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From the Bookshelves

December 4, 2017 Sandra Anderson

Library Has Diverse Collection of Leadership Material

In keeping with this issue’s leadership theme, we are highlighting some of the leadership resources we have recently added to our collection.

Please remember that we mail out any items you would like to borrow and we prepay postage both ways. We also offer research services to all teachers. If you have a question, we will scour databases to find you an answer. To contact our helpful staff, just drop us a note to library@ata.ab.ca and we will do our best to get back to you within two days.

BOOKS

Ask More: The Power of Questions to Open Doors, Uncover Solutions, and Spark Change
Sesno, F. 2017. New York, NY: American Management Association (650.1 S493)
A well-timed question can uncover a solution no one has seen while a well-placed question can open a door to a new way of thinking. Author Frank Senso presents stories of dozens of leaders who asked the right questions at the right time and who listened to what those questions uncovered. A useful read for all leaders!

Crafting the Feedback Teachers Need and Deserve: A Guide for Leaders
Van Soelen, T. M. 2016. New York, NY: Routledge (371.144 S681)
Providing high-quality feedback to staff is an often-overlooked aspect of leadership. Thomas Van Soelen offers practical techniques for capturing and writing useful feedback that will accelerate improvements in the classroom.

The Educational Leader’s Guide for School Scheduling: Strategies Addressing Grades K–12
Merenbloom, E. Y., and B. A. Kalina. New York, NY: Routledge (371.1 M558)
Scheduling is one of the most difficult leadership tasks in an administrator’s allocation. This valuable how-to guide makes the task significantly easier by drawing on real world examples and presenting specific steps to make a workable schedule for your school.

The First Two Rules of Leadership: Don’t Be Stupid, Don’t Be a Jerk
Cottrell, D. 2016. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons (658.302 C851)
With a title that cuts right to the heart of good leadership, Cottrell suggests a very simple strategy to leaders: “Think your decisions through and look after your team.” This two-hour read gives readers lots of great advice that applies well to many leadership issues.

Future Focused Leaders: Relate, Innovate, and Invigorate for Real Educational Change
Ziegler, B., and D. Ramage. 2017. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press (658.4092 Z66)
Starting with the premise that relationships are at the core of organizational success, the authors provide administrators with practical ideas for developing strong relationships with their staff and discuss how to use those relationships to develop useful change in schools. A very interesting read!

Get Organized: Time Management for School Leaders
Buck, F. 2016. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education (371.2011 B922)
Just get organized and you will have more time for the bigger issues—advice we all hear frequently but it can be overwhelming to organize a sea of papers, emails, requests on your desk. Where do you start? Buck breaks organization down for school leaders, recommending techniques and simple tools that will decrease your stress and increase your efficiency.

Getting Teacher Evaluation Right: What Really Matters for Effectiveness and Improvement
Darling-Hammond, L. 2013. New York, NY: Teachers College Record (371.144 D211)
Arguing that teacher evaluation is not a process that measures competence but a tool for continued growth, Darling-Hammond provides examples of useful evaluations that encourage teachers to grow and learn.

Hacking Leadership: 10 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Learning that Teachers, Students, and Parents Love
Sanfelippo, J., and T. Sinanis. 2016. Cleveland, OH: X10 Publications (371.2012 S223)
This brief book on leadership is filled with real-life challenges and solutions that are based on practical experience and supported by research.

Heart! Fully Forming Your Professional Life as a Teacher and Leader
Kanold, T. D. 2017. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree (371.2011 K16)
Most teachers and educational leaders are motivated in the profession by a desire to make a difference in the world. Disillusionment and dissatisfaction usually manifest when we feel we are not making a difference. Author Timothy Kanold provides concrete ways for educators to directly see the differences they are making daily and to refuel their passion for teaching.

Indelible Leadership: Always Leave Them Learning
Fullan, M. 2017. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press (658.4092 F965)
Another concise book from Michael Fullan that presents ideas about lasting change for leaders that will allow them to help teachers and students learn more deeply.

