Check out The Better Conversations trailer: https://youtu.be/y3Fr WTXC8Uw
’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
Coauthor of Rigorous Reading and Unstoppable Learning
Because conversation is the lifeblood of any school
You don’t want this book—you need this book. Why this confident claim? 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.
Enter instructional coaching expert Jim Knight, who in Better Conversations 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.
As coaches, as administrators, as teachers, it’s time to thrive. Learn how to:
- Coach ourselves and each other to become better communicators
- Listen with empathy
- Find common ground
- Build Trust
Our students’ academic, social, and emotional growth depends upon our doing this hard work. It’s time to roll up our sleeves, open our minds, and dare to change for the better of the students we serve. You can get started now with Better Conversations and the accompanying Reflection Guide to Better Conversations.
Innehållsförteckning
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Chapter 1: Radical Brokenness and Better Conversations
Chapter 2: The Better Conversations Beliefs
Chapter 3: Listening With Empathy
Chapter 4: Fostering Dialogue
Chapter 5: Asking Better Questions
Chapter 6: Connecting
Chapter 7: Finding Common Ground
Chapter 8: Redirecting Toxic Words and Emotions
Chapter 9: Building Trust
References
Study Participants
Index
Om författaren
Dr. Jim Knight, Founder and Senior Partner of Instructional Coaching Group (ICG), is also a research associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. He has spent more than two decades studying professional learning and instructional coaching. Jim earned his Ph D in Education from the University of Kansas and has won several university teaching, innovation, and service awards.The pioneering work Jim and his colleagues have conducted has led to many innovations that are now central to professional development in schools. Jim wrote the first major article about instructional coaching for the Journal of Staff Development, and his book Instructional Coaching (2007) offered the first extended description of instructional coaching. Jim’s book Focus on Teaching (2014) was the first extended description of how video should be used for professional learning. Recently, writing with Ann Hoffman, Michelle Harris, and Sharon Thomas, Jim introduced the idea of instructional playbooks with their book on that topic.Jim has written several books in addition to those described above, including Unmistakable Impact (2011), High-Impact Instruction (2013), Better Conversations (2015), The Impact Cycle (2018), and The Definitive Guide to Instructional Coaching (2021). Knight has also authored articles on instructional coaching and professional learning in publications such as Educational Leadership, The Journal of Staff Development, Principal Leadership, The School Administrator, and Kappan. Jim is also a columnist for Educational Leadership and.Through ICG, Knight conducts coaching workshops, hosts the Facebook Live Program, “Coaching Conversations, ” and provides consulting for coaching programs around the world.