Publication Type:
Web Article
Year of Publication:
2008
ISBN:
978-1-4166-0747-2
Abstract:
The authors of Building Teachers’ Capacity for Success do not sugar coat what sort of diet the teaching profession will need if it is going to get into shape, says reviewer Ellen Holmes. They are not afraid to challenge long-held notions regarding tenure, differences in teacher quality, and the measurement of success.
It is the rare case that job-embedded, formative, on-going, needs-based professional development is systematically tailored towards individual teachers. Today’s teachers have more information about how students learn, how to teach, and better tools for measuring student outcomes than any other generation of professionals before them -- but there exists a significant gap between knowing and doing. In Building Teachers’ Capacity for Success, an approach for setting teachers on a healthful professional path is clearly defined.
Full Text:
Building Teachers' Capacity for Success
Pete Hall and Alisa Simeral
2008 (195 pp/paperback)
ASCD
ISBN: 978-1-4166-0747-2
$29.95 ($22.95 for members)
Reviewed by Ellen Holmes, NBCT
Distinguished Educator
Maine Department of Education
The authors of Building Teachers’ Capacity for Success do not sugar coat what sort of diet the teaching profession will need if it is going to get into shape. They are not afraid to challenge long-held notions regarding tenure, differences in teacher quality, and the measurement of success.
Just as any good doctor will tell a patient who wants to change their weight, it takes time, persistence of focus, and actually doing the things that we know are good for us. Many of us have searched for “silver bullets” to speed along this health improvement – we have focused on buying products and programs – but have not focused on changing daily, life-long habits. As a result, we almost always fall far short of our goal.
In the world of school improvement this same pattern of failure exists. We know that the number-one way to improve student learning is to improve teaching, and yet most school improvement efforts are focused on things and programs to teach with. It is the rare case that job-embedded, formative, on-going, needs-based professional development is systematically tailored towards individual teachers. Today’s teachers have more information about how students learn, how to teach, and better tools for measuring student outcomes than any other generation of professionals before them -- but there exists a significant gap between knowing and doing. In Building Teachers’ Capacity for Success, an approach for setting us on a healthful professional path is clearly defined, beginning with the first chapter, "Strength-Based School Improvement."
For perspective, and in the spirit of full disclosure, I am an employee of an NEA state affiliate. I am tasked with supporting schools in the midst of planning and implementing school improvement plans and activities. In these schools there is always a tension between tenure and teacher quality. Because I work in a collective bargaining state, it is not always easy to get the “right people in the right seats on the bus.”
The framework of peer coaching and formative evaluation outlined in Building Teachers’ Capacity for Success certainly seems to provide a promising structure for elevating discussions about teacher quality above the usual frustrated tones that tenure clauses can create. One of the many strengths of this text is that the role of administrators and peer coaches are clearly defined in this framework regarding their roles as leaders. Peer coaches are servant leaders (I read that as “teacher leader”) and administrators are visible leaders. For me, these clear definitions are ones I will now routinely integrate into my professional development sessions.
Although I am a teacher association employee, I am at heart a National Board Certified Teacher concerned with the future of my profession. Professional self-reflection is a part of my own improvement repertoire, and I can personally vouch for the truth that this action is probably the single most important one required for improving teacher quality.
Within Building Teachers’ Capacity for Success, the authors have provided a “continuum of self-reflection.” The book carries the subtitle A Collaborative Approach for Coaches and School Leaders, and it describes how administrators and teacher leaders in coaching positions can use the continuum to determine the best strategies for helping teachers become better practitioners. I believe this would also be an important self-monitoring tool for practicing classroom teachers themselves. Each of these tools and other supporting materials can be downloaded as PDFs from a web source that is unlocked with a provided code. This kind of resource is truly valuable to me and to others who also find themselves engaged in a constant search for better and better tools to help schools improve.
I am left wondering -- dreaming, really – about what would it be like to work in a school where this framework for strength-based school improvement was in place. This is definitely a book I would want my colleagues and administrators to read.
