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Thursday / March 28

Excerpt from Jim Knight’s New Book, Better Conversations

Think about how many times you’ve walked away from school conversations, sensing they could be more productive, but at a loss for how to improve them.

In Better Conversations, Jim Knight honors our capacity for improving our schools by improving our communication. Asserting that our schools are only as good as the conversations within them, Jim shows us how to adopt the habits essential to transforming the quality of our dialogues.

“I thought I knew how to have a conversation; I’ve had millions of them. Some were good, others not so much so. But I want to have GREAT conversations, and Jim Knight has taught me how. The proof is in: better conversations are possible and the results are worth the investment.”

Douglas Fisher, Co-author of Rigorous Reading and Unstoppable Learning

“I read more education books than I care to admit.  Some are good, some are bad, and very few are great.  Jim Knight’s book Better Conversations is BRILLIANT!  Insightful, innovative, and practical are the three words that kept coming to me when I was reading and learning from his book.  Jim treats the subject of communication as an art and gives all of us, regardless of position or years of experience, practical ways to use our voice to improve the teaching and learning environment, as well as ourselves!” 

Russell J. Quaglia, President/Founder, Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations

“Better Conversations stimulates the mind, spirit, and soul of those who coach, regardless of their role or position, by unpacking and reshaping the mental models that drive how they think, speak, and act. . . I found myself frequently thinking about how helpful this book will be to nearly every human who interacts with others whether in school or beyond.”

Joellen Killion, Senior Advisor, Learning Forward

Better Conversations (2)

Written by

Jim Knight is a research associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning and the president of the Instructional Coaching Group. He has spent close to two decades studying professional learning and instructional coaching. He has written or co-authored several books on the topic including Instructional Coaching: A Partnership Approach to Improving Instruction published by Corwin and Learning Forward (2007) and Unmistakable Impact: A Partnership Approach for Dramatically Improving Instruction (2011). Knight co-authored Coaching Classroom Management (2006) and also edited Coaching: Approaches and Perspectives (2008).
Knight has authored articles on instructional coaching and professional learning in publications such as The Journal of Staff Development, Educational Leadership, Principal Leadership, The School Administrator, and Kappan.

Frequently asked to lead professional learning, Knight has presented and consulted in most states, and eight countries. Knight also leads the coaching institutes and the Annual Instructional Coaching Conference in Lawrence, Kansas.

He has a PhD in Education from the University of Kansas and has won several university teaching, innovation, and service awards. Knight also hosts Talking About Teaching on the Teaching Channel and writes the radicallearners.com blog.

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  • What A Great Read Needed!

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