Mike Schmoker
Список книг автора Mike SchmokerLeading with Focus
In his 2011 ASCD best-seller Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning, author Mike Schmoker described a fresh pproach to K-12 teaching built on three core elements: a focused and coherent curriculum; clear, prioritized lessons; and purposeful reading and writing, or authentic literacy. 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.
The Results Fieldbook
What is the single, most important event of the school year that affects school improvement? How do you measure school improvement? How can simple tools–already at your fingertips–work more effectively to improve student achievement in reading, math, and more? The Results Fieldbook answers these questions and describes in abundant, practical detail how five school systems overcame obstacles and achieved exceptional results for all their students. These schools focused on the proven core concepts that Mike Schmoker described in both editions of his first ASCD book, Results: The Key to Continuous School Improvement . Supplementing the five case studies, brief vignettes written by practitioners show how core practices–teamwork, the use of achievement data, and planning for measurable goals–made an immediate and profound difference in student learning at their respective schools. A close look at these school systems reveals the simplicity of school improvement efforts built around the still-overlooked and most potent force in improvement–collective, organized teacher intelligence. This book contains easily adapted processes and refinements that result from such teacher collaboration and all but guarantee measurable improvement. Tables, figures, and appendixes illustrate effective data-collection processes; and at the conclusion, a three-part synthesis of the best of these systems provides practical steps toward implementing this radically more effective approach to school improvement, starting with preservice education.
Results
How do you know if your school is improving? Do you know what really works in reading programs…in writing…in math…in science? How do we measure what works? What about teaching to the test–or to the vast array of standards being mandated? How do we effectively use cooperative learning–and direct instruction–and alternative assessment? How do we sustain school reform? How do we get results–and measure them in terms of student achievement? In this expanded 2nd edition of Results , Mike Schmoker answers these and other questions by focusing on student learning. By (1) setting goals, (2) working collaboratively, and (3) keeping track of student-achievement data from many sources, teachers and administrators can surpass the community's expectations and facilitate great improvements in student learning. Through hundreds of up-to-date examples from real schools and districts, Schmoker shows how to achieve–and celebrate–both short- and long-term success. Here's one example: Bessemer Elementary school in Pueblo, Colorado, has an 80‑percent minority population. Between 1997 and 1998, the number of students performing at or above standard in reading rose from 12 to 64 percent; in writing, they went from 2 to 48 percent. Weekly, standards-focused, team meetings made the difference. As Schmoker says, «We cannot afford to overlook the rich opportunity that schools have to make a difference.» This second edition of Results: The Key to Continuous School Improvement includes the following: * a Foreword by Michael Fullan;* a new Preface to the 2nd Edition by the author; * new information about cooperative learning, direct instruction, standards and assessments, and research and development;* new examples of successful schools;* new educational research by Michael Fullan, Robert Marzano, Linda Darling‑Hammond, Bruce Joyce, Dennis Sparks, Linda Lambert, and Richard Dufour, among others;* new information on action research–by teachers as well as administrators–and other effective staff development initiatives; and* a new emphasis on cultivating teacher leaders–and how to do it.
Results Now
According to author Mike Schmoker, there is a yawning gap between the most well-known essential practices and the reality of most classrooms. This gap persists despite the hard, often heroic work done by many teachers and administrators. Schmoker believes that teachers and administrators may know what the best practices are, but they aren't using them or reinforcing them consistently. He asserts that our schools are protected by a buffer–a protective barrier that prevents scrutiny of instruction by outsiders. The buffer exists within the school as well. Teachers often know only what is going on in their classrooms–and they may be completely in the dark about what other teachers in the school are doing. Even principals, says Schmoker, don't have a clear view of the daily practices of teaching and learning in their schools. Schmoker suggests that we need to get beyond this buffer to confront the truth about what is happening in classrooms, and to allow teachers to learn from each other and to be supervised properly. He outlines a plan that focuses on the importance of consistent curriculum, authentic literacy education, and professional learning communities for teachers. What will students get out of this new approach? Learning for life. Schmoker argues passionately that students become learners for life when they have more opportunities to engage in strategic reading, writing with explicit guidance, and argument and discussion. Through strong teamwork, true leadership, and authentic learning, schools and their students can reach new heights. Results Now is a rally cry for educators to focus on what counts. If they do, Schmoker promises, the entire school community can count on unprecedented achievements.