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The Whole-Faculty Study Groups Fieldbook
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The Whole-Faculty Study Groups Fieldbook
Lessons Learned and Best Practices From Classrooms, Districts, and Schools

Edited by:
  • Dale W. Lick - Florida State University Learning Systems Institute and Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
  • Carlene U. Murphy - National Whole-Faculty Study Groups Center

Foreword by Harold M. Brewer


July 2006 | 328 pages | Corwin

Master one of today's most successful school reform and school improvement strategies!

The Whole-Faculty Study Group (WFSG) System is a student-centered, teacher-driven process for facilitating major staff development and schoolwide change. When applied properly, it has produced extraordinary results for thousands of educators and students in schools and school districts across the country.

The Whole-Faculty Study Groups Fieldbook is a comprehensive guide to applying the WFSG process. Edited by Dale Lick and Carlene Murphy, this practical manual provides concrete strategies for implementing and sustaining a school improvement process in any environment. Offering extensive experience, each contributor explores a different aspect of Whole-Faculty Study Groups and supplies lessons learned and many first-hand examples of successful school reform and student performance enhancement. Written to complement existing resources or serve as a stand-alone guide, this book will

  • Demonstrate how concepts can be applied in a variety of school improvement efforts
  • Present relevant strategies and activities
  • Illustrate how to use suggestions in real-world situations
  • Highlight critical concepts through extensive case examples
  • Provide helpful tips and lessons learned
  • Explain how findings can be applied to professional learning communities

Offering numerous illustrations of the WFSG System in action and a comprehensive collection of tools for initiating and sustaining successful improvement programs, this fieldbook is an essential resource for K-12 administrators, staff developers, and teachers involved with any type of school transformation effort.


 
Foreword by Harold M. Brewer
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Contributors
 
About the Editors
 
Part I: Getting Started
Carlene U. Murphy and Dale W. Lick
1. Introducing Whole-Faculty Study Groups
Ann Proctor
2. Applying the Whole-Faculty Study Groups Framework in Schools
Michael Murphy
3. Aligning Whole-Faculty Study Groups With Staff Development Standards
 
Part II: Leadership and Sponsorship
J. Patrick Mahon
4. Enhancing the Principal's Instructional Leadership Role
Anita Kissinger
5. Strengthening School Improvement Plans Through District Sponsorship
Adam Urbanski and Xochitl Perez Castillo
6. Partnering With Teacher Unions for School Improvement
 
Part III: Study Groups and Learning Communities
Andrew E. Koenigs
7. Answering the Question: Do Professional Learning Communities Really Work?
Robin P. Cooper and Gwendolyn Baggett
8. Establishing Student Study Groups
Emily Weiskopf
9. Implementing Study Groups for Principals
 
Part IV: Key Success Elements
Carlene U. Murphy
10.The Whole-Faculty Study Groups Rubric: Defining Context, Process, and Content
Kenneth Sherman and Kim Reynolds-Manglitz
11. Building Commitment
Michael L. Rothman and Ronald E. Walker
12. Using Study Groups for Cultural Change in Schools
Jill Potts and Jeff Zoul
13. Changing School Culture
Teri Roberts
14. Using Data to Improve Achievement in Mathematics
Karl H. Clauset, Sherman H. Parker, and Marcia R. Whitney
15. Making Data-Based Decisions for School Success
 
Part V: Instructional Strategies
Steve Keyes
16. Improving the Quality of Student Performance
Terri L. Jenkins and Lynn K. Baber
17. Implementing Instructional Strategies
Julie J. Nall
18. Implementing Reading and Mathematics Programs
Charlotte Ann Buisson
19. Enhancing Performance in the English Language Arts
Lisa S. Smith
20. Raising Student Achievement in Reading and Mathematics
Angela S. Dillon
21. Improving Reading in Primary Grades
 
Part VI: Perspectives for Teachers and Teaching
Beverly S. Strickland
22. Increasing Teacher Learning to Improve Student Learning
Danette R. Smith
23. Changing Teachers' Beliefs About Students and Learning
Beverly A. Gross
24. Creating School Successes: A Teacher's Point-of-View
Emily Weiskopf
25. Planning and Implementing Strategies for School Improvement
Jill Potts and Jeff Zoul
26. Activating a Professional Teacher Evaluation Model
 
Part VII: State and National Initiatives
Teri Roberts
27. Going Statewide With Whole-Faculty Study Groups in Louisiana
Deb Page and Gale Hulme
28. Developing and Supporting Leaders: A New Day, A New Way With New Results
Stephen M. Preston
29. Improving Schools Through Statewide Collaboration
Carlene U. Murphy
30. Establishing a Support Network: The National Whole-Faculty Study Groups Center
 
Part VIII: An Overview of School Reform
Dale W. Lick and Carlene U. Murphy
31. Improving Schools: Seeing the Big Picture
 
References
 
Action Research--Related Sources
 
Index

"Here are real-world examples of the WFSG model with the potential to guide the conversation toward core values, effective teaching, and improved student learning. You will have the opportunity to experience this model and general school improvement from the eyes of practitioners at all levels."

From the Foreword by Harold M. Brewer
Key features
  • First-hand experiences of educators implementing Whole-Faculty Study Groups in their classrooms, schools, and districts
  • Show what's really going on in schools
  • Details the hard work of implementing Whole-Faculty Study Groups
  • Best practices and lessons learned in the book can be applied to any school improvement effort, not just Whole-Faculty Study Groups

Sample Materials & Chapters

Foreword

Preface

Chapter 1


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