Unmistakable Impact

A Partnership Approach for Dramatically Improving Instruction
Jim Knight - University of Kansas, USA
Unmistakable Impact
November 2010 | 336 pages | Corwin
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ISBN: 9781452239491
Available from January 0001
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ISBN: 9781412994309
Available from January 0001

Description

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.

Contents

Foreword by Michael Fullan

Foreword by Michael Fullan

Preface

Preface

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Author

  • 1. Impact Schools
  • The Best Jobs
  • The Failure of the American School System
  • Unmistakable Impact
  • Core Concepts of an Impact School
  • What You Will Find in This Book
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 2. Partnership
  • Helping Others
  • Partnership: The Theory Behind Impact Schools
  • Equality: Professional Learning With Teachers Rather Than Training Done to Teachers
  • Choice: Teachers Should Have Choice Regarding What and How They Learn
  • Voice: Professional Learning Should Empower and Respect the Voices of Teachers
  • Reflection: Reflection Is an Integral Part of Professional Learning
  • Dialogue: Professional Learning Should Enable Authentic Dialogue
  • Praxis: Teachers Should Apply Their Learning to Their Real-Life Practice as They Are Learning
  • Reciprocity: We Should Expect to Get as Much as We Give
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 3. Principals
  • Leading Schools and the Partnership Principles
  • Principals as Designers
  • The Target
  • The Big Four
  • Creating the Target
  • Observing and Monitoring Teacher Progress
  • Principals as First Learners
  • Making It All Happen
  • Getting Support From Central Office
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 4. Instructional Coaching
  • Partnership
  • Partnering With Administrators
  • Workshops and Intensive Learning Teams
  • Components of Coaching
  • Who Should Be a Coach
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 5. Workshops That Make an Impact
  • Take the Partnership Approach
  • Address the Impact Factors
  • Use Effective Design
  • Apply Learning to Real Life
  • Deliver the Message Powerfully
  • Connect With the Audience
  • Walk the Talk
  • Keep the Energy High
  • Use Dialogue Architectures
  • Tell Stories
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 6. Intensive Learning Teams
  • The Challenge
  • Partnership Principles
  • Address Impact Factors
  • Partnership Facilitation
  • Intensive Learning Teams
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 7. Partnership Communication
  • Partnership Principles and Communication
  • Listening
  • Good Questions
  • Finding Common Ground
  • Controlling Difficult Emotions
  • Love Your Partners
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper

Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

Resource A: Impact Toolkit

  • Administrator Resources
  • Big Four Observation Tools
  • Teacher Progress Map (TPM) Resources
  • Coach Resources: What Coaches Do
  • Additional Tools
  • Intensive Learning Teams

Resource B: Research

  • Research on Coaching
  • Research on Workshops
  • Research on Intensive Learning Teams

References and Further Readings

References and Further Readings

Index

Index

Resources

Supplemental Resources Website

This companion website houses PDF versions of the tools contained in Resource A – the Impact Toolkit. Designed for easy download, use these tools in your meetings and PD sessions.
http://www.corwin.com/unmistakableimpact

Additional materials

Description

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.

Contents

Foreword by Michael Fullan

Foreword by Michael Fullan

Preface

Preface

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Author

  • 1. Impact Schools
  • The Best Jobs
  • The Failure of the American School System
  • Unmistakable Impact
  • Core Concepts of an Impact School
  • What You Will Find in This Book
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 2. Partnership
  • Helping Others
  • Partnership: The Theory Behind Impact Schools
  • Equality: Professional Learning With Teachers Rather Than Training Done to Teachers
  • Choice: Teachers Should Have Choice Regarding What and How They Learn
  • Voice: Professional Learning Should Empower and Respect the Voices of Teachers
  • Reflection: Reflection Is an Integral Part of Professional Learning
  • Dialogue: Professional Learning Should Enable Authentic Dialogue
  • Praxis: Teachers Should Apply Their Learning to Their Real-Life Practice as They Are Learning
  • Reciprocity: We Should Expect to Get as Much as We Give
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 3. Principals
  • Leading Schools and the Partnership Principles
  • Principals as Designers
  • The Target
  • The Big Four
  • Creating the Target
  • Observing and Monitoring Teacher Progress
  • Principals as First Learners
  • Making It All Happen
  • Getting Support From Central Office
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 4. Instructional Coaching
  • Partnership
  • Partnering With Administrators
  • Workshops and Intensive Learning Teams
  • Components of Coaching
  • Who Should Be a Coach
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 5. Workshops That Make an Impact
  • Take the Partnership Approach
  • Address the Impact Factors
  • Use Effective Design
  • Apply Learning to Real Life
  • Deliver the Message Powerfully
  • Connect With the Audience
  • Walk the Talk
  • Keep the Energy High
  • Use Dialogue Architectures
  • Tell Stories
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 6. Intensive Learning Teams
  • The Challenge
  • Partnership Principles
  • Address Impact Factors
  • Partnership Facilitation
  • Intensive Learning Teams
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 7. Partnership Communication
  • Partnership Principles and Communication
  • Listening
  • Good Questions
  • Finding Common Ground
  • Controlling Difficult Emotions
  • Love Your Partners
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper

Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

Resource A: Impact Toolkit

  • Administrator Resources
  • Big Four Observation Tools
  • Teacher Progress Map (TPM) Resources
  • Coach Resources: What Coaches Do
  • Additional Tools
  • Intensive Learning Teams

Resource B: Research

  • Research on Coaching
  • Research on Workshops
  • Research on Intensive Learning Teams

References and Further Readings

References and Further Readings

Index

Index

Resources

Supplemental Resources Website

This companion website houses PDF versions of the tools contained in Resource A – the Impact Toolkit. Designed for easy download, use these tools in your meetings and PD sessions.
http://www.corwin.com/unmistakableimpact

Additional materials

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Unmistakable Impact

A Partnership Approach for Dramatically Improving Instruction

Jim Knight
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November 2010 | 336 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Paperback 01/01/2025 9781412994309 $45.95
Lifetime 01/02/2026 9781452239491 $42.00

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.


Table Of Contents:

  • Foreword by Michael Fullan
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments
  • About the Author
  • 1. Impact Schools
  • The Best Jobs
  • The Failure of the American School System
  • Unmistakable Impact
  • Core Concepts of an Impact School
  • What You Will Find in This Book
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 2. Partnership
  • Helping Others
  • Partnership: The Theory Behind Impact Schools
  • Equality: Professional Learning With Teachers Rather Than Training Done to Teachers
  • Choice: Teachers Should Have Choice Regarding What and How They Learn
  • Voice: Professional Learning Should Empower and Respect the Voices of Teachers
  • Reflection: Reflection Is an Integral Part of Professional Learning
  • Dialogue: Professional Learning Should Enable Authentic Dialogue
  • Praxis: Teachers Should Apply Their Learning to Their Real-Life Practice as They Are Learning
  • Reciprocity: We Should Expect to Get as Much as We Give
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 3. Principals
  • Leading Schools and the Partnership Principles
  • Principals as Designers
  • The Target
  • The Big Four
  • Creating the Target
  • Observing and Monitoring Teacher Progress
  • Principals as First Learners
  • Making It All Happen
  • Getting Support From Central Office
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 4. Instructional Coaching
  • Partnership
  • Partnering With Administrators
  • Workshops and Intensive Learning Teams
  • Components of Coaching
  • Who Should Be a Coach
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 5. Workshops That Make an Impact
  • Take the Partnership Approach
  • Address the Impact Factors
  • Use Effective Design
  • Apply Learning to Real Life
  • Deliver the Message Powerfully
  • Connect With the Audience
  • Walk the Talk
  • Keep the Energy High
  • Use Dialogue Architectures
  • Tell Stories
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 6. Intensive Learning Teams
  • The Challenge
  • Partnership Principles
  • Address Impact Factors
  • Partnership Facilitation
  • Intensive Learning Teams
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • 7. Partnership Communication
  • Partnership Principles and Communication
  • Listening
  • Good Questions
  • Finding Common Ground
  • Controlling Difficult Emotions
  • Love Your Partners
  • To Sum Up
  • Going Deeper
  • Final Thoughts
  • Resource A: Impact Toolkit
  • Administrator Resources
  • Big Four Observation Tools
  • Teacher Progress Map (TPM) Resources
  • Coach Resources: What Coaches Do
  • Additional Tools
  • Intensive Learning Teams
  • Resource B: Research
  • Research on Coaching
  • Research on Workshops
  • Research on Intensive Learning Teams
  • References and Further Readings
  • Index

Recent Product Reviews:

"The book introduces the reader to the theoretical framework, strategies, structure and findings from qualitative studies on instructional coaching to explain how partnership learning supports effective instruction and student achivement."
Susan Farber, University of Cincinnati, Education Review
“Jim Knight helps us to understand how learning can be infectious, energizing, and humanizing as he eloquently delineates the steps involved in creating an impact school. I suggest buying this book for all principals who want to strengthen their schools. I believe that Unmistakable Impact will be a resource they return to time and again."
Stephanie Hirsh, Executive Director, Learning Forward, Dallas, TX
"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
"Jim Knight outlines a clear path to success for educators to make sense out of the complex nature of external mandates, competing initiatives and prevailing traditional models found within many schools and districts around the nation."
Ken Geisick, Superintendent, Riverbank Unified School District, CA
"A must read for anyone who cares about learning, this book is from the heart. Knight uses his own experiences to describe processes and strategies for impacting student and adult learning in today’s schools."
Sandee Crowther, President, Phi Delta Kappa International

Recommendations