The Educational Leader's Guide to Improvement Science: Data, Design and Cases for Reflection

The Educational Leader’s Guide to Improvement Science: Data, Design and Cases for Reflection is a collection illustrating applied organizational problem-solving using methods of improvement science in educational leadership. Early chapters introduce improvement science and then the reader is led through a logical sequence of inquiry, presented with cases of educational dilemma matched with principles of improvement science and provided examples of research methodology applied in context. Because improvement science research is so quickly becoming a signature pedagogy and core subject area of inquiry in the field of educational leadership, the literature is still scant in its coverage of improvement science models; it is the purpose of this publication to fill the void by providing concrete examples, through case studies, of instances where improvement research methods and analyses can be embedded to enhance and strengthen efforts at organizational improvement. This text concentrates on the elements faculty, students, and administrators need; specific models where improvement science frameworks enhance the reliability and validity of improvement or quality enhancement efforts.

To learn more about Improvement Science and see our full list of books in this area, please click through to the Myers Education Press Improvement Science website.

Perfect for courses such as: Introduction to Improvement Science, Seminar/Practicum in Educational Leadership, Introduction to Program Evaluation, Educational Research for Administrators, Action Research for School Practitioners, Educational Research, School Improvement, and Teacher Leadership.

Robert Crow, PhD, is an associate professor of educational research at Western Carolina University. His expertise in assessment and evaluation has led to collaborations with other 4-year institutions, community colleges, PK-12 schools, and institutional accreditation agencies such as SACS-COC. Dr. Crow's research interests include assessment and evaluation of student learning and of learning environments.

Dr. Brandi Nicole Hinnant-Crawford is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Clemson University. She holds bachelors degrees in English and Communication from North Carolina State University, a masters in Urban Education Policy from Brown University, and a PhD in Educational Studies from Emory University. Brandi has studied and worked in K-12 and higher education policy for the last 10 years, doing research, evaluation, and policy analysis with entities as varied as the University System of Georgia and Syracuse City School District. Her research agenda employs justice framework where she intentionally seeks to expose policies and practices related to exploitation, domination, and marginalization; her broad interest include multicultural education, teacher activism, African American activism, improvement science, and education policy.

Dean T. Spaulding is the Vice President and Director of Grant Writng and Program Evaluation with Z Score Inc. He is also former chair of the Teaching Evaluation SIG for the American Evaluation Association. Dr. Spaulding has conducted research for New York State Department of Education, New York State Department of Public Health, and the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH). He has had experience serving as external evaluator on technology-related projects such as state and federal technology catalyst grants PT3: Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology and several Title III Technology Literacy Challenge Grants. He currently serves as external evaluator on a National Science Foundation and a Howard Hughes Foundation grant. Dr. Spaulding is one of the authors of Methods in Educational Research: From Theory to Practice (2010, 2nd edition), Jossey-Bass Wiley, and the author of Program Evaluation in Practice: Core Concepts and Examples for Discussion and Analysis (2014, 2nd edition) Jossey-Bass Wiley. He is also the co-author of Action Research for School Leaders (2012) Pearson, Instructional Coaches and the Instructional Leadership Team (2012) Corwin, and What Does Your School Data Team Sound Like? Strategies to Improve the Conversation Around Data (August, 2018) Corwin.