The School Leader's Guide to Learner-Centered Education
From Complexity to Simplicity
Edited by:
- Barbara L. McCombs - University of Denver, Human Motivation, Learning, and Development Center, Denver, CO
- Lynda Miller - Private Consultant
September 2008 | 288 pages | Corwin
In the context of the current accountability and testing era, many school leaders have become fearful and feel disenfranchised. Their knowledge and experience are not being validated, and often they are forced to engage in practices that go contrary to what they know will provide a positive school climate and culture for their staff and students. This book will introduce a model of leadership as part of a transformation process arising from a learner-centered system. Among the issues considered by educational leaders as the most pressing are:the relationship between moral leadership and school change (based on an ethic of responsibility for preparing all learners to function in a global worlddiversity: the role of school leaders to promote success for all marginalized groups of studentspersonalizing learning and authentically engaging students to make school more effective for all learnersincorporating learning standards and high expectations without sacrificing the personal and authentic engagement with studentsThis book addresses each of these concerns from the perspective of learner-centered systems, in which leaders distribute leadership among key constituents in the educational systemùstudents, teachers, other school staff, parents, community membersùand empower them to engage in a lifelong learning process of continuous growth and improvement.áIt also provides a detailed and comprehensive treatment of LCP, as well as helpful exercises and tools that can be applied to practice.
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
1. Why This Is a Time for Change
2. What We Know About Learning and Leading
3. What the Learner-Centered Model Means for Practice
4. The Tools Needed for the Journey
5. What Learner-Centered Assessment Tools Can Accomplish
6. How We Can Move Toward New Student and System Outcomes
7. How We Develop Leadership Qualities From Within
8. Summary of Major Points in Each Chapter
Appendix
Resources
Glossary of Learner-Centered Terms
References
Index
"This book is for any school that promotes book studies for professional development or that is looking for ways to reach the student in a personal manner."
California State University, Fullerton
“The time is right and the need is profound for learner-centered practices in schools. McCombs and Miller describe the tools available and how a school can use them to make substantial changes that increase student performance.”
Northern Illinois University