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Intentional Interruption
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Intentional Interruption
Breaking Down Learning Barriers to Transform Professional Practice

  • Steven Katz - Director, Aporia Consulting Ltd. and Faculty Member, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto
  • Lisa Ain Dack - Senior Associate, Aporia Consulting Ltd. and Instructor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto


November 2012 | 120 pages | Corwin
Break down the barriers that keep professional learning from sticking!Real professional learning takes place when there is a permanent change in practice. This book outlines what it means to intentionally interrupt the status quo in order to overcome barriers to learning that impede permanent change. The authors explain the psychological processes involved in learning and which biases get in the way of making professional learning stick. Staff developers will find tools and strategies for:Moving professional learning beyond activities to deepen conceptual changeEnabling new learning by building three key capacities: a learning focus, collaborative inquiry, and instructional leadershipEmbedding and sustaining a true learning culture in schools
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Authors
 
1. From Activity to Learning
 
2. The (Very) Hard Work of Learning
 
3. The Problem With Professional Learning
 
4. How Do Focus, Collaborative Inquiry, and Instructional Leadership Enable Learning?
 
5. The Barriers: How Our Minds Get in the Way
 
6. Intentional Interruption
 
References
 
Index

"Excuse this important interruption! Before your learning team goes much further, it needs to stop, read, and collectively reflect on Katz’s 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, Hamilton, ON

"In the work to implement professional learning communities (PLC’s), the practice for many schools and districts has been diluted, misinterpreted, or poorly implemented. [The author(s)] incisively show how effectively to address the professional learning part of PLC’s."

Glen Ishiwata, Superintendent (Retired)
Moreland School District, San Jose, CA

"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, QLD Learning, Austin, TX

"Intentional Interruption is essential reading for every educator involved in planning or facilitating professional development and professional learning communities. The authors explain why professional development often fails to achieve its purpose, and offer practical suggestions to empower teacher learning. Grounded in research about how humans think, and supported by the authors’ work in schools, this book challenges the status quo of professional learning, and guides educational leaders toward wise choices for addressing the needs of teachers in their community.

Patricia W. Newhall, Associate Director
Landmark School Outreach Program, Prides Crossing, MA

"Educators have spent the last several years becoming proficient at discussing student work and student learning. It’s now time to shift our work and thinking to how we, as educators, learn. Intentional Interruption defines true professional learning, identifies the barriers to that kind of learning and offers suggestions for making educator learning the focus of our learning communities. This book will change the way you think of ‘professional development.’"

Melanie Sendzik, Principal
District School Board of Niagara, St. Catharines, ON

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 1: From Activity to Learning

Preface


For instructors

Please contact your Academic Consultant to check inspection copy availability for your course.

Select a Purchasing Option

ISBN: 9781412998796
£22.99