Collaborative Peer Coaching That Improves Instruction

Dwight W. Allen, Ed.D., is the Eminent Professor of Educational Reform at Old Dominion University in Norfolk Virginia. He received his A.B. (with Distinction) in history, with honors in Humanities, from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. He continued at Stanford and completed both his M.A. and his Ed.D. in Education. Dwight is also heavily involved in global concerns and for more than 10 years served as the International Technical Advisor for the United Nations Development Program in China as well as a consultant to the Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Germany. He also serves or has served as a consultant for schools and universities in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, India, South Africa, Israel, Uganda, Malawi and Greece. He is the co-author (with his son, Douglas B. Allen, Ph.D.) of a companion volume to Making the 2 + 2 Performance Appraisal Connection that is being developed based upon the application of the 2 +2 model in the corporate sector. He is also the co-author of AMERICAN EDUCATION: The 100 Billion Dollar Challenge, (with Bill Cosby, Ph.D.) which was "ePublished" by Time Warner in 2000, and was named one of six non-fiction finalists in the International eBook Awards. In 2002, Dwight was named University Teacher of the Year by the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia 1n 2001, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, has honored him by establishing the Dwight W. Allen professorship of Educational Policy and Reform, also in 2001. Dwight is known as a leading proponent of reformed educational systems for the future, and has written literally scores of influential papers and magazine articles on all aspects of the topic. He is an in-demand speaker and has delivered hundreds of lectures on national and international platforms. He has been the recipient of numerous grants for studies of educational systems. Alyce C. LeBlanc, Ph.D., is the Curriculum Specialist for the School of Education at Capella University. In addition to teaching, she has developed numerous instructor-led graduate courses for web-based online delivery in the School of Education. Alyce has a particular interest in teacher preparation programs and currently has a lead role in the development of a new teacher leadership masters program at Capella University. Alyce initially studied music at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, and later at the Staatliche Hochschule fur Musik where she graduated with distinction in Piano Performance. She was a prizewinner in several international piano competitions. She furthered her studies at the University of Southern California, where she earned an M.S. in Systems Management, later completing her Ph.D. in Urban Services/Education at Old Dominion University. She has subsequently taught at Oberlin College, Old Dominion University, and National-Louis University in Germany. She has been active in teacher preparation programs, school reform issues, and has been a consultant to teachers and education leaders in the Czech Republic and China, as well as in the US. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and was recently presented the Harold Abel Outstanding Faculty Award at Capella University.

Foreword - David C. Berliner Prologue Acknowledgments Introduction About the Authors 1. The Performance Appraisal Paradox 2. The Fine Art of Feedback: An Interlude 3. What Is 2 + 2 Anyway? 4. The Feedback Dilemma 5. The 2 + 2 Pilot 6. 2 + 2 Takes Shape 7. 2 + 2: A Matter of Leadership 8. 2 + 2 Takes Off 9. Beyond the 2 + 2 Basics: A Second Interlude 10. Institutionalizing 2 + 2 Epilogue: Two Years Later 2 + 2 for Teachers: Frequently Asked Questions Index

The authors present a wonderfully simple idea for turning a school into a learning community. It is a powerful, growth-oriented strategy for creating instructional focus in a school. -- Roy D. Nichols, Jr., Superintendent of Schools The book is an action-oriented game plan to improve teachers' performance--designed, initiated, and implemented by teachers. It tackles one of education's toughest issues--teacher isolation. -- Anne Bryant, Executive Director A refreshing dose of what the educational world (and others, too) needs for joyful accountability. -- Jack Canfield, CEO The authors present a powerful idea with the potential to transform schools by tearing down walls between teachers. -- Rudolph Crew, Fomer Chancellor The 2+2 system fosters collegiality and contributes to professional development by reducing teacher isolation and encouraging collaboration among teachers. -- James Cooper, Commonwealth Professor of Education Encouraging teahcers to visit each other's classrooms and create an environment of sharing and mutal trust has the potential to transform the profession. -- William Lee Sharing ideas and feedback leads to teaching improvement and helps create valuable discourse on the learning process. A 2+2 program is a powerful way to change the culture of isolation. Education majors would experience a shared teaching culture--a model to emulate one day in their own classroom. -- Evan Dobelle, President "Collaborative Peer Coaching That Improves Instruction: The 2 + 2 Performance Appraisal Model provides a simple method for performance apraisal for teachers that could be used by either peer teachers or administrators...The model provides feedback, encouragement, discussion, discourse, perspective, and collaboration in the improvement of instruction...model has been effective...The components of the model can be applied to other professions, especially those in the fields of social service and customer support." -- Susan Catapano * PsycCRITIQUES *