Table Of Contents:

• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Part I. Foundations
• CHAPTER 1: Why Adult Development Matters in the Context of Education Today
• What Do We Mean by a Developmental Approach?
• How Developmental Capacity Helps Us Meet Current Challenges in Education
• Technical and Adaptive Challenges
• Acknowledging Developmental Diversity
• Introducing the Four Pillar Practices
• Caring Is the Heart of Our Work
• The Evidence Base for This Book
• Developmental Underpinnings of the Model
• The Turbulent Context of Education Today
• Teachers: Retention, Burnout, and Well-Being
• Burnout and Work–Life Balance: A Persistent Struggle
• Social-Emotional Learning Can Help Retain Teachers
• Supporting Teacher Well-Being: A Systemic Imperative
• Expanding Roles and Rising Demands Drive Principal Attrition
• Supporting Principals for Long-Term Retention
• A Foundational Strategy: Building Supportive Networks and Fostering Collaboration
• Contemporary Issues in Education and the World
• Key Factors Influencing Our Postpandemic Context
• The “New Normal” as a Catalyst for Change
• Social Justice in Education: A Call to Action
• Technology and AI: Navigating the Future of Education
• Broader Societal and Environmental Challenges
• What We Know: Professional Learning Is Like Oxygen for Educators and Leaders Across the System
• New Roles for Leaders Demand a Developmental Approach
• The Power of Transformational Learning Across the System
• Summary and Conclusion
• CHAPTER 2: Constructive-Developmental Theory
• Constructive-Developmental Theory and Transformational Learning
• History of Constructive-Developmental Theory
• Foundations for Understanding Constructive-Developmental Theory
• Constructivism, Developmentalism, and Subject–Object Balance—How Do We See and Make Sense?
• Self and Other, Subject and Object—How Do We See and Make Sense?
• Transitions
• Orienting to the Ways of Knowing
• Growth Takes Time
• Moving From One Way of Knowing to the Next
• What Ways of Knowing Are—And Are Not
• Differentiation Matters
• Ways of Knowing: Developmental Strengths, Supports, Growing Edges, and Stretches
• The Instrumental Way of Knowing: Rule-Oriented Self
• Developmental Strengths
• Supports, Growing Edges, and Developmental Stretches
• A Real-Life Example (A Principal’s Experience)
• The Socializing Way of Knowing: Other-Focused Self
• Developmental Strengths
• Supports, Growing Edges, and Developmental Stretches
• A Real-Life Example (Working With Yee)
• The Self-Authoring Way of Knowing: Reflective Self (Also Sometimes Referred to as “Systems-Focused”)
• Developmental Strengths
• Supports, Growing Edges, and Developmental Stretches
• A Real-Life Example (Working with Ale)
• The Self-Transforming Way of Knowing: Interconnecting Self
• Why This Stage Is Hard to Pin Down
• The Transition: Both Liberating and Disorienting
• Characteristics of Self-Transforming Knowers
• Developmental Strengths
• Supports, Growing Edges, and Developmental Stretches
• A Learning-Oriented Model of Leadership and Developmental Awareness
• Preconditions for Supporting Adult Development
• Psychological Safety as a Form of Holding Environment
• Why They Matter in Practice
• Expanding Openness and Reducing Blind Spots
• No Such Thing as a “Little Trust Problem”
• Different Ways of Knowing: A Developmental View of Safety, Trust, and Respect
• The Holding Environment and Why It Matters for Adults in Teams, Schools, Districts—Everywhere!
• The Three Functions of a Holding Environment
• Growing the Growers—About Wings and Butterflies
• Loving People Into Being
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Chapter Summary
• Application Exercise 2.1: Shaping Team, School, and District Cultures: Noble Expectations and Hidden Developmental Demands
• Application Exercise 2.2: Attending to Ways of Knowing
• Questions to Consider in Relation to Box 2.1
• Sample Responses
• PART II: PILLAR PRACTICES FOR GROWTH
• CHAPTER 3: Teaming: Growth Opportunities for Individuals, Organizations, and Systems
• How Teaming Has Changed—And Remained the Same
• How This Chapter Will Discuss Effective Teaming
• A Roadmap for This Chapter
• Teaming in the Literature Today
• The Importance of Teaming
• Conditions Research Shows Make for Great Teams . . .
• . . . And a Word About the Use of Time
• The Need to Build Collaborative Cultures and Safe Spaces
• What Do Educators Value About Teaming?
