Phenomenal Teaching: A Guide for Reflection and Growth

by Wendy Ward Hoffer

"Teaching for agency and understanding works for everyone. So, start where you are, use what you have, teach whoever comes through your door." - Wendy Ward Hoffer Phenomenal Teaching is a professional development workshop in a book. The text charts a pathway for teachers to cultivate agency and foster understanding for every learner. It provides research, classroom examples, planning tools, and opportunities to use your background knowledge and talk back to the text. This book is interactive and intentionally designed with lots of open space to be your personal thought playground as you navigate this journey. Graphic organizers invite you to think and plan, and each chapter closes with an invitation for reflection. Chapter one explores the critical foundation for effective teaching - our purpose and beliefs as teachers. Chapters two through seven offer six instructional approaches that, when used together, can make all the difference for student planning, community, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment. Wendy asks questions and expects a response. "Write in this book." She says, "I truly invite you to write all over it - annotate, underline, ask, respond. You will learn more, have a record of your thinking, and it will be more fun."

Genres: Professional Development

232 pages, Paperback

Published March 27, 2020

Reviews

[Jodi Booth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read for every educator! It has workshop model and thinking strategies with lots of examples and rubrics for evaluating our own progress. We're always learning in this profession! I liked this summation at the end, "We keep it brief. We bite our tongue, and save our breath, even when there is more we might add, and we let learners get to work, knowing we may circle back later and sprinkle in some other possibilities, perspectives, or tools" (188). LET THE LEARNERS GET TO WORK!!

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful guide to good teaching; Hoffer presents not only the "whys" but includes some of the "hows" as well. Great tool for reflection of our craft.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for any teacher, new or experienced, who is trying to rediscover their "why" for teaching.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brought together information from many other books that I have read, so the information did not feel new to me. But, it brought the information together in an organized way and gave space for reflection. All the information is critical to good teaching, so. good reminder to dig into best practices and some practical applications. Great book for beginning teachers.