As a field, education has largely failed to learn from experience. Time after time, promising education reforms fall short of their goals and are abandoned as other promising ideas take their place. In Learning to Improve, the authors argue for a new approach. Rather than “implementing fast and learning slow,” they believe educators should adopt a more rigorous approach to improvement that allows the field to “learn fast to implement well.” Using ideas borrowed from improvement science, the authors show how a process of disciplined inquiry can be combined with the use of networks to identify, adapt, and successfully scale up promising interventions in education. Organized around six core principles, the book shows how “networked improvement communities” can bring together researchers and practitioners to accelerate learning in key areas of education. Examples include efforts to address the high rates of failure among students in community college remedial math courses and strategies for improving feedback to novice teachers. Learning to Improve offers a new paradigm for research and development in education that promises to be a powerful driver of improvement for the nation’s schools and colleges.

Using ideas borrowed from improvement science, Learning to Improve shows how a process of disciplined inquiry can be combined with the use of networks to identify, adapt, and successfully scale up promising interventions in education. Rather than "implementing fast and learning slow," the authors believe educators should adopt a more rigorous approach to improvement that allows the field to "learn fast to implement well." The authors focus on six principles that represent the foundational elements for improvement science carried out in networked communities: Make the work problem-specific and user-centered Focus on variation in performance See the system that produces the current outcomes We cannot improve at scale what we cannot measure Use disciplined inquiry to drive improvement Accelerate learning through networked communities Learning to Improve offers a new paradigm for research and development in education that promises to be a powerful driver of improvement for the nation's schools and colleges. "In this hopeful and accessible volume, Bryk and his colleagues describe six tenets for addressing vexing problems of educational practice. Yes, systematic actions guided by serious scientific inquiry can lead to improvements in a vast array of contexts, topics, and settings. Drawing on numerous real life examples and illustrations, the authors demonstrate how to develop and then critically execute good ideas to produce reliably positive outcomes." -- John Q. Easton, distinguished senior fellow, Spencer Foundation Anthony S. Bryk is the president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Louis M. Gomez holds the MacArthur Chair in Digital Media and Learning in the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and is a senior partner at Carnegie. Alicia Grunow is a senior partner and co-director of the Center for Networked Improvement at Carnegie. Paul G. LeMahieu is the senior vice president for programs at Carnegie and the former superintendent of education for the state of Hawaii.

Using ideas borrowed from improvement science, Learning to Improve shows how a process of disciplined inquiry can be combined with the use of networks to identify, adapt, and successfully scale up promising interventions in education. Rather than "implementing fast and learning slow," the authors believe educators should adopt a more rigorous approach to improvement that allows the field to "learn fast to implement well." The authors focus on six principles that represent the foundational elements for improvement science carried out in networked communities: Make the work problem-specific and user-centered Focus on variation in performance See the system that produces the current outcomes We cannot improve at scale what we cannot measure Use disciplined inquiry to drive improvement Accelerate learning through networked communities Learning to Improve offers a new paradigm for research and development in education that promises to be a powerful driver of improvement for the nation's schools and colleges. "In this hopeful and accessible volume, Bryk and his colleagues describe six tenets for addressing vexing problems of educational practice. Yes, systematic actions guided by serious scientific inquiry can lead to improvements in a vast array of contexts, topics, and settings. Drawing on numerous real life examples and illustrations, the authors demonstrate how to develop and then critically execute good ideas to produce reliably positive outcomes." -- John Q. Easton, distinguished senior fellow, Spencer Foundation Anthony S. Bryk is the president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Louis M. Gomez holds the MacArthur Chair in Digital Media and Learning in the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and is a senior partner at Carnegie. Alicia Grunow is a senior partner and co-director of the Center for Networked Improvement at Carnegie. Paul G. LeMahieu is the senior vice president for programs at Carnegie and the former superintendent of education for the state of Hawaii.

This book helps you make sense of the data your school district collects, including state student achievement results as well as other qualitative and quantitative data. Easy-to-use templates, tools, and examples are available on the accompanying downloadable resources.

Given the increased accountability at the college and university level, one of the most promising ways for faculty at institutions of higher education to improve their teaching is to capitalize upon their skills as researchers. This book is a step-by-step guide for doing research to inform and improve teaching and learning. With background and instruction about how to engage in these methodologies—including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods—Doing Research to Improve Teaching and Learning provides examples across disciplines of how to use one's research skills to improve teaching. This valuable resource equips faculty with the skills to collect and use different types of research evidence to improve teaching and learning in any college and university classroom. Special Features: Chapter openers highlight the questions and issues that will be addressed in each chapter. Recurring text boxes provide authentic examples from actual research studies, student work, and instructor reflections. Coverage of challenges, key successes, and lessons learned from classroom research presents a nuanced and complete understanding of the process.

Building on extensive evidence that school-based teacher learning communities improve student outcomes, this book lays out an agenda to develop and sustain collaborative professional cultures. McLaughlin and Talbert—foremost scholars of school change and teaching contexts—provide an inside look at the processes, resources, and system strategies that are necessary to build vibrant school-based teacher learning communities. Offering a compelling, straightforward blueprint for action, this book: Takes a comprehensive look at the problem of improving the quality of teaching across the United States, based on evidence and examples from the authors’ nearly two decades of research.Demonstrates how and why school-based teacher learning communities are bottom-line requirements for improved instruction. Outlines the resources and supports needed to build and sustain a long-term school-based teacher professional community. Discusses the nature of high-quality professional development to support learning and changes in teaching.Details the roles and responsibilities of policymakers at all levels of the school system. “This book offers vivid examples of how teacher learning communities are formed and sustained. A must-read for educators at all levels who are serious about enacting change.” —Amy M. Hightower, Assistant Director, American Federation of Teachers

American higher education needs a major reframing of student learning outcomes assessment Dynamic changes are underway in American higher education. New providers, emerging technologies, cost concerns, student debt, and nagging doubts about quality all call out the need for institutions to show evidence of student learning. From scholars at the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA), Using Evidence of Student Learning to Improve Higher Education presents a reframed conception and approach to student learning outcomes assessment. The authors explain why it is counterproductive to view collecting and using evidence of student accomplishment as primarily a compliance activity. Today's circumstances demand a fresh and more strategic approach to the processes by which evidence about student learning is obtained and used to inform efforts to improve teaching, learning, and decision-making. Whether you're in the classroom, an administrative office, or on an assessment committee, data about what students know and are able to do are critical for guiding changes that are needed in institutional policies and practices to improve student learning and success. Use this book to: Understand how and why student learning outcomes assessment can enhance student accomplishment and increase institutional effectiveness Shift the view of assessment from being externally driven to internally motivated Learn how assessment results can help inform decision-making Use assessment data to manage change and improve student success Gauging student learning is necessary if institutions are to prepare students to meet the 21st century needs of employers and live an economically independent, civically responsible life. For assessment professionals and educational leaders, Using Evidence of Student Learning to Improve Higher Education offers both a compelling rationale and practical advice for making student learning outcomes assessment more effective and efficient.