All the tools and tips you need to strike the right balance of high impact learning and realize the goal of balanced literacy instruction in your classroom.
This book on teamwork is different from others in that instead of expecting a facilitator to be responsible for group success these authors posit that it is the individual group members who are critical for successful collaboration. Teamwork isn't always productive. In some cases, collaboration can lead to group members feeling anxious, vulnerable, and distrustful of others. The way through this is to capacitate groups to structure thoughtful conversations that lead to better decision making for sustainable change. This book gives team members guidance on how to be effective (mindful) members who construct meaning, listen, are self-revealing, have social sensitivity, adhere to group norms, maintain awareness of group processes, and monitor group goals. The focus of this book is on cultivating and sustaining generative groups where everyone takes an active role in determining the success or failure of the group's work.
A New Approach to Supporting Equity-Focused School and District Leadership
Because equity and instruction are inextricably bound Why are equity visits such a critical first step to increasing opportunity and access for our under-served students? Because they take instructional rounds to a new level, providing a powerful lens for investigating the intersections of equity and instruction. After all, how can we possibly deliver equitable learning experiences, opportunities, and outcomes for our students, without first pinpointing problems of practice? That's where Equity Visits will prove absolutely indispensable to district and school administrators. It details how to combine a strong focus on instruction with explicit, intentional efforts to address systemic inequities. Inside you'll find A range of data collection activities and tools to target central issues of equity in your school Clear guidelines on how to investigate the ways instructional practices, structures, and beliefs lead to inequitable educational experiences-and how these are often masked in the day-to-day life of schools and districts A frank discussion of how to make race and racism an explicit part of investigating and addressing educational inequities Voices of school and district leaders who have taken crucial first steps to become "equity warriors" Recommendations on how to develop policies, initiatives, and practices to confront those inequities Few dispute that instructional improvement must be a central focus of educational leadership, but for too long achieving educational equity has been absent from the conversation. Here is your opportunity to ensure equity occupy a central spot in data collection and analysis, and be explicitly discussed at all levels of your school or district organization. In short, essential reading and doing for all administrators!
Programs and policies that can hurt students and learning abound. School accountability plans, educator evaluation programs, standardization of curriculum and assessment, contradictory policy-maker expectations, and influences from international testing programs are just some of the current issues that exert pressure on public school leaders via rhetoric and education reform policy proposals. School leaders need to be able to make accurate judgments about the ethics and efficacy of education reforms so they can decide whether they must defend students and educators from practices and policies built on nothing more than rhetoric, junk-science, and anti-intellectual ideology, or whether they should support a proposal or program founded on evidence of positive outcomes.
All On-Your-Feet Guide orders receive FREE SHIPPING! Use code SHIPOYFG at check out. All students need to know that they trust teachers to have their best interests at heart but also to believe that they can reach our high expectations of them. We need to encourage students to reveal their misunderstandings, normalizing error as an exciting aspect of learning: feedback when there is misunderstanding is most powerful, as it indicates that the student is on the brink of new learning. This guide encompasses tried and tested ideas for delving into students' understanding so that we can act appropriately in helping them learn. Teachers will learn: - the importance of student-to-teacher feedback - how to check for understanding with the whole class and individual students - question templates for uncovering student thinking On-Your-Feet Guides (OYFGs) provide you with the ultimate "cheat sheet" to implement effective change in your classroom while in the moment of teaching. Designed for accessibility, and providing step-by-step guidance, the OYFGs are written by experts who take research-based practices and make them doable for the busy teacher. Each On-Your-Feet Guide is laminated, 8.5"x11" tri-fold (6 pages), and 3-hole punched. Use the On-Your-Feet Guides - When you know the "what" but need help with the "how" - As a quick reference to support a practice you learned in a PD workshop or book - To learn how to implement foundational practices - When you want to help your students learn a specific strategy, routine, or approach, but aren't sure how to do it yourself
All On-Your-Feet Guide orders receive FREE SHIPPING! Use code SHIPOYFG at check out. Everyone knows that feedback works, and yet not everyone does feedback well. It's especially hard to give feedback during a class session. This helpful guide will help teachers provide on-the-go feedback that: - Aligns to learning intentions and success criteria - Is delivered at just the right time - Matches a learner's stage of learning (surface, deep, or transfer) On-Your-Feet Guides (OYFGs) provide you with the ultimate "cheat sheet" to implement effective change in your classroom while in the moment of teaching. Designed for accessibility, and providing step-by-step guidance, the OYFGs are written by experts who take research-based practices and make them doable for the busy teacher. Each On-Your-Feet Guide is laminated, 8.5"x11" tri-fold (6 pages), and 3-hole punched. Use the On-Your-Feet Guides - When you know the "what" but need help with the "how" - As a quick reference to support a practice you learned in a PD workshop or book - To learn how to implement foundational practices - When you want to help your students learn a specific strategy, routine, or approach, but aren't sure how to do it yourself
Leading a Coherent System of Continuous Improvement
Built from the principles of Fullan/Quinn's hugely successful book, Coherence, this book explains why the long-term success of school districts requires a systemic approach for creating a coherent system of continuous improvement. The reason is that the district is the most important 'unit' of system change, not the school by itself. School districts demonstrating the clarity, commitment, collaboration, and accountability needed to create a coherent system of continuous improvement are deemed Districts on the Move. We use the phrase 'on the move' because forward motion is essential for coherence-making and continuous improvement as both necessitate constant adapting and adjusting to realize the equitable improvement of student learning outcomes.
The purpose of this book is to argue for the importance of caring in schools and school leadership and to provide understanding and guidance for the practice of caring school leadership. This book will provide a counterbalance to today's emphasis on academic press and accountability. Caring is at the heart of successful school leadership and successful schooling for students. The authors wish to enrich the understanding and practice of caring school leadership through the perspectives of other human service professions. This book will affirm for educators the importance of caring as a fundamental part of schooling for students. It will help practicing educators develop deeper understanding of caring as a quality of human relationships and it will help them understand the relationship of caring to student academic success and well-being. Most importantly, the book will benefit practicing educators by promoting understanding of caring school leadership and promoting its practice.
Engage Students, Improve Number Sense, and Practice Reasoning
Give math practice routines a makeover in your elementary classroom with these 20 energizing warmups designed to jump-start reasoning, reinforce learning, and instill math confidence in students!
