The key term in this book from the first sentence of the Introduction to the last sentence of the Conclusion 74 pages later is “learning community.” The authors provide us with many practical ideas for helping students to enjoy learning and to learn how to learn. Cooperative learning, which appears in the book’s subtitle, is central to the authors’ goal and their path toward that goal. Gardner’s work on Multiple Intelligences and Glasser’s work on human needs provide additional theoretical grounding for English and Dean’s ideas, because learning communities and CL work best when everyone’s diverse learning preferences and individual needs are taken into account. While the book’s examples seem to be taken from primary school, many of the ideas would also be relevant to older students.

Chapter 1, Learning Communities, details ideas for creating a positive environment among learners. A first step is to create a classroom code, i.e., “a shared and negotiated understanding of the ways in which learners treat one another” (p. 8). One technique for arriving at a classroom code is a Y-Chart: what a learning community Looks Like, what it Sounds Like, and what it Feels Like. The points in the Y-Chart can be represented pictorially and even made into classroom posters. The chapter also explains how the code connects with Glasser’s taxonomy of needs: belonging, power, choice, and enjoyment.

Chapter 2, Curriculum Planning and Assessment, mostly concerns how teachers can collaborate with one another to help students and to assess their development. For example, many suggestions are offered on how to conduct ongoing assessment. These include the use of focus assessment groups (focusing on a small group of students for a given period of time), peer assessment, and self assessment.

Chapter 3, Goal Setting and Reflection, explains a 5-step process for helping students achieve learning goals. The steps are:

1. set a goal
2. identify strategies for achieving the goal
3. making a plan and documenting it
4. keeping the goal in focus
5. revisiting and evaluating the goal.

Chapter 4, Student Self-Evaluation, stresses that students need to see themselves as responsible for their own learning. The chapter describes tools that students can use to evaluate themselves: checklists, judgment scales, sentence starters, learning portfolios, and annotated work samples. Another way for students to collect data is by asking peers, e.g. via peer expert groups who analyze a specific aspect of classmates’ work, such as the topic content of a piece of writing.

Chapter 5, Establishing Learning Centers, explains the value of learning centers as vehicles for group activities. Options for deciding on group membership are presented, and suggestions are made for how to start learning centers, such as starting simple and teaching students how to work together in their own group and with other groups.

Chapter 6, Putting the Principles into Practice, presents about 10 different techniques, explaining the purpose, preparation, student instructions, and teacher roles for each. Sample materials are included. Most of the techniques, such as Concept Mapping, are well-known, but the clear descriptions are welcome.

In keeping with its practical nature, the book concludes with 10 blackline masters for implementing the various ideas presented therein, such a self-evaluation guide and a self-evaluation survey. In conclusion, Show Me How to Learn reinforces the valuable point that learning-to-learn skills are best acquired when a CL component is included, and that a key way to be life-long learners involves developing opportunities to learn with others.