Becoming a Better Teacher: Eight Innovations That Work

This book provides K-12 educators with key information about some of the most effective teaching and learning tools available today-in one convenient publication. Each of the innovations has a long history of use and has been researched and evaluated in a variety of settings. Giselle Martin-Kniep chose these specific innovations because, as a whole, they foster a student-centered classroom environment that is both equitable and rigorous. In separate chapters for each topic, she addresses 1) essential questions, 2) curriculum integration, 3) standards-based curriculum and assessment design, 4) authentic assessment, 5) scoring rubrics, 6) portfolios, 7) reflection, and 8) action research. Annotated lists of recommended resources provide suggestions for further exploration of each topic. Readers new to these topics will gain a basic understanding of each and learn how to use them to create a student-centered classroom. More experienced educators can also benefit from reexamining these innovations and considering them as parts of a comprehensive whole. Numerous examples from all grade levels, along with design modules, templates, and checklists, make this an invaluable guide for teachers and administrators.

Giselle O. Martin-Kniep is the president of Learner-Centered Initiatives, Ltd., an educational consulting organization specializing in regional and school-based curriculum and assessment. Martin-Kniep has a strong background in organizational change, a doctorate in social sciences in education, and an Ed.S. degree in educational evaluation from Stanford University. From 1990 to 1995 she was a faculty member in the School of Education at Adelphi University. She has served as a program evaluator, a curriculum auditor, a researcher, and a teacher educator. Since 1990, she has worked with over 500 schools and districts both nationally and internationally in the areas of alternative assessment, integrated curriculum design, school change, and action research. She currently directs more than 35 comprehensive, multiyear regional and school-based national and international professional development programs for K-12 teachers. She also works as a consultant for the International Baccalaureate and the New York State Department of Education. In addition, she is president and CEO of the Center for the Study of Expertise in Teaching and Learning.

Martin-Kniep has written numerous books, chapters in edited texts, and articles. Her two most recent publications are Why Am I Doing This? Purposeful Teaching Through Portfolio Assessment (Heinemann, 1998) and Capturing the Wisdom of Practice: Portfolios for Teachers and Administrators (ASCD, 1999).

Diane Cunningham (author of Chapter 8, "Action Research: Asking and Answering Questions About Practice") is an educational consultant for Learner-Centered Initiatives. Over the past 12 years she has engaged in various action research projects and has guided many teachers and administrators in carrying out action research. She coauthored a chapter on authentic assessment and is co-editor of Why Am I Doing This? Purposeful Teaching Through Portfolio Assessment.