Makes the case that now is a timely moment to reimagine schools and put the intellectual and social-emotional health of students and teachers at the centre of the educational process. This book will help administrators and teachers to structure their settings in ways that maximize the likelihood of meaningful and enduring student learning.

Contents Foreword Michael Fullan ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xv Part I: Making the Case for Constructivist Schools 1. Imagining Schools as  .  .  . 3 A Simple Proposition 3 Implications for Schooling 5 Paradigm Shift 7 Information or Knowledge? 8 Meaningful Work 11 Tracking Worthy Outcomes 11 At a Crossroad 13 Every Classroom a Journey 14 2. Transforming Schools From the Inside Out 17 Preschoolers Take a Nature Walk 17 Elementary School Students Simulate an Oil Spill Cleanup 20 Middle Schoolers Respond to a Global Challenge 22 High Schoolers Become Stewards of Water Quality 25 Undergraduates Include Social Justice in Studies of the Changing Earth 27 Teachers Transform Their Practice 28 3. Searching for Meaning 31 Making Sense of Things 31 Our Personal Pantheon 33 Wiring and Firing 42 Opening New Doors to Self-Regulation 44 Images of Learners 46 Part II: Guiding Principles 4. Tying the Learning Frameworks Together 51 Math: What Boats and Medicines Can Teach Us 52 Science: What Ants Can Teach Us 54 Social Studies: What Huckleberries Can Teach Us 56 Literacy: What Artifacts Can Teach Us 58 The Arts: What Windy Days Can Teach Us 60 Language, Libraries, Health: What Rocks and Water Can Teach Us 61 Embedding the “What,” Guiding the “How,” Providing a “Why” 65 5. Framing Curricula and Teaching Around Big Ideas 69 Big Ideas and Points of View 70 Negotiating Curricula 72 Just-in-Time Teaching 73 Content–Process Dynamic 74 Posing Problems of Emerging Relevance 79 6. Fostering the Development of Reasoning With Design Thinking 83 Models of Design Thinking 83 Failing Forward 85 Innovating With Design Thinking 86 Design Challenges 89 Teaching With Design Challenges 91 7. Deepening Reasoning With Transdisciplinary Strategies 97 1. Ordering Learning Experiences 98 2. Hearing the Questions Students Hear 100 3. Offering Time to Think 101 4. Seeking Elaboration 102 5. Facilitating the Search for Patterns 103 6. Valuing Evidence 104 7. Connecting Students With Each Other 106 8. Posing Targeted Questions 107 9. Appreciating Context 108 10. Cultivating a Sense of Place 109 11. Supporting Student Agency 110 12. Navigating Error 111 8. Responsibly Assessing Student Learning 115 The Perils of Grading 116 Data Versus Evidence 117 Connecting Teaching to Assessing 118 Assessment That Generates Student Thinking 120 Performance Assessment 123 Responsible Assessment 124 Changing the Narrative 126 Part III: Stepping up and Speaking Out 9. Shifting Norms and Structures 131 Visioning and Valuing 131 Establishing a Culture of Learning 133 Aligning Curricula 134 Collaborating With Parents 135 Differentiating for Equity 136 Considering Space and Time and Technology 138 School as a Concept 140 10. Moving to the Next Level of Work 143 Why 144 How 146 For Whom 147 References 151 Index 163 About the Authors 173

“You won’t find a more comprehensive, insightful, and memorable account of constructivist learning than what is provided in this wonderful cumulative account of what great learning is and how we should establish and pursue it…. Schools Reimagined is a complete, succinct, and rich guide to new action—the kind of action that is badly needed as we develop a new system out of the ravages of COVID-19. A timely book indeed!” —From the Foreword by Michael Fullan, professor emeritus, OISE/University of Toronto