Vintage Knowledge For 21st Century Principals

Now more than ever, school principals are on society's front line. Every day, they deal with the needs of special learners, exceptional academic minds, and students affected by problems at home. At the same time, they must monitor the security of the campus and implement new safety initiatives as needs arise. To gracefully manage such diverse challenges, principals need resources that allow them to access decades of experience at point in their careers. Vintage Knowledge for Modern Principals offers tools and inspiration for authoritative solutions and unique resolutions. With a concise approach to creative solutions, the action items in this book lead to effective results. Common challenges are addressed with inexpensive and accessible ideas grouped into three key areas. "Wisdom for your School" considers the school's operations, infrastructure, and property. "Wisdom for your People" utilizes opportunities that arise while managing teachers, students, parents, and staff. "Wisdom for You" enhances leadership, self-awareness, and relationship-building skills. Vintage Knowledge for Modern Principals maximizes results for today's schools, teachers, students, and principals.

Principals need wisdom. The knowledge built up over time leads to authoritative solutions, resolutions, and actions. In Vintage Knowledge for Principals, over a hundred short entries define a single piece of wisdom, describe its benefits, and provide an example of the wisdom in action. Recommendations based on real-world experience are inexpensive and accessible. In minutes, principals will maximize the performance of their schools, their people, and their roles as administrators and leaders. Enrich your school. Encourage your people. Empower yourself with words of wisdom from an educator who has been where you want to go.

Skills for Successful 21st Century School Leaders provides a complete overview of the knowledge base and skills for successful school leaders. The publication is based on the standards developed by AASA, ISLLC, NPBEA, NCATE, and state education agencies.

This book focuses on current trends, potential challenges and further developments of teacher education and professional development from a theoretical, empirical and practical point of view. It intends to provide valuable and fresh insights from research studies and examples of best practices from Europe and all over the world. The authors deal with the strengths and limitations of different models, strategies, approaches and policies related to teacher education and professional development in and for changing times (digitization, multiculturalism, pressure to perform).

This book addresses two main questions, namely how to prepare high-quality teachers in the 21st century and how the East and the West can learn from each other. It addresses the different challenges and dilemmas that eastern countries, especially China, and western countries are facing with regard to teacher education. We explore the question by examining teacher education research, practice and policy in different countries, identifying both common problems and country-specific challenges. We then try to find valuable experiences, theories and practice which can solve specific problems in the process of teacher education, also addressing how local and global factors impact it. In this regard, our approach does not strictly separate pre-service teacher education from teachers’ in-service professional development, adopting an integrative perspective. Further, we believe the respective social and cultural contexts must also be taken into account. Lastly, we call for teachers’ knowledge and individual character traits to be accounted for in the education of high-quality teachers.

"This book, Teacher Professional Knowledge and Development for Reflective and Inclusive Practices, has been produced to improve teacher professional knowledge and skills surrounding classroom inclusiveness while also reflecting on best practices for teaching and the development of effective instructional tools that fit a diverse range of learners."--The Preface

The Creative Classroom presents an original, compelling vision of schools where teaching and learning are centered on creativity. Drawing on the latest research as well as his studies of jazz and improvised theater, Sawyer describes curricula and classroom practices that will help educators get started with a new style of teaching, guided improvisation, where students are given freedom to explore within structures provided by the teacher. Readers will learn how to improve learning outcomes in all subjects—from science and math to history and language arts—by helping students master content-area standards at the same time as they increase their creative potential. This book shows how teachers and school leaders can work together to overcome all-too-common barriers to creative teaching—leadership, structure, and culture—and collaborate to transform schools into creative organizations. “This work will make it easier for educators to harness and develop the creative potential of the people around them—young or old.” —Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Claremont Graduate University “This guide is important for all educators that are seeking to be in sync with the changing demands of the 21st century.” —Kylie Peppler, Indiana University Bloomington “Keith Sawyer has written a wise and judicious book that will challenge and inspire teachers at all levels and in all disciplines.” —Ellen Winner, Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education “Keith Sawyer is a field leader in studies of creativity and education and he does not disappoint with this text. If teachers take one thing from this book, it’s to say ‘Yes!’ to kids’ voices.” —Erica Halverson, University of Wisconsin–Madison