponsor for the Stanford Teacher Education Program and codirector of the Stanford Educational Leadership Institute. While serving as William F. Russell Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, she was the founding executive director of the National Commission for Teaching and America's Future, the blue-ribbon panel whose 1996 report What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future catalyzed major policy changes to improve the quality of teaching and teacher education. She is past president of the American Educational Research Association. Among her more than 200 publications are Teaching as the Learning Profession (coedited with Gary Sykes), recipient of the National Staff Development Council's Outstanding Book Award for 2000, and The Right to Learn, recipient of the American Educational Research Association's Outstanding Book Award for 1998.