• The Team as a Source of Individual Development: Engaging in Reflective Practice
• The Bedrock of Teaming: Trust
• About Vulnerability, Trust, and Teaming
• More About Psychological Safety and Its Importance to a Developmental Approach
• Attending to Developmental Diversity
• The Instrumental Knower as Team Member
• The Socializing Knower as Team Member
• The Self-Authoring Knower as Team Member
• The Self-Transforming Knower as Team Member
• The Value of the Developmental Perspective in Teaming
• What I’ve Learned About Teaming From School and District Leaders
• What Leaders at All Levels Taught Me About Teaming
• How Leaders Use Teaming
• Dr. Myatt, Fenway Pilot High School
• Mr. Beshir Abdell, Assistant Principal, Bayside High School, New York City
• Ms. Christina Vittiglio, Teacher-Leader, Francis Lewis High School, New York City
• How Effective Teaming Promotes Adult Development
• Establishing Ground Rules, Norms, and Commitments
• On Powerful Norms, Open Dialogue, and the Need for Safe and Brave Spaces
• A Word About Safe and Brave Spaces
• Sample Norms, Agreements, Guidelines From Teams in the Field—And Two Tales of Norm Setting
• Building Norms Helped One School After a Year of COVID-19
• A High-Trust, High-Functioning Team
• Framing Questions to Attend to Ways of Knowing
• Assessing Team Performance
• Additional Protocols for Furthering Team Progress
• Implementing Teaming: Stories and Lessons From the Field
• Adults Need Spaces for Vulnerability—A Principal’s Realization
• How a Principal Used the Pillars to Guide Teams
• A Fresh Start in Leading a Grade-Level Team
• A Protocol for Teaming Dilemmas
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Chapter Summary
• Application Exercise 3.1: Bridge to Practice
• Application Exercise 3.2: Capitalizing on Developmental Strengths and Growing Edges of Teammates
• CHAPTER 4: Offering Leadership Roles: Learning and Growing From Leading Together
• About Offering Leadership Roles
• How Is Offering Leadership Roles Different From Distributing Leadership?
• What the Literature Says About Offering Leadership Roles
• The New Keys for Leading in Complex Times
• Pathways for Sharing Leadership
• The Principal’s Role: Relationships and Leadership Style
• Needed: Structural Supports and Clear Expectations for Leadership
• Current Thinking About Teacher Leadership
• Developmental Benefits of Offering Leadership Roles
• Relating Leadership Roles to Ways of Knowing: Pulling the Developmental Thread
• The Instrumental Knower as Leader
• The Socializing Knower as Leader
• The Self-Authoring Knower as Leader
• The Self-Transforming Knower as Leader
• The Leadership Role as Holding Environment
• What I’ve Learned About Offering Leadership Roles from Schools and District Leaders
• Offering Leadership Roles to Teachers and to Principals
• Barriers to Offering Leadership Roles
• Learning From Leadership Roles
• Supports for Those Assuming Leadership Roles
• Examples of Leaders’ Use of Offering Leadership Roles
• Principals Offering Leadership Roles for Teachers
• Building Capacity by Offering Leadership Roles at Middle School 88 in Park Slope, Brooklyn
• The Case: In Principal Mitchell’s Voice
• Implementing Teaming and Lifting Teacher-Leaders
• How Teams Functioned and Were Supported
• Impact and Observed Benefits of Our Approach
• My Insights—and Tips and Takeaways
• Teacher Leadership Roles Inside the School
• Teacher Leadership Roles Outside the School
• Principals Assuming Additional Leadership Roles
• Principals as Mentors and Coaches to Aspiring and Practicing Principals
• Principals as Facilitators of Conversations With Newer Principals
• Principals Assuming Leadership Roles in Collaborative Inquiry Groups
• The Case: Leading for Sustainable Change (In Dr. Wilson’s Voice)
• Offering Leadership Roles and Self-Insight—And Outcomes of the Approach
• My Reflections on the Process—And Some Takeaways
• Teachers Assuming Their Own Additional Leadership Roles
• How One Leader Offers Teachers Leadership Roles Within Schools and Districts
• Cases and Lessons From the Field
• Growing Into and From a Leadership Role—Peter’s Story
