Steps Toward School Improvement
Additional Resources – Articles and Websites
March 2007
Articles
“Three Strands Form Strong School Leadership”
Jon Saphier, Matt King,
John D'Auria. Journal of
Staff Development. Spring 2006. Vol. 27, Iss. 2,
p. 51-57,71 (8 pp.)
The literature is clear and consistent that schools with strong organizational cultures produce the best results for children, especially children who are disadvantaged and behind grade level. Researchers have taken three different approaches to understand these successful cultures. The approaches look, depending on the authors' preferences, at shared beliefs, academic focus, or productive professional relationships. Together, these elements define a professional culture.
“Three Skillful Moves To
Assessment For The Busy Principal”
Kathleen Topolka Jorissen.
Journal of Staff Development. Winter 2006. Vol. 27, Iss. 1,
p. 22,24-26,28-30 (7 pp.)
A principal can build a common focus on classroom assessment by embedding it into the school improvement process, developing assessment literacy among all school staff, and then incorporating classroom assessment into supervision.
“Eight Forces for Leaders of Change”
Michael Fullan, Claudia
Cuttress, Ann Kilcher.
Journal of Staff Development. Fall 2005. Vol. 26, Iss. 4,
p. 54-58,64 (6 pp.)
1. Engaging people's moral purposes. 2. Building capacity. 3. Understanding the change process. 4. Developing cultures for learning. 5. Developing cultures of evaluation. 6. Focusing on leadership for change. 7. Fostering coherence making. 8. Cultivating trilevel development.
“Teacher Leaders Creating
Cultures of School Renewal and Transformation”
Floyd Beachum, Audrey M
Dentith. The Educational Forum.
Spring 2004. Vol. 68, Iss. 3, p. 276-286 (11 pp.)
This paper reports on an ethnographic study of 25 teacher leaders in five schools within a large midwestern city school district. Data was collected through unstructured interviews and observations of teachers. Three central themes appeared repeatedly, and explain the presence of and support for teachers as leaders, including: (1) specific school structures and organizational patterns; (2) particular processes and identities; and (3) a deliberate use of outside resources with consistent, strong community relationships. Conclusions assert the possibility of teacher leadership as a model and theory of leadership for school renewal.
“Teamwork on Assessments
Creates Powerful Professional Development”
Jay McTighe, Marcella Emberger.
Journal of Staff Development. Winter
2006. Vol. 27, Iss. 1, p. 38-44 (7 pp.)
Teacher collaboration is a powerful form of professional learning. One focus for collaborative efforts is designing assessments. When teachers design assessments, give each other feedback through peer reviews, evaluate student work, and plan together for improvement, they are engaged in highly effective professional development.
“What a Difference a Word
Makes”
Rick Stiggins, Jan Chappuis.
Journal of Staff Development. Winter
2006. Vol. 27, Iss. 1, p. 10-14 (5 pp.)
Assessment FOR learning rather than assessment OF learning helps students succeed. Assessment for learning happens in the classroom and involves students in every aspect of their own assessment to build their confidence and maximize their achievement. It rests on the understanding that students, not just adults, are data-driven instructional decision makers.
“Using Student-Involved
Classroom Assessment to Close Achievement Gaps”
Rick Stiggins, Jan Chappuis.
Theory into Practice. Winter 2005. Vol. 44,
Iss. 1, p. 11-18 (8 pp.)
The authors advocate rebalancing assessment priorities to bring classroom assessment into the equation. Evidence gathered over decades from around the world reveals strong achievement gains and reduced achievement score gaps when teachers implement student-involved classroom assessment practices in support of student learning in their classrooms. Five standards of sound classroom assessment practice are described that, if put in place, would permit teachers and schools to draw upon a reservoir of motivation in ways that benefit students, especially low performers.
