Becoming a Better Teacher

Community colleges represent the fastest growing segment of American higher education, their open admissions, low tuition, and flexible scheduling draw students. The government though spends five times as much on prison inmates as it does with community colleges.

Ben Stein travels the world on a quest to learn an awe-inspiring truth - that educators and scientists are being ridiculed, denied tenure, and even fired for merely believing that there might be evidence of 'design' in nature, and that perhaps life is not the result of accidental, random chance, but of intelligent design.

Tweaks egos and pokes fun at both sides in the evolution vs. intelligent design debate. From the shadowy, well-funded headquarters of the pro-intelligent design Discovery Institute in Seattle to the rarefied talk of scientists around a late-night poker table.

Questions the purpose of higher education in an era when the price of college has increased more than for any other service in the United States.

Chronicles the inspirational stories of several teens from low-income communities (from Harlem to Compton and all points in between) as they compete in the 2008 "National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge" annual business plan competition sponsored by National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE)

Engaging & inspiring look at public education in the United States that has helped launch a movement for real & lasting change through the compelling stories of five unforgettable students such as Emily, a Silicon Valley eighth-grader who is afraid of being labeled as unfit for college, and Francisco, a Bronx first-grader whose mom will do anything to give him a shot at a better life.

Five high school students-- a Rebel, an Athlete, a Brain, a Princess and a Basketcase-- find themselves thrown together serving a Saturday morning detention. They do not have much in common, except giving up their day, sitting in the school library, and writing an essay for the principal. At first, they argue and hate each other, but after smoking some of John's marijuana, they begin to pour their hearts out to each other. They talk about their fears, secrets, deepest emotions, and problems.

When an ex-Marine becomes a high school teacher, she is assigned to a tough class of inner-city teenagers.

Robin Williams portrays English professor John Keating, who, in an age of crew cuts, sport coats and cheerless conformity, inspires his students to live life to the fullest, exclaiming "Carpe Diem, lads! Seize the day. Make your lives extraordinary!" The charismatic teacher's emotionally charged challenge is met by his students with irrepressible enthusiasm--changing their lives forever.

Henry Barthes is an educator with a talent to connect with his students. Yet as a substitute teacher he hides his gift to avoid emotional connections. When an assignment places him at a school with a burned-out administration and an apathetic student body, he becomes a role model as a teacher. His emotional bond with the students and teachers help him see he is not alone in a life and death struggle to find beauty in a seemingly vicious and loveless world.

Linda is an English teacher with a small apartment full of a rich collection of great literature. Her only close personal relationships are those she has with her favorite authors. Her life is far less complicated than the dramas she reads, and she likes it that way. All that changes when former star pupil Jason returns to town after failing as a playwright in New York. To help him avoid law school, Linda mounts his play at school, and puts her own reputation and teaching career on the line.

Based on the true story about of Erin Gruwell, a teacher in a racially divided school, who gives her students what they've always needed, a voice. Draws heavily from the published journals of the real students themselves.

A young working-class genius is hauled back from the brink of self-destruction by a gifted counselor.

Melvin B. Tolson is a professor at Wiley College in Texas. Wiley is a small African-American college. In 1935, Tolson inspired students to form the school's first debate team. Tolson turns a group of underdog students into a historically elite debate team which goes on to challenge Harvard in the national championship. Inspired by a true story.

High school biology teacher Scott Voss is desperate to save the music program at his cash-strapped school. Learning that fighting in MMA matches provides a pretty nice payout, Voss decides to put his former collegiate wrestling skills to the test and climb into the octagon. Unfortunately, Voss has been out of college for about 20 years. Does he have what it takes to beat the best and earn the cash the school desperately needs?

A small Tennessee town gained national attention in 1925 when a biology schoolteacher was arrested for violating state law and teaching Darwin's theory of evolution in the classroom.

A frustrated composer gradually comes to realize that his real passion is teaching and that his legacy is not a truly memorable piece of music, but the generations of young people whose lives he affects.

After getting pregnant for the second time through incestuous rape, Precious is suspended from her school. Her principal arranges to have her attend an alternative school where her new teacher, Ms. Rain, helps Precious learn to read and she responds to this glimmer of hope.

An unemployed advertising executive takes a job teaching Army recruits English.

A gifted, rebellious teenager finds himself in competition with a wealthy older man for a favorite teacher's affections.

After intercepting a call for his substitute-teacher roomie Ned, Dewey finds himself in front of a class of elite elementary school students. Dewey decides to take on the music program and makes it his goal to teach them the gospel of rock and roll. His ulterior motive is to get them to compete against his former band for a cash prize.

Story of Jaime Escalante, a math teacher at East Los Angeles' Garfield High School, who pushes and inspires 18 inner-city Hispanic students who were struggling with math to become math whizzes.

Leigh Ann Watson, the brightest girl at Grandsboro High, plots to teach her history teacher a lesson after the teacher accuses her of cheating. The plan spins hilariously out of control and becomes an endless comedy of errors.

Educational consultant Dr. John Brown identifies five conditions that help promote creativity and innovation. He says that we must make classrooms like 21st century corporations that are succeeding. Shows examples from various school and university classrooms around the United States that illustrate the five conditions, stressing metacognition, collaborative interaction, problem solving and investigation.

Makes a compelling argument for the transformative powers of cultural criticism. She demonstrates how learning to think critically was central to her own self-transformation and how it can play a role in the students' quest for a sense of agency and identity. Includes footage from many films and music videos, and news coverage.

Charlotte Danielson guides viewers as they observe classroom examples of the components of the framework for teaching. The video shows the many uses of the framework as the foundation for mentoring, recruiting, goal setting, and observing classroom teaching and as a systemic professional growth model

Components include 13 half-hour video programs featuring documentary case studies describing current environmental science research. Related website provides content, activities & other resources.

Focuses on how to develop a successful classroom. Discusses the important elements of instructional planning, how to establish classroom routines, arrange seating, maintain discipline, and deal with transitions.

How did assessment get to this point -- So what is formative assessment... really? -- How do I get the evidence I need to check student learning?

Explains how to plan meaningful instruction by understanding students' developmental stages, developing a deeper understanding of content, and crafting valid objectives and assessments to inform instruction. Describes successful lesson planning as a combination of scheduling, conceptual organization, and practical implementation. Shows how to use assessments to design instructions, how to weave together many different sources in planning instruction, and how to activate prior knowledge. Features veteran teachers who provide a glimpse into their lesson-planning processes, sharing tricks and tips they've learned along the way.

Explains how to adapt the simple but innovative principles of the FISH! Philosophy to the special challenges of teaching, combining real life examples and step-by-step instructions.

A Teacher's Struggle -- Be There -- Play -- Make Their Day -- Choose Your Attitude -- A Teacher's Purpose.

Wavelength, an improvisational acting troupe from Chicago, dramatizes seven habits of ineffective educators, in a performance before an audience. Wavelength's goal is to provide a humorous perspective to the issues and challenges within education. Intended for educators.

Practical advice and strategies for more effective teaching for both beginning and experienced teachers.

Part of a series on improving teaching and enhancing learning on the college level. The first program features three distinct models of collaborative learning, each of which shows students discussing problems and devising solutions with the help of their instructors and peers. In the second program, Professor Eric Mazur introduces two techniques for lectures that use in-class discussion and immediate feedback to improve student learning.