"Every student is a genius," declares author Thomas Armstrong, and an educator's most important job is to discover and nurture the "genius qualities" that all students were born with but that may no longer be obvious. Urging readers to look beyond traditional understandings of what constitutes genius, Armstrong describes 12 such qualities: curiosity, playfulness, imagination, creativity, wonder, wisdom, inventiveness, vitality, sensitivity, flexibility, humor, and joy. He cites research in various fields that supports this broader understanding of genius and explains how influences in the home, the popular media, and the school itself «shut down» the genius in students.
Combining thoughtful insights and practical information, Armstrong offers guiding principles to help educators awaken genius in the classroom–beginning with awakening the genius in themselves. Readers will find dozens of suggested activities and helpful resources to provide «genius experiences» and create a «genial climate» in the classroom. In addition, suggestions for further study at the end of each section provide starting points for personal and professional reflection and growth.
As it celebrates the potential brainpower waiting to be unlocked in classrooms everywhere, Awakening Genius in the Classroom inspires educators to look at their students from a different perspective and to reinvigorate their teaching with a new sense of excitement and possibility. The result, Armstrong concludes, could extend far beyond the classroom and transform not only our schools, but the entire world.
In this book, Linda Lambert takes a close look at leadership in schools, which today involves far more than a single leader. The author defines leadership as the learning processes among participants in a community–processes that lead toward a shared sense of purpose. Leadership capacity refers to the breadth of participation in leadership and the depth of skill that teachers, administrators, parents, students, and community members bring to the work. The stories of three schools–an elementary school with low leadership capacity, a middle school with moderate leadership capacity, and a high school with high leadership capacity–reveal how school people can lead their communities to improve student learning. The stories show five features of effective leadership: (1) broad-based, skillful participation in the work of leadership, (2) inquiry-based use of information to inform decisions and practice, (3) roles and responsibilities that reflect broad involvement and collaboration, (4) reflective practice/innovation as a norm, and (5) high student achievement. This book outlines what schools and districts must do to build leadership capacity, including how to get started, how to sustain the momentum, and how to design school districts capable of supporting such work
What does research tell us about how teachers can most effectively help young students learn to read? In Research-Based Methods of Reading Instruction, Grades K-3, Sharon Vaughn and Sylvia Linan-Thompson explore the research on reading, providing a comprehensive overview of the five core instructional areas and how each affects student achievement: – Phonemic awareness – Phonics and Word Study – Fluency – Vocabulary – Comprehension The authors include dozens of reading activities and lesson plans that teachers can use immediately, all of which have worked in actual classrooms and are grounded in solid research. A glossary and annotated resource lists will help you better understand key reading concepts and find reliable resources, including relevant Web sites. Whether your students have special needs or show no apparent learning difficulties, this book will expand your repertoire of teaching strategies and help you put students on the road to literacy.
Teacher evaluation–a term that brings fear, anticipation, stress, anxiety, or even boredom to the hearts of teachers and administrators everywhere. How can we reinvent teacher evaluation so that it really makes a difference–so that everyone in school benefits from it, so that teachers and administrators learn from it, so that students succeed as a result of it? The bad news is that many schools and districts seem to be stuck in old ruts, involving The Observation, The Behavior Checklist, and The Conference. The good news is that many districts have paved the way for teacher evaluation to actually become professional development, by using a three-track evaluation system:
* Track I, for beginning teachers, promotes growth and new learning through mentoring, frequent observations, and support systems. * Track II, for tenured teachers–that is, most teachers in the system–promotes professional learning experiences through self-assessment, goal setting, data collection, formative evaluations, study groups, action plans, and evaluation in which teachers play an active role. * Track III, for tenured teachers needing assistance, focuses on remediating difficulties and recommending further action. More good news: Through concrete examples, useful forms, and assessment tools, this book provides a clear roadmap to effective teacher evaluation systems that combine quality assurance with professional development for all teachers.
Discipline problems, limited resources, crowded classrooms. Teachers face many issues each day that can wear down their love of education. How can they stay focused and energized day in and day out? In Totally Positive Teaching, Joseph Ciaccio shares an approach that transformed him from a burned-out veteran teacher struggling joylessly through each day to a professional who has fun with his students, guiding them to success while enjoying the teaching process. The conviction that people can adopt a new attitude is at the heart of Ciaccio’s Totally Positive Approach. When teachers enter the classroom with an upbeat attitude supported by constructive teaching techniques, they can build trusting partnerships with students. Ciaccio describes five techniques for creating a daily positive learning experience that nurtures student achievement: • Devising activities to meet the mutual needs of student and teacher • Changing personal counterproductive feelings • Responding to behavior problems with self-discipline • Helping underachievers become self-motivated • Developing instructional strategies to keep students engaged Ciaccio provides plenty of examples to illustrate how these techniques actually work in the classroom. He also includes dozens of strategies and tips for introducing the Totally Positive Approach and making it take hold in your own work. When teachers use the Totally Positive Approach, students gain confidence, take control of their lives, and feel that they belong. Just as important, teachers enjoy enormous professional and personal growth, seeing with new clarity how their own attitudes and actions help shape the next generation. Totally Positive Teaching is an inspirational guide to approaching each school day with new energy, insight, and satisfaction.
Teachers deserve to get the feedback and support that are necessary to make learning as powerful as possible–for both their students and themselves. Based on research from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the experiences of nearly 3,000 teachers across the United States, Vicki Phillips and Lynn Olson reveal multiple ways to identify effective teaching and provide teachers with actionable, reliable information they can trust to continuously improve their performance. Teachers and administrators will learn how and why it's critical to (1) measure effective teaching, (2) ensure high-quality data, and (3) invest in improvement. Armed with practical ideas for getting started at both the school and district levels, Phillips and Olson remind us that the best way to evaluate teaching performance is to use a balanced approach that includes multiple measures.
This publication offers clear and positive strategies that empower teachers and administrators to develop effective rules and consequences.
There's never enough time. Sound familiar? This might be the most common lament voiced by school principals today. How can we find time to meet students' and teachers' needs, foster ingenuity and innovation, and apply best practices when so much is demanding our attention right this minute? School leadership expert and former principal William Sterrett comes to the rescue with practical advice on how principals can make the most of their time to achieve real success. Learn how to * Balance district, instructional, school, and community events and responsibilities. * Communicate about the work of the school in timely, innovative ways. * Maximize instructional time by making smart use of transitions and recruiting teachers to build the school schedule. * Cultivate professional growth by running effective, efficient faculty and PLC meetings and promoting collegial learning through peer observations and collaborative partnerships.
This book shows K–12 STEM teachers how to maximize their effectiveness with students by shifting to an inquiry-based instructional approach and creating a rigorous, engaging learning environment.
What attracts good teachers and keeps them in the profession? What makes schools better places for students to learn and for teachers to work? These questions are at the heart of Keeping Good Teachers. To answer them, many of the authors in this book have surveyed fellow educators to find out which practices and policies are most beneficial and practical to implement in schools. The book is divided into five sections: • Part I explores the extent of the teacher shortage and sets the context for studying it. • Part II concentrates on induction, tackling the issue of how new teachers should be introduced to their profession. • Part III looks at the issues of compensation, performance-based pay, career paths, national certification, and other ways to reward educators and make them feel valued. • Part IV describes the role of principals and administrators in sustaining teachers. • Part V discusses the needs and desires of master teachers. Like its predecessor A Better Beginning: Supporting and Mentoring New Teachers (ASCD 1999), Keeping Good Teachers is dedicated to all those who want to make their profession the best it can be by creating the conditions where good teachers can thrive.