Some great teachers are born, but most are self-made. And the way to make yourself a great teacher is to learn to think and act like one. In this updated second edition of the best-selling Never Work Harder Than Your Students, Robyn R. Jackson reaffirms that every teacher can become a master teacher. The secret is not a specific strategy or technique, nor it is endless hours of prep time. It's developing a master teacher mindset-rigorously applying seven principles to your teaching until they become your automatic response: Start where you students are. Know where your students are going. Expect to get your students there. Support your students along the way. Use feedback to help you and your students get better. Focus on quality rather than quantity. Never work harder than your students. In her conversational and candid style, Jackson explains the mastery principles and how to start using them to guide planning, instruction, assessment, and classroom management. She answers questions, shares stories from her own practice and work with other teachers, and provides all-new, empowering advice on navigating external evaluation. There's even a self-assessment to help you identify your current levels of mastery and take control of your own practice. Teaching is hard work, and great teaching means doing the right kind of hard work: the kind that pays off. Join tens of thousands of teachers around the world who have embarked on their journeys toward mastery. Discover for yourself the difference that Jackson's principles will make in your classroom and for your students.

You are a school administrator-a principal or maybe a district leader. You're doing everything "right"-poring over data, trying new strategies, launching annual initiatives, bringing in outside trainers. So why do the outcomes you seek still seem so far away? The problem isn't you; it's that you were trained in school leadership, and school leadership just isn't up to the challenge. Each year, Robyn R. Jackson helps thousands of administrators stop wasting time and energy on flawed leadership approaches that succeed only with the right staff, students, parents, budget, and boss. As they have discovered, it's possible to transform your school with the people and resources you already have. The secret? Stop leading and start building! In this book, you'll learn to use Jackson's breakthrough Buildership Model (TM) to escape the "school improvement hamster wheel" and finally create the school your students and teachers deserve. The work involves a handful of simple shifts in how you approach . . . Purpose: Instead of chasing tiny gains or the "next new thing" every year, you'll establish and use an ambitious vision, mission, and set of core values to galvanize your staff, keep everyone focused, and create true accountability for achieving your goals. People: You'll discover new ways to help every teacher grow one level in one domain in one year or less and, ultimately, develop high levels of both will and skill. Pathway: Instead of trying to tackle every problem at once, you'll identify the biggest obstacle standing in your way right now and figure out exactly how to remove it once and for all. Plan: You'll learn a new process for solution implementation that is iterative, cyclical, and capable of powering both short-term wins and ongoing transformation, year over year. When you stop leading and start building, you let go of the idea that you need to work harder to make your school "work better." You no longer settle for incremental improvement when what you really want is dramatic change and better learning outcomes for all. It's time to make the shift from leadership to buildership. Get ready to turn your school into a success story.

Students following directions, dutifully completing assignments, and quietly cooperating. For some teachers, this kind of compliance is a goal worth pursuing, but for you, it's not enough. You want real engagement-a classroom filled with students who ask intriguing questions, immerse themselves in assignments, seek feedback on their performance, and take pride in their progress. So even as you race to cover a demanding curriculum and address standards, you're wearing yourself out searching for the hooks that will inspire your students and make them eager to learn. It's not that you're not doing enough to motivate your students; it's that you're probably focusing on the wrong things. In this book, Allison Zmuda and Robyn R. Jackson explain the four keys to real engagement: clarity, context, challenge, and culture. Their smart, concrete strategies for improving classroom assignments, assessments, and environments will help you create learning experiences that are rigorous, meaningful, and rewarding for your students and yourself.

Author of the ASCD blockbuster Never Work Harder Than Your Students and Other Principles of Great Teaching. Robyn R. Jackson returns with advice every school leader should read about how to develop the mindset and habits of master teachers in every teacher. Explore a new model for instructional leadership that equips you with everything you need to assess and move all teachers toward becoming the best they can be. Jackson's real-life examples, practical tools, and strategies ensure you know how to * Recognize good teaching and diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of every teacher-from the raw novice to the seasoned veteran. * Know what to do if you aren't seeing exemplary instruction in the classroom. * Use evaluation to help bad teachers become good, good ones become great, and great ones become even greater. * Meet teachers where they are and, through a series of supports, help them all move forward. Whether you're a district leader, principal, instructional coach, or teacher leader, get the strategies you need to help teachers grow, want to grow, and to do all they can to move your entire school toward a professional culture that is focused on masterful teaching.