• Jenni’s Story: Stuck in the Middle
• Edgar’s Story: Changing a Math Program Through Teaming and Inviting Teachers Into Leadership
• References
• Christy’s Case: Offering Leadership Roles and Developmentally Intentional PD
• References
• Chapter Summary
• Application Exercise 4.1
• Application Exercise 4.2: Insightful Questions to Ask Colleagues
• Endnotes: Chapter 4
• CHAPTER 5: Mentoring: Building Meaningful and Growth-Enhancing Relationships
• Mentoring: Origin and Overview
• Key Definitions and Roles of Mentors
• Mentoring in the Professional Development Literature: Across Sectors
• The Benefits of Mentoring
• Learning to Be a Good Mentor
• Mentoring as a Lever for Equity
• Mentoring in the Professional Development Literature: In K–12 Education
• The Link Between Mentoring and Retention
• Mentoring New Teachers
• Mentoring Helps Mentors, Too
• Mentoring School Leaders and Administrators
• Remote Mentoring
• A Note on Coaching in K–12 Education and Leadership Contexts
• Effective Coaching Doesn’t Work in a Vacuum: Culture Matters
• Coaching and Equity
• Coaching and Cultural Sensitivity
• The Emotional and Intellectual Weight of Coaching
• The Inner Life of the Coach
• Coaching Leadership
• Mentoring in the Adult Development Literature
• The Mentoring Relationship
• Mentoring as a Holding Environment for Growth
• How a Mentor Can Offer Supports
• How a Mentor Can Provide Challenges—Stretching (When the Person Is Ready)
• Key Things to Keep in Mind
• About Building Mentoring Programs—A Developmental Perspective
• Mentoring and Developmental Diversity
• Relating Ways of Knowing to Mentoring
• The Instrumental Knower as Mentee
• The Socializing Knower as Mentee
• The Self-Authoring Knower as Mentee
• The Self-Transforming Knower as Mentee
• How Our Way of Knowing Influences How We Mentor
• Why and How School and District Leaders Employ Mentoring
• Examples of Principals’ Use of Mentoring to Support Teachers’ Growth and Learning
• General Features of Mentoring Programs Used by Principals
• Programs for Beginning Teachers
• Mentoring Teachers in Using Technology
• An Example of Principals’ Mentoring Assistant Principals’ Learning
• Conceptions of Mentoring
• Characteristics of “Good Mentors”
• What Supports Mentees Most Want
• What Mentors Feel Most Proud Of
• Some Themes in District-Level Leaders’ Use of Mentoring
• Implementing Mentoring and Coaching: Stories From the Field
• A View From a Successful Mentoring Program
• A Transformative Mentorship: Redefining Wellness in Leadership Through Coaching and Mentoring
• Learning to Prioritize Wellness Through Mentorship: In Jullia Lim’s Voice
• A Shift to Prioritizing Emotional and Mental Well-Being
• Embracing a Comprehensive Approach to Wellness
• The Impact of Mentorship on My Life
• Developmental Mentoring in a Bronx High School
• Supporting Adult Development in Schools: In Michael Barakat’s Voice
• Meeting—and Mentoring—Teachers Where They Are
• Mentorship: No Quick Fix, but a Powerful Tool
• Mentorship as a Catalyst for Continuous Development
• Mentoring New Principals in Chicago Public Schools
• Meeting the Developmental Needs of First-Year Principals: In Tai Maria Basurto’s Voice
• Implementation
• Benefits
• Reflections and Insights—Tips and Takeaways
• Growing From Being Coached to Coaching Teachers and Leaders in Australia
• The Transformative Power of Coaching for Adult Learning: In Andrea’s Voice
• Using Differentiation and Trust-Building in Coaching
• Building Others’ Coaching Knowledge and Skills
• My Journey Continues
• What These Cases Reveal About Mentoring
• A Protocol for Building Mentoring Relationships That Nurture Adult Development
• Chapter Summary
• Application Exercise
• CHAPTER 6: Collegial Inquiry: Engaging in Shared Dialogue and Reflection on Practice
• Collegial Inquiry: A Kind of Reflective Practice—And More
• Reflective Practice Supports Personal and Professional Learning
• Reflective Practice Helps Us Identify Our Assumptions
• Reflective Practice Helps Us Reconceptualize Our Assumptions
• Building a Culture of Collaborative Reflective Practice
• Who Should Engage in Reflective Practice?
