In The Four O'Clock Faculty, Rich identifies ways to make PD meaningful, efficient, and, above all, personally relevant. This book is a practical guide that reveals why some PD is so awful and what you can do to change the model for the betterment of you and your colleagues.

    (Just think about all those New Year’s resolutions that revert to status quo by January 5th!) But real change is possible, sustainable, and even easy when it happens little by little. In Shift This! educator and speaker Joy Kirr identifies how to make gradual shifts—in your thinking, teaching, and approach to classroom design—that will have a massive impact in your classroom. You’ll learn how to… Shift learning to make it authentic and student-led. Shift the classroom environment to make it a space in which students thrive. Shift conversations and classwork to get kids thinking rather than repeating. Shift away from homework and grades to keep the focus on learning. Shift the way you spend your time at school so you have more time to enjoy life at home. You can create the kind of classroom you’ve always dreamed of. Make the first shift today!

    Marzano, Tony Frontier, and David Livingston show school and district-level administrators how to set the priorities and support the practices that will help all teachers become expert teachers. Their five-part framework is based on what research tells us about how expertise develops. When these five conditions are attended to in a systematic way, teachers do improve their skills:* A well-articulated knowledge base for teaching* Opportunities for teachers to practice specific strategies or behaviors and to receive feedback* Opportunities for teachers to observe and discuss expertise* Clear criteria for success and help constructing professional growth and development plans* Recognition of the different stages of development progressing toward expertise.The focus is on developing a collegial atmosphere in which teachers can freely share effective practices with each other, observe one another's classrooms, and receive focused feedback on their teaching strategies. The constructive dynamics of this approach always keep in sight the aim of enhancing students' well-being and achievement. As the authors note, The ultimate criterion for expert performance in the classroom is student achievement. Anything else misses the point.

    Living every day on the edge of your comfort zone, vulnerable to the unexpected challenges constantly being thrown your way, and constantly shifting to meet daily demands and do everything and anything you can to survive, let alone thrive.Vulnerable, raw and deeply transparent, Fully Alive reveals powerful tools and lessons that can teach all of us how to grow toward and beyond our personal edges, no matter our circumstances.Tyler Gage shares his spiritual adventures and the business savvy that helped him create RUNA, a pioneering organization that weaves together the seemingly divergent worlds of Amazonian traditions and modern business, demonstrating how we can dig deeper to bring greater meaning and purpose to our personal and professional pursuits.From suburban youth to immersion in the Amazon to entrepreneurial success, Tyler's journey clearly shows that passion and opportunity can be found in the most unexpected places. Captivated by a rare Amazonian tea leaf called guayusa that had never been commercially produced, Tyler started RUNA to partner with the indigenous people of Ecuador to share its energy and its message with the world.Using the spiritual teachings, lessons and healing traditions of the Amazon as his guide and "playbook", Tyler built RUNA from a scrappy start-up into a thriving, multi-million-dollar company that has become one of the fastest growing beverage companies in the United States. With the help of investors like Channing Tatum, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Olivia Wilde, RUNA has created a sustainable source of income for more than 3,000 farming families in Ecuador who sustainably grow guayusa in the rainforest. Simultaneously, RUNA has built a rapidly scaling non-profit organization that is working to create a new future for trade in the Amazon based on respectful exchange and healing, not exploitation and greed.Practical tools and lessons are woven throughout the page turning story of Gage’s successes and failures, offering guidance on how to relate to obstacles as teachers and accomplish our personal and professional goals in the often uncertain circumstances we find ourselves in.

    In Transforming Church in Rural America, Pastor Shannon O'Dell shares a powerful vision of relevance, possibility, and excellence for these small churches, or for any ministry that is stuck in a "rural state of mind." The book reveals:how to generate growth through transformed livesways to create active evangelism in your communityno-cost solutions for staffing challenges, enhancing the worship experience, and inspiring volunteersFocusing on vision, attitude, leadership, and innovation, you can learn the practical strategies and biblical guidance that helped to grow a church of 31 into a multi-campus church of several thousand, with a national and global outreach. Discover effective structure and ways to cast God-given vision so others can follow and make an impact. Experience the blueprint for transforming into effective, dynamic, and thriving churches no matter where the location or how small it may be.

    Now, in the Third Edition, its challenging the status quo with twenty years of evidence that defies current thinking. Five exciting new chapters focus on issues of importance now and in the future - learning from children who love school; researching person-centered issues in education; developing the administrators role as a facilitator; building discipline and classroom management with the learner; and person-centered views of transforming schools. Freedom to Learn, Third Edition is written in the first person, with two goals in mind - to aid the development of the minds of children and young persons, and to encourage the kinds of adventurous enterprises being carried out daily by dedicated, caring teachers in creative classrooms and supportive schools throughout the nation. *Use of a first-person narrative-a technique pioneered by Carl Rogers in the first edition of Freedom to Learn-personalizes text coverage, and gives prospective teachers a real feel of communicating with an expert about what is really needed in the classroom. *Case studies and interviews illumina

    The book soared to the top of bestseller lists internationally, igniting global conversations about women and ambition. Sandberg packed theatres, dominated opinion pages, appeared on every major television show and on the cover of Time magazine, and sparked ferocious debate about women and leadership. Ask most women whether they have the right to equality at work and the answer will be a resounding yes, but ask the same women whether they'd feel confident asking for a raise, a promotion, or equal pay, and some reticence creeps in. The statistics, although an improvement on previous decades, are certainly not in women's favour – of 197 heads of state, only twenty-two are women. Women hold just 20 percent of seats in parliaments globally, and in the world of big business, a meagre eighteen of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women. In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg – Facebook COO and one of Fortune magazine's Most Powerful Women in Business – draws on her own experience of working in some of the world's most successful businesses and looks at what women can do to help themselves, and make the small changes in their life that can effect change on a more universal scale.

