How to Teach Thinking Skills Within the Common Core: 7 Key Student Proficiencies of the New National Standards

Packed with examples and tools, this practical guide prepares teachers across all grade levels and content areas to teach the most critical cognitive skills from the Common Core State Standards. Discover a doable three-phase model of explicit teaching, guided practice in content-based lessons, and authentic application in standards-based performance tasks that will strengthen students’ ability to learn across the curriculum.

James A. Bellanca is the founder and CEO of International Renewal Institute, Inc. He is known for his cutting-edge program design and implementation of research-rich, standards-aligned professional learning programs for educators. He has worked with educational leaders in Chicago, Los Angeles, Cleveland, New York, New Jersey, and Michigan, and also with school districts to design programs that promote critical thinking and collaboration to increase academic performance among all children, including high-risk student populations.

Robin J. Fogarty is president of the Chicago-based, minority-owned educational publishing and consulting firm RFA: A Robin Fogarty Company. She has taught in classrooms from kindergarten level through college and served as an administrator. She is the author or coauthor of more than 10 books, including From Staff Room to Classroom: A Guide for Planning and Coaching Professional Development (with Brian M. Pete), which won a 2006 National Staff Development Council book award. She is a contributor to 21st Century Skills: Rethinking How Students Learn and has written articles for Educational Leadership, Phi Delta Kappan, and the Journal of Staff Development.

She earned a doctorate in curriculum and human resource development from Loyola University Chicago, a master's in instructional strategies from National-Louis University, and a bachelor's in early childhood education from the State University of New York at Potsdam. She is married to Brian Pete.

Brian M. Pete is cofounder of RFA: A Robin Fogarty Company. He is a skilled presenter on a variety of educational and leadership topics. He helps teachers transfer knowledge gained in the staff room into immediate and relevant classroom strategies. His educational videos include Best Practices: Classroom Management and Best Practices: Active Learning Classrooms. Brian is also the author of numerous resources. He coauthored From Staff Room to Classroom: A Guide for Planning and Coaching Professional Development (with Robin Fogarty), which won a 2006 National Staff Development Council book award. He is also a contributor to 21st Century Skills: Rethinking How Students Learn.

He earned a bachelor of science from DePaul University in Chicago and is pursuing a master's in fiction writing from Columbia College Chicago. He is married to Robin Fogarty.