Intentional Interruption: Breaking Down Learning Barriers to Transform Professional Practice - Softcover

Dack, Lisa Ain; Katz, Steven

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1412998794 ISBN 13: 9781412998796

Publisher: Corwin, 2012

Synopsis

We interrupt this program to bring meaningful, conceptual change to your team′s professional learning!

If you′re involved in professional learning, you know that big ideas can sometimes get stuck on the way to becoming real change. Steven Katz and Lisa Ain Dack explain the secret to getting unstuck: interrupting the status quo of traditional activity-based professional development to help educators embrace permanent changes in thinking and behavior. They outline a process―grounded in psychological research―for real professional learning that ultimately leads to improved student achievement.

You can enable true learning by

• Building a focus on learning, collaborative inquiry, and formal and informal instructional leadership in schools
• Recognizing the psychological processes involved in adult learning, and overcoming the psychological biases and barriers to change 
• Using tools and strategies such as critical friend relationships, learning conversations, task sheets, and protocols

Illustrated with concrete, school-based examples drawn from real practice, Intentional Interruption shows how rethinking professional learning can lead to the development of a real and sustainable learning culture in your school.

"Few books challenge your thinking of a field to this degree. The authors reveal the secret key to unlocking true professional learning and thus impact for students."
―Terry Morganti-Fisher, Consultant
Learning Forward

"Before your learning team goes much further, it needs to stop, read, and collectively reflect on these insights. This book will identify those sticky challenges and how you can optimize your joint work."
―Mag Gardner, Superintendent of Student Achievement
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, ON

About this title

About the Authors

Dr. Steven Katz is the director of Aporia Consulting Ltd. and a professor in Applied Psychology & Human Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) of the University of Toronto (UT), where he teaches in the Child Study and Education graduate program. He is the recipient of the OISE/UT-wide award for teaching excellence. His areas of expertise include cognition and learning, teacher education, networked learning communities, leading professional learning, evidence-informed decision-making for school improvement, and leadership for system change. He has received the Governor General’s medal for excellence in his field, and has been involved in research and evaluation, professional development, and consulting with a host of educational organizations around the world. He is an author of several best-selling books, including: Leading Schools in a Data-Rich World; Building and Connecting Learning Communities; Intentional Interruption; The Intelligent, Responsive Leader; and Quality Implementation.

Dr. Lisa Ain Dack is a faculty member in the Department of Applied Psychology & Human Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) of the University of Toronto (UT), where she teaches graduate education students. She is also the Vice President, Education, at UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. Lisa has a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology and Education from OISE, UT, with a collaborative degree in Developmental Science. Her areas of focus include the psychology of learning, professional learning communities, building educator pipelines, data-driven decision making, and teaching efficacy. Lisa is a recipient of the OISE, UT award for excellence in teacher education and is an author of two best-selling books with Corwin. She and her husband Jeff have three children: Sadie, Rachel, and Dylan.

From the Back Cover

This book outlines what it means to intentionally interrupt the status quo of professional learning in order to enable real new learning that takes the form of permanent changes in thinking and practice, that looks at what it takes to move professional learning from activity-based to deep conceptual change.

Edition details

• Publisher: Corwin
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1412998794
• ISBN 13: 9781412998796
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 120