"If you are seeking a more effective way to improve teaching and learning for your students or innovative ways to help teachers become actively involved in their professional career, you will enjoy opening the door to lesson study." -From the Foreword by Akihiko Takahashi Employ one of the most promising strategies for linking professional development and student achievement-lesson study! Educators have been examining the Japanese lesson study model for years, but the dissimilar environment in U.S. schools has prevented a widescale adoption of this effective form of professional learning. Lesson Study Communities demonstrates how to translate each step of the Japanese lesson study process to the educational environment of U.S. schools. Offering specific strategies that have been tested and successfully used with ethnically diverse students, this book incorporates a culturally responsive approach to curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Working in impoverished schools with ELL and low SES students, Wiburg and Brown's program made significant progress toward closing the achievement gap in poorly served communities. Applicable to math, science, reading, language arts, and social studies programs, this implementation guide: Explains how to connect lesson study to school or district instructional goals Provides case examples and step-by-step guidance Reveals how lesson study can be integrated into daily work Offers extended learning activities and exercises Addressing the challenge of changing student demographics, this book includes guidance on assessing readiness for lesson study, planning the research lesson, gathering data, modifying the lesson, and sharing findings. Staff developers, teachers, and administrators committed to increasing student achievement will find this to be a significant stride toward ensuring academic success.
Positive Discipline for PreK-3 Classrooms and Beyond
'Teachers of young children will feel validated by this book that explains the issues underlying behaviors that challenge us on a daily basis and shows how to address them effectively' - Xiomara Sanchez, NBCT, Dual Language Pre-K Teacher, Darwin Elementary School, Chicago, IL 'Covers the breadth of children's behaviors that teachers are likely to see, and describes the major motivators for them very well. The examples and scenarios are highly interesting, meaningful, and transferable to classroom practice' - Gail Hardesty, Early Reading First Mentor, Chicago Public Schools, IL Teachers are experts in balancing the diverse backgrounds, social-emotional needs, and academic goals of children in their classroom - that is, if they can only get them to sit still, pay attention, keep their hands off of each other (or out of the fish tank), or a host of other effective aggravations! But creating a classroom of attentive learners takes more than swift discipline - it involves helping children make good behavioural choices by developing their self-control rather than controlling them to make the choices we prefer. Difficult Behavior in Early Childhood offers insight into understanding why certain children behave in certain ways, so teachers can react appropriately to individual behaviours and needs. In an engaging, conversational tone, the book covers: * Reconciling the different behavioural expectations of families and schools * Applying timeout effectively * Motivating children immediately and powerfully * Establishing and following through with boundaries * Developing behaviour incentive plans that work * Identifying early signs of depression, anxiety, grief, and special needs Through informed practice, teachers can bring about positive behavioural change and healthy, productive development.
"If you are seeking a more effective way to improve teaching and learning for your students or innovative ways to help teachers become actively involved in their professional career, you will enjoy opening the door to lesson study." -From the Foreword by Akihiko Takahashi Employ one of the most promising strategies for linking professional development and student achievement-lesson study! Educators have been examining the Japanese lesson study model for years, but the dissimilar environment in U.S. schools has prevented a widescale adoption of this effective form of professional learning. Lesson Study Communities demonstrates how to translate each step of the Japanese lesson study process to the educational environment of U.S. schools. Offering specific strategies that have been tested and successfully used with ethnically diverse students, this book incorporates a culturally responsive approach to curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Working in impoverished schools with ELL and low SES students, Wiburg and Brown's program made significant progress toward closing the achievement gap in poorly served communities. Applicable to math, science, reading, language arts, and social studies programs, this implementation guide: Explains how to connect lesson study to school or district instructional goals Provides case examples and step-by-step guidance Reveals how lesson study can be integrated into daily work Offers extended learning activities and exercises Addressing the challenge of changing student demographics, this book includes guidance on assessing readiness for lesson study, planning the research lesson, gathering data, modifying the lesson, and sharing findings. Staff developers, teachers, and administrators committed to increasing student achievement will find this to be a significant stride toward ensuring academic success.
An Educational Leader's Guide to Preventing Derailment and Ensuring Personal and Organizational Success
'An exciting guide to help aspiring educational leaders develop' - Terrence E. Deal, Professor of Education, University of Southern California 'Moving, realistic, and candid. Every would-be and present administrator would benefit from reading this book' - Seymour B. Sarason, Author and Professor of Psychology Emeritus, Yale University 'Filled with practical, useful ideas to help you get (and keep!) your career going in the right direction. All school administrators should make this book a part of their personal learning plan. We are using it as a part of our intensive leadership training program' - Richard E. Maxwell, Deputy Executive Director, Buckeye Association of School Administrators Is your administrative career moving along as you intended? Are you getting closer to your ideal job? This book will help you deal with the pressures, pitfalls, and opportunities that face educational administration leaders. If you are on track, and especially if you're not, Brubaker and Coble will teach you how to identify and prevent "derailment." This second edition is completely updated and two new chapters - "Accountability and High-Stakes Testing" and "The Seasons of an Educational Leader's Career" - address the new political realities of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Use this guide to assess your chances for derailing. The authors provide precise information for avoiding potential career derailment and direction for continuing your self-development in order to become a more valuable asset to your school district and your board. You'll gain strategies to help start or keep your forward momentum, learn what you may be doing to sabotage prospects for promotion (or retention), and discover how to take steps to remedy the situation. Become - or remain - an effective, creative school administrator. Help colleagues and staff use their talents to benefit themselves and the organization. This practical, step-by-step guide is designed to help you create an atmosphere in which derailment can be prevented or minimized. Professors of educational administration and curriculum will find this book a valuable asset for courses that focus on teacher and administrator leadership.
