Great Books Recognized for Increasing Student Achievement

The National Staff Development Council and the National Education Association have recognized Great Books professional development for increasing student achievement in elementary, middle, and high school grades. In the spring 2003 issue of the Journal of Staff Development, Joellen Killion elaborates on the qualities that a program must have to be included in the list of "What Works...to open doors to literacy":

The National Staff Development Council began the "What Works" series. . . to identify content-specific staff development that showed evidence student achievement improved, teachers' content knowledge deepened, and teachers' content-specific pedagogy expanded.

The Council concluded that Great Books professional development met all of these criteria. In fact, Great Books professional development was one of only five offerings listed in all three age groups—elementary, middle, and high school—in the "What Works" series.

Team discount—Free registration for every fifth person who registers for our core sequence of professional development. Registrants must be from the same school or organization. Visit our bookstore to find a course in your area!

See how Shared Inquiry™ works—Order a FREE Great Books demonstration video on CD-ROM or watch third-grade students at work with "Ooka and the Honest Thief," a Japanese folktale in the new Junior Great Series (Series 3, Book One).

New Course Options—Including 100-Level—Getting Started: The Core Sequence,  200-Level—Getting Better: Strengthening Shared Inquiry, 300-Level—Going for Great: Developing Expertise, planning sessions, and training for parent volunteers.

Certified Great Books leader? Visit My Great Books Portfolio to view your history of Great Books professional development and see what’s recommended next. Or brush up on your Shared Inquiry leader skills in the "best practices" video library or by taking the online tutorial.

Graduate Credit—Teachers attending Great Books professional development courses are eligible for graduate college credit from the College of the Humanities and Sciences at Harrison Middleton University

Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM)—Great Books professional development is designed to support the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) of teacher learning. For more information this model of teacher innovation and learning, visit the Southwestern Educational Development Laboratory.