Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction for the Thinking Classroom (Corwin Teaching Essentials) Second Edition (Revised Edition)

This is a must read for those teachers concerned with helping their students become more of a critical thinker. Very good information for everyday use. Using this for a graduate class but also using the information in my classroom everyday. Cheaper price on Amazon.com than at the college bookstore.

As a Gifted and Talented Specialist and future school administrator, I loved this book. The book will provide you with a deeper understanding on the importance of depth and complexity in the classroom. I highly recommend it!

In the last decade I have tried to go deeply into my instructional strategies that indeed help the student of higher education to development their intelligence, critical thinking and potential creative without neglecting the contents. It has been an arduous but very interesting challenge. It is wonderful to find in this book a practical guide that take into account the conceptual structure from each discipline. The author has given me many answers product of her experience, that I hope help me to focus and to order better my teaching strategies. The examples in this book show how to extrapolate the factual knowledge to the conceptual understanding to connect it with student's experiences to give it a personal meaning, so that they can solve the manifold and complex problems that they will have to face at the real world

This book turned unit design, lesson planning and academic standards inside-out for me. It is a bit arbitrary, technical, plodding and esoteric at times-not based on data or well researched-a bit fanciful in my view. It does, however, mention that it took the author 18 years to gain her understanding of concept-based curriculum design, so don't feel so bad if you are confused. Overall, this is a good book. I notice many state standards written with the big picture in mind. Now I will recognize those quicker and immediately understand their purpose. The simple explanation describing fact, topic, concept and generalization is effective. Teachers exposed to concept-based instruction need to practice this in their mind with ordinary household items. It is a fun exercise and it allows one to strengthen insight into seeing everything from the outside. I picture a funnel. The facts are the small end and the generalizations/principles are the large side. When one teaches using only facts, you are pressed in the small end. It is the same as being bogged down with the details while missing the big picture. The author seems to have some confusing and narrow descriptions for some aspects of CBI which is why I gave it a 4 star review. As a whole, I believe it has value. The theory is solid, but the book's explanations are somewhat technical for your average teacher, especially elementary teachers who deal mostly with children at the concrete operational stage. I do believe it has across-the-board value for all teachers. I recommend it.

The book was such a good read. I recommend this book to all teachers who want to give their students a full and appliable education.

Erickson's best book so far! A must read for anyone interested in Concept-Based Curriculum. This edition is significantly different to the first edition with 2 new chapters.

The problem is that this book did not provide me any more insight than the other readings did. I had to buy it for the course assignment so I did. I will be quick to resell it. Texas University forces you to buy some books that their professors have authored!

Book is brand new, no markings or highlighting. An excellent price as compared to the bookstore. There was not a long wait for the book