The Intentional Teacher: Choosing the Best Strategies for Young Children’s Learning, Third Edition
Amy Schmidtke
About the Book
How can educators purposefully and effectively teach young children in ways that respect their development, curiosity, and individuality? How can teachers balance both child-guided and adult-guided learning experiences to teach the skills and concepts children need to succeed in school and life?
The fully revised and updated edition of this seminal text brings these pieces together through practical teaching strategies and new real-life examples. With 18 expert contributors, the third edition expands on up-to-date evidence-based practices, including how children engage in content learning in deeper ways.
Highlights of this new edition include
- Specific ideas for interacting with children in key developmental domains and subject areas, pegged to how they best learn and apply their learning
- Examples of connecting teaching to children’s everyday lives
- Considerations for children with disabilities and for multilingual learners
- Chapter objectives and reflection questions to deepen engagement with the concepts
This book will help teachers apply their knowledge of children and content to thoughtfully plan and implement child-guided and adult-guided learning experiences to support joyful, engaged learning.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Volume Editor and Contributors
- Preface
- Chapter 1: Introducing Intentional Teaching | Amy Schmidtke
- Chapter 2: Effective Practices for Intentional Teaching | Amy Schmidtke, Tonya Jolley, and Kimberlee Telford
- Chapter 3: Approaches to Learning | Marie L. Masterson and Michèle M. Mazzocco
- Chapter 4: Social and Emotional Learning | Keri Giordano
- Chapter 5: Physical Development and Health | Lori E. Meyer
- Chapter 6: Language and Literacy | Susan Bennett-Armistead
- Chapter 7: Mathematics | Holland Banse
- Chapter 8: Science | Cindy Hoisington
- Chapter 9: Social Studies | Crystal N. Wise, Betül Demiray Sandıraz, and Anne-Lise Halvorsen
- Chapter 10: Creative Arts | Julia Luckenbill and Keely Benson
- Chapter 11: Reflections on Intentional Teaching | Amy Schmidtke
- Glossary
- Index
References
References
Book Details
Book Details
Product Code: 1174
ISBN: 978-1-952331-39-8
Publish Date: 2025
ISBN: 978-1-952331-39-8
Publish Date: 2025
Citation (in Chicago 17th ed. style):
Schmidtke, A., ed. 2025. The Intentional Teacher: Choosing the Best Strategies for Young Children’s Learning. 3rd ed. NAEYC.
Related Resources
Related Resources
Audience: Student (higher education), Teacher
Age: Preschool
Amy Schmidtke
Amy Schmidtke, EdD, is an early childhood educator, instructional coach, and leader with 30 years of experience advancing high-quality early learning. She specializes in guided play, child-centered learning, school-family-community partnerships, and professional development. As director of educational practice at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska, she collaborates with school leaders and educators to strengthen early learning programs and district systems, applying research to enhance leadership, instruction, and family engagement. She holds a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and drives innovation through leadership, publications, collaboration, and professional learning initiatives.
Reviews
The third edition of The Intentional Teacher should be in every early childhood teacher’s library! It beautifully centers equitable participation, honoring all children and families as full members of the learning community. With curiosity, joy, and relationships at the core, the contributing authors empower early childhood educators to self-reflect, choose effective strategies, and nurture children’s innate enthusiasm for learning through balanced child- and adult-guided experiences.
—Erin Cetera, Director of Quality Assessment, McCormick Institute for Early Childhood at National Louis University
The Intentional Teacher is the foundational text in my teacher education curriculum, and I’m thrilled to integrate this new edition. The third edition expands on its foundational principles of purposeful teaching while incorporating new research on deeper content learning and practices that reflect the strengths and experiences of all children. This is essential wisdom for today’s early childhood educators.
—Kate McCormick, Associate Professor, Childhood/Early Childhood Education, State University of New York Cortland
As the legendary early childhood educator Vivian Paley explained, “Because they know them so well, teachers are in the best position to make decisions about their children.” We are not without tools to make these decisions. The Intentional Teacher is an excellent resource for supporting children’s learning.
—Ben Mardell, Teacher, Newtowne School; Research Affiliate, Lifelong Kindergarten, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab
This is a must-read in all early childhood teacher preparation programs. It honors the sophistication and complexity of high-quality teaching for our youngest learners while providing exemplary guidance and support to both novice and experienced teachers.
—Catherine Main, Senior Lecturer and Director of Early Childhood Education, College of Education, University of Illinois Chicago
—Catherine Main, Senior Lecturer and Director of Early Childhood Education, College of Education, University of Illinois Chicago