“The
‘Data Wise’ Improvement Process”
Kathryn Parker Boudett, Elizabeth A City, Richard J Murnane. Principal
Leadership. (Middle Level Ed. ). Oct 2006. Vol. 7, Iss. 2, p. 53-56
(4 pp.)
Once your faculty has discussed the data overview, it is time to dig into student data to identify a "learner-centered problem"-a problem of understanding or skill that is common to many students and underlies their performance on assessments.
”Why Some Teachers Resist Change and What Principals Can Do About It”
Judith Zimmerman. National Association of Secondary School Principals. NASSP
Bulletin. Sep 2006. Vol. 90, Iss. 3, p. 238-249 (12 pp.)
Schools across the country are pressured to reform by federal and state mandates. Because resistance is a major factor in reform failure, it is crucial for principals to discover why teachers resist change. This article explores the leadership and organizational change literature regarding some common barriers to change. Research-based strategies to promote change readiness and steps to overcome resistance are provided, including shared decision making, collaboration, professional development, principal's modeling, and preparedness for limiting forces of resistance.
”Developing Standards-Based Curricula and Assessments: Lessons from the Field”
Nancy A Clarke, Shirley Stow, Charles Ruebling, Frances Kayona. The
Clearing House. Jul/Aug 2006. Vol. 79, Iss. 6, p. 258-261 (4 pp.)
Teams of teachers need to review student achievement data, study the results, identify areas of strength and areas for growth, and develop plans to improve the teaching and learning process. The instructional leader must monitor lesson plans and have regular conversations with both individual teachers and teams of teachers about teaching and the progress of students.
”Start Here for Improving Teaching and Learning”
Mike Schmoker. School Administrator. Nov 2004. Vol. 61, Iss. 10,
p. 48-49 (2 pp.)
Powerful structure starts with a group of teachers who meet regularly as a team to identify essential and valued student learning, develop common formative assessments, analyze current levels of achievement, set achievement goals and then share and create lessons to improve upon those levels. Picture these teams of teachers implementing these new lessons, continuously assessing their results and then adjusting their lessons in light of those results. Schmoker believes that the proven way to improve what happens in a school is to ensure organized and ongoing opportunities for collaboration and assessment by the professional staff.
”Learning Communities At the Crossroads: Toward the Best Schools We've Ever Had”
Mike Schmoker. Phi Delta Kappan. Sep 2004. Vol. 86, Iss. 1,
p. 84-88 (5 pp.)
Schmoker argues that the best way to improve instruction is to develop true learning communities in which teachers together examine and adjust their practices. He adds that the real meaning of collaborative communities must be clearer to those involved than were the underlying principles of the failed innovations or this reform won't survive its collision with both the norms and structure of the workplace.
Web Resources:
All Things PLC
Available: http://www.allthingsplc.info/
This site includes a blog, links about PLC, articles and research, tools and resources, evidence of effectiveness and more.
Annenberg Institute – Professional Learning Communities
Available: http://www.annenberginstitute.org/images/ProfLearning.pdf
The contents of this sixteen page document include: what do PLCs look like, effective PLCs, focus areas for supporting communities of practice, strategies and tools, and works cited.
Annenberg Institute – Tools for Schools
Available: http://www.annenberginstitute.org/tools/index.php
This site provides online resources for using data and a school improvement guide. Users may browse the resources available, and submit additional tools.
National Staff Development Council – NSDC Columnists and Staff Authors
Available: http://www.nsdc.org/library/staffauthors.cfm
Read articles by NSDC authors including Dennis Sparks, Rick DuFour, Robert J. Garmston, Joellen Killion and more.
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory – Professional Learning Communities: What are they and why are they important?
Available: http://www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues61.html
The contents of this online document include: the beginnings of professional learning community, attributes of professional learning communities, outcomes of professional learning communities for staff and students, and references.
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory – Creating a Professional Learning Community: Cottonwood Creek School
Available: http://www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues62/
This site presents a case study of a school that implemented a Professional Learning Community.