Stenhouse Publishers - Professional Development by Teachers, For Teachers

Stenhouse Newslinks June 11, 2003 C O N T E N T S 1) Test-drive our new Web site 2) PD Corner: Teachers taking charge of their own PD 3) A look into one of the country's largest staff development programs 4) Getting Grants, Part II 5) Great summer reading resources for students and parents ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Test-drive our new Web site ---------------------------------------------------------------- We invite you to take a tour of our redesigned and enhanced Web site! You can now save and reuse your contact information, view your order history, and create a personal Wish List. The pages for each title include suggestions for related books and videos to explore, and the new subject index and enhanced search feature will help you find things more quickly. As a special thank-you for "breaking in" our new site, we are offering Newslinks subscribers free shipping (a $4.50 value) on any Web order through July 15th! Just enter the coupon code NL35 at the "View Order/Check Out" screen and the discount will be reflected in your order total: http://www.stenhouse.com/?s=n35 Feel free to forward this coupon code to your colleagues. We welcome your comments and suggestions about the new site--please send them to administrator@stenhouse.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 2) PD Corner: Teachers taking charge of their own PD ---------------------------------------------------------------- *June Quote of the Month* "When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy." --Dave Barry Dave Barry's advice on the perils of following any leader in troubled times may be a bit irreverent. But many teachers, scholars, and school policy makers have discussed in more serious forums the value of teachers taking charge of their own learning. For a helpful article on why teachers need to have more say in professional development, especially during challenging times, check out this summary of a recent major study: http://www.dsea.org/teachingtips/tips/teacherlearning.htm In order to take charge, teachers need to know not only what they want to learn, but how they as individuals learn best. In her new book LEARNING ALONG THE WAY, Diane Sweeney writes about different learning styles of teachers, and how this translates into a variety of useful professional development formats. Chapter 5 provides some helpful categories for analyzing how to match teachers and new information: http://www.stenhouse.com/0343.asp?s=n35 (Click on Chapter 5 in the Table of Contents to read this chapter.) And if you're shopping for some personally tailored professional development, visit the Stenhouse "Books to Read On-Line" page to preview possible books for summer reading: http://www.stenhouse.com/pdfbooks.asp?s=n35 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 3) A look at one of the country's largest staff development programs ---------------------------------------------------------------- A recent article from the Washington Post describes how Montgomery County, Maryland has reformed its teacher professional development, and how staff development teachers and consulting teachers have become integral to their schools: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10469-2003Jun3.html For more information on Montgomery County's remarkable staff development program, visit their comprehensive Web site: http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/development/ ---------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Getting Grants, Part II ---------------------------------------------------------------- In this second installment of our four-part summer series, we explore several more essential resources that will help you write successful grants for professional development. We've also created a special page on our Web site for the series, where we will post each installment: http://www.stenhouse.com/pdgrants.asp What are your (and your school's) goals for professional development? Addressing this question will not only guide your search for grants to help meet those goals but also serve as the foundation for writing your grant applications. The National Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform's "Step by Step" Web site includes a number of resources for creating a professional development plan. Scroll down to "Support System" (the 5th resource) on the following link for a practical guide to both school and personal PD planning from NSDC: (link no longer active) Turning to more specific resources, one site that you will definitely want to explore is SchoolGrants. This site has extensive lists of federal, regional, and state grant opportunities (with links to grant-specific pages for each state), grant writing tips, and over twenty samples of successful proposals: http://www.schoolgrants.org/welcome.htm Another excellent compendium of educational grant-writing resources can be found on the eduScapes Web site: http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic94.htm There are many lists of specific educational grant opportunities on the Web, but few that are well-maintained with up-to-date links. eSchool News Online has one such list, with dozens of grant programs listed by deadline: http://www.eschoolnews.com/tsc/ ---------------------------------------------------------------- 5) Great summer reading resources for students and parents ---------------------------------------------------------------- Looking to launch students into a summer of reading? Reading Is Fundamental has a fabulous compilation of tips, sites, and book lists to support readers throughout the summer. These are good links to send on to parents, too: http://www.rif.org/educators/rifexchange/programdescriptions/related_websites_show407.mspx ---------------------------------------------------------------- Please send comments and questions to Chuck Lerch, Newslinks Editor, at

or call (800) 988-9812. View archives of past issues here: http://www.stenhouse.com/nlindex.asp To subscribe to Stenhouse Newslinks, please send an e-mail with your request to

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. Stenhouse Publishers P.O. Box 11020 Portland, ME 04104-7020 Tel (800) 988-9812 Fax (800) 833-9164 http://www.stenhouse.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 2003 Stenhouse Publishers

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