Textbooks are symbols of centuries-old education. They're often outdated as soon as they hit students' desks. Acting "by the textbook" implies compliance and a lack of creativity. It's time to ditch those textbooks--and those textbook assumptions about learning In Ditch That Textbook, teacher and blogger Matt Miller encourages educators to throw out meaningless, pedestrian teaching and learning practices. He empowers them to evolve and improve on old, standard, teaching methods. Ditch That Textbook is a support system, toolbox, and manifesto to help educators free their teaching and revolutionize their classrooms.

Shows teachers how and why they should bring play into the classroom to make learning meaningful, relevant, and fun. Research studies show that all students—young and old, rich and poor, urban and rural—benefit immensely from classrooms filled with art, creativity, and laughter. Fun, playfulness, creative thinking, and individual expression reinforce positive experiences, which in turn lead to more engaged students, better classroom environments, and successful learning outcomes. Designed for K-12 educators, The Playful Classroom describes how teachers can develop a playful mindset for giving students meaningful, relevant and fun learning experiences. This unique real-world guide provides you with everything you need to incorporate engaging, hands-on lessons and creative activities, regardless of the level and subject you teach. Building on contemporary and seminal works on learning theory and play pedagogy, the authors explain how to inspire your students by bringing play. into your classroom. This clear, user-friendly guide supplies practical strategies and effective solutions for adding the missing ingredients to your classroom culture. Access to the authors’ companion website provides videos, learning experiences, and downloadable teaching and learning resources. Packed with relatable humor, proven methods, and valuable insights, this book enables you to: Provide meaningful experiences that will benefit students both in school and later in life Combine the principles of PLAY with traditional curricula to encourage creative learning Promote trust, collaboration, and growth in students Develop a playful mindset for bringing the arts into every lesson Foster critical thinking in any school community The Playful Classroom: The Power of Play for All Ages is a must-have resource for K-12 educators, higher education professionals, and readers looking for education-based professional development and training resources.

In Ditch That Homework, Matt Miller and Alice Keeler discuss the pros and cons of homework, why teachers assign it, and what life could look like without it. As they evaluate the research and share parent and teacher insights, the authors offer a case for ditching homework, replacing it with more effective and personalized learning methods.

Daunted by differentiation and devices? Ditching tech isn't the answer--understanding how to find the right tool for the right moment is! Don't Ditch That Tech provides practical ideas to help you find the sweet spot where classroom devices meet students' needs. In this teacher-tailored guide, you'll find tips on how to handle cart/lab scenarios, develop attention-grabbing strategies, build metacognitive practices, and more--all with differentiation in mind. Whether you're a tech newbie or the school's device guru, you'll walk away with new understandings and strategies for transforming and diversifying your approach to teaching in a twenty-first-century world. Authors Matt Miller, Nate Ridgway, and Angelia Ridgway, PhD, bring a diverse range of perspectives to this useful guide. From their own classroom experiences they share practical suggestions for working within your classroom walls--and ultimately, transforming your students' lives beyond it. You'll find ideas for how to use tech to . . . Personalize learning and add authenticity Promote metacognition and student agency Increase students' and stakeholders' access to your classroom And more! DON'T Ditch That Tech! Use it to transform your classroom! "This guide is chock full of tools/apps, graphic images, classroom examples, methods, and practical tips for any classroom educator looking to try new things or further strengthen their current differentiation practices. And it's differentiated for teachers too!" --The HyperDoc Girls (Sarah Landis, Kelly Hilton, and Lisa Highfill) "Do yourself a favor and buy this book! You won't be sorry! Warning: Be prepared to see smiling faces on students and engaged classrooms when you do!" --Holly Clark, author, The Google Infused Classroom "Anecdotes, exemplars and examples abound in this easy-to-read how-to for any teacher!" --Jon Corippo, Chief Learning Officer, Cue, Inc.

Unleash powerful teaching and the science of learning in your classroom Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning empowers educators to harness rigorous research on how students learn and unleash it in their classrooms. In this book, cognitive scientist Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D., and veteran K–12 teacher Patrice M. Bain, Ed.S., decipher cognitive science research and illustrate ways to successfully apply the science of learning in classrooms settings. This practical resource is filled with evidence-based strategies that are easily implemented in less than a minute—without additional prepping, grading, or funding! Research demonstrates that these powerful strategies raise student achievement by a letter grade or more; boost learning for diverse students, grade levels, and subject areas; and enhance students’ higher order learning and transfer of knowledge beyond the classroom. Drawing on a fifteen-year scientist-teacher collaboration, more than 100 years of research on learning, and rich experiences from educators in K–12 and higher education, the authors present highly accessible step-by-step guidance on how to transform teaching with four essential strategies: Retrieval practice, spacing, interleaving, and feedback-driven metacognition. With Powerful Teaching, you will: Develop a deep understanding of powerful teaching strategies based on the science of learning Gain insight from real-world examples of how evidence-based strategies are being implemented in a variety of academic settings Think critically about your current teaching practices from a research-based perspective Develop tools to share the science of learning with students and parents, ensuring success inside and outside the classroom Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning is an indispensable resource for educators who want to take their instruction to the next level. Equipped with scientific knowledge and evidence-based tools, turn your teaching into powerful teaching and unleash student learning in your classroom.

Tech Like a PIRATE helps provide the tools, ideas, and inspiration for educators to use technology as a treasure map to amazing learning. With a customizable set of principles for ensuring that technology is an asset, and not a barrier, Matt Miller's guidance will help all teachers - from the tech-savvy to the tech-terrified--create impactful, transformative learning using low- or no-cost equipment. The rise of digital culture has left some teachers and their students distracted, divided, and overwhelmed. But Tech Like a PIRATE brings educators flexible strategies for creating classroom tech experiences that will electrify student engagement. You don't have to be a tech genius--just willing to try Tech Like a PIRATE offers an accessible, engaging, and empowering toolkit for educators looking to innovate and engage their classes through technology. It's full of practical examples that are rooted in research, best practices, and solid pedagogy, and it's accompanied by a treasure trove of additional resources at DitchThatTextbook.com/TechLAP.

Designed to be read one day – and page – at a time, this book from four inclusive learning experts offers 365 strategies for implementing technology to design inclusive experiences. Educators across the world are working to design individualized instruction that empowers every student to become experts at learning. Technology and instructional interventions designed to support students with disabilities often eventually become mainstream and used by the masses. These practices provide a pathway for designing inclusive, equitable and accessible educational experiences that meet the needs of every individual learner. This engaging book includes daily strategies accompanied by examples of tools that can be implemented immediately to design meaningful instruction. Topics covered include role-playing games for social-emotional learning, building literacy through captioned video, coding to teach early literacy, text-to-speech for math and reading, and much more! Each daily strategy includes: • Explanation of how to use the strategy to design inclusive educational experiences. • Examples of tools that can be used to implement the strategy. • Alternative ways to use the strategy to extend student learning. • Images illustrating the strategy or tool. • Identification of relevant ISTE Standards for Educators and ISTE Standards for Students. Related resources. The heart of the book is the shift in mindset that occurs by exploring a different practical, inclusive strategy each day and infusing these strategies into everyday practice.