Wayside Teaching
Connecting With Students to Support Learning
- Sara Davis Powell - Belmont Abbey College
Wayside-teaching practices enhance academic learning and complement academic rigour because they build student self-concept, motivate learners to engage in the curriculum, and provide a sense of belonging and safety that can help free learners to participate more fully in their own education.
In this practical guide, Sara Davis Powell uses the framework of attitude, approach, and action to demonstrate how wayside teaching—the informal curriculum, the implicit instruction, the teaching and learning that happens in sometimes unintentional ways—can be intentionally practiced across all grade levels to facilitate learning and bring about enhanced student outcomes.
“At last! A book that pushes past the idea that students should be test-taking machines by emphasizing relationship building and providing practical advice to teachers.”
"It was refreshing to read about what I truly believe in and work at every year in my classroom."
"A topic whose time has come and is perhaps long overdue. Teachers know how to teach, but they want to connect with their kids to make that teaching effective. This book empowers teachers to complete what is missing in their work."
“I loved the premise of the book. It touched my soul.”
"Wayside teaching is not taught as an educational strategy, yet its impact is undeniable. The book defines the concept and demonstrates how teachers can implement this tangential form of learning on a regular basis."
"If teaching has left you wrung out academically and dried out emotionally, this book is for you. By using studies proving the power of wayside teaching, Powell has freed teachers to create meaningful relationships with students that will not only inspire them to greater academic achievement, but help them become emotionally healthy and resilient adults."