Developing Learning Communities Through Teacher Expertise

"No book I have read in the past ten years has made clearer to me the difference between what I am doing as a professional developer and what I should be doing. It is so unremittingly honest about the difficulty of our work, and yet so rich in practical examples that I cannot help but feel inspired to move forward and change the way I teach and learn with teachers."
Richard W. Strong, Vice President
Silver Strong & Associates, LLC

Martin-Kniep offers practical methods for developing a reflective, collaborative environment where teachers and administrators work together to enhance teachers′ practices, increase student learning, and produce valuable school processes. Developing Learning Communities Through Teacher Expertise includes frameworks, templates, and examples that can be employed to determine the value and implications surrounding the use of teacher-designed standards-based curriculum and assessment, data-driven inquiry, and professional portfolios.

Based on work completed at the nonprofit Center for the Study of Expertise in Teaching and Learning, this innovative volume includes:

• Examples of teachers′ reflections, portfolio artifacts, and student work
• Sample standards-based curriculum units for different content areas and grade levels
• Discussion questions and recommended readings
• Sample worksheets and self-assessments
• Standards-based curriculum and assessment design tools
• Sample rubrics for student and teacher development