Ronald Dietel, Ed.D., spent three years researching and writing "Get Smart! Nine Sure Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in School" (Jossey-Bass Wiley), a book to provide parents with the tools to help their children become better students as they head back to school this year.
Dietel, an assistant director at the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at UCLA's Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, synthesized the latest research on education and combined it with real-world strategies from leading researchers in the field to create his "Get Smart Learning Model." In "Get Smart!," he explains the nine components of the model - ability, effort, attitudes and beliefs, school quality, teacher quality, school learning habits, home learning habits, evaluation and communications. Additionally, he provides practical advice on how parents can help children of all ages and abilities improve in each of the categories.
"Teachers, parents and students form a triad of learning," said Dietel. "When those three components work effectively, students almost always succeed in school, but when one or more of the components break down, student learning suffers."
Dietel combines personal experience with research from federally funded education centers. As the father of two children in public school and an assistant director of a national research center on evaluation and testing, he has first-hand knowledge of the tools and tips to help children succeed in school. He is a former president of the La Cañada Unified School District in California and frequent contributor to the National PTA's magazine, Our Children.
"Get Smart!" also features information gathered from interviews with over 40 experts in the field of education. The book provides parents with personal examples and advice that can be tailored to their individual child's personality and behavior. Included are tips on how to evaluate the quality of a classroom and understand a report card as well as a comprehensive assessment glossary.
Ronald Dietel will sign copies of "Get Smart! Nine Sure Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in School" from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9, at La Cañada Books and Toys, 653 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada. The bookstore is donating 10 percent of the net sales of the book to the PTSA at La Cañada High School.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ronald Dietel has been interviewed and quoted on education topics in numerous newspapers, magazines, and radio outlets, including the Los Angeles Times and National Public Radio. He has spoken at national PTA conferences on the subject of learning and answers the "Ask the Expert" questions from parents on the CRESST website. His article, "Start the Year Right," is featured in the September 2006 National PTA's Our Children magazine at http://www.pta.org/pr_magazine_article_details_1156450992312.html.
-UCLA-
SE375