Shaping School Culture: Pitfalls, Paradoxes, and Promises


Terrence E. Deal - 2009
    This new edition gives expanded attention to the important symbolic roles of school leaders, including practical suggestions on how leaders can balance cultural goals and values against accountability demands, and features new and powerful case examples throughout. Most important, the authors show how school leaders can transform negative and toxic cultures so that trust, commitment, and sense of unity can prevail. Praise for Shaping School Culture "For those seeking enduring change that is measured in generations rather than months, and to create a legacy rather than a headline, then Shaping School Culture is your guide." —Dr. Douglas B. Reeves, founder, The Leadership and Learning Center, Englewood, CO "Deal and Peterson combine exquisite language, vibrant stories, and sage advice to support school leaders in embracing the paradoxical nature of their work. A 'must read' for all school leaders." —Pam Robbins, educational consultant and author "Once again, the authors have presented practitioners, researchers, professional developers, school coaches, and others with a tremendous resource for renovating and reinvigorating schools." —Karen M. Dyer, Ed.D., group director, Education and Nonprofit Sector Office, Center for CreativeLeadership, Greensboro, NC

What We Say and How We Say It Matter: Teacher Talk That Improves Student Learning and Behavior


Mike Anderson - 2019
    Nevertheless, many teachers end up using language patterns that undermine these goals. Do any of these scenarios sound familiar?We want students to take responsibility for their learning, yet we use language that implies teacher ownership.We want to build positive relationships with students, yet we use sarcasm when we get frustrated.We want students to think learning is fun, yet we sometimes make comments that suggest the opposite.We want students to exhibit good behavior because it's the right thing to do, yet we rely on threats and bribes, which implies students don't naturally want to be good.What teachers say to students--when they praise or discipline, give directions or ask questions, and introduce concepts or share stories--affects student learning and behavior. A slight change in intonation can also dramatically change how language feels for students. In What We Say and How We Say It Matter, Mike Anderson digs into the nuances of language in the classroom. This book's many examples will help teachers examine their language habits and intentionally improve their classroom practice so their language matches and supports their goals.

Leading Well


Lucy Calkins - 2018
    This book, like the work of the TCRWP itself, is deeply research-based and principled, while also absolutely practical and real-world tested.

Grading from the Inside Out: Bringing Accuracy to Student Assessment Through a Standards-Based Mindset


Tom Schimmer - 2016
    While the transition to standards-based practices may be challenging, it is essential for effective instruction and assessment. In this practical guide, the author outlines specific steps your team can take to transform grading and reporting schoolwide. Each chapter includes examples of grading dilemmas, vignettes from teachers and administrators, and ideas for bringing parents on board with change.

Lead with Literacy: A Pirate Leader's Guide to Developing a Culture of Readers


Mandy Ellis - 2018
    

Rethinking Teacher Supervision and Evaluation: How to Work Smart, Build Collaboration, and Close the Achievement Gap


Kim Marshall - 2009
    Marshall proposes a broader framework for supervision and evaluation that enlists teachers in improving the performance of all students. Emphasizing trust-building and teamwork, Marshall's innovative, four-part framework shifts the focus from periodically evaluating teaching to continuously analyzing learning. This book offers school principals a guide for implementing Marshall's framework and shows how to make frequent, informal classroom visits followed by candid feedback to each teacher; work with teacher teams to plan thoughtful curriculum units rather than focusing on individual lessons; get teachers as teams involved in low-stakes analysis of interim assessment results to fine-tune their teaching and help struggling students; and use compact rubrics for summative teacher evaluation.This vital resource also includes extensive tools and advice for managing time as well as ideas for using supervision and evaluation practices to foster teacher professional development.

