Creating the Schools Our Children Need: Why What We're Doing Now Won't Help Much (and What We Can Do Instead) (Explore strategies that help districts increase their school improvement efforts)

by Dylan Wiliam

Overview

Improving education in the United States requires school districts to make smart decisions. By examining the gaps between what research says works and what schools actually do, Wiliam provides evidence-based changes to implement for successful school improvement efforts. This book helps districts, school leaders, and stakeholders learn how to become critical consumers of educational research capable of increasing student achievement.

This book will help educators:

• Build a curriculum focused on developing knowledge
• Support a culture where every teacher improves
• Apply a framework for evaluating new district initiatives

Contents:
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Foreword
Introduction
Section 1
Chapter 1: Why We Need to Improve American Education
Section 2
Chapter 2: Getting Smarter People Into Teaching
Chapter 3: Firing Bad Teachers
Chapter 4: Paying Good Teachers More
Chapter 5: Reducing Class Size
Chapter 6: Copying Other Countries
Chapter 7: Expanding School Choice
Section 3
Chapter 8: Moving Forward
Chapter 9: Why Curriculum Matters
Chapter 10: A Knowledge-Rich Curriculum
Chapter 11: Improving the Teachers We Have
Chapter 12: Creating a Learning Environment for Educators
Chapter 13: Pulling It All Together
Appendix
References
Index

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781943920334
Publisher:	Solution Tree Press
Publication date:	03/29/2018
Pages:	230
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Dylan Wiliam is one of the world's foremost education authorities. He has helped to successfully implement classroom formative assessment in thousands of schools all over the world, including the United States, Singapore, Sweden, Australia, and the United Kingdom. A two-part BBC series, "The Classroom Experiment," tracked Dr. Wiliam's work at one British middle school, showing how formative assessment strategies empower students, significantly increase engagement, and shift classroom responsibility from teachers to their students so that students become agents of and collaborators in their own learning. Dylan Wiliam is Emeritus Professor of Educational Assessment at University College London. After a first degree in mathematics and physics, he taught in urban schools for seven years, during which time he earned further degrees in mathematics and mathematics education. Learn more about Wiliam's research, as well as his products and services at the Learning Sciences Dylan Wiliam Center.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

About the Author xi

Foreword xiii

Introduction 1

Section 1

1 Why We Need to Improve American Education 11

The Changing Nature of Work 14

Conclusion 21

Section 2

2 Getting Smarter People Into Teaching 27

Teacher Selection 31

Teach for America 35

Improving Teacher Selection 38

3 Firing Bad Teachers 43

Classroom Observations 44

Using Test Scores to Measure Teachers' Effectiveness 48

Combining Observations, Value-Added Data, and Student Surveys 51

4 Paying Good Teachers More 55

Performance-Related Pay 61

Conclusion 66

5 Reducing Class Size 69

Conclusion 75

6 Copying Other Countries 77

Are Other Countries Doing Better Than the United States? 78

If Other Countries Are Doing Better, Can We Figure Out Why? 84

Evan If We Figure Out Why Other Countries Do Well, Could We Do It Here? 87

Conclusion 89

7 Expanding School Choice 91

How Much of a Difference Do Good Schools Make? 94

Charter Schools 96

Do Students Learn More in Charter Schools? 99

School Vouchers 102

Section 3

8 Moving Forward 109

Systematic Reviews of Research 113

9 Why Curriculum Matters 121

What Should Our Children Be Learning? 121

Twenty-First-Century Skills 123

How Our Brains Work 126

Memorizing Digits 128

Memory in Chess 130

Talent Versus Practice 132

10 A Knowledge-Rich Curriculum 137

The Low-Hanging Fruit: Alignment 141

Going at Things Sideways: The Case of Futsal 143

Knowledge, Not Skills 145

How Memory Works 152

Conclusion 155

11 Improving the Teachers We Have 159

Expertise 161

What Should Our Teachers Get Better At? 164

Formative Assessment 166

Conclusion 169

12 Creating a Learning Environment for Educators 171

Helping Teachers Change Classroom Habits 173

Concision 179

13 Pulling It All Together 181

Appendix 185

Practical Advice for implementing Classroom Formative Assessment 185

Resources for School Leaders 185

References 187

Index 205