Talk About Teaching!: Leading Professional Conversations

Improve teaching practice through powerful professional conversations! Move beyond isolated teaching, passive observations, and ineffective workshops to be the leader who engages staff and affirms the value of reflective and informal professional discussions. Launch meaningful conversations and a powerful team of teachers who understand how students learn, what motivates them, and how to implement that research in the classroom.  Good leaders know that sharing, discussing, and examining teaching practices and student work improves student learning through professional examination, inquiry, and growth. Educators who harness the power of informal professional conversation invite teachers to do the intellectual work needed to connect with students and boost achievement. The second edition of this powerful book includes: A new chapter guiding conversations to align with  new state standards Outlines for specific conversation skills needed to initiate and succeed Mental maps, sample topics, and conversation activities Read Talk About Teaching! and build a culture of understanding, respect, and empathy that encourages your team to reach for new possibilities.  "This is a great resource for leaders who regularly facilitate conversations with teachers.  I use it in my graduate class in supervision and strongly recommend that students keep this book as a resource for the future." Diane Canino Rispoli, Clinical Professor of Educational Leadership and former school leader Syracuse University, Syracuse NY  "The book’s major strength is that it combines a discussion of what constitutes good teaching and how to conduct productive professional conversations. This book would be an excellent resource for supervisors and principals." M. Susan Bolte, Principal Providence Elementary, Aubrey, TX

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements About the Author Preface 1. Why Professional Conversation? The Imperative for Improvement in Teaching The Nature of Teacher Learning Promoting Professional Learning Through Conversation Assumptions Underlying Professional Conversations Summary 2. Power and Leadership in Schools Overview The Reality of Power Reconciling Power and Leadership Summary 3. The Big Ideas that Shape Professional Conversations What Constitutes Important Learning? What Causes Learning? How Are Students Motivated? The Merging of All These Ideas Summary 4. The Topics for Conversations Power, Leadership, and the “Big Ideas” Summary 5. Conversation Skills Setting the tone for conversation Linguistic Skills Paraphrasing Summary 6. Informal Professional Conversations Purpose Settings for Professional Conversations Procedure Summary 7. Implementation Issues Finding Time for Conversation Communicating the Purpose Establishing Trust Forging Understanding and Consensus on the “Big Ideas” Elaborating the “Topics for Conversation” Summary 8. Conversation Activities for Implementation Establishing the Foundation Communicating the Purpose Establishing Trust The Big Ideas: Considering High-Level Learning How do People Learn? Worthwhile learning experiences Human Motivation Topics for Conversation Summary References Index

About the Author :
Charlotte Danielson, a former economist, is an internationally-recognized expert in the area of teacher effectiveness, specializing in the design of teacher evaluation systems that, while ensuring teacher quality, also promote professional learning. She advises State Education Departments and National Ministries and Departments of Education, both in the United States and overseas. She is in demand as a keynote speaker at national and international conferences, and as a policy consultant to legislatures and administrative bodies. Ms Danielson is a graduate of Cornell University (history), Oxford University (philosophy, politics, and economics) and Rutgers University (educational administration and supervision.) She has taught at all levels, kindergarten through university), and has worked as a curriculum director and staff development director, and is the founder of The Danielson Group. Her Framework for Teaching has become the most widely-used definition of teaching in the United States, and has been adopted as the single model, or one of several approved models, in over 20 states. Ms. Danielson′s many publications range from defining good teaching ("Enhancing Professional Practice: a framework for teaching," 2007), to organizing schools for student success ("Enhancing Student Achievement: a framework for school improvement," 2002), to teacher leadership ("Teacher Leadership that Strengthens the Profession," 2006), to professional conversations ("Talk about Teaching! Conducting Professional Conversations," 2009), to numerous practical instruments and training programs (both onsite and online) to assist practitioners in implementing her ideas. Click here for more info on Talk about Teaching!

Review :
"The book’s major strength is that it combines a discussion of what constitutes good teaching and how to conduct productive professional conversations. This book would be an excellent resource for supervisors and principals."   "This is a great resource for leaders who regularly facilitate conversations with teachers.  I use it in my graduate class in supervision and strongly recommend that students keep this book as a resource for the future." "Talk About Teaching! Leading Professional Conversations provides a fine survey of how to encourage professional conversations and discussions about education, and comes from a team of teachers who discuss the basics of connecting with students on a meaningful level. The second edition of this book offers a new chapter on guiding conversations, sample topics and conversation activities, and discussions of how to engage students through conversational approaches and professional practices. From promoting analytic thinking to taking into account what motivates students and affects their actions, Talk About Teaching is for educators who want to open and foster dialogues that support the learning process."