Reflective Practice for Educators : Professional Development to Improve Student Learning

"Anyone serious about leading the reform of teaching and learning in our schools should read this book. Kottkamp and Osterman reframe the conversation about what it means to lead a learning organization. Their reflective processes hold promise for educators as they struggle together to create new possibilities for student learning."
Nelda Cambron-McCabe, Professor
Miami University, OH

In this age of mandated reforms, reflective practice is a truly effective, empowering way to make meaningful, positive changes.

Written for teachers, administrators, and professional development specialists in schools and universities, this book is an educators' guide to reflective practice. In clear, accessible language, the authors explain the potential to create meaningful change in schools and show you how to integrate reflective practice effectively into the daily work of schools.

The book:

• Explains reflective practice as a professional development strategy and its importance for school reform
• Offers ideas and practical strategies to facilitate collaborative, data-based inquiry, dialogue, and problem-solving in schools
• Describes reflective practice in action and illustrates its power to create meaningful change in classrooms
• Shows how reflective practice is an important step in creating professional learning organizations

Reflective practice has the potential to renew your sense of optimism, commitment, and efficacy as you learn how to support meaningful professional growth, shape a culture of learning, and make important changes in students' learning.

Karen F. Osterman is currently Professor and Chairperson in the Department of Foundations, Leadership, and Policy Studies at Hofstra University. She received her BA from Emmanuel College, an MPIA at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, and a PhD from Washington University. Her teaching and research focus broadly on motivation in a social context with particular emphasis on organiza-tional structures and processes that affect the workplace behavior of adults and students. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Management Science, Journal of School Public Relations, Journal of School Leadership, Education and Urban Society, Newsday, Phi Delta Kappan, Review of Educational Research, and Urban Education. Recent work explores the way that school and classroom policies and practices affect the quality of peer relationships, bullying, student violence, and disengagement from learning.

Robert B. Kottkamp is Professor and Doctoral Director in the Department of Foundations, Leadership and Policy Studies, Hofstra University. He received his BA from DePauw University and an MAEd and PhD from Washington University. His teaching and research foci include problem framing, reflective practice, and change and pedagogy in leadership preparation programs. He has coauthored four books and has had works published in Phi Delta Kappan, Journal of Research and Development in Education, the Alberta Journal of Educational Research, Educational Administration Quarterly, Teachers College Record, and Leadership and Policy in Schools. Recent work includes development and research with the Let Me Learn Process described in Chapter 7 and leadership in the Taskforce toEvaluate Educational Leadership Preparation and Effectiveness sup-ported by the University Council for Educational Administration and the American Educational Research Association Special Interest Group on Teaching in Educational Administration.