Passionate Learners

Book excerpt: Would you want to be a student in your own classroom? In Passionate Learners: How to Engage and Empower Your Students, author Pernille Ripp challenges both novice and seasoned teachers to create a positive, interactive learning environment where students drive their own academic achievement. You'll discover how to make fundamental changes to your classroom so learning becomes an exciting challenge rather than a frustrating ordeal. Based on the author’s personal experience of transforming her approach to teaching, this book outlines how to: Build a working relationship with your students based on mutual trust, respect, and appreciation. Be attentive to your students; needs and share ownership of the classroom with them. Break out of the vicious cycle of punishment and reward to control student behaviour. Use innovative and creative lesson plans to get your students to become more engaged and intellectually-invested learners, while still meeting your state standards. Limit homework and abandon traditional grading so that your students can make the most of their learning experiences without unnecessary stress. And much more! New to the second edition, you' ll find practical tools, such as teacher and student reflection sheets, parent questionnaires, and parent conference tools, available in the book and as eResources.