Unmistakable Impact: A Partnership Approach for Dramatically Improving Instruction

"Unmistakable Impact takes us deeper into the realm of grounded school improvement―a great contribution to the field."
―Michael Fullan, Professor and Author
University of Toronto, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Centre for Teacher Development

"This book exemplifies everything Jim Knight advocates: a clear focus, respect for educators’ significant contributions, and the value that well-designed professional learning contributes to school improvement efforts."
―Dennis Sparks, Former Executive Director
Learning Forward

A focused approach to school improvement that hits the mark

A staggering amount of evidence shows that our schools are not as effective as they should be, and they are working toward improvement. This book simplifies the process for becoming an Impact School through targeted, consistent professional learning that is done with teachers, not to teachers. Award-winning author Jim Knight describes how to translate staff members’ joy of learning into high-leverage practices that achieve dramatic student outcomes. Characteristics of Impact Schools include

• A focused, clearly defined improvement plan that takes into account the complexity of teaching and learning relationships
• A school culture that encourages enrollment in ongoing professional development
• Alignment of purpose and actions among all staff members

Helpful resources include tangible tools and reproducibles for use by principals, workshop leaders, professional learning communities, and instructional coaches. When everyone learns, every student receives excellent instruction every day in every class. Unmistakable Impact provides the roadmap to remarkable results.

Jim Knight is a research associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning and the president of the Instructional Coaching Group. He has spent more than a decade studying instructional coaching and has written several books on the topic, including Instructional Coaching: A Partnership Approach to Improving Instruction published by Corwin and Learning Forward (2007). Knight co-authored Coaching Classroom Management. He also edited Coaching: Approaches and Perspectives.

Knight has authored articles on instructional coaching and school improvement in publications such as The Journal of Staff Development, Principal Leadership, The School Administrator, Kappan, and Teachers Teaching Teachers.

Several research projects directed by Knight include an IES-funded qualitative and quantitative assessment of coaching and Pathways to Success, a comprehensive, districtwide school reform project for the Topeka Public School District in Kansas. Knight also leads the coaching institutes and the Annual Instructional Coaching Conference offered by the University of Kansas.

Frequently asked to guide professional learning for instructional coaches, Knight has presented and consulted in more than 35 states, most Canadian provinces, and in Japan. He has a PhD in Education and has won several university teaching, innovation, and service awards. He also writes the popular radicallearners.com blog.

Now, Jim Knight is offering his expertise in an online professional development opportunity!Visit our Professional Learning page for more information!