What do professional portfolios consist of? Who are their audiences? Why should teachers and administrators use them? How are they structured? In Capturing the Wisdom of Practice, Giselle Martin-Kniep answers these and other questions, drawing on her work with more than 3,000 teachers and administrators from 400 school districts. Through excerpts from actual portfolios, Martin-Kniep illustrates how to select a range of artifacts that will lead portfolio developers to evaluate and improve their work. She also discusses using portfolios for key purposes: learning, curriculum development and assessment, research, and staff development. Readers will find many practical strategies for building and using portfolios and learn what conditions are needed for success. "I am absolutely convinced," says Martin-Kniep, "that every professional who uses portfolios in a serious way will become a better teacher or administrator." Note: This product listing is for the Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of the book.

What do professional portfolios consist of? Who are their audiences? Why should teachers and administrators use them? How are they structured? In Capturing the Wisdom of Practice, Giselle Martin-Kniep answers these and other questions, drawing on her work with more than 3,000 teachers and administrators from 400 school districts. Through excerpts from actual portfolios, Martin-Kniep illustrates how to select a range of artifacts that will lead portfolio developers to evaluate and improve their work. She also discusses using portfolios for key purposes: learning, curriculum development and assessment, research, and staff development. Readers will find many practical strategies for building and using portfolios and learn what conditions are needed for success. "I am absolutely convinced," says Martin-Kniep, "that every professional who uses portfolios in a serious way will become a better teacher or administrator."

Practice Wisdom: Values and Interpretations brings diverse views and interpretations to an exploration of what wisdom in professional practice means and can become: academically, practically and inspirationally.

"Drawing on resources as diverse as Sufism, Benedictine Monasticism, the Gurdjieff Work, and the string theory of modern physics, Cynthia Bourgeault has crafted her own unique vision of the Wisdom way in this very accessible book, nicely balanced between concept and practice." —Gerald May, senior fellow, Shalem Institute, and author, Addiction and Grace and Will and Spirit "The spiritual wisdom and practical suggestions in this lively and beautiful book will be helpful to many who find themselves setting out on the interior journey." —Bruno Barnhart, a Camaldolese monk and author, Second Simplicity: The Inner Shape of Christianity "Cynthia Bourgeault's book is a valuable contribution to the much-needed reawakening of spiritual practice within a Christian context. Her sincerity, good sense, metaphysical depth, and broad experience make her a source to be trusted." —Kabir Helminski, Sufi Shaikh, the Threshold Society

To most of us, learning something "the hard way" implies wasted time and effort. Good teaching, we believe, should be creatively tailored to the different learning styles of students and should use strategies that make learning easier. Make It Stick turns fashionable ideas like these on their head. Drawing on recent discoveries in cognitive psychology and other disciplines, the authors offer concrete techniques for becoming more productive learners. Memory plays a central role in our ability to carry out complex cognitive tasks, such as applying knowledge to problems never before encountered and drawing inferences from facts already known. New insights into how memory is encoded, consolidated, and later retrieved have led to a better understanding of how we learn. Grappling with the impediments that make learning challenging leads both to more complex mastery and better retention of what was learned. Many common study habits and practice routines turn out to be counterproductive. Underlining and highlighting, rereading, cramming, and single-minded repetition of new skills create the illusion of mastery, but gains fade quickly. More complex and durable learning come from self-testing, introducing certain difficulties in practice, waiting to re-study new material until a little forgetting has set in, and interleaving the practice of one skill or topic with another. Speaking most urgently to students, teachers, trainers, and athletes, Make It Stick will appeal to all those interested in the challenge of lifelong learning and self-improvement.

A reasoned and urgent call to embrace and protect the essential human quality that has been drummed out of our lives: wisdom. In their provocative new book, Barry Schwartz and Kenneth Sharpe explore the insights essential to leading satisfying lives. Encouraging individuals to focus on their own personal intelligence and integrity rather than simply navigating the rules and incentives established by others, Practical Wisdom outlines how to identify and cultivate our own innate wisdom in our daily lives.

Here is a constructive alternative to modern education. The author stresses spiritual values and helping children grow toward full maturity learning not only facts, but also innovative principles for better living. This book is the basis for the Living Wisdom schools and the Education for LifeFoundation, which trains teachers, parents and educators. Encouraging parents and educators to see children through their soul qualities, this unique system promises to be a much needed breath of fresh air.