Great Teaching

Robert C DiGiulio's new book reinforces the essential skills of teaching that lie outside the exclusively direct-instruction, skills-based methods. Though he does discuss the importance of skills-based methods, his true focus in this work is on the teaching behaviours that research has shown. The book includes self-assessment checklist similar to those the author employed in his successful Positive Classroom Management, (Corwin Press 1999) which focus on timesaving by distilling a teacher's workload down to the critical, most effective approaches to classroom instruction. The book also employs an 8-step framework to define good teaching skills (Preparation, Attention, Clarity, Feedback, Monitoring, Questioning, Summarizing, and Reflection).

Robert DiGiulio is Education Professor at Johnson State College in Vermont. He earned his Ph.D. in human development from the University of Connecticut, and recently earned his D.Ed. in socio-education from the University of South Africa. He began his teaching career in the New York City public school system, where he taught for a number of years. His 33-year career as an educator includes teaching at the elementary, middle, junior high and college levels, with experience ranging from crowded urban schools to a one-room schoolhouse. He has also served as a school principal educational researcher, consultant, and writer. As an educational consultant, he co-developed Teen Test, a vocational counseling program for adolescents. He coauthored educational computer software called Language Activities Courseware and authored its teachers guide. His Teacher magazine article The Guaranteed Behavior Improvement Plan was recognized as having one of the highest total readership scores of any of that magazines articles. He has authored numerous books including When You Are a Single Parent, Effective Parenting, Beyond Widowhood, and After Loss, selected by Readers Digest as their featured condensed book in May 1994. He is a contributing author to The Oxford Companion to Womens Writing in the United States, and Marriage and Family in a Changing Society, and is the coauthor of Straight Talk about Death and Dying. Most recently, he has written Nonviolent Interventions in Secondary Schools: Administrative Perspectives, a chapter in Peacebuilding for Adolescents: Strategies for Educators and Community Leaders, edited by Ian H. Harris and Linda R. Forcey. Dr. DiGiuliös most recent books are Great Teaching: What Matters Most in Helping Students Succeed, Educate, Medicate, or Litigate? What Teachers, Parents, and Administrators Must Do About Student Behavior, and Positive Classroom Management: A Step-by-Step Guide to Successfully Running the Show Without Destroying Student Dignity, both published by Corwin Press. Dr. DiGiuliös interests include international education, child behavior, and teacher education. He won a 2002-2003 Fulbright Scholar Award to the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland. He was a Delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 2003 Conference on Teaching and Learning for Intercultural Understanding. Dr. DiGiulio is also a member of the Vermont Society for the Study of Education, and serves on the Project Harmonys Advisory Board on Education Programs. He resides with his family in northern Vermont.

Preface
What This Book Is, and Is Not
A Word About Schools
And a Word About Teachers
Reviewer Acknowledgments
About the Author
1. Introduction: What Makes a Skillful, Caring Teacher?
Great Teaching is Still Great Teaching (And It-s the Teaching that Matters Most!)
"But we hardly have the time!"
First Self Assessment: What Can be Tossed, What Must be Kept
The Complete Teacher: Knowledge and Skills and Qualities
Key Teacher Skills and Qualities
2. Key Teacher Skills: What Teachers Do
Key Teacher Skills, Prior to Teaching
Key Teacher Skills, While Teaching
Key Teacher Skills, After Teaching
Growing in Teaching: Key Teacher Skills Self-Assessment
3. Key Teacher Qualities: How Teachers Do It
Key Teacher Quality #1--Efficacy
Key Teacher Quality #2--Caring
Growing in Teaching: Key Teacher Qualities Self-Assessment
4. Summary and Conclusion: Beyond Great to Memorable
Summary of Skills and Qualities Checklists
Plans of Action
Follow-up Assessment
Conclusion
Resources
Guidelines for student success in academics and socialization: A school-wide qualitative assessment
References
Index