Even before the No Child Left Behind Act, there was much discouragement about educational institutions. Now, with a focus on high-level accountability, the mood in schools has dropped even further. Many schools are overcrowded and face the task of educating students from varied and sometimes broken environments. Test scores often stay low in spite of great effort expended to improve them. Many teachers are in desperate need of retooling. All of this can combine to produce a bleak atmosphere of failure. In the midst of improving curriculum, instruction, and assessment--and while working hard to improve students' test scores--attention needs to be spent on nurturing the human spirit so that this challenging task can continue with hope and confidence. This resource helps educators learn successful ways to respond to today's increasing diversity among both student body and faculty. The author looks at what school leaders must do to invigorate and sustain the spirits of members of their learning communities as they drive toward achieving demanding goals. Practical tools and strategies in every chapter help speed the translation from theory to practice, and planning templates and completed samples offer essential elements needed for change.

"The principles and ideas presented are not just for school improvement. Many of the materials can be used for an entire gamut of situations. There is something for everyone." -Lyndon Oswald, Principal Sandcreek Middle School, Idaho Falls, ID "The book deals with a time-sensitive and time-intensive topic, and its worth will be known only when it is purchased and used by serious educational entities." -Lori Grossman, Instructional Coordinator for Professional Development Services Houston Independent School District, TX Facilitate change in schools with this innovative shared leadership approach! In today's world of increased accountability, the need for effective and dramatic school change is stronger than ever. Continuous school improvement requires a collaborative team approach-one where educators focus on student learning and achievement, promote shared decision making, and communicate visible achievements to students, teachers, and parents. This updated edition of Twelve Roles of Facilitators for School Change shows education leaders how they can become powerful agents of school reform. Advocating a transformational vision of leadership and learning, the author outlines 12 essential roles on the leadership team and provides practical tools for individuals in each role to use in facilitating the change process. This easy-to-use, research-based volume guides principals, superintendents, staff developers, and other leaders through the four main functions of effective facilitators: Leading the collaboration and change process Providing skills training Acting as a resource consultant Motivating and energizing the group By following the clear, step-by-step directions in this book, educators at all levels will learn to facilitate and embrace change, leading to higher student engagement and achievement!

'As a single source of ideas for facilitators and school leaders, this book is excellent. The author very thoroughly covers the material, and the procedures are easy to follow' - Stephen H. Laub, Principal, Rolla Junior High School, MO Today's workplace is increasingly shifting from top-down, authoritative leadership to engendering participation from all the stakeholders in a team. In response to this ever-growing trend, R. Bruce Williams provides group facilitators with insights and research about teams working together to reach consensus and accomplish their goals. This revised edition presents current brain research and its implications for team leaders and members, and explores the growing importance of participative processes in collaborative working environments. In a user-friendly format, Williams offers more than 50 practical, step-by-step activities and strategies for immediate implementation, with real-life examples to assist in the consensus-building process. The activities address the four main components of full consensus: * Creating a purposeful vision * Effecting participative processes * Fostering individual commitment * Building strong collaborative teams Use this valuable "road map" to set the stage for establishing consensus and effecting successful collaborative teamwork!

"This book teaches the Biblical concept of spirit and how to be led by God's spirit. It discusss the interactions of spirit, heart, mind, flesh (body), soul, conscience, and will in this process."

Brain-Compatible Learning for the Block 2e, provides middle school and high school educators with practical ideas and strategies for teaching effectively within block schedules. The authors explore how to use block scheduling to support brain-based learning and show teachers how to structure lesson planning, instruction, and assessment to take advantage of extended class periods. The revised edition offers updated research related to brain-based learning and block scheduling, includes expanded guidelines for developing extended lesson plans, and provides additional strategies for making the most of block scheduling.

Offers a framework of strategies, including graphics, to move teachers from curiosity to confidence and competence in understanding and using multiple intelligences theory in inclusive classrooms.

In this Nutshell resource, the author presents an instructional framework for the five Rs: relevance, richness, relatedness, rigor, and recursiveness. The book shows K-12 teachers how instruction based on the five Rs, across content areas, can develop critical thinking skills (classifying, comparing/contrasting, and analyzing) and creative thinking skills (inferring, predicting, and visualizing).

This practical guidebook demonstrates how to integrate six critical elements-reflection, individual achievement, collaboration, higher-order thinking, emotional realms, and social skills-into robust cooperative learning tasks.

'As a single source of ideas for facilitators and school leaders, this book is excellent. The author very thoroughly covers the material, and the procedures are easy to follow' - Stephen H. Laub, Principal, Rolla Junior High School, MO Today's workplace is increasingly shifting from top-down, authoritative leadership to engendering participation from all the stakeholders in a team. In response to this ever-growing trend, R. Bruce Williams provides group facilitators with insights and research about teams working together to reach consensus and accomplish their goals. This revised edition presents current brain research and its implications for team leaders and members, and explores the growing importance of participative processes in collaborative working environments. In a user-friendly format, Williams offers more than 50 practical, step-by-step activities and strategies for immediate implementation, with real-life examples to assist in the consensus-building process. The activities address the four main components of full consensus: * Creating a purposeful vision * Effecting participative processes * Fostering individual commitment * Building strong collaborative teams Use this valuable "road map" to set the stage for establishing consensus and effecting successful collaborative teamwork!

Even before the No Child Left Behind Act, there was much discouragement about educational institutions. Now, with a focus on high-level accountability, the mood in schools has dropped even further. Many schools are overcrowded and face the task of educating students from varied and sometimes broken environments. Test scores often stay low in spite of great effort expended to improve them. Many teachers are in desperate need of retooling. All of this can combine to produce a bleak atmosphere of failure. In the midst of improving curriculum, instruction, and assessment--and while working hard to improve students' test scores--attention needs to be spent on nurturing the human spirit so that this challenging task can continue with hope and confidence. This resource helps educators learn successful ways to respond to today's increasing diversity among both student body and faculty. The author looks at what school leaders must do to invigorate and sustain the spirits of members of their learning communities as they drive toward achieving demanding goals. Practical tools and strategies in every chapter help speed the translation from theory to practice, and planning templates and completed samples offer essential elements needed for change.

"The principles and ideas presented are not just for school improvement. Many of the materials can be used for an entire gamut of situations. There is something for everyone." -Lyndon Oswald, Principal Sandcreek Middle School, Idaho Falls, ID "The book deals with a time-sensitive and time-intensive topic, and its worth will be known only when it is purchased and used by serious educational entities." -Lori Grossman, Instructional Coordinator for Professional Development Services Houston Independent School District, TX Facilitate change in schools with this innovative shared leadership approach! In today's world of increased accountability, the need for effective and dramatic school change is stronger than ever. Continuous school improvement requires a collaborative team approach-one where educators focus on student learning and achievement, promote shared decision making, and communicate visible achievements to students, teachers, and parents. This updated edition of Twelve Roles of Facilitators for School Change shows education leaders how they can become powerful agents of school reform. Advocating a transformational vision of leadership and learning, the author outlines 12 essential roles on the leadership team and provides practical tools for individuals in each role to use in facilitating the change process. This easy-to-use, research-based volume guides principals, superintendents, staff developers, and other leaders through the four main functions of effective facilitators: Leading the collaboration and change process Providing skills training Acting as a resource consultant Motivating and energizing the group By following the clear, step-by-step directions in this book, educators at all levels will learn to facilitate and embrace change, leading to higher student engagement and achievement!