Anita L. Archer, PhD, is an educational consultant to school districts on explicit instruction, the design and delivery of instruction, behavior management, and literacy instruction. She has taught elementary and middle school students and is the recipient of 10 awards honoring her excellence in teaching and contributions to the field of education. Dr. Archer has served on the faculties of San Diego State University, the University of Washington in Seattle, and the University of Oregon in Eugene. She is nationally known for her professional development activities, having presented in every state over the course of her 40-year career. Dr. Archer is coauthor of numerous curriculum materials addressing reading, writing, and study skills (with Mary Gleason), and of the book Explicit Instruction (with Charles A. Hughes). She is also author of the professional development DVDs Golden Principles of Explicit Instruction, Active Participation: Getting Them All Engaged, Elementary Level, and Active Participation: Getting Them All Engaged, Secondary Level. Charles A. Hughes, PhD, is Professor of Special Education in the Department of Educational and School Psychology at The Pennsylvania State University and Adjunct Senior Scientist at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning in Lawrence. Prior to joining the Penn State faculty in 1985, Dr. Hughes worked in schools for 14 years as a general and special education teacher, a state-level consultant, and an educational diagnostician. His research interests focus on the development and validation of self-instructional strategies to help students with learning and behavior problems manage their academic and classroom behaviors. He has published over 100 articles, books, book chapters, and curriculum materials and has served as President and Executive Director of the Council for Exceptional Children's Division for Learning Disabilities and editor of the Council's journal Learning Disabilities Research and Practice.

"Explicit instruction is something that benefits every single student, not just those with learning difficulties. This book breaks down how to deliver explicit instruction for a variety of content areas, skill sets, and strategies in a way that will effectively reach a diverse group of learners. As a teacher of both general and special education students, I have had a tremendous amount of success with all of my students by utilizing the principles outlined in this book. This is a valuable resource for all teachers."--Courtney Dexter, MEd, special education teacher, Bellefonte Area Middle School, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania

"Archer and Hughes have laid bare the architecture of effective instruction in this 'must-read' volume. Extensive research has converged on quality of instruction as the core ingredient in school improvement; the genius of this book is the clarity with which it explicates how this quality can be intentionally developed in every classroom. Each strategy or process is illustrated with concrete examples from diverse classrooms. In my 40 years in education, I have never before seen a book as insightful, comprehensive, and practical as this one. Every educator will treasure it!"--Kevin Feldman EdD, Emeritus Director of Reading and Intervention, Sonoma County (California) Office of Education

"If I had to recommend one book that would arm teachers with the instructional practices they need to have the greatest chance of dramatically improving their students' achievement, this would be the one. This is the definitive resource on explicit instruction. Every page is filled with detailed descriptions of how to implement the most powerful explicit instruction teaching practices. Brilliantly conceptualized and written, this book will be embraced by practicing teachers and administrators as well as those preparing future educators."--Donald D. Deshler, PhD, Williamson Family Distinguished Professor of Special Education and Director, Center for Research on Learning, University of Kansas

"I have used this text for three semesters/m-/finally, a book the students will keep! I have used a number of texts in my methods courses over the past 10 years and this one is certainly the best on the market. The writing is clear and appropriate for both undergraduates and graduate teacher candidates; without fail, my students say it is the best text they ever purchased. If you could see my copy of the book, you'd see reference tabs all over it so I know where to look when I'm teaching."--Dee Berlinghoff, PhD, Professor of Education, Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, New York

Publisher: Guilford Publications

Pub date: 2010-11-09

Length: 290 pages