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I RECEIVED A Copy of TEACH: Creating Independently Responsible LEarners FREE OF CHARGE FOR REVIEW PURPOSES AND WAS COMPENSATED FOR MY TIME. ALL OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS POST ARE MY OWN AND I WAS NOT REQUIRED TO POST A POSITIVE REVIEW OF THE PRODUCT.
When I was teaching middle school, we had mandated professional development that needed to be completed annually. Twenty hours a year. One hundred hours over five years. We were always learning about curriculum, resources, and teaching methods.
Since I began homeschooling, I have struggled to switch my mindset from that of a public school teacher with 100 students a day, to that of a mom of three. My desire has always been to be the best teacher possible, but professional development as a homeschooler isn’t really a thing.
That’s why I tap into whatever resources I can from conferences and homeschool meet-ups to reading about homeschooling pedagogy and philosophies. So much of what is written on homeschooling is meant to be encouragement. What I am looking for is a professional development piece. That piece that improves the quality of my teaching. The quality of education in our homeschool.
Be a Better Homeschool Teacher
Teach: Creating Independently Responsible Learners by Dennis DiNoia was the professional development piece I needed to reinvigorate our homeschool this spring.
Sometimes, we get in a rut of always doing things how they’ve always been done. Just chasing our tails. And then, we wonder why nothing is happening? Why aren’t our children taking ownership of their learning? Why do they look at their grade and move on?
And that is exactly the cycle that DiNoia was in when he first was teaching. But what he realized, and what most of us know to be true, is that when children become responsible for their learning and is in charge of how they learn, they will soar!
Instead of focusing on the teaching, we need to focus on guiding our children to become independently responsible learners. On discovery. Once they know they are responsible for how they learn, the world opens up to them. Self-motivated and self-directed learning means that your child can truly learn whatever they want and it tears down the barriers of how it will be taught.
As you read Teach: Creating Independently Responsible Learners, DiNoia will talk you through his evolution as an educator, sharing his experiences and thought processes on better teaching and empowering our children.
Students will discover that they alone are responsible for their learning which can be daunting, but also incredibly exciting, empowering, and encouraging.
Teach: Creating Independently Responsible Learners by Dennis DiNoia
Teach by Dennis DiNoia is a homeschool book worth reading (or listening to if you like audiobooks). This is a book that should be read by homeschooling parents no matter where they are in their homeschooling journey.
Formats
Teach: Creating Independently Responsible Learners is available in three forms on Amazon: Paperback, Kindle, or Audiobook.
At 136 pages, Teach is a quicker read but still full of wonderful insight and I highly recommend you have a physical copy that you can refer back to at any time.
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