Whole-Child Teaching

James Trifone holds a PhD in education from the University of Lancaster, UK. He is the academic director of the Master of Arts in Learning and Thinking [MALT] degree program, offered at The Graduate Institute in Bethany, Connecticut. This program consists of an innovative and learner-centered approach for preK–12 educators who strive to develop and integrate a holistic twenty-first-century whole-child approach into their classroom teaching.

• ForewordPrefaceAcknowledgementsIntroductionPart I: Whether to Reform or Transform That Is The QuestionChapter 1: America Needs To Transform Rather Than Reform EducationChapter 2: Transformation Requires a Systemic ChangeChapter 3: Transforming Education: The Whole-Child ParadigmPart II: The District-based Influences That Affect Learning & ThinkingChapter 4: Creating a New Story of Learning & ThinkingPart III: The Educator-Based Influences That Affect Learning, Thinking & Well-Being Chapter 5: What Are the Teaching Practices of the Teacher –Centered and Learner-Centered Approaches to Teaching?Chapter 6: Towards a Constructivist Approach to LearningChapter 7: What Thinking Skills Foster Meaningful LearningChapter 8: The Interdisciplinary CurriculumChapter 9: Why Is the Whole-Child Educator Interested in Positive Psychology? Part IV: Personal Demonstrations Of Learning & ThinkingChapter 10: The Whole-Child Educator Fosters a Growth MindsetPart V: Interpersonal Demonstrations of Learning & ThinkingChapter 11: How Do Students Demonstrate Competency in Interpersonal Skills?Afterword

Trifone advocates for transforming, not reforming, schooling in the US. He characterizes US classrooms as suffering from too much lecture-based teaching; the squelching of creativity, innovative thinking, and nonconformity; an over-reliance on standards-based assessment of learning and teaching; and the failure to recognize that students have unique learning skills and needs. He calls for adopting a "whole-child" approach, which would require a systemic change in educational organizations, creating high achievement expectations for all students, aligning educational standards, and fostering dialogue and decision-making among all members of the learning community…. Trifone notes that transitioning from the teacher-centered 20th century to the learner-centered 21st century educational approach will require professional development and the support of all communities for funding and social change. Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals.