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Learnership
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Learnership
Invest in Teachers, Focus on Learning, and Put Test Scores in Perspective


Other Titles in:
Education | School Management

May 2012 | 176 pages | Corwin

Put the focus of education back where it belongs—on learning!

Do you feel bogged down by endless administrative tasks? Do you wish you could focus more on what truly matters—learning? Learnership provides both insight and solutions for moving past the distractions and becoming a learning leader. Cathy Toll illustrates this transformational process through activities and focused "learning conversations."

Toll uses supported actions, theory and research, real-life stories, and narrative bibliography to explain how the practice of learnership can be implemented on a daily basis. This book offers:

  • Practices to help teachers improve their effectiveness using problem-solving techniques
  • More effective ways to approach data, testing, and accountability
  • Strategies for supporting Professional Learning Teams (PLT) and educational coaches

Learnership is an invaluable resource for principals and teachers in school-based leadership roles, or anyone who wishes to focus on school improvement and their own personal growth as a leader in education.


 
List of Figures
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
1. Introduction to Learnership
Felicia Robertson, Washington Intermediate School

 
Gordon Fielding, Centerville High School

 
The Difference

 
 
2. Look for Learning
Teacher Learning as a Path to Student Learning

 
How to Look for Learning

 
Principals as Learning Leaders

 
Conclusion

 
 
3. Understand Learning
Systems Learn

 
Shifts in Identity

 
Shifting Perspectives

 
Conclusion

 
 
4. Inquire into Learning
Information

 
Sources of Information

 
Contradictory Claims

 
Differing Viewpoints

 
Data

 
Problems

 
Data Redux

 
A Role for Principals

 
Conclusion

 
 
5. Put Test Scores in Perspective
Mile Markers on the Journey

 
What Information?

 
Information of Greater Value

 
So What?

 
Principal Attention to Student Learning

 
Teacher Learning

 
Teacher Supervision

 
These Curious Times

 
Conclusion

 
 
6. Influence Learning
Disequilibrium

 
Tune In to Disequilibrium

 
More on the Question

 
Prompt Disequilibrium

 
Processes that Enhance Learning

 
Conclusion

 
 
7. Support Learning
Educational Coaching

 
Professional Learning Teams

 
Principal Leadership

 
Conclusion

 
 
Frequently Asked Questions
 
Conclusion
 
Narrative Bibliography
 
References
 
Index

“Administrators will find this book to be a useful tool in working with their staffs to encourage 'Learnership' throughout their buildings.”

Nancy M. Betler, Talent Development Facilitator and National Academic League Commissioner
Eastover Elementary, Charlotte, NC

“In Learnership, Cathy Toll reminds us that we didn’t get into the teaching profession to make 'data-driven decisions' and shows how starting with an issue and 'thinking data' can enhance learning. This book came at the perfect time in my career. It’s a book I’ll keep around to reference & refuel.”

Andrew Goodin, Chemistry Teacher
Soldan International, St. Louis, MO

“Cathy Toll makes a contribution in the professional field and calls educators to focus on student learning instead of data and instruction as the tools for student learning.”

Patricia J. Burke, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
Freeport School District, IL
Key features
As the pressure on educators increases and teachers and administrators become more exhausted, we have no time to spare. Therefore, I have written this book to prompt immediate shifts in what you think, do, and believe. Each chapter title begins with a verb, because I want readers to learn steps that they can take immediately, from the very first chapter. Beyond action, though, I want to help you understand why particular actions make sense. Therefore, I'll support suggested actions with examples and bits of theory and research. For those who want to read more about any particular idea, I have provided a narrative bibliography at the back of the book. In this way, each chapter is highly approachable and quick to read, without many citations to disrupt the text, yet the bibliography discusses further resources for those who want to learn more.

Throughout, I'll provide stories to serve as examples and to promote quicker learning on the part of the reader. These stories are based in the real-life experiences of educators, including myself, but the "facts" of each situation are changed to adequately honor confidentiality. Thus, you can trust that the stories are based in reality but do not betray any one situation. T

he book has charts, sidebars, and lists to make key ideas more visible and to provide helpful examples. It also has a FAQ—Frequently Asked Questions—section at the end, to provide practical answers to questions that readers may raise, and a narrative bibliography to provide additional resources on ideas mentioned but not central to the main part of the text.

This book will enable you to:
  • Lead learning in your school, district, or classroom.
  • Do what you intended to do when you set out to be an educator.
  • Ensure that the children in your trust are benefitting from all that an education can offer.

Sample Materials & Chapters

Preface

Chapter 1: Introduction to Learnership


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ISBN: 9781452216461
CAD$ 54.95

For large school/district orders, volume discounts, availability and shipping times contact customer service at 800-233-9936
or order@corwin.com.

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