Review: Too much why and not enough how
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 26, 2014
I kept waiting for the book to start! The first chapters discussed the background of a school that implemented this method. Important background information, but not really the reason I am reading the book. Then he goes on explaining the great results his school had, and the differences between Asian and American cultures when it comes to Education. Again, useful stuff, but nothing new and certainly not why I was reading the book.Let's look at what the book says it will do:You will learn how to:o Optimize your student’s ability to learnWhile there were many theories mentioned, a lot of them remained very theoretical. I agree with most of them, but I was hoping to get ideas of the HOW rather than the WHY.o Involve your students with engaged active learningSee, now the book kept talking about engagement, and the different types of engagement, but it gave very few examples of hands on ways to engage. Perhaps these are in the other books, but THIS is what I was really expecting when I read the book, and what I found severely lacking.o Master your student’s information retention for maximum achievement on testsThere was a quick reference as to ways to make sure your students see material again and again.o Avoid guilt over popular theories that have no business in your class & Avoid poorly formed theories that don’t work in real classrooms with real students.YES! He did do this. There was a lot of talk about what theories didn't work, or could possibly work, but only with unending funds and the right situations. That was relatively useful. I know a lot of these I try to do, but after reading why they won't really work I realized I had been trying too hard and running myself ragged with very little chance of success. For example, I try really hard to relate my material to other classes. He rightly pointed out trying to plan for for a multilevel class taking different classes is futile, so yes well done.Overall, I did feel that the book had good ideas and a solid basis, it just didn't really tell me much. If you are just looking for different theories (good and bad) than this is a great book! It is not overly academic and easy to read. The graphics are appropriate and fun.