New Books: Education

When racist curriculum "goes viral" on social media, it is typically dismissed as an isolated incident from a "bad" teacher. Bree Picower, however, holds that racist curriculum isn't an anomaly. It's a systemic problem that reflects how Whiteness is embedded and reproduced in education. Picower argues that White teachers must reframe their understanding about race in order to advance racial justice and that this must begin in teacher education programs. Drawing on her experience teaching and developing a program that prepares teachers to focus on social justice and antiracism, Picower demonstrates how teachers' ideology of race, consciously or unconsciously, shapes how they teach race in the classroom.

In this groundbreaking and practical guide, teachers will discover how to harness and manage AI as a powerful teaching tool. Bowen and Watson present emerging and powerful research on the seismic changes AI is already creating in schools and the workplace, providing invaluable insights into what AI can accomplish in the classroom and beyond. From interactive learning techniques to advanced assignment and assessment strategies, this comprehensive guide offers practical suggestions for integrating AI effectively into teaching and learning environments.

When photographer Adraint Bereal graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, he self-published a volume of portraits, personal statements, and interviews that explored UT's campus culture and offered an intimate look at the lives of Black students matriculating within a majority white space. In this book, Bereal expands his vision and visits colleges nationwide, from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) to predominantly white institutions (PWI) to trade schools and more.

College is a time of transition. It's a time for learning and preparing to make your own way in the world. But if you're like many teens and young adults, the thought of leaving home and being on your own in a new place can also be intimidating--even overwhelming. That's why you need a solid foundation to help you manage stress, stay focused, and maintain healthy habits--in body, mind, and spirit. Grounded in evidence-based mindfulness, The Mindful College Student will help you cultivate the cognitive and emotional skills you need to increase well-being and reach your highest aspirations, such as positive coping and self-regulation skills.

Tom Roderick proposes a visionary, interdisciplinary, and intersectional approach to PreK-12 climate education. He argues that meaningful instruction on this urgent issue of our time must focus on climate justice--the convergence of climate change and social justice--in a way that is emotionally safe, developmentally appropriate, and ultimately empowering. Drawing on examples of real-life educators teaching climate change, Roderick identifies eight key dimensions of climate education that will prepare students to face the challenges of the climate crisis and give them the means to take action.

How can you teach students the skills they need when standardized testing just requires facts? Why do students remember everything on TV, but forget everything you say? How can you adjust your teaching for different learning styles? Cognitive psychologist Daniel Willingham turns his research on the biological and cognitive basis of learning into workable teaching techniques. This book will help you improve your teaching practice by explaining how you and your students think and learn. It reveals the importance of story, emotion, memory, context, and routine.

Unraveling Dyslexia provides teachers, administrators, and parents with the information needed to unravel the complexities of skilled reading. In this book, Kristin Sayeski presents a concise overview of the factors that influence reading acquisition and the types of instructional practices required to put struggling readers on the path to reading. Myths and misconceptions about reading and dyslexia can hinder teachers' ability to provide effective reading instruction. This book will give readers the insights needed to move from frustration to action.

Many Americans celebrate Title IX for having ushered in an era of expanded opportunity for women's athletics; yet fifty years after its passage, sex-based inequalities in college athletics remain the reality. Drawing on surveys with student-athletes, athletic administrators, college coaches, members of the public, and fans of college sports, it highlights how institutions shape attitudes toward gender equity policy. It offers novel lessons not only for those interested in college sports but for everyone seeking to understand the barriers that marginalized groups face.

Michael S. Roth narrates a vivid and dynamic history of students, exploring some of the principal models for learning that have developed in very different contexts, from the sixth century BCE to the present. There are many ways to be a student, Roth argues, but at their core is developing the capacity to think for oneself by learning from others, and thereby finding freedom. This book celebrates the student who cultivates curiosity, judgment, creativity, and an ability to keep learning. Roth shows how the student throughout history has been someone who interacts dynamically with the world, absorbing its lessons and creatively responding to them.

Popular but misleading claims about so-called free speech crises and a lack of intellectual diversity on college campuses emerged in the mid-2010s. Such claims, which this book defines as "campus misinformation," impede constructive deliberation about higher learning while helping to normalize suspect ideas about First Amendment freedoms and democratic participation. The chapters in this book detail how campus misinformation popularizes flawed arguments about such specific key terms or concepts as viewpoint diversity, trigger warnings, safe spaces, free speech, and orthodoxy.