Professional Learning Communities at Work

Professional Learning Communities at Work
Author: Richard DuFour
Publisher: Solution Tree
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1998
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9781879639607

Provides specific information on how to transform schools into results-oriented professional learning communities, describing the best practices that have been used by schools nationwide.

Enhancing Student Achievement

Enhancing Student Achievement
Author: Charlotte Danielson
Publisher: ASCD
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2002-11-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1416600914

Educators devoted to school reform focus all too often on the isolated components of K-12 education--this is the essential premise of this powerful new book. If we are truly committed to improving our schools, the author contends, then we must focus on the interdependence of variables that affect student learning, both inside and outside the classroom. The book is divided into three distinct parts. In Part 1, Danielson introduces the Four Circles Model to define the criteria for successful school improvement: Everything educators do to help their students learn must be based on what educators want (school, district, or state goals), believe (values and principles), and know (educational research). In Part 2, the author provides a framework for improving schools--including curriculum, team planning, and policies and practices affecting students--and connects every concept to the criteria presented in Part 1. She also provides a handy rubric at the end of each chapter, both as a summary of main points and as a tool for educators to gauge the needs of their school. Part 3 offers readers guidelines on how best to implement the framework using action planning. Brimming with perceptive advice and thought-provoking arguments, this book is both a wake-up call and a roadmap to success for those determined to provide students with the best education possible. Note: This product listing is for the Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of the book.

Improving Academic Achievement

Improving Academic Achievement
Author: Joshua Aronson
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 428
Release: 2002-04-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780120644551

In this book, authors discuss research and theory on the social psychological forces that shape academic achievement. A key focus is to show how psychological principles can be used to foster achievement and make schooling a more enjoyable process. Topics are highly relevant to both social and educational psychology, with discussions of core concepts such as intelligence, motivation, self-esteem and self-concept, expectations and attributions, prejudice, and interpersonal and intergroup relations.

International Guide to Student Achievement

International Guide to Student Achievement
Author: John Hattie
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 513
Release: 2013-01-17
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1136962042

The International Guide to Student Achievement brings together and critically examines the major influences shaping student achievement today. There are many, often competing, claims about how to enhance student achievement, raising the questions of "What works?" and "What works best?" World-renowned bestselling authors, John Hattie and Eric M. Anderman have invited an international group of scholars to write brief, empirically-supported articles that examine predictors of academic achievement across a variety of topics and domains. Rather than telling people what to do in their schools and classrooms, this guide simply provides the first-ever compendium of research that summarizes what is known about the major influences shaping students’ academic achievement around the world. Readers can apply this knowledge base to their own school and classroom settings. The 150+ entries serve as intellectual building blocks to creatively mix into new or existing educational arrangements and aim for quick, easy reference. Chapter authors follow a common format that allows readers to more seamlessly compare and contrast information across entries, guiding readers to apply this knowledge to their own classrooms, their curriculums and teaching strategies, and their teacher training programs.

Student Achievement Goal Setting

Student Achievement Goal Setting
Author: Leslie Grant
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2013-10-11
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1317926242

The first book in the James H. Stronge Research-to-Practice series focuses on improving student achievement through academic goal setting. It offers the tools and plan of action to use performance data to improve instructional practice and increase student achievement.

Achievement Teams

Achievement Teams
Author: Steve Ventura
Publisher: ASCD
Total Pages: 166
Release: 2022-05-27
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1416631208

What if you had a collaborative process of looking at student data that could pinpoint student gaps in learning and suggest effective strategies to close those gaps? What if you knew not only what you should start doing to enhance student learning, but also what you should stop doing because it hasn't given you the hoped-for results? Enter Achievement Teams. This is not another program that's here today and gone tomorrow; it's a timeless approach that any school or district can replicate that focuses on the most significant variable in student achievement: teaching. In Achievement Teams, Steve Ventura and Michelle Ventura offer a framework based on John Hattie's Visible Learning research that makes teacher collaboration more efficient, rigorous, satisfying, and effective. Think of it as a systematic treasure hunt for best practices using real data on your students. The authors walk you through the Achievement Teams four-step meeting protocol: * In Step 1, teams focus on the evidence from a pre-assessment to provide specific feedback to students and teachers about concepts and skills that students did and did not learn. * In Step 2, teams use that evidence to establish SMART goals for both teachers and students. * In Step 3, teams summarize the collected data and make inferences around students' mastery levels. * In Step 4, teachers select high-impact strategies directly targeted to student needs. A post-assessment reveals what did and didn't work. The authors provide a plethora of resources along the way, including reflection activities to extend your thinking and a variety of helpful downloadable templates designed to facilitate the work. If you're a teacher or leader who is interested in maximizing student achievement, this book is for you.

Building School-Based Teacher Learning Communities

Building School-Based Teacher Learning Communities
Author: Milbrey W. McLaughlin
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2006
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0807774995

Building on extensive evidence that school-based teacher learning communities improve student outcomes, this book lays out an agenda to develop and sustain collaborative professional cultures. McLaughlin and Talbert—foremost scholars of school change and teaching contexts—provide an inside look at the processes, resources, and system strategies that are necessary to build vibrant school-based teacher learning communities. Offering a compelling, straightforward blueprint for action, this book: Takes a comprehensive look at the problem of improving the quality of teaching across the United States, based on evidence and examples from the authors’ nearly two decades of research.Demonstrates how and why school-based teacher learning communities are bottom-line requirements for improved instruction. Outlines the resources and supports needed to build and sustain a long-term school-based teacher professional community. Discusses the nature of high-quality professional development to support learning and changes in teaching.Details the roles and responsibilities of policymakers at all levels of the school system. “This book offers vivid examples of how teacher learning communities are formed and sustained. A must-read for educators at all levels who are serious about enacting change.” —Amy M. Hightower, Assistant Director, American Federation of Teachers

Improving Student Learning When Budgets Are Tight

Improving Student Learning When Budgets Are Tight
Author: Allan R. Odden
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2012-02-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1452279713

A how-to manual for achieving excellence despite budget cuts This book offers a comprehensive framework to enhance student achievement in good times and in bad. The author provides a school improvement action plan and then shows how to target resources to implement that plan. More than just a “theory” book, this text describes concrete, specific actions that can be taken immediately. Key strategies include: Using data to support boosting student performance Focusing on effective instruction Setting goals to drive resource allocation priorities Setting priorities for situations that require budget cuts Hiring top teachers and providing ongoing professional development Providing needed technology resources

Classroom Instruction that Works

Classroom Instruction that Works
Author: Robert J. Marzano
Publisher: ASCD
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2001
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0871205041

Describes nine different teaching strategies which have been proven to have positive effects on student learning and explains how those strategies can be incorporated into the classroom.