Become an extraordinary visionary leader with the knowledge and skills to make great things happen! Well-educated, charismatic leaders who can improve systems to enrich the lives of others are needed today more than ever. In this updated edition, John Hoyle identifies vision, motivation, flexibility, and openness to invention and opportunity as key characteristics of effective leaders, and challenges school administrators to think outside the box-to explore the vital links between effective leadership and visioning for the future. Illustrating new and vivid team-building exercises, this excellent resource guides educators striving to lead, inspire, and motivate students and team members toward positive personal visions and a successful life and career. The book also: Explains the relationship between leadership and futuring Describes seven visionary leaders Links motivation research to contemporary organizations Offers inspirational stories about successful visionaries Provides step-by-step futuring techniques for workshops Suggests how leaders create, communicate, and put forth a service vision Leadership and Futuring is about dynamic change based on visionary leadership not just for today but for the future-in education, business, government, and any field.
The Educator's Guide for Using Data to Improve Decision Making
Praise for the First Edition: "Creighton's descriptions of the applicability and helpfulness of statistics for educators is especially strong. His use of plain language and school-based examples is crucial." -Scott McLeod, Assistant Professor University of Cincinnati Improve instructional leadership practice with proven, easy-to-understand strategies for data-based decision making! Since the first edition of Schools and Data, the No Child Left Behind Act has swept the country, and data-based decision making is no longer an option for educators. Today's educational climate makes it imperative for all schools to collect data and use statistical analysis to help create clear goals and recognize strategies for improvement. Schools and Data, Second Edition, focuses on the relevance of statistics in the lives of principals and teachers. Real-life examples and step-by-step procedures for collecting and organizing data provide every school leader with the means to facilitate more appropriate and effective decision making. With a highly practical method for statistical analysis, this comprehensive yet reader-friendly new edition places special emphasis on: Connecting statistics and educators' daily work Integrating applied technology, including Excel and SPSS software Strengthening educators' data interpretation skills Building strong skills in problem analysis, program evaluation, data-driven decision making, and report preparation Increasing the focus on correlation and regression Packed with easy-to-follow instructions, illustrations, and real-world examples that educators can readily understand, this is an essential resource for school leaders who want to create meaningful, data-driven decisions! *Note: The author created web site that provides information and activities paralleling the individual chapters of the second education of Schools and Data text is NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
'As a single source of ideas for facilitators and school leaders, this book is excellent. The author very thoroughly covers the material, and the procedures are easy to follow' - Stephen H. Laub, Principal, Rolla Junior High School, MO Today's workplace is increasingly shifting from top-down, authoritative leadership to engendering participation from all the stakeholders in a team. In response to this ever-growing trend, R. Bruce Williams provides group facilitators with insights and research about teams working together to reach consensus and accomplish their goals. This revised edition presents current brain research and its implications for team leaders and members, and explores the growing importance of participative processes in collaborative working environments. In a user-friendly format, Williams offers more than 50 practical, step-by-step activities and strategies for immediate implementation, with real-life examples to assist in the consensus-building process. The activities address the four main components of full consensus: / Creating a purposeful vision / Effecting participative processes / Fostering individual commitment / Building strong collaborative teams Use this valuable "road map" to set the stage for establishing consensus and effecting successful collaborative teamwork!
"Fresh and inventive." -Steven Wyborney, Teacher Nyssa Elementary School, OR "Readable, academically accurate, and creative." -Burt Saxon, AP Psychology Teacher Hillhouse High School, New Haven, CT "Practitioners can use the information easily and effectively." -Carrie Jane Carpenter, Teacher Hugh Hartman Middle School, Redmond, OR You can always remember if you N.E.V.E.R. F.O.R.G.E.T.! Have you ever forgotten what someone just told you? Have your students ever forgotten to take their books and assignments home with them? Then this book is for you! Memory expert Marilee Sprenger uses the latest research on learning, memory, and the brain to weave a storyteller's spell using two parallel parables: one is a tale of adult educators in a Memory 101 workshop, and the other is a story for the child within us all that includes magical talking elephants, lions, and jungle creatures. Inside, each chapter provides a specific technique to enhance your memory. You will also find: Proven tips and strategies The latest memory research Graphic organizers and mnemonics Questionnaires and checklists With this uniquely entertaining and generously illustrated guide, you can learn to strengthen your memory, train your brain, and help your students to do the same.
8 Steps to High Quality Instruction and Student Achievement
"A very exciting and user-friendly text, dealing with standards and making practical connections to assessment and teaching, and with excellent examples throughout." -Gary Willhite, Teacher Educator Southern Illinois University Create a new vision for high quality science teaching! In today's standards-based educational climate, teachers are challenged to create meaningful learning experiences while meeting specific goals and accountability targets. In her essential new book, Elizabeth Hammerman brings more than 20 years as a science educator and consultant to help teachers connect all of the critical elements of first-rate curriculum and instruction. With this simple, straight-on guide, teachers can analyze their existing curriculum and instruction against a rubric of indicators of critical characteristics, related standards, concept development, and teaching strategies to develop students' scientific literacy at the highest levels. Every chapter is packed with charts, sample lesson ideas, reflection and discussion prompts, and more, to help teachers expand their capacity for success. Hammerman describes what exceptional teaching looks like in the classroom and provides practical, teacher-friendly strategies to make it happen. This research-based resource will help teachers: Reinforce understanding of standards-based concepts and inquiry Add new content, methods, and strategies for instruction and assessment Create rich learning environments Maximize instructional time Ask probing questions and sharpen discussion Include technology Gather classroom evidence of student achievement to inform instruction Through a new, clear vision for high quality science teaching, this book gives teachers everything they need to deliver meaningful science instruction and ensure student success and achievement.