The Intelligent, Responsive Leader
Katz, S. et al. 2018. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press (371.2 K19 2017)
Arguing that schools not only teach but are also learning organizations themselves, the authors discuss the perceived conflicts between prescribed expectations and experiential professional judgment and suggest how these views can be aligned rather than exist in opposition to each other.

Lead like A Pirate: Make School Amazing for Your Students and Staff
Burgess, S., and B. Houf. 2017. San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc (371.2012. B955)
Putting the fun back into leadership, authors Shelley Burgess and Beth Houf provide engaging ideas for both students and staff to create a positive school culture.

The Leader’s Guide to Coaching in Schools: Creating Conditions for Effective Learning
Campbell, J., and C. van Nieuwerburgh. 2018. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press (371.2 C188)
Some of the most useful conversations we have at work can start casually in a parking lot or hallway. The authors view these moments as excellent opportunities to segue into coaching conversations. They discuss ways to coach your staff to become “unstuck” at work while building their resiliency.

The Listening Leader: Creating the Conditions for Equitable School Transformation
Safir, S. 2017. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass (371.2 S128)
Strong relationships form through two-way communication. Frantically busy administrators can be so focused on getting a message out to everyone that they do not take time to listen to what their staff are telling them. Author Shane Safir discusses how listening can be used to change the educational workplace into an adaptive and collaborative culture.

Making Teachers Better, Not Bitter: Balancing Evaluation, Supervision, and Reflection for Professional Growth
Frontier, T., and P. Mielke. 2016. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (370.711 F935)
Realizing that the evaluation of teachers often ensures competence but not growth, the authors argue that effective teacher evaluation includes reliable evaluation, focused and empowering supervision, and meaningful reflection. They break down these ideas into 30 systematic processes to engage staff in professional growth.

Mindfulness: How School Leaders Can Reduce Stress and Thrive on the Job
Wells, C. M. 2016. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield (371.2 W453)
As the stress of leadership positions continues to mount, leaders need to be better able to cope with stress and react to it differently. Mindfulness is a practice from the yoga tradition of meditation. It is the state of being in the moment without judgment. Author Caryn Wells discusses how leaders can use this powerful technique to calm the mind and to reduce stress even in the midst of chaos.

Performance Management in the Early Years Setting
Garvey, D. 2017. London, UK: Jessica Kingsley Publishers (372.1201 G244)
This practical guide will be useful to both new and experienced managers in early years settings. Writing in a conversational style, Debbie Garvey offers practical and concise advice on most day-to-day issues in managing staff.

A School Leader’s Guide to Dealing with Difficult Parents
Whitaker, T., and D. J. Fiore. 2016. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Frances Group (371.2012 W578 2016)
Two of the most stressful parts of being a teacher are dealing with difficult parents and not being supported by school administration. The authors discuss ways that school leaders can ensure that teachers have the appropriate tools to deal with these parents and feel properly supported.

Smarter Teacher Leadership: Neuroscience and the Power of Purposeful Collaboration
Conyers, M. 2016. New York, NY: Teachers College Press (371.1 C768)
Written for both current and aspiring school leaders, this book connects the newest learnings from neuroscience with tools for collaboration so that teachers can lead more effectively within schools.

Start. Right. Now: Teach and Lead for Excellence
Whitaker, T. et al. 2017. San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc (371.2012 W578 2017)
A highly recommended, accessible book for all teachers and administrators. It includes useful strategies for developing yourself as a leader as well as how to help others develop their leadership skills.

Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent
Finkelstein, S. 2016. Great Britain: Penguin Publishing Group (371.2012 F499)
You may think you are a good supervisor, but are you a superboss? Do you create master–apprentice relationships with your teachers? Do you help teachers support each other and learn from each other’s methods? Do you say goodbye to great employees on good terms? Sidney Finkelstein draws on 10 years of research to answers these questions and to provide leaders with steps they can take to become superbosses themselves.

