While well intended, the shift to site-based decision making more than a decade ago was rarely accompanied by a substantial investment in the organizational development required to create effective invention or program development teams.

Until recently, many districts spent more time and energy on installation than development - staff or program development, that is - but the trend is toward investment in human resources so as to maximize return and change daily practice.

See "Invention as Learning" at http://staffdevelop.org/invent.html

See "Creating the Vanguard: Identifying and Grooming the Pioneers" at http://staffdevelop.org/cadre.html

In 1991, I published a manual devoted to effective group program planning. While primarily focused on site-based decision making and planning, the skills and the strategies outlined in this book can be directly applied to the challenge of building robust technology initiatives.

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Site-Based Decision-Making

Table of Contents

Introduction

• Chapter One - Sources: Whose Idea?
• Chapter Two - The Premises and Assumptions
• Chapter Three - The Politics
• Chapter Four - Powerful Educational Ideas
• Chapter Five - The Perils
• Chapter Six - The Premises and Assumptions
• Chapter Seven - Appraisal: Assessing Organizational Readiness
• Chapter Eight - Clarifying the Destination: Goal Setting and Role-Clarification
• Chapter Nine - Recruitment: Identifying a Positive Campus Council
• Chapter Ten - Rehearsal: Learning and Practicing Group Problem-Solving, Negotiating, Planning and Consulting Skills
• Chapter Eleven - Focus: Concentrating on Essential Issues and Questions
• Chapter Twelve - Research: Discovering What Works
• Chapter Thirteen - Invention: Adapting and Innovating to Match the School Site Context and Reality
• Chapter Fourteen - Inclusion: Hearing and Honoring Constituent Voices
• Chapter Fifteen - Strategy: Converting Intention into Action
• Chapter Sixteen - Skill-Building: Learning Focus, Research, Invention, Inclusion and Strategy
• Chapter Seventeen - The Crow's Nest: Keeping an Eye on the Horizon
• Chapter Eighteen - Islands in the Storm: Assessing and Shifting Course
• Chapter Nineteen - Authentic Assessment and Formative Program Evaluation
• Chapter Twenty - Weathering the Storms: Reefing the Main and Managing Disappointment
• Chapter Twenty-One - Sharing the Load: Involving the Partners
• Chapter Twenty-Two - Celebrating Small Triumphs
• Chapter Twenty-Three - Tacking Across the Wind
• Chapter Twenty-Four - Final Destinations
• Appendix A - School Commitment to Teaching for Thinking
• Appendix B - Planning for the Perils
• Appendix C - The Teacher Adaptability Quotient Scale
• Appendix D - Diagnosis of Team Building Needs
• Appendix E - The Innovation and Environmental Scanning Index
• Notes