Discover the power of collaborative inquiry! This unique, visually stunning resource is packed with details to ignite and sustain the collaborative improvement of teaching and learning. Includes U.S. and international case studies, powerful metaphors, application exercises, a Leader’s Guide, a companion website, digital templates, and more. Learn what lesson study and collaborative inquiry can and should look like. Find the guidance you need to lead and support school-wide, inquiry-based improvement! “If you think improving teaching is hard, hard work, this book will confirm that belief. But it also shows, through careful observation and research, how much can be achieved when the work of getting better is done right. A true inspiration for educators who want to improve both their own craft and the methods of the profession.” Jim Stigler & James Hiebert Authors of The Teaching Gap “Teaching Better is a rich, knowledgeable, authoritative tour de force. It combines beautifully selected imagery, solidly crafted guiding principles with compelling evidence and personal accounts of practice. But while imagining and thinking big, the book attends to the detail, offering school and system leaders many practical strategies for steering enquiry, quality, and cultural change in schools. This book should ignite the imaginations of policy makers, professionals and leaders worldwide.” Peter Dudley Visiting Professor of Education at Leicester University, Secretary of the World Association of Lesson Studies, Education Adviser under three prime ministers, & Founder of Lesson Study UK

One Plank at a Time: The Steady Discipline of Instructional Improvement

One Plank at a Time: The Steady Discipline of Instructional Improvement

Rotting Ship at Sea

Drawing by high school student artist, Josh Autrey, 2005. ©2015 Brad & Genevieve Ermeling.

Key Principle

Systematic improvement requires a balance of urgency and intentionality: urgency to pursue and resolve compelling problems but patience and discipline to investigate one plank at a time.

Several years ago, Brad (first author) and a team of UCLA colleagues presented research findings on instructional improvement to a group of regional superintendents overseeing a large urban school system. After listening intently to the presentation, one superintendent asked how long it would take for an instructional inquiry model to yield tangible achievement results across all the district’s schools. ...

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