December 2023 MBR The Education Shelf

The Education Shelf

50 Strategies for Teaching STEAM Skills
Kara Ball
Shell Education
https://www.teachercreatedmaterials.com/shell-education
9798885543392, $21.99, PB, 80pp

https://www.amazon.com/50-Strategies-Teaching-STEAM-Skills/dp/B0C5GGZ9PQ

Synopsis: With the publication of "50 Strategies for Teaching STEAM Skills", Kara Ball provides students concrete opportunities to practice STEAM skills" This teacher resource includes easy-to-use classroom strategies and activities for science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics.

This instructive lesson guide and 'how to' manual provides 50 specific and effective strategies to support STEAM instruction and build 21st-century skills such as collaboration, handling failure, problem-solving, communication, and creativity. With ten strategies per essential STEAM skill, this book provides educators with tools to build skills. These activities utilize accessible everyday materials, which makes them perfect for any classroom setting.

"50 Strategies for Teaching STEAM Skills" also includes student activity pages, instruction sheets, and ideas for variation at every grade level. From building knowledge of STEAM concepts to strengthening lifelong learning skills, "50 Strategies for Teaching STEAM Skills" offers PreK - 12 classroom teachers with the support they need to help their students thrive.

Critique: Of particular and special interest to readers concerned with STEM education, education theory, and K-12 science/technology curriculums, "50 Strategies for Teaching STEAM Skills" is an ideal, high value, and unreservedly recommended pick for personal, professional, school district, and college/university STEM Education collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Kara Ball (https://www.linkedin.com/in/karaball-stoy18) is a published author, academic officer, project manager, program coordinator, award-winning curriculum developer & educator, a National Teacher of the Year Finalist 2018, a doctoral student and STEMinist.

Help Anxious Kids in a Stressful World
David Campos, author
Kathleen McConnel Fad, author
Free Spirit Publishing
www.freespirit.com
9798885543262, $34.99, PB, 192pp

https://www.amazon.com/Help-Anxious-Kids-Stressful-World/dp/B0BTKYB2VF

Synopsis: The number of students experiencing anxiety at school is swiftly on the rise. But with the publication of "Help Anxious Kids in a Stressful World: 25 Classroom Strategies" by educators David Campos and Kathleen McConnell Fad, classroom teachers can now create emotionally supportive environments and strengthen children's abilities to cope with anxiety.

"Help Anxious Kids in a Stressful World" from Free Spirit Publishing is an essential resource that: Provides a framework for understanding anxiety, its causes, and the various ways it can present in young people; Offers standalone action strategies for classroom use, including a matrix to identify which strategies may be most useful for specific situations; Makes implementation of strategies easy with reproducibles for teacher and student use.

Drs. David Campos and Kathleen McConnell Fad wrote "Help Anxious Kids in a Stressful World" to specifically ensure that teachers, regardless of their prior knowledge and background, have a wide range of easy-to-understand and useful instructional tools to address anxious behaviors.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, this large format (8.5 x 0.5 x 11 inches, 1.36 pounds) paperback edition of "Help Anxious Kids in a Stressful World: 25 Classroom Strategies" by co-authors David Campos and Kathleen McConnell Fad is an ideal and highly recommended selection for school district in-service training sessions, as well as a supplemental Student Anxiety Reduction curriculum studies lists. It should be noted that "Help Anxious Kids in a Stressful World: 25 Classroom Strategies" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $39.99).

Editorial Note #1: David Campos (https://ancorapublishing.com/authors/campos) is a Professor of Education at University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in special education, culturally responsive teaching, and instructional design and delivery. He is an award-winning teacher and has written books on issues that impact education, including Educating Latino Boys (2013), Jump Start Health (2011), and Understanding Gay and Lesbian Youth (2005). His publications have been featured in Social Education, Principal Leadership, Educational Leadership, American

Editorial Note #2: Kathleen McConnell Fad (https://ancorapublishing.com/authors/fad) has a Ph.D. in learning disabilities and behavior disorders from The University of Texas at Austin. Kathy was a general and special education teacher before working as a college professor and a consultant specializing in emotional and behavioral disorders. Her publications focus on practical strategies for teachers, counselors, and educational specialists. Kathy has written books on childhood loneliness, gifted and advanced learners, and more.

Leveling the Learning Curve
William B. Elmicke, et al.
Columbia University Press
https://cup.columbia.edu
9780231203845, $35.00, HC, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Leveling-Learning-Curve-Inclusive-University/dp/B0BY4DBQMW

Synopsis: Will the years of the COVID-19 pandemic be remembered as a turning point in how universities deliver teaching and learning? How might the widespread use of digital tools change higher education?

"Leveling the Learning Curve: Creating a More Inclusive and Connected University" is a groundbreaking study that explores the role of digital education at this crucial crossroads. Built on interviews with more than fifty leading practitioners from major universities and ed-tech firms, "Leveling the Learning Curve" is an indispensable guide to the inner workings of digital education.

Written for university managers and leaders, "Leveling the Learning Curve" explores how new tools can allow universities to reach new audiences and address long-standing imbalances. The co-authors, William B. Eimicke, Soulaymane Kachani, and Adam Stepan, examine challenges to implementing digital education programs and provide insight into how universities have managed to balance the needs of faculty and on- and off-campus students.

"Leveling the Learning Curve" traces the history of digital education initiatives from Khan Academy, TED Talks, and MOOCs through the pandemic, examining both successes and failures. It offers compelling examples of what a "connected university" looks like in practice, sharing ways digital tools can bring in wider audiences, expand interdisciplinary teaching and learning, connect students to real-life issues, help meet equity goals, and open new revenue streams.

Critique: Specifically designed as both a DIY manual and an in-depth study of the subject, "Leveling the Learning Curve: Creating a More Inclusive and Connected University " must be considered as required reading for educational leaders and institutional policy makers seeking to navigate the ever evolving complexities of a post-pandemic digital education in our contemporary colleges and universities. A seminal and groundbreaking study, "Leveling the Learning Curve: Creating a More Inclusive and Connected University" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, and academic library Education Policy Planning and Application collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for education students, academia, college/university administrators and board members that "Leveling the Learning Curve: Creating a More Inclusive and Connected University" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.99).

Editorial Note #1: William B. Eimicke is Professor of Practice in International and Public Affairs and the founding director of the Picker Center for Executive Education of Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. He has published several books including Social Value Investing: A Management Framework for Effective Partnerships (Columbia University Press, 2018)

Editorial Note #2: Soulaymane Kachani is the senior vice provost of Columbia University. He oversees the university's teaching, learning, and innovation strategies and the expansion of its online and hybrid offerings. He also focuses on propelling Columbia's excellence as a global university, working to enhance existing international academic partnerships and develop new ones, and to make its campuses ever more welcoming to students and scholars from around the world.

Editorial Note: Adam Stepan is the director of Columbia's Picker Center Digital Education Group. He is also an Emmy Award - winning documentary filmmaker and the author of more than thirty Columbia and Open Society University Network Case studies, and he serves as a digital education consultant to universities in the United States and abroad.

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