In Putting the Pieces Together: A Systems Approach to School Leadership, the author addresses the need for systems planning in school administration in an effort to assist principals and district leadership in the face of changing demands. In doing so, this describes the first two of the four major systems needed for effective school leadership: Curriculum and Instruction and Teacher Support Systems. This book will not only outline these systems and all of their component parts but will provide a “how to” approach to develop each system. In addition, a system for progress monitoring will be described and explained. Materials, such as forms, will be provided throughout as well as questions at the end of each chapter for reflection and planning. Creating these systems not only makes a principal’s job more manageable, thus preventing burnout, but also helps to put the focus where it belongs. Aspiring leaders, sitting principals and district officials will benefit from this system design in order to maximize effectiveness, teacher satisfaction, and student achievement.

Broken Pieces Putting the Pieces Back Together Everything happens for a reason, it's your choice on how to make things work for you.

For Elementary Reading Methods courses. This comprehensive and balanced look at literacy practice has long been one of the most popular reading methods texts available. The text begins by introducing seven principles for comprehensive reading instruction, and then explains the theoretical foundations of teaching reading. Part I builds on those foundations with specific methods in Part II, and then in Part III it describes how to create a variety of learning centers, and how to plan developmentally appropriate reading curriculum for students in both K-3 and 4-8 classrooms, chapters 12 and 13 provide a continuum of knowledge by describing classroon organization and curriculum for grades 4-6 and 6-8.

Unlike any time before in our lives, we have access to vast amounts of free information. With the right tools, we can start to make sense of all this data to see patterns and trends that would otherwise be invisible to us. By transforming numbers into graphical shapes, we allow readers to understand the stories those numbers hide. In this practical introduction to understanding and using information graphics, you'll learn how to use data visualizations as tools to see beyond lists of numbers and variables and achieve new insights into the complex world around us. Regardless of the kind of data you're working with-business, science, politics, sports, or even your own personal finances-this book will show you how to use statistical charts, maps, and explanation diagrams to spot the stories in the data and learn new things from it. You'll also get to peek into the creative process of some of the world's most talented designers and visual journalists, including Condé Nast Traveler's John Grimwade, National Geographic Magazine's Fernando Baptista, The New York Times' Steve Duenes, The Washington Post's Hannah Fairfield, Hans Rosling of the Gapminder Foundation, Stanford's Geoff McGhee, and European superstars Moritz Stefaner, Jan Willem Tulp, Stefanie Posavec, and Gregor Aisch. The book also includes a DVD-ROM containing over 90 minutes of video lessons that expand on core concepts explained within the book and includes even more inspirational information graphics from the world's leading designers. The first book to offer a broad, hands-on introduction to information graphics and visualization, The Functional Art reveals: * Why data visualization should be thought of as "functional art" rather than fine art * How to use color, type, and other graphic tools to make your information graphics more effective, not just better looking * The science of how our brains perceive and remember information * Best practices for creating interactive information graphics * A comprehensive look at the creative process behind successful information graphics * An extensive gallery of inspirational work from the world's top designers and visual artists On the DVD-ROM: In this introductory video course on information graphics, Alberto Cairo goes into greater detail with even more visual examples of how to create effective information graphics that function as practical tools for aiding perception. You'll learn how to: incorporate basic design principles in your visualizations, create simple interfaces for interactive graphics, and choose the appropriate type of graphic forms for your data. Cairo also deconstructs successful information graphics from The New York Times and National Geographic magazine with sketches and images not shown in the book.

Dr. Joe Santore, Ph.D."Joy Jensen has written a straight talking to the point "beginners" guide to recovering from BPD. It offers a message of hope and advice on how to start on the road to life beyond the borderline rage and turmoil... And her personal example is an inspiration to those who know they can become more than their dysfunctional childhoods and genetic predispositions have dealt them. It is a book that is destined to help many, many people live better lives."

Component-Based Software Engineering (CBSE) is the way to produce software fast. This book presents the concepts in CBSE. While detailing both the advantages and the limitations of CBSE, it covers every aspect of component engineering, from software engineering practices to the design of software component infrastructure, technologies, and system.

