"This book combats the stagnation of creativity in an era of increased accountability through standardized testing. It is an exceptionally well written, comprehensive book that will appeal to a variety of readers." -Beth Madison, Principal George Middle School, Portland, OR Discover how thinking and acting creatively can influence both teaching and learning! Creativity is a vital part of living for everyone-and for teachers and students, it's a requirement for success in the 21st century. Built on that core belief, this inspiring book provides teachers with a step-by-step plan for accessing their own creative resources and cultivating a more creative teaching practice. Offering a breakdown of the creative process as it applies to both lesson building and delivery, the author provides a range of applications, examples, and strategies across multiple content areas and grade levels. This practical resource helps teachers and administrators: Gain confidence in their own ability to teach from their strengths and to elicit students' strengths and creativity Access their ability to think and act more creatively in the classroom Enhance learning by engaging, motivating, and inspiring students with an array of research-based, creative teaching strategies Learn how to identify creativity that furthers educational goals Discover how the power of technology can help facilitate creative thinking Use creativity to transform your teaching practices and prepare your students for the challenges of today and tomorrow!
This short, practical "how-to" book describes setting up block scheduling for middle and high schools. Block schedules are seen as useful restructuring tools because they allow enough instruction time to facilitate problem-solving approaches to learning. However, they are not easily implemented and require a great deal of planning. The author provides a planning guide that discusses probable barriers and sources of resistance, as well as strategies for overcoming problems. The strategies provided can be implemented in any school. This book will be a valuable resource for principals and central office directors of curriculum and instruction in their efforts to implement block scheduling. It includes practical information as well as recent study data and case studies.
Creating safe schools from the inside out This book details a comprehensive process for empowering students and teachers as school improvement leaders and "experts." Bill Preble and Rick Gordon explain how schools can use the SafeMeasures (TM) collaborative action research process to: Collect and analyze school climate data Develop improvement goals Create exciting and inspiring action plans to dramatically improve their school's climate and student engagement Each chapter features success stories from real schools, strategies and implementation activities, and book study questions that help all stakeholders transform both their school climate and student learning.
Meets "the highest standard of evidence" for comprehensive school reforms that improve student achievement. Review of Educational Research, 2003 "A unique feature of James Comer's school improvement is the comprehensiveness of his ecological approach. It necessarily involves all of the key players in each individual school setting and provides guidelines for their interaction. . . .The domain of educational change is not without good ideas, but it is rare to find them translated into the substance and strategies necessary to getting them into school practices. This handbook will help enormously to keep alive what James Comer and his colleagues have so carefully crafted over the years." John I. Goodlad, President Institute for Educational Inquiry The tried, tested, and true approach to school leadership using consensus, collaboration, and no-fault problem solving! For more than 35 years, the Yale School Development Program (SDP) has been pioneering the Comer Process for planned change in schools. From initial planning and preparation, through foundation building, transformation, institutionalization, and renewal, the Comer Process provides school leaders with a comprehensive and effective framework for transforming their schools and districts into learning communities that support the growth and development of every child and every adult. Combining research; evidence-based best practices; essential tools for planning, data analysis, assessment, and program evaluation, and a generous collection of sample letters, sample presentations, charts, tables, and graphics, Transforming School Leadership and Management to Support Student Learning and Development offers educators a state-of-the-art guide to: Identifying the problems the school wants to solve through reform efforts Designing a comprehensive school plan that includes assessment, modification, and staff development Using facilitators to model excellence and to promote team approaches Using teams for school planning and management, student and staff support, and promoting parent/family involvement and community investment in schools Training for teaming skills that support and develop consensus decision making Implementing and sustaining the school's transformation into an effective and efficient operating system that supports student and staff growth and development Transforming School Leadership and Management to Support Student Learning and Development is sure to be the essential resource for every school leader charged with creating schools, districts, and communities that foster the healthy development of young people and challenge them to the highest academic standards.
Meets "the highest standard of evidence" for comprehensive school reforms that improve student achievement. Review of Educational Research, 2003 "A unique feature of James Comer's school improvement is the comprehensiveness of his ecological approach. It necessarily involves all of the key players in each individual school setting and provides guidelines for their interaction. . . .The domain of educational change is not without good ideas, but it is rare to find them translated into the substance and strategies necessary to getting them into school practices. This handbook will help enormously to keep alive what James Comer and his colleagues have so carefully crafted over the years." John I. Goodlad, President Institute for Educational Inquiry The tried, tested, and true approach to school leadership using consensus, collaboration, and no-fault problem solving! For more than 35 years, the Yale School Development Program (SDP) has been pioneering the Comer Process for planned change in schools. From initial planning and preparation, through foundation building, transformation, institutionalization, and renewal, the Comer Process provides school leaders with a comprehensive and effective framework for transforming their schools and districts into learning communities that support the growth and development of every child and every adult. Combining research; evidence-based best practices; essential tools for planning, data analysis, assessment, and program evaluation, and a generous collection of sample letters, sample presentations, charts, tables, and graphics, Transforming School Leadership and Management to Support Student Learning and Development offers educators a state-of-the-art guide to: Identifying the problems the school wants to solve through reform efforts Designing a comprehensive school plan that includes assessment, modification, and staff development Using facilitators to model excellence and to promote team approaches Using teams for school planning and management, student and staff support, and promoting parent/family involvement and community investment in schools Training for teaming skills that support and develop consensus decision making Implementing and sustaining the school's transformation into an effective and efficient operating system that supports student and staff growth and development Transforming School Leadership and Management to Support Student Learning and Development is sure to be the essential resource for every school leader charged with creating schools, districts, and communities that foster the healthy development of young people and challenge them to the highest academic standards.
