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The Distributed Leadership Toolbox - Book Cover Look Inside

The Distributed Leadership Toolbox

Essential Practices for Successful Schools

Strengthen your leadership style and capacity to inspire others toward meaningful change.

This innovative resource presents a practical distributed leadership framework that helps educational leaders improve their practice and positively impact instruction and student performance. The author provides case studies and a tool kit of resources—including helpful notes for facilitators and a CD-ROM of reproducible templates—to help administrators:

  • Foster a dialogue with teachers to assess leadership effectiveness 
  • Increase the ability to evaluate their leadership practice
  • Develop a regular reflective practice to motivate staff and support professional growth
  • Improve their potential to generate and sustain school reform efforts

Full description

The Distributed Leadership Toolbox - Book Cover Look Inside
Product Details
  • Grade Level: PreK-12
  • ISBN: 9781412957168
  • Published By: Corwin
  • Year: 2008
  • Page Count: 320
  • Publication date: February 19, 2008
Price: $102.95

Review Copies

This book is not available as a review copy.
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Description

Description

"McBeth provides useful tools to help educators diagnose the distribution of leadership in their schools and shows how these tools can help create powerful leadership for increasing learning capacity in schools."
—Richard Halverson, Assistant Professor
University of Wisconsin–Madison

"The strengths of this book are the examples (two-minute stories, reflections, etc.) and the reproducible tools provided."
—Bruce Deterding, Principal
Wichita Heights High School, KS

Strengthen your leadership style and capacity to inspire others toward meaningful change.

Experience and research prove that effective leadership is critical for improving school performance, yet reviewing and applying contemporary data to school leadership can be a complex challenge for busy administrators.

In The Distributed Leadership Toolbox, Mark E. McBeth translates current leadership research into a practical framework to help educational leaders improve their practice and positively influence schoolwide performance. Unlike shared leadership, which focuses on delegating responsibilities, distributed leadership fosters a dialogue between school leaders and teachers to uncover the effectiveness of leadership practices in enhancing instruction and student achievement. The author provides case studies and essential tools to help administrators:

  • Increase the ability to evaluate their leadership practice
  • Develop a regular reflective practice to motivate staff and support professional growth
  • Improve their potential to generate and sustain school reform efforts

This guidebook includes helpful notes for facilitators and a CD-ROM with resources and reproducible templates to help you make a significant difference in your school through distributed leadership practices.


Key features

  • Guides the reader from diagnosis to design, practice, and evaluation of their own practice
  • Includes case studies to support the use and diagnosis of individual leadership practice
  • Presents frameworks for encouraging conversations within the distributed perspective of leadership
  • The appendix includes a glossary of terms related to distributed leadership, critical questions, and planning designs for school meetings
Author(s)

Author(s)

Mark E. McBeth photo

Mark E. McBeth

Mark E. McBeth is the director of learning and leading with Keystone Learning Services, a service center in Kansas. He has served as a classroom teacher in Grades 7–12; school counselor in Grades 4–6; a high school principal in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, and Guatemala; and educational program consultant in the Learning Service Division at the Kansas State Department of Education. His experience at the postsecondary level includes serving as director for a leadership educational and development program, director for a non-profit leadership development program, and has taught numerous leadership courses. He designed and directed the Kansas Distributed Leadership Academy, a high-quality professional development program for district-level leadership.

He has chaired and served on numerous statewide leadership committees, and has presented at national and statewide conferences on his cutting-edge leadership perspective. In addition, he has presented on a number of other topics, including instinctual talents, student engagement, high-quality professional development, effective synergistic teams, classroom instruction that works, school-related student resiliency, and leadership facilitation. McBeth received his master’s degree in Educational Administration and Supervision and his educational specialist degree in Educational Administration and Supervision from Western Illinois University.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface

Purpose of This Book

Adopting and Creating a Repertoire of Practices

Do Not Fear

About the Book

Distributed Leadership Tools for School Improvement

Acknowledgments

About the Author

1. Traditional Thinking/New Opportunities

Have You Heard the News?

Hot Lights!

Center Stage

"How" Do You Know "Who's" on First?