A Teacher's Guide to Writing Conferences: The Classroom Essentials Series


Carl Anderson - 2018
    With clear and accessible language, Carl guides you through the three main parts of a writing conference, and shows you the teaching moves and intentional language that can be used in each one. He helps you understand: - how to get started with conferring, or improve your existing conferences - how to use conferences to meet the diverse needs of your student writers - how to fit conferences into your busy writing workshop schedule. More than 25 videos bring the content to life, while Teacher Tips, Q&A's, and Recommended Reading lists provide everything you need to help you become a better writing teacher.

Coaching Conversations: Transforming Your School One Conversation at a Time


Linda M. Gross Cheliotes - 2010
    With these proven, practical coaching-conversation techniques, school leaders can engage their school communities to work collaboratively toward total transformation. This research-based handbook helps school leaders:Develop open, reflective conversations with staff members Motivate staff Adopt new habits for working with teachers, staff, and students Utilize the power of committed listening and non-judgmental feedback Create positive changes in how people think and interact

Assessment for Reading Instruction (Solving Problems in the Teaching of Literacy)


Michael C. McKenna - 2003
    In a large-size format for easy photocopying, the book features more than two dozen reproducibles. It covers all the essentials of planning, administering, scoring, and interpreting a wide range of formal and informal assessments. Helpful examples illustrate effective ways to evaluate K/n-/8 students' strengths and weaknesses in each of the core competencies that good readers need to master.See also Reading Assessment in an RTI Framework, which offers systematic guidance for conducting assessments in all three tiers of RTI.

Dream Class: How To Transform Any Group Of Students Into The Class You've Always Wanted


Michael Linsin - 2009
    They will free you to love your job, build effortless and influential relationships with your students, and enable you to become a happier, calmer, and more confident teacher. You will learn: -Simple strategies that make classroom management a lot easier. -Exactly (step-by-step) how to handle difficult students. -How to create a classroom your students will love coming to every day. -How to build behavior-changing rapport and influence with even the most difficult students. -How to get your students to treat each other with respect and kindness. -How to praise in a way that inspires, uplifts, and motivates. -How to build maturity and independence. -How you can know your students will behave instead of just hoping they will. -How to become a teacher that fellow teachers, parents, and students respect and admire. -How to love your class, and have them love you right back. -And much more . . .

Genre Connections: Lessons to Launch Literary and Nonfiction Texts


Tanny McGregor - 2013
    And not just for kids who read well. They also work for kids who struggle in reading, who don't respond to abstract concepts. -Tanny McGregorInside, every kid wants to love reading-sometimes they need our help to see it.That's where Tanny McGregor's memorable, sensory-driven lessons come in.The chapters in this book, she writes, are a collection of ideas about how to launch genres, how to introduce your students to the personalities of each, and how to build a curiosity and appreciation for what each genre has to offer. Use the seed ideas suggested in this volume with a genre of your choice and see how it grows!Genre Connections makes learning achievable, accessible, and incremental for all readers-including struggling readers. Tanny's lessons use everyday objects, works of art, music, and her much-loved anchor charts to help readers get acquainted with seven commonly taught genres and to discover what makes them unique.Her launching sequences gradually release responsibility for learning about text types, and they can be adapted for any genre. They help readers weave creative, sensory threads into a tapestry of understanding by taking them from a fun introductory object lesson to an immersive experience.Looking for the perfect partner for Tanny's Comprehension Connections? Or for a new way to bring the inner reader out in any student? Let the ideas in Genre Connections inspire you to help your students get to know genres quickly, confidently, and effectively.

Rigorous Curriculum Design: How to Create Curricular Units of Study That Align Standards, Instruction, and Assessment


