This volume is both a state-of-the-art display of current thinking on second language development as a complex system. It is also a tribute to Diane Larsen-Freeman for her decades of intellectual leadership in the academic disciplines of applied linguistics and second language acquisition. The chapters therein range from theoretical expositions to…

Multiplatform e-learning systems are emerging technologies that provide integrated learning content to various accessing devices. This book addresses technical challenges, design frameworks, and development experiences of the future that integrate multiple mobile devices into a single multiplatform e-learning system. With expert international…

Like the bestselling first edition, this introductory textbook succinctly presents concepts and theories of educational leadership and organizational behavior and immediately applies them to problems of practice. It includes practical case studies, real-world scenarios and analyses, reflection questions, and straightforward explanations of…

How can a school become a place where all members of the staff are learning, growing, and working to increase student achievement? The answer lies in systems thinking and a focus on continuous improvement, two concepts that can transform staff development from something that people merely tolerate to something that they actively pursue to create…

A school district's board of education is a governing body that has the responsibility of creating vision and direction, setting policy, providing resources, and monitoring the results of student achievement initiatives for its district. The board and superintendent must work together as a leadership team for the district, modeling to the staff…

This book for state early childhood licensing administrators addresses the problem of obtaining systematic and reliable information about the operation of an early childhood or child care program. The book: (1) provides an introduction to early childhood program evaluation; (2) describes systematic observation techniques; (3) discusses summative…

Soil science provides the educational framework to integrate components of earth science systems, to understand the causes and consequences of spatial variability, and view dynamic processes impacting ecosystems in a holistic perspective. This book, a special publication of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), identifies and analyzes…

This book proposes treating teacher evaluation as a set of processes aimed primarily at helping teachers develop professionally. The book opens with a review of current practices and problems in evaluation, then outlines basic theoretical concepts and describes some operational models. The Developmental Teacher Evaluation Kit (DeTEK) is introduced…

This book is intended to provide practicing school library media specialists and students in professional degree-granting programs with both a conceptual framework and practical approaches to the curriculum-related responsibilities of the school library media program. The responsibilities discussed include both library and information skills…

This resource book is intended as a companion to the book "Curriculum Initiative: An Agenda and Strategy for Library Media Programs," which provides practicing school library media specialists and students in professional degree-granting programs with both a conceptual framework and practical approaches to the curriculum-related…

This guidebook is intended to help school boards focus their efforts on understanding and achieving the elements of their key work. Chapter 1 discusses the concept of systems thinking as a framework for organizational thinking and learning. It also provides an overview of the key work of improving student achievement. This work focuses on eight…

Although models of successful school innovations exist, some reformers are giving up on the public schools. To address this problem, some suggestions for educators who want usable concepts to reform education are presented. The book is intended for the busy professionals devoted to education-teachers, teachers, administrators, curriculum…

This book, designed for school counselors, provides information on identifying potentially violent youth, working with victims of school violence, and preparing schools to deal with violence. Chapter one, "Assessment and Diagnosis with Violent and Potentially Violent Students," describes the importance of assessment and diagnosis. It…

This book presents a systematic approach to integrated library and information skills instruction that is based on six broad skill areas necessary for successful information problem-solving, otherwise referred to as the "Big Six Skills." It begins with definitions and explanations of the Big Six Skills approach, moves to a discussion of…

Loose coupling implies the tying together of subsystems in such a fashion that neither can do without the other but neither has much control over the other. The idea of loose coupling, introduced by Karl Weick, is examined in relation to educational administration and organizational analysis in general. The concept employs both a particular theory…