Tools for Teaching

Dr. Jones describes how highly successful teachers produce orderly, productive classrooms without working themselves to death. This is the whole package – discipline, instruction and motivation – described in the down-to-earth language of "how to" with plenty of examples for guidance. You will learn how to decrease classroom disruptions, backtalk, dawdling and helpless handraising while increasing responsible behavior, motivation, independent learning and academic achievement.

Tools for Teaching is the fruit of over four decades of research and collaboration with teachers by Dr. Fredric H. Jones. Dr. Jones has studied the “natural” teachers - the ones who get the “good kids” every year and produce two years of learning in one. What do they do? In answering this question, Dr. Jones has described the fundamental skills of classroom management in great detail. Teachers say, “This is the first time someone has told me exactly what to do rather than just giving me generalities.” Just as importantly, the book is both enjoyable and down to earth.

Dr. Jones was trained as a clinical psychologist and studied the socialization of children while serving on the faculties of both UCLA and the University of Rochester. In addition to training graduate students to do family therapy, Dr. Jones worked extensively in educational settings to help students with severe emotional and behavioral problems. Dr. Jones spent the past four decades working in classrooms to discover how exceptional teachers produce happy and productive classrooms no matter what students they are given. This work resulted in a revolutionary system of classroom management described in Dr. Jones' first two books, Positive Classroom Discipline and Positive Classroom Instruction. Tools for Teaching, offers an updated description of classroom management enriched by three decades of teacher training.