With fresh statistics and two new chapters, author Mike Falkenstine is proud to present the second edition of his book, The Chinese Puzzle. Falkenstine has felt a direct leading to help you understand China and her Church. There is much confusion. Does persecution exist? Can Christians in China worship freely? As a Westerner, how may I most effectively pray for and engage in China? Many people are confused by these questions and issues. China is like a huge puzzle, with many pieces and moving parts; it''s hard to identify all that is happening today in China. China is experiencing some monumental, head-spinning changes, and even the most discerning China analyst may find it daunting to keep up. Information flows from multiple sources, and much of it seems contradictory; this doesn''t facilitate our understanding of China and her church. There are also some in the West who pose as ''China Experts,'' even though they haven''t been to China in many years, they don''t speak the Chinese language, and they are therefore functioning with old paradigms which foster old stereotypes of China. In writing this book, Falkenstine hopes to give you many more pieces to the puzzle that may deepen your understanding of China and thereby Christianity in China. With many more pieces to the puzzle, he believes you will be able to pray more effectively for China, engage with what God is doing there, and see China from a much more balanced perspective. As we finish the first decade of the 21st century, the situation in China is ripe for increased Western engagement based on mutual understanding, and he hopes this book serves as a catalyst to strengthen and deepen that understanding. Chapter one presents a history of Christianity in China and the missionary past. We can learn many valuable lessons as we look at the missionary effort in 19th century China. In 1905, novelist George Santayana wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it." The history of Chinese ministry has great relevance as we engage in China today. This chapter is virtually unchanged from the first edition, since events in the 19th century aren''t going to change much! Chapter two looks at the current trends that are changing China, from the inside out. These changes and developments are important for our understanding of China. This may be a surprising chapter, as you learn some of the groundbreaking efforts taking place, including the rapidly emerging Christian book publishing efforts that he details for the first time in the second edition. As you may know, the Chinese people have different social and moral standards than we have in the West. In Chapter three, we will examine these differences. If we want to understand China, we need to recognize their relational differences and social standards. Chapter three also investigates the Chinese view on legality and the Rule of Law. Chapter four examines what he calls the ''Persecution Myth'': the false belief that Christians in China continue to suffer massive persecution for their faith in Christ. Persecution does not happen as much as we may think, and we must change our paradigm. Westerners who live in China and work with the Chinese church know that persecution is no longer the headlining story. We will look at the reasons the myth continues to persist and the organizations who don''t want the myth to die. Chapter five was born out of the intense coverage some Western ministries and Christian media have been giving to one of Beijing''s over 3000 unregistered ''house'' churches. In travelling regularly to Beijing, he was hearing that most of Beijing''s Unregistered Churches were operating without interference with the Beijing government officials. What I found will quite possibly change your opinion of not only Beijing''s Unregistered Churches, but also Unregistered Churches nationwide. For anyone who wants to become actively involved in God''s work in China, Chapter six can become your guidebook for involvement. You can read about new opportunities to work transparently, a new ''industry standard'' of engagement, and a practical guide for getting started in China. Chapter seven will educate you on China''s Ethnic Minorities. What he found out what not only fascinating, but also has broadened my understanding of the overall work that God is doing in China and the obstacles that lie before us as we desire to impact China for Christ. One of the other keys to our understanding of modern-day China is being able to see China and life through the eyes of the Chinese themselves. Through his work with the China Resource Center, he talks to many Americans about China. Through these countless conversations, he can see the inaccuracies in people''s thoughts and perceptions about the lives of today''s Chinese. By painting with broad strokes, Chapter eight will clarify the overall picture of how the Chinese view their government, life and democracy. In Chapter nine, Falkenstine uses his twenty years of China service to give an overview of his work in China and an introduction to the work of the China Resource Center, including a great new project that they''ve engaged in since the first edition of this book. In Appendix A, you''ll find the complete text of the Ethical Foundations for China Service, created by a number of China ministry leaders at Fuller Seminary in June 2006. This document provides a standard of best practices in China, both for China-interested organizations and individuals. We hope that you may take the Foundations into your own organization, and use it as a discussion starter and a point of dialogue about most effective practices in China. It has proved to be an invaluable tool for many organizations and he''d recommend it to anyone or any organization just starting out in China.