Literature

Below is a sampling of literature that is important to the field of education. The list is in no way meant to be exhaustive. The list will change periodically as we read and review literature in the field. The Center also has a research library with nearly 3,000 editions. Please feel free to browse the collection for other interesting resources.

The Skillful Teacher: Building Your Teaching Skills by Jon Saphier and Robert Gower, 1997. This text is into its fifth edition. It is one of the best resources for teachers, department heads, and principals who need a way to encapsulate the types of skills necessary to be an effective teacher. There are strategies, case studies, chapter questions, and references on topics from discipline to assessment.

Creating a Mentoring Culture: The Organizations Guide by Lois J. Zachary, 2005. This is an excellent text for understanding the significance of effective mentoring in a school community. It shows how effective mentor-mentee relationships that advance the culture of the faculty and the school. There are many worksheets for administrators to use in building a mentoring program (an attached DVD with all the forms).

Educative Assessment: Designing Assessments to Inform and Improve Student Performance by Grant Wiggins, 1998. The text presents a rationale for why learning-centered assessments are the most effective way to engage the learner. It outlines the importance of standards and criteria, promoting student understanding, assessment as a means to provide feedback, using rubrics, designing portfolios as evidence for learning, and much more.

Teacher Supervision & Evaluation: Theory into Practice, by James F. Nolan and Linda A. Hoover, 2008. An excellent compilation of information on supervision and evaluation. Administrators who are wrestling with their models for supervision and evaluation need to read this text. It provides an organized strategy that a school could follow to review and redesign its evaluation process.

The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., 2002. This book is an essential piece of literature for every teacher to read. Dr. Hallowell’s five steps “to help kids create and sustain lifelong joy” is an important concept to use within a classroom or school community. He shares a compelling rationale and interesting stories for each of the five steps.

The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life by Parker Palmer, 2007. Parker Palmer does an excellent job of taking the reader on a journey through a teacher’s life, exploring what is required to be a good teacher. In addition, he is a first-rate cheerleader for the teaching profession. The reader will enjoy Parker Palmer’s insights into a teacher’s inner life.