Assn/Supervision & Curric. Dev.

Better learning through structured teaching; a framework for the gradual release of responsibility.

Fisher and Frey (both teacher education, San Diego State U.) present a guide for K-12 teachers describing how they can use a "gradual release of responsibility" model of instruction which will help students develop and expand their capacity for authentic and long-lasting learning. Following an overview of this approach, the authors explain the four components: focus lessons in which the teacher establishes a lesson's purpose and models his or her thinking, guided instruction to facilitate students' increased responsibility for task completion, collaborative learning enabling students to discuss and negotiate with one another to create independent work, and independent tasks requiring students to use their previous knowledge to create new and authentic products. The text includes checklists for classroom setup and routines, critical questions, and real-world lesson plans. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The fundamentals of literacy coaching.

Sandvold and Baxter (both: education, U. of Northern Iowa) offer career advice to literacy coaches, using brief anecdotes from the field, problem scenarios, and non-technical text. Advice addresses how to find out the requirements for literacy coaches in a given state or district, work with schools and school boards, strategies for assessing progress and making friends with students and parents, and how to keep data on the student's and coach's progress. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Making standards useful in the classroom.

Arguing that national standards are not written to support effective instruction and assessment, Marzano (Cardinal Stritch U.) and Haystead propose a way to transform them into usable aids for instruction, with an emphasis on formative assessment in the classroom. They claim that the standards propose too much content and that they mix multiple dimensions in a single statement. They discuss examining standards and designing measurement topics, stating them in the format of a scale, and designing and using formative classroom assessments. They then describe assigning grades using measurement topics. The second section, which forms the bulk of the book, consists of scoring scales for sample measurement topics for language arts, math, science, and social studies in kindergarten through eighth grade, and life skills in kindergarten through 12th grade. No index is provided. Haystead works in standards evaluation at Marzano's company. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Personalizing the high school experience for each student.

Drawing on research conducted by the Secondary School Redesign Program at Brown University, DiMartino and Clarke identify six areas where high schools "fail their students": depersonalization, lack of adult support, unresponsive teaching, imperceptible results, invisibility, and isolation from the adult world. Experiences at pioneering high schools illustrate the implementation of personal learning plans, student projects, community-based learning, senior portfolio assessment, and small academies. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Reframing teacher leadership to improve your school.

This work proposes a new framework to promote school change efforts through teacher leadership. It explores not only cutting edge research but also practical applications that can help improve student achievement and educational equity. The framework is based on a study of students, teachers, and school leaders from 81 schools in demographically, economically, and linguistically diverse areas in Clark County, Nevada, the country's fourth-largest school system. The foundation of the new framework presented is direct observation of the professional practices of teachers by teachers. The bulk of the book consists of 120 pages of appendixes of real action research reports, an action research proposal form, a scoring rubric for proposals, sample action research proposals and reports, research project review forms, and a sample participant report. A companion web site contains research, commentary, questions, and insights from teacher researchers around the world. Reeves is founder of the Leadership and Learning Center. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Transformative assessment.

Arguing that formative assessment can fundamentally transform the way a teacher teachers, Popham (emeritus professor, University of California-Los Angeles Graduate School of Education and Information Studies) cuts through the jargon and hype to explain what formative assessment is and isn't, and what it can and can't do. He reviews the research supporting formative assessment's effectiveness, and asserts that familiarity with this research is the key to preserving both teacher sanity and district funds. He offers step-by-step guidance on how to build frameworks for formative assessment and how to carry out each of the process's four levels: teachers' instructional adjustments, students' learning tactic adjustments, a classroom climate shift, and school-wide implementation. The book is for teachers and school administrators. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)