Description
Book SynopsisAcademic conferences increase collaboration and support collegial dialogue between teachers, principals, and district administrators, while providing a forum for education professionals to consider school practices old and new, and plan ways to best utilize them all in the future. This book, by experienced educators Eli Johnson and Arthur L. Costa, is about encouraging and enhancing these necessary, but often neglected, conversations as a means of helping educators identify the ways that innovative teaching strategies can best connect positive classroom outcomes to the long-term plans, learning goals, and academic purposes of a school and district.Academic Conferences for School and Teacher Leaders proves an invaluable tool for educators and educational administrators who are tasked with the toughest decisions facing our struggling school system today, and is an ideal fit for courses in educational leadership and supervision of instruction. When structured effectively, academic confere
Trade ReviewIn their new book, Academic Conferences for School and Teacher Leaders, Johnson and Costa offer a compelling, research-based rationale for the importance of structured professional conversations about teaching and learning. This timely volume articulates a clear and thoughtfully designed process for transforming education through vertical alignment. With step-by-step guidelines, the reader explores ways to overcome the challenges of teacher isolation and build a more cohesive, collaborative culture. Conceptual frameworks are supported by concrete mechanisms for tapping personal potential and creating collective efficacy, including clearly defined roles, five conferral processes, and the specific skills needed to create meaningful dialog and produce shared commitment to school improvement. Templates and tools, practical tips, and specific examples make this book a strategic guide for stimulating self-directed learning, empowering teachers, and shifting accountability to responsibility. -- Laura Lipton, co-director, MiraVia, LLC
Table of ContentsTable of Contents Preface 1 – Academic Conferences for Teachers and School Leaders 2 – Academic Conferences for Classroom Teachers 3 – Key Principles of Classroom-Teacher Academic Conferences 4 – How to Conduct Classroom-Teacher Academic Conferences 5 – Academic Conferences for School Administrators 6 – Key Principles of School-Administrator Academic Conferences 7 – How to Conduct School-Administrator Academic Conferences 8 – Leading and Sustaining Academic Conference Appendix Reference About the Authors
