Testimonials About the books “I got my copy of ‘Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching,’ as part of my ASCD membership and went absolutely wild over it! It is to be the foundation of my professional development program that I am planning with my staff….Let me express my admiration for your work. It makes objectivity possible and gives concrete ways for us to discuss exactly how and why we can improve this “wonder” and “science” called teaching.” “I very much appreciated the content of your book ‘Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching.’ You make a strong case for continually stretching oneself for the long term goal of increased student achievement. In addition, you have accurately described so many of the pieces of teaching, using language with which teachers can identify.” “I have enjoyed reading your book ‘Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching’ immensely. It is a jam-packed professional development manual that is far-reaching in its scope and recommendations. I have learned so much from it and I still have a considerable distance to go! Thank you so much for writing it!” “Wow! Talk about a refreshing ‘read’ I was impressed by the simple and easy-to-understand format of this book. I found myself underlining and highlighting many things in every chapter…It gave a nice defense of ways to actually develop teaching into a more professional and respected profession.” “As I read this book, the threads of diversity and commonality were woven into the pages. The author celebrates individuality as she prompts us to reflect on the beliefs and practices we all share. She reinforces my belief that setting professional and personal standards encourages teachers and students to develop a sense of pride in what they do as they become actively engaged in the life-long journey we call learning.” “This book was truly amazing. I have now discovered that I am a constructivist, What an eye-opener. While reading the first two chapters, I had several ‘Aha’ moments. I have always believed that there were certain layers to teaching effectively. Now I know that those layers are the four domains described in this book.” “The components in the Framework will provide an instant vocabulary to use with new teachers this year. The four domains will help facilitate conversations about the totality of a teacher's work at school.” “Your book, ‘Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching,’ has been our inspiration and the source of some very interesting ant sometimes animated discussion!” “We know the book, ‘Teacher Evaluation to Enhance Professional Practice’ will be of great value in helping us achieve our objectives for teacher quality throughout the entire state.” “I just finished reading ‘Teacher Evaluation to Enhance Professional Practice.’ This is a suburb document which gives greater direction in working to improve instruction for students. The ideas for teacher growth are key in professional development.”
“Congratulations on how well your Framework has been received in the …. School District…I have been so impressed with the practically and logic of your approach…To our pleasant surprise the results were outstanding! 98% of the staff who used the Framework model said it was superior to the old system. 15% of the teachers said they made significant changes in the way they delivered instruction. The other 85% said they all tried new techniques and incorporated additional teaching strategies into their teaching repertoire.” “I want to let you know about the impact your framework has had on my teaching. As a novice teacher, having something “tangible” to guide me is very helpful.” “Your framework really made sense to them (experienced teachers) and gave them the motivation to analyze their teaching and improve. I’m looking forward to using it with my four new teachers.” If the framework that this book provides becomes ‘institutionalized’ over time, I believe that professional practice will truly be enhanced.” “When all the responsibilities of the ‘job of teaching’ are lumped together, one tends to think of everything (or nothing) is going well…Through the use of the framework as a self-evaluation tool, attention can be focused on each separate domain and the possibilities for self-improvement are endless. The idea of using the framework as a way of evaluation is also very appealing, especially if used in a coaching format.” “I just want to thank you for your work, your inspiration, and your clarity of expression. You have made a very complex task, assessing new teachers’ needs, into something much more manageable for our new mentors.” “As I read, I thought of how much less overwhelming my first year of teaching would have been had I used a resource such as this. My hope is that we can implement the suggestions given in this text. I think it would help retain good beginning teachers and be a positive tool to enhance the teaching of veteran teachers.” “I believe the framework for teaching described in this book is a key step in developing a new and positive perception of educators as professionals. Establishing recognizable standards would also assist us in developing learning environments that encourage our students to become active learners.”
“I want to thank you for a professionally life-changing day with you on January 28. You and your model have changed the course of events for teaching and learning in the district and in the wider area. …Thank you, not only for sharing your gifts and insights into the professional practices of effective teaching with us, but also for creating a model which will serve as a foundation and guide for educators today as we struggle to define and shape a new model of education to meet students’ needs.” “The institute was the most productive administrative workshop we have held for many years...The process (of teacher evaluation) will guarantee a change in the way we do business – for the kids.” “Just a note of thanks for the great impression you made at the UniServ national training session. The evaluations are in and you received rave reviews from the participants that exceeded all our expectations.” “I must especially thank you for the learning culture that you established. It has been a long time since I have experienced such a high degree of respect for the complexity of teaching and for those who have chosen to make education their profession. You gave me a wonderful gift that will stay with me for a lifetime.” “People here are still talking about the wisdom and clarity of your presentation.” “The workshop last week was, without exaggeration, the best session I’ve attended in many a long year.” “For Teacher Center programs I want information that is both relevant and practical. The session was both and then some. A veteran teacher said, as he was leaving the session, ‘This was the best inservice program I have ever attended.’” “All aspects of this training can be applied immediately.” “This training was very useful and helpful in our degree of understanding of the Framework. Gave us a lot of food for thought as we develop and revamp our teacher evaluation/professional growth model.” “All activities were focused on moving us as a group toward greater knowledge and skill level in the evaluation process.” “The presentation was informative, relevant, valuable and enjoyable. Thank you for all the work that went into preparation. The components of the Framework really hit home with me.” “This was an outstanding workshop. I learned more in this one day than in countless other workshops!” “The lessons learned by me today are tremendous. I have a much better understanding of the process teachers go through to develop, institute and assess what they do. Valuable information for any administrator, teacher or specialist.”
Lifelong learning for both educators and students. |