Arlington, VA, July 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Just in time for back to school, ASCD, the nation's leading association for K–12 educator professional development, announced the publication of “Smart from the Start: 100 Tools for Teaching with Confidence.” The must-read resource offers teachers and leaders in education more than 100 easy-to-incorporate strategies to help teach with confidence and create a classroom environment that benefits every student.
Authored by James Stronge, Jessica Straessle, and Xianxuan Xu, the book is a research-based, foundational guide organized by topic with practical tips and tools to boost the effectiveness of teachers and set them up for success — especially during their first few years in the field when turnover is highest.
Teachers have a wide range of responsibilities — not all of which can be addressed in teacher preparation programs — and for new educators especially, it can be daunting to think about all that is required throughout the school year.
Smart from the Start is a bookshelf staple that provides more than 100 easy-to-incorporate tools across six major areas including:
- Beginning of the year: Set up your classroom and establish rules and procedures
- Classroom management: Establish a healthy learning environment
- Instructional planning: Lead high-quality lessons and anticipate students' diverse needs
- Student engagement: Motivate students and maintain their quality of learning
- Assessment: Align assessment with curriculum and instruction and build rubrics and tests
- Teacher well-being: Find the joy in teaching and take care of yourself
The book is available for purchase today. Learn more at www.ascd.org/books
About the Author
James H. Stronge is president and CEO of Stronge & Associates Educational Consulting, LLC, an educational consulting company that focuses on teacher and leader effectiveness with projects throughout the United States and internationally. Additionally, he is the Heritage Professor of Education, a distinguished professorship, in the Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership Area at the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, Virginia.
He teaches doctoral courses within the School of Education's Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership (EPPL) Program, with a particular focus on teacher and leader effectiveness, human resource leadership, legal issues in education, and research design.
Jessica Straessle, Ph.D., serves as the senior research associate for Stronge and Associates. She received her doctorate from the College of William and Mary’s Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership Program. She holds a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from Georgia State University where she focused on effective teaching in an urban environment. While completing her programs, she worked as an elementary school teacher, teaching inclusion and gifted classes. Her research interests include teacher and principal effectiveness, teacher and principal evaluation, professional development and student individuality.
Xianxuan Xu is a dedicated researcher and experienced consultant. Her research interests focus on teacher effectiveness, professional development, and teacher and principal evaluation.
She has been involved in several research projects, including a study examining the relationship between national culture and student achievement, creativity, and productivity, and an international comparative study of effective teachers serving disadvantaged students in the United States and China. Xu's research papers have been published in many journals and she has presented findings of her research at various national conferences.
About ASCD
ASCD is a passionate community of life-changing educators. Our community is empowered to be equity and instructional warriors who transform vision into practice. For 75 years, we have worked side by side with educators from every level in all 50 states and more than 200 countries to help them find their people and amplify their voices to reach many. Our professional learning services let educators chart their own learning journey, as educators, and as leaders, so they and their students can flourish. Learn more at www.ascd.org and visit ASCD's virtual learning community to view a full slate of educator professional learning opportunities and conferences.
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