Mary Jane O’Connell & Kara Vandas 
Partnering With Students [PDF ebook] 
Building Ownership of Learning

Empower students to own their learning The world today needs students prepared to set goals, to fail, to get up and try a new strategy, to fail again, and to persist until their goals are realized. Therefore, we must ask, "Are all students in our classrooms equipped with the skills and confidence to take ownership of their learning? If not, what can we do to change that?" Building on the work of John Hattie, Larry Ainsworth, and other leaders in the field, Partnering With Students: Building Ownership of Learning offers a powerful framework to accelerate student motivation and learning. This resource is designed to empower teachers and leaders with strategies to develop learners who have the confidence and tools to engage in any challenge. By flipping the focus to student ownership of learning, the authors provide clear and simple ways to: Develop collaborative relationships Jointly establish clear expectations for learning and criteria for success Intentionally build learner strategies that last a lifetime Use formative assessment results to monitor progress Harness the power of reciprocal feedback to improve teaching and learning Empower and motivate students set meaningful goals and prove learning When students are invited to partner and share in the responsibility of learning, they become our greatest allies, and we will learn as much from them as they will learn from us. "O’Connell and Vandas provide a wealth of information to educators, proving that it is not only important to be student-focused, but essential if students are to reach their fullest potential. In an era where we seemingly complicate things because we can, it is refreshing to see a book like this that is clearly written, driven by commonsense, evidenced by good practice, and supported with tools and clear examples." – Russell J. Quaglia, President/Founder Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations "An extremely rich resource for educators who genuinely want to empower students to be successful in college AND careers. The research-supported strategies put forth press educators to engage in deep reflection and analysis of their personal beliefs and practices, while equipping them with practical techniques to engage students in rigorous, relevant ways in the classroom." – Kim S. Benton, Chief Academic Officer, Deputy State Superintendent Mississippi Department of Education