Elliott Seif - Teaching for Lifelong Learning: How to Prepare Students for a Changing World

Copyright 2021 by Elliott Seif

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Seif, Elliott, author.

Title: Teaching for lifelong learning : how to prepare students for a changing world / Elliott Seif.

Description: Bloomington, IN : Solution Tree Press, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020046088 | ISBN 9781951075477 (paperback) | ISBN 9781951075484 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Critical thinking--Study and teaching. | Problem solving--Study and teaching. | Student-centered learning. | Curriculum enrichment. | Learning, Psychology of.

Classification: LCC LB1590.3 .S36 2021 | DDC 371.39/4--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020046088

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Solution Tree Press

President and Publisher: Douglas M. Rife

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T his book is a labor of love, built on my many years of numerous positive encounters with wonderful educational leaders and teachers all across the country and abroad.

My deepest thanks go to all who helped contribute to this book. To single out a few: my many wise professors, especially Don Oliver, Fred Newmann, Harold Berlak, Louis Smith, and Arthur Wirth; my many thoughtful graduate school colleagues; the many professors who taught with me at Temple University, especially Bob McCollum, the inquiry guru, who died too early in a plane crash over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988; and so many wonderful educators, too numerous to mention individually, who led and taught in the Bucks County schools. Special thanks to my colleagues at the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, among them Jim LoGiudice, Larry Martin, Jeanette Warsavage, and Karen Steinbrink. I thank the many dedicated, wonderful leaders and teachers in the School District of Philadelphia, especially those at the Science Leadership Academy and the Parkway Northwest High School for Peace and Social Justice. Jay McTighe, Grant Wiggins (who is unfortunately no longer with us), and all the dedicated members of the Understanding by Design cadre that I worked with over many years have been wonderful, thoughtful, and caring colleagues and friends.

I am also indebted to so many authors of books and articles, many of them referenced in this book, that have advanced the educational profession, and to the many schools and districts that I visited and with which I worked. There were so many wonderful and dedicated leaders and teachers who opened up their classrooms and schools, shared their knowledge and experiences, and showed me what it means to have an excellent school and be an excellent teacher.

I also dedicate this book to my familyto my wonderful wife, Ellie, who puts up with my intensity and concentration; my daughters and their familiesDeborah, Karen, Christine, CJ, and Marcusand my many friends and acquaintances who tolerate my fervent discussions about education and are willing to share their own educational experiences and ideas with me.

My deepest thanks go to Solution Tree Press for its unwavering support for this book and its ideas. In particular, my thanks go to my first editor, Amy Rubenstein, whose editing skills were so valuable in helping me refine and clarify my thoughts and ideas, and to Tonya Cupp, who so ably walked me through the final editing and production of the book.

Finally, I want to thank the many students whom I have observed and spoken with over the years who gave me so many insights into the challenges of schooling and the reasons why education must keep up with the times. This book is for them.

Solution Tree Press would like to thank the following reviewers:

Rita Fischer

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction

Community High School District 128

Vernon Hills, Illinois

Jeremy Muse

Principal

Lake Elementary School

St. Amant, Louisiana

Kim Tucker

Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction

Somers Point School District

Somers Point, New Jersey

Visit go.SolutionTree.com/21stcenturyskills to download the free reproducibles in this book.

Reproducible pages appear in italics.

by Jay McTighe

Elliott Seif, PhD, is an educational consultant, author, school volunteer, and public school advocate. He was a social studies teacher, a professor of education at Temple University, and the Director of Curriculum and Instruction Services for the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, an educational service agency for Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

At the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, Seif provided leadership in curriculum and instruction training and reform, and he developed, led, or participated in more than fifty program reviews for Bucks County school districts. He has conducted professional development programs with numerous schools and school districts throughout the United States and abroad on a variety of topics, including standards-based education, thinking-skill development, instructional improvement, assessment issues, and curriculum development using Understanding by Design (UbD).

Seif is the author of many books, handbooks, articles, commentaries, and reports, including a textbook on the teaching of elementary social studies. His published articles include Social Studies Revived and You Can Teach for Meaning (with Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins) in