Teachers Bringing Out the Best in Teachers
A Guide to Peer Consultation for Administrators and Teachers

Foreword by Edith Rusch

Other Titles in:
Staff Leadership | Teaching Methods & Learning Styles

July 2006 | 168 pages | Corwin

Learn what effective headteachers do to influence, motivate, and empower teachers entirely from the teachers' perspective.

Based on an in-depth study in which teachers detail the strategies extraordinary principals used to help them become more effective in the classroom. This second edition incorporates the most up-to-date literature, keeping the core study timely and provocative. Easy-to-follow guidelines are included in each chapter.

Strategies and related practices illustrate how to:

o Use the power of praise

o Influence by expecting and involving

o Encourage professional autonomy

o Lead by standing behind

o Suggest rather than direct

o Use formal authority positively

This book is a must-have resource for any practising or aspiring headteacher.

Foreword by Edith Rusch

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Preface

1. Teachers Helping Teachers: The Case for Peer Consultation

Introduction

How Teachers Learn to Teach

The First Source of Teacher Help: Principals as Instructional Supervisors

The Second Source of Teacher Help: Lead Teachers and the Move Away From Top-Down Administrative Control

The Third Source of Teacher Help: Naturally-Occurring Informal Peer Consultation

Our Study of Peer Consultation Among Teachers

A Portrait of Peer Consultation

Questions to Consider

Suggested Reading for Further Learning

2. Peer Consultation Skill #1: Building Healthy Relationships by Communicating, Caring, and Developing Trust

Communication as the Key

Four Types of Peer Consultation

Peer Consultants’ Communication Style

Peer Consultants’ Caring

Peer Consultants’ Building Trust

Summary

Activities for Teachers and Administrators

Suggested Reading for Further Learning

3. Peer Consultation Skill #2: Using the Five Guiding Principles for Structuring Learning

Experiences

Teachers’ Knowledge Base

The Educational Productivity Research and the School Effects Research

From Knowledge to the Development of a Professional Learning Community

Peer Consultants’ Guiding Principles for Structuring Learning Experiences

Summary

Implications for Practice

Suggested Reading for Further Learning

4. Peer Consultation Skill #3: Planning and Organizing for Learning

Teachers’ Professional Development

Meta-Themes of Planning

Getting Organized for Instruction

Elements of Lesson Planning

Teacher Tips

The Dark Side of Planning and Organizing for Learning

Summary

Reminders and Questions

Suggested Reading for Further Learning

6. Peer Consultation Skill #5: Guiding for Classroom Management

Nine Guiding Principles of Classroom Management

Setting Up and Maintaining Classroom Routines

Summary

Questions for Discussion Among Faculty and Administrators

Suggested Reading for Further Learning

7. Unleashing the Hidden Potential of Peer Consultation

Introduction

Capitalizing on the Power of Peer Consultation

An Element of Academic Leadership Revealed

Teachers Teaching Teachers: Peer Consultants at Their Best

How Peer Consultation Supports the Development of a Professional Learning Community

Semi-Formal Collaboration Among Teachers and Its Effects

Conclusion: The Challenge for Teachers, Administrators, and Professional Learning

Coordinators to Unleash and Sustain Peer Consultation

Resource: Research Methods and Procedures

References

Index

"A great contribution to the field. Excellent examples of communication styles. The scenarios and short vignettes that demonstrate concepts are interesting and on point."

Gwen Gross, Superintendent of Schools

Manhattan Beach Unified School District, CA

"This book definitely represents a new niche in instructional improvement, offering the integration of prior research, key literature, and strategies for implementation and action."

Edith Rusch, Associate Professor, Department of Educational Leadership

University of Nevada Las Vegas

"School leaders can use this book as a tool to promote a culture that encourages professional growth and development."

PsycCRITIQUES, August 2007, Vol. 52(33)