Can we impose order on the messy process of school change? Only by agreeing that teamwork is viatl, veterans say. Changes in classroom practices, school structures, and attitudes then rise and fall like a juggler’s balls, keeping each other in balance. Judy Cunningham can put her finger right on what turned the tide of change at Rancho San Joaquin, where
STUDIES ON TEACHER CHANGE A Feeling of Uneasiness: An English Teacher in the Midst of Change, by P. A. Wasley. (TC1) Trusting Kids and Their Voices: A Humanities Teacher in the Midst of Change, by P.A. Wasley. (TC2) A Formula for Making a Difference: A Math Teacher in the Midst of Change, by P.A. Wasley. (TC3) Stirring the Chalkdust: Three
To the Editor: There’s too much wisdom here [“What Works, What Doesn’t: Lessons Learned from Essential School Reform,” HORACE Vol. 9, No. 2] for it to be lost in the telling. And too much need for reformers to understand what we could do wrong and hence participate in undoing what we are specifically trying to do. Isn’t there some sense
If teachers in Essential schools are to shape sweeping changes in everything from classroom practices to school structures, they will need sustained coaching in how to do it. A growing number of analysts regard professional development as the single most important key to the change process. And new ways of linking teachers’ learning opportunities directly to school goals and integrating
Adler, M. The Paideia Proposal: An Educational Manifesto. New York: Macmillan, 1982. Barth, R. “A Personal Vision of a Good School.” Phi Delta Kappan, March 1990: 512-516. Brown, R. Schools of Thought: How the Politics of Literacy Shape Thinking In The Classroom. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1991. Comer, J. P. School Power. New York: Free Press, 1980. Darling-Hammond, L. “Standards
A persistent issue in any school change effort is teachers who do not support the changes. Unless a school has the luxury of choosing its entire staff from the start, such a problem is virtually unavoidable. Some resistant teachers are opposed from the start — they question the need for change, worry about losing their jobs, or just plain disagree