Transforming School Culture: How to Overcome Staff Division
Muhammad, A. 2018. 2nd Ed. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree (371.201 M952)
This book has garnered mixed reviews. Some readers find it very useful in understanding how to transform a culture without just imposing change, while others found it oversimplified and rigid in its labelling. It contains some useful ideas about resistance to change.

DVDS

Are We a Group or a Team? Moving from Coordination to Collaboration in a PLC at Work
Mattos, M. 20.14. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press (AV ARE) 43 min.
In this unscripted video, Mike Mattos discusses functional and dysfunctional teacher teams and provides ideas for building stronger, more collaborative teams that refocus on student learning.

Nurturing Leadership
Films Media Group. 2015. New York, NY: Films Media Group (AV NUR) 35 min.
Presenting diverse thinkers on leadership that range from Nelson Mandela to the U.S. military, this video explores leadership as a learnable skill while also examining personality traits that may affect leadership abilities.

FRENCH BOOKS/LIVRES EN FRANÇAIS   

L’immersion en français au Canada : Guide pratique d’enseignement (3e édition)
Réalisé pour l’Association canadienne des professionnels de l’immersion (ACPI) sous la direction de Sylvie Roy. 2017. Montréal, QC : Chenelière Éducation (440.07 R888)
Depuis sa première édition, ce guide est devenu un ouvrage de référence incontournable pour tous les professionnels de l’immersion au Canada. L’ensemble du guide a été revu et enrichi, notamment en ce qui concerne la littératie, les outils d’évaluation, l’encadrement des élèves présentant des besoins particuliers, ainsi que l’apport du Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues (CECR) dans l’apprentissage et l’évaluation des élèves. Ce guide s’adresse à la fois aux enseignants, aux administrateurs et aux parents.

Leadership scolaire : De la recherche aux résultats
Marzano, Robert, Timothy Waters et Brian Mcnulty. 2016. Québec, QC : Presses de l’Université du Québec (371.2 M392)
L’urgence d’exercer un leadership scolaire inspiré et efficace n’a jamais été aussi grande qu’aujourd’hui. Des recommandations concrètes, fondées sur la recherche, sont ainsi émises dans cet ouvrage pour relever au quotidien les défis de l’amélioration du rendement des élèves. Il aidera les enseignants, les professionnels, et les directeurs d’école ou de commission scolaire à transposer leur vision et leurs aspirations en plans et leurs plans en actions.

Le leadership moteur : Comprendre les rouages du changement en education
Fullan, Michael. 2015. Québec, QC : Presses de l’Université du Québec (371.2 F965)
Comment améliorer le système scolaire? Comment faire bouger le plus grand nombre d’écoles? Michael Fullan explique, dans un langage clair, comment devenir un agent de changement avisé grâce au leadership moteur. Ce livre ne propose pas de théorie. Il s’appuie sur les résultats d’observations de leaders scolaires, enseignants, professionnels ou directeurs, qui ont favorisé la réussite des jeunes de manière durable.

Référentiel de compétences d’un superviseur pédagogique : S’autoformer et s’autoévaluer pour superviser individuellement et collectivement
Bouchamma, Yamina, Marc Giguère et Daniel April. 2017. Québec, QC : Presses de l’Université Laval (371.2 B752)
Ce livre fait état des savoirs, savoir-faire, savoir-être et savoir-devenir du superviseur, et propose pour chacun d’eux une synthèse vulgarisée d’écrits scientifiques, des témoignages de praticiens dans le domaine et des grilles d’autoévaluation. Des outils et des exercices pour soutenir l’intégration de ces savoirs dans la pratique professionnelle des superviseurs ponctuent aussi ce guide. En définitive, ce référentiel permettra au superviseur d’acquérir les compétences pédagogiques et relationnelles indispensables à une supervision de haut niveau.

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