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

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.

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