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Teaching Students to Work Harder and Enjoy It: Practice Makes Permanent points out a single, fundamental, and easily-corrected flaw that has held back American education for nearly a century-the design of instruction to achieve familiarization instead of mastery. This book explains the psychological dynamics and methods involved in mastery, and how to apply them easily in K-12 learning. A basic insight is that once students have a correct answer to any question, a straight road to its mastery is entirely comprised of practice. Practice continues to "make perfect" in all skill areas including the accumulation of a body of knowledge. Outlined here are the forms of it that enable students to master academic learning perfectly and permanently, as well as become competent with social/emotional skills and alter their behavior. A combination of methods especially valuable for students falling behind can turn classrooms around quickly.
List of contents
Preface
Chapter 1. First, Practice - The nature and importance of practice
Chapter 2. Accumulate Knowledge - US education subverts mastered knowledge
Chapter 3. Practice Requires Effort - The essential place of focused effort
Chapter 4. Effort in the Inner Venue - Connect learning to effort inside the mind
Chapter 5. Practice by Explaining - The central role of explaining learning
Chapter 6. Developing a Mental Field - What comprehension looks like inside
Chapter 7. Practice Saves Prior Learning - The cycle of deepening understanding
Chapter 8. Practice Behavioral Knowledge - Knowing as the first step to doing
Chapter 9. Students Talk Meaning - How to help students express what's important
Chapter 10. Practice on Substantial Topics - Weight fundamental issues
Chapter 11. Score the Results Objectively - How scoring can energize learning
Chapter 12. More Ways to Use Scoring - Tracking progress on many fronts
Chapter 13. Practice for Performance The motivational spur from performing
Chapter 14. The High School Vise: Four Problems Working around limitations
Chapter 15. Seven Steps to Turn a Class Around Key levers for a distracted class
References
About the author
By John Jensen
