Teaching adolescents : educational psychology as a science of signs / Howard A. Smith.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Grounded in the semiotic thought of Charles Sanders Peirce, America's greatest polymath, Howard A. Smith's Teaching Adolescents addresses topics in educational psychology from a semiotic or sign-based perspective rather than a behavioural one.

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CHOICE Review

Judging from the title, one might expect a volume focused on the challenge of teaching adolescents. Adolescent issues are dealt with only sporadically in the text. However, Smith (Queen's Univ., Canada) provides a unique semiotics approach to a basic text on adolescence and educational psychology. Part 1, "Semiotics of Schooling and Teaching," contains only a single chapter, "Adolescents in School," dedicated specifically to the understanding of teenagers in the classroom. Part 2, "Signs in Communication," is about teaching described through a semiotics approach. Chapters such as "Teaching as Communicating in Signs" and "Non-Verbal Signs" show the author's deep knowledge of a subject not normally a part of the standard education curriculum. Grounded in psychosemiotics, or sign-based perspectives, and heavily influenced by philosopher Charles Sanders Pierce, the author admirably covers the effects of nature and nurture on behavior. Topics include how a study of signs informs communication, class management, developmental processes, learning theory, exceptionality, and the role of the teacher. Smith also peppers chapters with "tips for teachers," which should prove helpful in classroom pedagogy. Though intended for preservice teachers, including undergraduates, the all-encompassing emphasis on signs seems more appropriate for master's-level teacher preparation. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students through practitioners. J. L. DeVitis Georgia College & State University