Teach, Reflect, Learn: Building Your Capacity for Success in the Classroom

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The Reflective Educator: A Collaborative Approach to Building Teachers' Capacity with Pete Hall and Alisa Simeral profiles teachers working with administrators and coaches to take charge of their professional growth and move along the path to excellence by becoming reflective practitioners

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Reviews and Testimonials

"Hall and Simeral's new book is excellent! With an all-encompassing, robust look at how teachers can improve their impact by attending to the way they think about their practice, Teach, Reflect, Learn breathes life into the concept of self-directed professional growth. It is, after all, about teachers and teacher quality. I am impressed and enthusiastic about our profession, and about the potential impact of this book."

—Todd Whitaker

"Teach, Reflect, Learn encourages and empowers teachers to take charge of their professional growth—starting with the simple yet profound act of reflection. Written in a very practical format, readers are guided through the Reflective Cycle, a powerful tool that helps connect learned skills to effective instruction to exemplary practice."

—Charlotte Danielson

"For most of us, one of the biggest bumps we face on the road to personal improvement is being comfortable with conscious incompetence—becoming a novice all over again with better methods and avoiding sliding back into comfortable, yet inferior routines. Pete Hall and Alisa Simeral understand that teachers' professional growth isn't a simple technical—do-this, do-that—affair. Instead, it's deeply personal and often a bit scary. With research-based insights, compassion for teachers, humor, and practical examples, Teach, Reflect, Learn provides a road map for teachers' journey to success, helping them past the bumps they’'l inevitably experience along the way and empowering teachers to, as they write, 'always strive to be a better you.'"

—Bryan Goodwin, president & CEO, McREL International,
author of Simply Better and The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching

"Teach, Reflect, Learn is the book teachers need to guide them in their PLCs! As part of a six-week challenge, the process begins with the Tool for Self-Assessment through which teachers locate themselves along the continuum of self-reflection. And then like a Choose Your Own Adventure, teachers take the reins of their learning and choose the chapters that address their needs. Are you a school leader looking for ways to enliven and enrich the PLC experience? Through storytelling and vignettes, reflective questions, and tasks, this book adds a personal dimension to the P in Professional Learning Communities to differentiate professional development for continuous learning. I know these authors, the schools, and the teachers they have guided, and thank them for sharing this process of growing great teachers and learners."

—Donald R. Bear, professor, Iowa State University,
coauthor of Words Their Way series

"While we can all agree that the teacher makes the difference in the classroom, Hall and Simeral's new book, Teach, Reflect, Learn: Building Your Capacity for Success in the Classroom, goes a step further and outlines for the teacher how to achieve success. Self-reflection is at the core. The authors have built upon the continuum shared in their first book, Building Teachers' Capacity for Success, and added a tool to identify where the teacher is on the continuum of self-reflection, as well as questions for self-reflection at each of the four levels. What I liked most is the six-week challenge at the end of each continuum. The challenge has built-in steps to remind the teacher they are not alone on this journey. They are challenged to work with other teachers, their instructional coach, or an administrator. This book is a must read for all teachers as they work toward becoming more self-reflective, therefore making a positive difference in the classroom."

—Barbara Levandoski,
director of curriculum and instruction, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, Texas

"The dictionary defines reflection as a fixing of the thoughts on something; careful consideration; a thought occurring in consideration or meditation. With the adoption of the Common Core State Standards, never before in teaching has the importance of reflecting on one's craft been so important. I like to think of reflection as a verb—a conscious decision made by a teacher to take a moment and think about specific moments in their day; whether it be reflecting on an individual lesson, a six-week unit, a conversation with a student, an interaction with a parent or a debate with a trusted colleague. The reflective self-assessment tool in this book allows a teacher to do just that, and it begins with the four simple questions found on page 1."

—Kim Price, public school teacher, Nevada

"As an Instructional Specialist, I am constantly helping teachers search for the best way to instruct their students. Teach, Reflect, Learn helps teachers, curriculum coaches, and administrators realize that the best teaching strategies are not found in a one-size-fits-all kit. This book is FABULOUS! If teachers want to be effective and help students reach their full potential, they must first look within. Hall and Simeral will help show teachers that self-reflection is the key to making that happen! However, self-reflection does not always come naturally to many people. Teach, Reflect, Learn will help guide teachers through the reflective process and lead them toward further growth as a teacher. Through a quick self-assessment, this books works with teachers on their own individual level, and gives practical strategies and approaches they can use to become a more reflective and effective classroom teacher. I can't wait to get it into the hands of our teachers!"

—Beth Taylor, instructional specialist, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, Texas

"Teach, Reflect, Learn is thoroughly 'user friendly' from beginning to end and will prove to be an invaluable aid to improving classroom teach performance, making it strongly recommended for professional and academic library Education Instruction Resource reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists."

—Margaret Lane, Midwest Book Review (Reprinted with permission)

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teaching

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professional development | teacher engagement and motivation | teacher effectiveness and evaluation