The Answer Is in the Room by Blankstein Alan M.;

Author:Blankstein, Alan M.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1051630
Publisher: Corwin Press
Published: 2012-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

4

Resources

Are in the Room

“Even if well intentioned, attempting to do everything at once drains resources and energy from educators and gets little results.”

—Doug Reeves (2007)

The resources required to do the kind of work described in this book are much more valuable than money and perhaps harder to come by in a chaotic educational environment. In fact, the monetary cost of sharing excellence across a district is far less than hiring a series of keynote speakers and far more productive. The most effective professional development is sustained, in-depth, and embedded (Darling-Hammond, Wei, Andree, Richardson, & Orphanos, 2009).

As Gail Cooper, Principal of Pottstown Middle School in Pennsylvania, explained: “Previously the school brought in outside consultants for their professional development sessions. Although they were very good, many teachers didn’t relate. I’d overhear them saying: ‘That wouldn’t work in our school.’” Cooper says it was “a study in frustration.” “The new approach to tapping and sharing (positive deviance) through networks is much more satisfying,” says Cooper. “They like learning from their peers and sharing their expertise. They inspire each other.” See Figure 4.1 and Figure 4.2 for the gains in math and reading at Pottstown Middle School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.