• Requirements for Engaging in Reflective Practice
• Developing Structures for Shared Reflection and Dialogue
• Narrative Spotlight: One Teacher’s Call for Safe Spaces
• Creating the Conditions for Shared Reflection and Dialogue
• Modeling How to Engage in Dialogue and Reflection
• Increasing Self-Awareness Through Meaningful Dialogue and Reflection
• Acclimating Teachers to a New Culture
• How Collegial Inquiry Connects to Developmental Diversity
• Relating Collegial Inquiry to Ways of Knowing
• The Instrumental Knower and Collegial Inquiry
• The Socializing Knower and Collegial Inquiry
• The Self-Authoring Knower and Collegial Inquiry
• The Self-Transforming Knower and Collegial Inquiry
• Collegial Inquiry as a Path to a Different Way of Knowing
• Application Spotlight: Goal Setting Across Ways of Knowing
• How Leaders Can Developmentally Tailor Goal-Setting Practices With Adult Learners
• How Collegial Inquiry Applies to Feedback
• Developmental Feedback as a Powerful Form of Collegial Inquiry
• Compassionate Listening
• Differentiating Feedback for Growth
• The Flower Metaphor: Tuning Into Inner Growth
• Feedback as a Holding Environment for Growth
• Building a Feedback Culture Through Collegial Inquiry
• Giving and Receiving Feedback
• Application Spotlight: Exercises to Practice Developmental Feedback
• Application Exercise 1: Questions for Checking in and Requesting Feedback on Your Coaching/Training/Leadership Work
• Application Exercise 2: Naming Your Feedback Dilemma/Challenge
• Application Exercise 3: Practicing Feedback Giving With a Feedback Partner
• How and Why Leaders Employ Collegial Inquiry
• How Leaders Are Having Collegial Conversations
• Engaging in Courageous Conversations
• Preparing for Challenging Conversations
• Collegial Dialogue in a Racially and Culturally Diverse Public School
• Teacher Conversations Within PLCs
• Developmental Conversations Between Schools and Families
• Practices School Leaders Are Using to Initiate Collegial Inquiry
• Practices Used by Principals and Assistant Principals With Teachers and Other Adults
• Practice 1: Reflection Through the Process of Writing
• Practice 2: Reflection Through Dialogue
• Practice 3: Reflection Through Decision-Making
• Practice 4: Reflection Through Helping and Advising Others
• Practices Used by Principals With Fellow Principals
• Practices Used by Teachers With Other Teachers
• Practice 1: Initiating Book Clubs
• Practice 2: Initiating Groups for Sharing Best Practices
• Practice 3: Initiating Groups on Grant and Proposal Writing
• Four Case Studies From the Field Using Collegial Inquiry
• Dealing With Profound Change: Making Sense of AI and Instructional Redesign
• The Challenge of AI in Education: In Jerry Crisci’s Voice
• A Prime Opportunity for Collegial Inquiry
• The Process
• Making Time for Mourning and Incorporating Diverse Voices
• How This Learning Experience Benefited Teachers
• Questions to Consider
• Faculty Self-Identifying Their “Way of Knowing” and Teaming With Complementary “Knowers” for Collegial Conversations
• The Ways of Knowing—A New Lens: In Mark Erlenwein’s Voice
• The Framework: Merging Ways of Knowing With Trust, Safety, and Respect
• The Impact of WOK-Centered Feedback on Leadership and Teaching
• Leveraging Collegial Inquiry for Effective Grade Reassignments
• Our Challenge and the Pillar of Collegial Inquiry: In Felix and Jennifer’s Voice
• Building Trust and Easing in Change
• How Collegial Inquiry Benefited Our Community
• Insights, Tips, and Takeaways
• How One Principal Helped a New Team Bond With Each Other
• A Day for Bonding—And Learning From Geese
• Setting Goals for Working Better as a Team
• An Exercise to Surface Values and Build Trust
• Chapter Summary
• Application Exercises
• Exercise 6.1: Convening: Personal Case-Based Discussions That Support Collegial Inquiry
• Organizing the Case
• Exercise 6.2: Goal Setting as an Instructional and Developmental Practice
• CHAPTER 7: Futuring Forward
• Building Developmental Capacity to Meet Adaptive Challenges
• Schools and Districts as Learning Centers
• A Learning-Oriented Leadership Model for Promoting Growth
• Attending to and Honoring Our Own and Each Other’s Internal Capacities
• Valuing Adults’ Ways of Knowing
• Supporting Different Ways of Knowing—Without Labeling
• Why Developmental Diversity Matters in Leadership and Learning
• Putting the New Learning-Oriented Model Into Practice
• The Power of Cathedral Thinking as We Try a New Model
• Cathedral Thinking in Schools
• On This Journey, Renewal and Hope . . .
• The Challenge and Promise of Renewal—And Transformation
• Love and Listening Make Renewal Possible
• A Call to Action: Carrying the Work Forward
• Walking in Hope Toward Today’s—And Your Future—Purpose
• Epilogue
• Glossary
• References
• Index
• Building Developmental Capacity to Meet Adaptive Challenges
• Schools and Districts as Learning Centers
• A Learning-Oriented Leadership Model for Promoting Growth
• Attending to and Honoring Our Own and Each Other’s Internal Capacities
• Valuing Adults’ Ways of Knowing
• Supporting Different Ways of Knowing—Without Labeling
• Why Developmental Diversity Matters in Leadership and Learning
• Putting the New Learning-Oriented Model Into Practice
• The Power of Cathedral Thinking as We Try a New Model
• Cathedral Thinking in Schools
• On This Journey, Renewal and Hope . . .
• The Challenge and Promise of Renewal—And Transformation
• Love and Listening Make Renewal Possible
• A Call to Action: Carrying the Work Forward
• Walking in Hope Toward Today’s—And Your Future—Purpose
• Epilogue
• Glossary
• References
• Index