This book is a guide is for school practitioners who want to know more about planning and conducting focus groups as an aid to decision-making. It emphasizes practical and cost-effective ways to ensure accurate results. After defining the focus group, chapter 1 offers ways focus groups can be used in schools and reasons for using them. Chapter 2 discusses guidelines for selecting a moderator. Chapter 3 explains how to clarify the purpose of the focus group. Chapter 4 explains how to determine which participants to include in the focus groups. Chapter 5 examines strategies for scheduling the number, location, and duration of the focus groups. Chapter 6 considers choices about recording the discussion, remunerating participants, asking for participant releases, and having an advance organizer. Chapter 7 covers all aspects of recruiting participants. Chapter 8 examines the protocol for conducting the focus groups. Chapter 9 contains guidelines for moderating the group. Chapter 10 discusses the analysis of information gained and the writing of reports. Each chapter offers examples from past focus groups and reproducible checklists of activities that must be completed, as well as samples of forms, letters, and lists. Many topics are accompanied by a summary of differing opinions from the literature. (Contains 35 references.) (RKJ)

A fascinating, practical guide to making better decisions with our money, health and personal lives from Gerd Gigerenzer, the author of Reckoning with Risk. Risk-taking is essential for innovation, fun, and the courage to face the uncertainties in life. Yet for many important decisions, we're often presented with statistics and probabilities that we don't really understand and we inevitably rely on experts in the relevant fields - policy makers, financial advisors, doctors - to analyse and choose for us. But what if they don't quite understand the way the information is presented either? How do we make sure we're asking doctors the right questions about proposed treatment? Is there a rule of thumb that could help choose the right partner? This entertaining book shows us how to recognize when we don't have all the information and know what to do about it. Gerd Gigerenzer looks at examples from every aspect of life to identify the reasons for our collective misunderstanding of the risks we face. He shows how we can all use simple rules to avoid being manipulated into unrealistic fears or hopes, to make better-informed decisions, and to learn to understand risk and uncertainty in our own lives. 'Gigerenzer is brilliant and his topic is fabulous' Steven Pinker 'Catchily optimistic and slyly funny' Guardian Gerd Gigerenzer is Director of the Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin and former Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago. He is the author of several books on heuristics and decision making, including Reckoning with Risk.

In order to succeed in their industries, decision-makers today need to anticipate the future outcomes not only in their own industry but also in society and technology as well. The better their view of the future, the better their decisions--and the bigger their profits–will be. Future Savvy is a hands-on, how-to book on evaluating the business, social, and technology forecasts that appear in everyday communications such as newspapers and business magazines, as well as in specialized sources like government and think-tank forecasts, consultant reports, and stock-market guides. Futures analyst Adam Gordon has spent his career deciphering changes and trends in a variety of industries. Now, he shows business leaders how to gain a clearer view of the future, as well as: • Recognize potential trends and outcomes more effectively • Discount poor and biased forecasts more confidently • Anticipate relevant opportunities and potential threats earlier

"Public education is constantly evolving, and new challenges require school officials to be insightful, prepared, and innovative. It is because of these changing times that this book, which offers a different view of systems analysis and organizational behavior, is so valuable." —Frank Bush, Executive Director Indiana School Boards Association "Educational leaders need a basis for confident decision making. The authors have a solution for challenging times." —Kay Harmless, Interim Director, Indiana Principal Leadership Academy Indiana Department of Education What decisions are in the best interest of students, teachers, staff, and others in your school community? It is essential for every school leader to possess the savvy to effect positive change, raise achievement levels, and foster a positive school climate. Now it seems that the struggle for school leaders to make productive decisions has become clouded with ever-growing uncertainty and skepticism. Transformational Leadership & Decision Making in Schools emphasizes the need for a resilient decision-making pedagogy—one that helps school leaders find and re-center their approaches to making effective decisions for their schools and districts. This important resource provides methods and strategies to tackle tough decisions, providing concise step-by-step considerations to transform your decision making. The essential information presented includes: A personal decision-making self-assessment Reflective thinking sections for individual reflection and group dialogue Discussion of the role of vision and mission Ideas on motivation and the capacity for change A look at barriers to decision making Information on developing relationships with respect and rapport

Climate change demands a change in how we envision, prioritize, and implement conservation and management of natural resources. Addressing threats posed by climate change cannot be simply an afterthought or an addendum, but must be integrated into the very framework of how we conceive of and conduct conservation and management. In Climate Savvy, climate change experts Lara Hansen and Jennifer Hoffman offer 18 chapters that consider the implications of climate change for key resource management issues of our time—invasive species, corridors and connectivity, ecological restoration, pollution, and many others. How will strategies need to change to facilitate adaptation to a new climate regime? What steps can we take to promote resilience? Based on collaboration with a wide range of scientists, conservation leaders, and practitioners, the authors present general ideas as well as practical steps and strategies that can help cope with this new reality. While climate change poses real threats, it also provides a chance for creative new thinking. Climate Savvy offers a wide-ranging exploration of how scientists, managers, and policymakers can use the challenge of climate change as an opportunity to build a more holistic and effective philosophy that embraces the inherent uncertainty and variability of the natural world to work toward a more robust future.

Insider secrets to competing-and winning-in the tech-savvy marketplace The new generation of technology savvy workers is changing the way we look at productivity. Agility uniquely describes how technology agility impacts your business's performance and can become a critical success factor. A must-read for leaders defining business strategy and technology implementation, the methodology it describes will show how to measure and drive technology adoption and the derived impact on business results. Includes international cases of various industries, from industry leaders Incorporates the ideas of flexibility, balance, adaptability, and coordination under one umbrella Uniquely describes how technology agility impacts business performance What differentiates Audi, BMW and Mercedes or GM? Understanding it can make or break the future of an organization. Agility makes it clear: the digital divide will be seen in those who take full advantage of the technology versus those merely have it.