Unstuck: How Curiosity, Peer Coaching, and Teaming Can Change Your School

Good ideas, the best intentions, and a stirring vision aren't enough to effect change in schools. Unstuck offers a road map to help schools change from the inside out instead of the top down. Inside-out approaches are designed to encourage schools to become more innovative and entrepreneurial, finding better ways to help students learn and pursue their own intellectual passions and talents—while also maintaining a healthy skepticism and reliance on data to make sure new approaches and ideas are working. This process involves seven steps: starting with moral purpose, unleashing curiosity, building on bright spots, peer coaching toward precision, leading from the inside out, and moving the goal posts. This book's tips, real-life examples, and next steps will help leaders get from where they are now to where they want to be.

Bryan Goodwin is president and CEO of McREL International. He thrives on translating research into practice, scanning the world for new insights and best practices on teaching and leading, and helping educators everywhere adapt them to address their own challenges. A frequent conference presenter, he is the author of Simply Better: Doing What Matters Most to Change the Odds for Student Success and coauthor of The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching and Balanced Leadership for Powerful Learning: Tools for Achieving Success in Your School. Before joining McREL in 1998, Goodwin was a college instructor, a high school teacher, and an award-winning business journalist.

Tonia Gibson, a McREL International project consultant, works with schools, districts, and other stakeholders to develop sustainable plans for improving the professional practices of teachers and school leaders. Gibson began her career in Australia, teaching all grades from K—6. As a leading teacher, she focused on curriculum, assessment, and implementation, as well as developing effective practices and protocols for effective professional learning communities. As an assistant principal, Gibson's focus was on developing the capacities of teachers and school leaders to improve student engagement, student achievement, and teacher confidence. Gibson earned a master's degree in school leadership from the University of Melbourne and a bachelor of education in primary/adult learning from RMIT University.

Dale Lewis is senior director of research, evaluation, and technical assistance at McREL International. Lewis also serves as deputy director of the Regional Educational Laboratory for the Pacific Region. Before joining McREL, he served as principal technical assistance consultant for the American Institutes for Research, with primary responsibilities as director of the Texas Comprehensive Center. Lewis has extensive experience guiding and leading others in the application of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model to support the implementation of new educational programs and initiatives. He is a certified educational diagnostician and special education teacher. Lewis holds a master's degree in special education and a PhD in education-school improvement from Texas State University.

Kris Rouleau is senior director of learning services and innovation at McREL International. Prior to working at McREL, Rouleau was a classroom teacher, curriculum specialist, elementary school principal, and district-level curriculum administrator. Among her accomplishments, she designed and led her district's first centralized literacy coach cadre for K–12 teachers. Rouleau earned her administrative credentials at the University of Washington, her master's in curriculum and teaching from Michigan State University, and a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Western Michigan University. As of this writing, she is a doctoral candidate in leadership for educational equity from the University of Colorado–Denver.