    Forever.

    It is filled with lessons and examples from the author's 40 years of experience, and shows how to set performance standards, make sure the right work is being done, and remove performance barriers. It also illustrates how leaders can make the transition to the next level and achieve full performance. This audiobook gives leaders in any industry an advantage over the competition.

    It covers the basics, like the universal requirements of every workplace—working with other people, making stellar presentations, communicating effectively over email. And it also goes into how to get promoted sooner, impress the people high up on the corporate ladder, and do it all while maintaining your personal life and without working crazy hours. With helpful tips and simple advice, this professional guidebook is just right for someone new to the workplace or for a mid-life career changer.

    Brené Brown has given readers yet another self-help book to wow audiences and transform readers’ lives. She hasn’t disappointed with her books in the past and The Gifts and Imperfections is no different. In this book she defines what it means to live a wholehearted life and then gives readers ten solid guideposts to incorporating wholehearted living into readers’ lives.   This sidekick explores the idea of wholehearted living on a deeper level and will help readers take Dr. Brown’s self-help book and ask the questions she asks along with the ones her novel begs to be asked as well. This sidekick includes several guides to help readers explore Dr. Brown’s concepts on more in-depth levels.   Specifically this sidekick will help readers by giving them:   Detailed chapter summaries to refresh and help readers recall important details   An introduction to Dr. Brené Brown, her famous works and her background   A thorough analysis of the themes Dr. Brown is trying to portray and teach through the book   A comprehensive list of the challenges Dr. Brown extends to her readers through the book for easy reference   A set of discussion questions and topics for both individuals and groups to consider as they read through the book and after completing the book   Important discussion quotes for readers to find and reference   A discussion on the writing style and structure of the book   Disclaimer: This book serves as an accompaniment to the bestseller The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brené Brown. It is meant to broaden the reader's understanding of the book and to offer some insights which can easily be overlooked. You should order a copy of the actual book before reading this.

    Rather, other factors can be even more crucial such as identifying our passions and following through on our commitments.Drawing on her own powerful story as the daughter of a scientist who frequently bemoaned her lack of smarts, Duckworth describes her winding path through teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience, which led to the hypothesis that what really drives success is not genius, but a special blend of passion and long-term perseverance. As a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Duckworth created her own character lab and set out to test her theory.Here, she takes readers into the field to visit teachers working in some of the toughest schools, cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. She also mines fascinating insights from history and shows what can be gleaned from modern experiments in peak performance. Finally, she shares what she's learned from interviewing dozens of high achievers; from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to the cartoon editor of The New Yorker to Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll.Winningly personal, insightful, and even life-changing, Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that not talent or luck makes all the difference.

    Yet, it is fair to say that the central message of this deceptively simple tale is almost as radical today as it was when Pegasus first published it 10 years ago. As Fritz observes, it is still the rare organization that appreciates the insight that the sheep in the story discover: "Individual learning, good as it is, does not necessarily translate into organizational learning. The learning must become collective." That is why this book continues to be such an important resource for innovators determined to confront the wolves of complacency in their organizations by stimulating people s natural desire to creatively improve their results-together.

    Scientific research suggests that the practice of mindfulness (a technique for learning to live in the present moment) can help individuals to gain clarity, reduce stress, optimize performance, and develop a greater sense of well-being.  In The Mindful Leader, Michael Carroll explains what mindfulness is and how to develop it in the hectic and often stressful environment of the twenty-first century workplace. He focuses on ten key principles of mindfulness and how they apply to leading groups and organizations. Along the way, Carroll addresses a range of topics, including how to:    •  heal the “toxic workplace,” where anxiety and stress impede performance    •  cultivate courage and confidence in the face of workplace difficulties    •  pursue organizational goals without neglecting what’s happening here and now    •  lead with wisdom and gentleness, not just with ambition and power    •  start a personal meditation practice to develop your innate leadership talents Full of engaging stories and practical exercises, The Mindful Leader will help leaders in any field to discover their innate intelligence, bravery, and joy on the job.

    No organization—or individual—can successfully compete in the marketplace, achieve goals and objectives, provide outstanding service, engage in exceptional teamwork, or develop people without personal accountability.   John G. Miller believes that the troubles that plague organizations cannot be solved by pointing fingers and blaming others. Rather, the real solutions are found when each of us recognizes the power of personal accountability. In QBQ! The Question Behind the Question®, Miller explains how negative, ill-focused questions like “Why do we have to go through all this change?” and “Who dropped the ball?” represent a lack of personal accountability. Conversely, when we ask better questions—QBQs—such as “What can I do to contribute?” or “How can I help solve the problem?” our lives and our organizations are transformed.THE QBQ! PROMISEThis remarkable and timely book provides a practical method for putting personal accountability into daily actions, with astonishing results: problems are solved, internal barriers come down, service improves, teams thrive, and people adapt to change more quickly. QBQ! is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to learn, grow, and change. Using this tool, each of us can add tremendous worth to our organizations and to our lives by eliminating blame, victim-thinking, and procrastination.                                                                                                 QBQ! was written more than a decade ago and has helped countless readers practice personal accountability at work and at home. This version features a new foreword, revisions and new material throughout, and a section of  FAQs that the author has received over the years.