Growing Up a Superhero

Without a Doubt

Who Leads and What They Lead

25/75: Impact of School-Related Factors

2. A Distributed Perspective on Leadership

Leadership Practice From A Distributed Perspective (Spillane)

The Often Overlooked "Follower"

Situation and Leadership Practice

Two-Minute Story

Systems of Practice (Halverson)

Not Shared Leadership

Connecting Classroom Practice With Leadership Practice

3. The Impact of Leadership on Successful Schools

More Than One Way to Lead

No Noticeable Leadership

Leader Superhero Aspect

Leadership-Plus Aspect

Leadership Practice Aspect

Core Leadership Functions

Application to Our Practice

4. The Framework of Success: A Model for Leadership Inquiry

The Distributed Leadership Improvement Framework

A Framework for Systematic Leadership Enhancement

Conclusion

5. Information Cycle: Effective-Efficiency Process

Section A: Dimension of Practice

Section B: Identify Advice Network

Section C: Diagnose Practice: Routine

Section D: Diagnose Practice: People and Direction

Section E: Diagnosis: Practice and Content

Section F: Bridging the Gap Between Diagnosis and Design

Section G: Design Leadership Practice Modifications

6. Practice Cycle: Practice Improvement Process

Section A: Bridging the Gap Between Design and New Practice

Section B: New Practice - Work Designed Differently

Section C: Leadership Practice Data and Data Results

7. Tools for Reflective Practice

Processing

Purpose

Forms of Processing

Reproducible Blank Templates

Reproducible Resources

References

Index

Reviews

Reviews

Quote by Richard Halverson, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, University of Wisconsin-Madison: "McBeth provides a series of useful tools to help educators diagnose the distribution of leadership in their schools, and shows how these tools can be used to create powerful leadership for increasing learning capacity in schools."
"McBeth provides a series of useful tools to help educators diagnose the distribution of leadership in their schools, and shows how these tools can be used to create powerful leadership for increasing learning capacity in schools."
Richard Halverson, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Quote by Bruce Deterding, Principal, Wichita Heights High School, KS: “The strengths of this book are the examples (two-minute stories, reflections, etc.) and the reproducible tools provided.”
“The strengths of this book are the examples (two-minute stories, reflections, etc.) and the reproducible tools provided.”
Bruce Deterding, Principal
Wichita Heights High School, KS
Quote by Jerry Vaughn, Principal, Cabot Public Schools, AR: "This is a very important topic and area in our business. Practitioners are seeking materials to help sharpen their leadership skills. The case studies support the distributed leadership model and provide examples of how the model can impact a school culture."
"This is a very important topic and area in our business. Practitioners are seeking materials to help sharpen their leadership skills. The case studies support the distributed leadership model and provide examples of how the model can impact a school culture."
Jerry Vaughn, Principal
Cabot Public Schools, AR
Quote by Rachel McMillan, School Improvement Specialist, Corporate Landing Middle School, Virginia Beach, VA: "Especially appeals to the administrative team. This book forces us to look hard at our leadership styles."
"Especially appeals to the administrative team. This book forces us to look hard at our leadership styles."
Rachel McMillan, School Improvement Specialist
Corporate Landing Middle School, Virginia Beach, VA
Quote by Steven R. Thompson, Coordinator, School Leadership Program, Miami University, OH: "Has a practical tone that seems to appeal to those now leading daily work in schools. The idea that results are in the hands of a thoughtful, creative person who must choose tools from his or her repertoire and make decisions is a positive contribution to the field."
"Has a practical tone that seems to appeal to those now leading daily work in schools. The idea that results are in the hands of a thoughtful, creative person who must choose tools from his or her repertoire and make decisions is a positive contribution to the field."
Steven R. Thompson, Coordinator, School Leadership Program
Miami University, OH
Quote by Kim E. Vogel, Principal, Parkdale Elementary School, OR: "Relevant, clearly written to the intended audience, and useful for individuals looking for a means to self-evaluation."
"Relevant, clearly written to the intended audience, and useful for individuals looking for a means to self-evaluation."
Kim E. Vogel, Principal
Parkdale Elementary School, OR
Quote by Linda D. Brooks, Teacher, Quincy Public Schools, IL: "I love this book! Finally, a research-based, practice-tested book of tools to improve leadership, and in doing so, improve school programs and enrich our students! Provides a framework that a leader can use to reach the highest level of practice."
"I love this book! Finally, a research-based, practice-tested book of tools to improve leadership, and in doing so, improve school programs and enrich our students! Provides a framework that a leader can use to reach the highest level of practice."
Linda D. Brooks, Teacher
Quincy Public Schools, IL
Quote by The Bookwatch, May 2008, Midwest Book Review: “Facilitators and leader in all industries—not just education—receive clear assessments of leadership options and practices, case studies, and keys to motivating staff and furthering reform efforts.”
“Facilitators and leader in all industries—not just education—receive clear assessments of leadership options and practices, case studies, and keys to motivating staff and furthering reform efforts.”
The Bookwatch, May 2008
Midwest Book Review
    Price: $102.95

    Review Copies

    This book is not available as a review copy.

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