Written by Helen Lewis and Russell Grigg, Tails from the Classroom: Learning and teaching through animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) is a fascinating exploration of the use of AAIs in educational settings and how they can inspire and support learners' all-round development.
There is growing interest in the idea of bringing animals into the classroom, but it is only recently that researchers have gathered clear data to show the impact of AAIs on the behavioural, emotional, physical and cognitive development of children and young people.
Tails from the Classroom brings together this research in a highly accessible way, illustrated with real-life case studies from a range of classroom contexts. It also includes lots of practical guidance on how to set up, manage and evaluate a project, ensuring that the welfare of all participants, including the animals, is a priority.
Helen and Russell discuss how AAIs can contribute towards learning in different subject areas and across the curriculum, sharing a wide range of examples to illustrate possible starting points for teachers in a range of subject and thematic contexts - even in less obvious areas such as the arts, literature, and religious and moral codes.
They also provide a historical overview of human-animal interactions, highlighting how animals have played a central part in humans' social, spiritual and cultural development. This then underpins the authors' exploration into animals' potential role in enhancing particular dimensions of children's social, emotional, intellectual and physical development and well-being.
This groundbreaking book is not just for animal-loving educators, however. It is for anyone who is serious about inspiring learners of all ages and prepared to explore new ways of doing so.
Suitable for educators working with learners of all ages.
Autorentext
Dr Russell Grigg was previously Associate Professor at the Wales Centre for Equity in Education. He has extensive experience in teacher training and has written widely on primary education including five books and more than forty articles. He has recently taken up a new post as school inspector and consultant for the Ministry of Education in the United Arab Emirates.
Zusammenfassung
Stephen Lane's Beyond Wiping Noses: Building an informed approach to pastoral leadership in schools sets out the crucial role of pastoral care as part of the function and purpose of schooling - and shares practical insights on how schools can get it right.Within the current culture of interest in developing research-informed approaches to teaching, the focus has inevitably been focused around pedagogy. However, with the well-documented increase in pupil anxiety and mental ill-health in recent times, there is also a pressing need for schools and teachers to embrace a more rigorous approach to pastoral care.In this urgently needed book, teacher and Head of Year Stephen Lane (aka Sputnik Steve) presents a case for developing a research-informed approach to the pastoral aspect of teaching. This approach is the result of Stephen's own explorations of pastoral practice - and in Beyond Wiping Noses he offers helpful advice on how to design a knowledge-rich pastoral curriculum that encompasses both knowledge of the self and knowledge of the other.Stephen expertly surveys the field of pastoral provision and leadership and provides practical takeaways around how schools can build an integrated approach to taking care of their pupils. He considers how pastoral routines can be embedded in the curriculum and developed to take account of cognitive load theory and Rosenshine's principles of instruction.The book also includes chapters focused on key pastoral considerations - such as safeguarding, behaviour, bullying, and wellbeing and mental health.Suitable for teachers, school leaders and anyone with a pastoral role in any school setting.