Teaching to Empower: Taking Action to Foster Student Agency, Self-Confidence, and Collaboration

by Debbie Zacarian, Michael Silverstone

We want students to master academic standards, and we want them to be confident, adaptive, and socially responsible. Above all, we want them to find meaning and satisfaction in their lives. Achieving these goals requires a concerted focus on the social-emotional skills that empower students in and beyond the classroom. In Teaching to Empower, Debbie Zacarian and Michael Silverstone explore what an empowered student looks like in our increasingly diverse contemporary schools and prompt educators to examine their own relationship to empowerment. The book's evidence-based strategies and authentic examples show you how to foster an inclusive culture of agency, self-confidence, and collaboration that will give each of your students—regardless of race, culture, language, socioeconomic status, abilities, sexuality, or gender—the opportunity, responsibility, and tools to become an active learner, thoughtful community member, and engaged global citizen. Whether you're a preservice teacher, a classroom novice, or a veteran, you'll find the practical guidance you'll need to

* Create inclusive and empowering physical learning spaces.
* Set up self-directed learning and promote positive interdependence.
* Promote student self-reflection.
* Teach the skills of collaboration.
* Foster the self-advocacy that fuels deeper, more autonomous learning.
* Partner more effectively with families and the community to support student empowerment.

178 pages, Paperback

Published March 16, 2020

Reviews

[Kevin Hodgson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good examples around student engagement and agency ... Note: I contributed a small anecdote in book about student learning and I know the authors (Michael more than Debbie) through our Western Massachusetts Writing Project.

[Susan McGilvray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a lot of new information here but empowering students is important.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that it gave theory plus real life, concrete examples of how to implement each idea.

[Eva Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is powerful for teaching students from various backgrounds to empower themselves and supporting them in empowering their peers. The examples and explanations are clear and inspiring.