Whatever It Takes: How Professional Learning Communities Respond When Kids Don't Learn |  | Authors: Rebecca DuFour, Robert Eaker, Gayle Karhanek, Richard Dufour
Publisher: Solution Tree
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy Used: $6.75
as of 9/8/2010 05:17 CDT details
You Save: $18.20 (73%)
New (14) Used (30) from $6.75
Seller: gimmauxbooks
Rating:  16 reviews
Media: Paperback
Pages: 282
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8
ISBN: 1932127283
Dewey Decimal Number: 371.102
EAN: 9781932127287
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Whatever It Takes: How Professional Learning Communities Respond When Kids Don't Learn examines the question, What happens when, despite our best efforts in the classroom, a student does not learn?A professional learning community creates a school-wide system of interventions that provides all students with additional time and support when they experience difficulty in their learning. The authors describe the systems of interventions, including Adlai E. Stevenson High School's Pyramid of Interventions, created by a high school, a middle school, and two elementary schools. The authors also discuss the logistical barriers these schools faced and their strategies for overcoming them.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
 This is the book that people interested in PLCs need! September 22, 2005
Ryan Grant (Medical Lake, WA United States)
33 out of 35 found this review helpful
The heart of the entire idea of Professional Learning Communities is that they respond to the needs of the students in a more directed, individualized way than before. The other books on PLCs ("Professional Learning Communities at Work" and "On Common Ground", for example) talk in passing about the intervention part of a PLC, but this is the book that finally tells you what that intervention model can look like.
There's something in here for every school. The most convincing chapters are probably 3 and 4 wherein we hear how one high school evolved into a responsive learning environment that really did manage to be all things to all people. Chapter 5 (on a middle school) didn't really add much to the book, but chapters 6 and 7 talk about two different elementary schools that adopted the PLC framework and the great results they achieved.
The content that makes this PLC book stand above the rest is the focus on details. At times the other books on PLCs fell into platitudes and back-patting about how nice PLCs are; you don't find that here. There are lots of specifics, lots of details, and after reading it I felt really good about the direction that my school could go.
In short--highest recommendations, and must-read material for anyone working with PLCs!
Good thoughts in layman's language August 15, 2005
Book Woman (Michigan)
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
The author documents an intervention for severe student apathy towards studies. The book is a quick read, appropriate for general readers as well as school staffs.
Professional Learning Communities at Work November 13, 2006
TSU Grad (Copperas Cove, TX)
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
DuFour and associates' (2004) Whatever it Takes: How Professionals Respond When Kids Don't Learn offered a comprehensive collection of definitions relating to teacher leadership and professional learning communities. The authors challenged the utopian concept of "learning for all" and suggested collaborative remedies when typical student interventions did not work. The authors suggested to the reader that support for remediation should not be left up to the individual teachers. Examples of schools demonstrating PLC's framework and new methods of administrative leadership are presented in the text.
The strengths in DuFour and associates' (2004) book included the emphasis on finding solutions from the "collective intelligence" within the campus. The four schools described in the writings illustrated interdependency among the staff. Extra effort was included to define collaboration and the need to create a team vision to guide further group decision making. The text offered solutions on what to do when students are not learning. The book would be a valuable tool for a new principal. DuFour and associates (2004) definition of PLC's would help in understanding the purpose for aligning the school mission with the school structure.
Well presented April 23, 2006
Jane Cohen (Beverly, MA)
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
Good ideas, well presented with real life examples and explanations for some of the easy criticisms. As stated in the book, this is not a new math or reading program, it is a strategy for reaching all students.
Above and Beyond August 2, 2010
Chris Bowen
Honestly, I was sure the quiz was pretty simple. Direct object and indirect object. If you just followed the pattern I purposely set up in most of the sentences, you'd be fine. But, sure enough, I'm looking at a fair amount of F's in my pile of papers. I hand them back the next day. Any kid with an F, has a note stapled to the front about where to go for the reteach and the retest.
"Mr. Bowen, what if you're fine with your grade?"
"Then it's my job to care in your place. Until you come around."
It's air-tight. The teachers in the PLC take turns doing the reteach and test at lunch each week. During the PLC meetings, teachers take another look at that quiz, figure out what percentage failed and who had the best results. Discussions continue about how that teacher's strategies might work in other classes.
A few years ago, none of this would have happened and now it's second nature. The teachers have adopted the PLC model from this book and it has made a huge difference for our kids. There are still so many strategies from the book to try and incorporate with what we're doing now, but the PLC model alone has helped us raise grades, raise test scores, and raise student confidence. I highly recommend this book for any staff looking to make a real difference.
Chris Bowen
Author of Our Kids: Building Relationships in the Classroom
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
|
|
|
|