Larry Ainsworth - 2011
    Here is a brief overview of each part: Part 1, Seeing the Big Picture Connections First, defines curriculum in terms of rigor, provides the background of this model, connects curriculum design to the big picture of standards, assessments, instruction, and data practices, previews the step-by-step design sequence, and introduces end-of-chapter reader assignments. Part 2, Building the Foundation for Designing Curricular Units, explains the five steps that must first be taken to lay the foundation upon which to build the curricular units of study, and provides explicit guidelines for applying each step. Part 3, Designing the Curricular Unit of Study From Start to Finish, gives the nuts and bolts directions for designing a rigorous curricular unit of study, from beginning to end, and concludes with an overview of how to implement the unit in the classroom or instructional program. Formatively assessing students along the way, educators analyze resulting student data to diagnose student learning needs and then adjust ongoing instruction accordingly. Part 4, Organizing, Monitoring, and Sustaining Implementation Efforts, addresses the role of administrators in beginning and continuing the work of implementation. These final three chapters provide first-person narra - tives and advice to administrators from administrators who have personally led the implementation and sustainability efforts of curriculum redesign and related practices within their own school systems. I have endeavored to pull together all of the elements necessary for designing a rigorous curriculum, to position these elements in a sequential order, and to provide a step-by-step approach for constructing each one. My hope is that this road map will not only show you the way to design your own curriculum, but also allow you the flexibility of customizing it to fit your own purpose and needs. As with the realization of any lofty vision, it will take a great deal of time, thought, energy, and collaboration to create and revise a single curriculum, let alone multiple curricula. The best advice I can offer is to regard whatever you produce as a continual work in progress, to be accomplished over one, two, or three years, or even longer. As my friend and colleague Robert Kuklis points out, curriculum designers shape and modify the process as they move through it. It is important that they know this is not a rigid, prescriptive procedure, but rather an opportunity for learning, adapting, and improving. This preserves fidelity to the process, encourages flexibility, and promotes local ownership. Whenever people s spirits need lifting because the work seems so demanding, remind everyone that it is a process, not a one-time event. You are creating something truly significant a comprehensive body of work that is going to serve your educators, students, and parents for years to come!"

Leading with Focus: Elevating the Essentials for School and District Improvement


Mike Schmoker - 2016
    Now, in Leading with Focus, he shows administrators, principals, and other education leaders how to apply his model to the work of running schools and districts. In this companion to his previous book, Schmoker offers* An overview of the case for simple, focused school and district leadership--demonstrating its power for vastly improving the work of teachers and leaders.* Examples of real schools and districts that have embraced focused leadership--and the incredible results for student learning.* A practical, flexible, and easy-to-follow implementation guide for ensuring focused leadership in schools and districts.All students deserve to learn in schools where educators eschew distractions and superfluous activities to concentrate on what's most important. To that end, this book is an essential resource for leaders ready to streamline their practice and focus their efforts on radically improving student learning.

Visible Learning for Mathematics, Grades K-12: What Works Best to Optimize Student Learning (Corwin Mathematics Series)


John Hattie - 2016
    This results in “visible” learning because the effect is tangible. The framework is forged out of current research in mathematics combined with John Hattie’s synthesis of more than 15 years of education research involving 300 million students. Chapter by chapter, and equipped with video clips, planning tools, rubrics, and templates, you get the inside track on which instructional strategies to use at each phase of the learning cycle: Surface learning phase: When—through carefully constructed experiences—students explore new concepts and make connections to procedural skills and vocabulary that give shape to developing conceptual understandings.Deep learning phase: When—through the solving of rich high-cognitive tasks and rigorous discussion—students make connections among conceptual ideas, form mathematical generalizations, and apply and practice procedural skills with fluency.Transfer phase: When students can independently think through more complex mathematics, and can plan, investigate, and elaborate as they apply what they know to new mathematical situations. To equip students for higher-level mathematics learning, we have to be clear about where students are, where they need to go, and what it looks like when they get there. Visible Learning for Math brings about powerful, precision teaching for K-12 through intentionally designed guided, collaborative, and independent learning.

Using the Workshop Approach in the High School English Classroom: Modeling Effective Writing, Reading, and Thinking Strategies for Student Success


Cynthia D. Urbanski - 2005
    Take a peek into an effective workshop-based classroom and discover how you can enhance adolescents' technical and creative abilities in reading, writing, and thinking.