Population-Based Approaches to Promoting the Competency and Wellness of Children
"This soundly structured book reinforces and enriches educators' skills in population-based mental health. It provides usable information on how to get administrative buy-in for implementing coordinated, proven prevention and intervention practices. Rich with Web connections and references, it can serve as a textbook, a practitioner's workbook, and as a tool kit for implementation." -Kevin P. Dwyer, Consultant, Turnaround for Children Former President, National Association of School Psychologists The road map for designing and implementing effective mental health services for all students! Studies have shown that mental wellness is a key determinant of students' academic and developmental success, but simply addressing the problems of individual students is not enough. Increasingly, schools are turning to population-based models for providing mental health services to ensure that students maintain the psychological, social, and emotional competence needed for learning. This comprehensive guidebook demonstrates how to use this approach to effectively assess mental health needs and design appropriate prevention and intervention strategies that will benefit individual students, whole classrooms, and an entire school population. Drawing from a wealth of current research and backed by evidence supporting the effectiveness of the population-based approach, this wide-ranging resource offers: Formal and informal strategies for identifying and prioritizing a school's mental health needs, as well as risk and protective factors Insights into creating and managing a nurturing school environment, promoting psychological well-being, and preventing mental health problems Suggestions for engaging parents in the process of fostering mental health Intervention strategies that address significant behavioral problems, including violence, bullying, depression, and difficulty relating to peers An integrated ten-step sequence for shifting from conventional approaches that focus only on individual problems to population-based services that support all students Transforming School Mental Health Services is the ideal resource for school mental health professionals and critical decision makers looking to optimize students' wellness and educational performance.
Population-Based Approaches to Promoting the Competency and Wellness of Children
"This soundly structured book reinforces and enriches educators' skills in population-based mental health. It provides usable information on how to get administrative buy-in for implementing coordinated, proven prevention and intervention practices. Rich with Web connections and references, it can serve as a textbook, a practitioner's workbook, and as a tool kit for implementation." -Kevin P. Dwyer, Consultant, Turnaround for Children Former President, National Association of School Psychologists The road map for designing and implementing effective mental health services for all students! Studies have shown that mental wellness is a key determinant of students' academic and developmental success, but simply addressing the problems of individual students is not enough. Increasingly, schools are turning to population-based models for providing mental health services to ensure that students maintain the psychological, social, and emotional competence needed for learning. This comprehensive guidebook demonstrates how to use this approach to effectively assess mental health needs and design appropriate prevention and intervention strategies that will benefit individual students, whole classrooms, and an entire school population. Drawing from a wealth of current research and backed by evidence supporting the effectiveness of the population-based approach, this wide-ranging resource offers: Formal and informal strategies for identifying and prioritizing a school's mental health needs, as well as risk and protective factors Insights into creating and managing a nurturing school environment, promoting psychological well-being, and preventing mental health problems Suggestions for engaging parents in the process of fostering mental health Intervention strategies that address significant behavioral problems, including violence, bullying, depression, and difficulty relating to peers An integrated ten-step sequence for shifting from conventional approaches that focus only on individual problems to population-based services that support all students Transforming School Mental Health Services is the ideal resource for school mental health professionals and critical decision makers looking to optimize students' wellness and educational performance.
Essential principles, practices, and structures for multilingual learners Much has changed in the ten years since this book was first published. A celebrated triumph, it provided state, district, school, and teacher leaders with a comprehensive guide to support multilingual learners to reach their full potential. From selecting the appropriate program model to partnering with families and infusing federal and state laws governing the education of multilingual learners and the rights of their families into all we do, the key messages that made the first edition of this book a renowned success have been re-examined in the second edition with a robust lens to meet these demanding times. This second edition supports educators to design and enact policies, practices, and structures for multilingual learners (MLs) to feel a sense of safety, belonging, value, and competence. Topics explored in the book include: a discussion of the changes to federal and state policies and their impact on MLs and their families strategies to move from a deficit- to an asset-based approach that values multilingualism nine principles to design and deliver high0quality lessons in multiple languages and across disciplines practices to identify and support MLs with learning differences and disabilities steps for building long-lasting family-school partnerships Reflecting changing trends in leadership, this new edition supports superintendents, principals, curriculum supervisors, coaches, mentors, teachers, and other stakeholders in their collaborative efforts to create and sustain successful language assistance programs.
Gathering data and using it to inform instruction is a requirement for many schools, yet educators are not necessarily formally trained in how to do it. This book helps bridge the gap between classroom practice and the principles of educational psychology. Teachers will find cutting-edge advances in research and theory on human learning and teaching in an easily understood and transferable format. The text's integrated model shows teachers, school leaders, and district administrators how to establish a data culture and transform quantitative and qualitative data into actionable knowledge based on: Assessment Statistics Instructional and differentiated psychology Classroom management Data-driven decision making and data literacy skills are at the intersection of all of these areas, and the authors link them to show how to establish a vision and improve student learning. Included are vignettes that demonstrate the concepts in practice and tips for using technology to assist in the process.
