Smart from the Start: 100 Tools for Teaching with Confidence

The ultimate new teacher's guide to surviving and thriving in the classroom, Smart from the Start is the springboard to help you establish and improve your practice in meaningful ways.

Teachers have a wide range of responsibilities—not all of which can be addressed in teacher preparation programs—and for new and returning educators especially, it can be daunting to think about all that is required throughout the school year. This book provides more than 100 easy-to-incorporate tools spread across six major points of concern:

* Beginning of the year: set up your classroom and establish rules and procedures.
* Classroom management: establish a healthy learning environment.
* Instructional planning: lead high-quality lessons and anticipate students' diverse needs.
* Student engagement: motivate students and maintain their quality of learning.
* Assessment: align assessment with curriculum and instruction and build rubrics and tests.
* Teacher well-being: find the joy in teaching and take care of yourself.

Your first few years of teaching don't have to be formidable or confusing. James H. Stronge, Jessica M. Straessle, and Xianxuan Xu have synthesized decades of research to identify and carefully consider the attributes of the job that especially relate to new teachers. With Smart from the Start, you can take your first steps into teaching with confidence and create a classroom environment that will benefit your students.

James H. Stronge is president and CEO of Stronge & Associates Educational Consulting, LLC, an educational consulting company that focuses on teacher and leader effectiveness with projects throughout the United States and internationally. Additionally, he is the Heritage Professor of Education, a distinguished professorship, in the Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership Area at the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, Virginia. He teaches doctoral courses within the School of Education's Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership (EPPL) Program, with a particular focus on teacher and leader effectiveness, human resource leadership, legal issues in education, and research design.

Jessica M. Straessle received her master's degree in early childhood education from Georgia State University, where she focused on effective teaching in an urban environment. She then received her Doctor of Philosophy degree from William and Mary's Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership Program with a focus on curriculum and educational leadership. While completing her PhD program, she was a classroom teacher teaching inclusion and gifted classes. Currently, she is working as a research associate with Stronge & Associates Educational Consulting. Her research interests include teacher effectiveness, teacher evaluation, and student individuality. To date, she has helped edit two books and coauthored three quick reference guides for teachers (ASCD).

Xianxuan Xu received her Doctor of Philosophy degree from William and Mary's Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership Program. Currently she is working as the decision analytics researcher at the Virginia Department of Education. Previously she served as the senior research associate with Stronge & Associates Educational Consulting. Her research interests include teacher and principal effectiveness, professional development, and evaluation. To date, she has authored or coauthored eight books and numerous book chapters, journal articles, and technical reports. She has presented findings of her research at leading national conferences, such as the American Educational Research Association, the University Council for Educational Administration, and the CREATE National Evaluation Institute.