Eleanor Drago-Severson – författare

Be the leader you want to see in the world.

Educators committed to social justice enter into the work in markedly different ways. Drawing from research with 50 educational leaders from across the United States, Growing for Justice explores how leaders committed to social justice support the growth of others while also developing their own capacities to engage, connect, and lead for change. This groundbreaking book, informed by adult developmental theory and based on a first-of-its-kind study, helps school leaders assess their own strengths and areas for growth—and then take concrete steps toward improvement. Features include:

Exploration of meaning-making systems and how they affect leaders’ understandings of diversity, equity, and social justiceA research-based, developmental model of justice-centering educational leadership capacities and practicesLeaders’ personal stories of growth and development as advocatesPlanning activities and reflective exercises to drive decision-making, action, and internal capacity-building

Wherever you are in your social justice journey, wanting to do better is the first step toward actually doing better. With this book’s help, you’ll outline the supports, stretches, and scaffoldings you need to continually grow for justice.

Support adult growth and development to navigate complex challenges and build thriving teams, and school and district communities.

In our highly complex, ever-shifting world, building human capacity remains one of the most powerful responsibilities—and transformative opportunities—of educational leaders. Grounded in more than thirty years of research and the understanding that adults make sense of their work and experiences in diverse ways, this new, fully revised and expanded edition of Leading Adult Learning helps you tailor your leadership to meet educators where they are—and differentiate support in meaningful ways. Leaders have comments that this developmental approach is one of the “greatest levers of change.”

Features of this second edition include:

Fully-updated takes on four, research-based “pillar practices” for growth—teaming, providing leadership roles, mentoring, and collegial inquiry—that can help educators build the cognitive, relational, and emotional capacity to teach and lead with genuine careFresh, real-world stories and case studies that illustrate how educators are applying these pillar practices in today’s contexts, including hybrid and online environmentsEven more practical protocols and tools designed to support deep reflection, meaningful and courageous dialogue, and authentic collaboration in teams, schools, and systems that Grounded in current research and best practices, and aligned with Learning Forward’s standards to support effective, high quality professional learning ensuring your strategies are responsive to today's educational realities.

By intentionally caring for the development of your staff, you cultivate the resilient, collaborative cultures they need to thrive. Ultimately, when the adults in your educational ecosystem grow, your students are the ones who truly benefit.

"Eleanor Drago-Severson takes hold of an important and neglected truth: students grow best in schools where the adults around them are growing, too. In this nurturing and much-anticipated work, the author shows us exactly how to make this happen. Sound theory, vivid examples, and, best of all, a practice-ready framework—it's all here! Anyone who cares about making our schools better will feel richly rewarded for spending time with this encouraging book."—Robert Kegan, Meehan Professor of Adult Learning and Professional DevelopmentHarvard University Graduate School of EducationCoauthor of Immunity to Change

"With this comprehensive and compelling book, Eleanor Drago-Severson establishes herself as a leading authority on authoritative leadership in education."—Howard Gardner, Author of Leading Minds

Support the growth and development of all adults—teachers, principals, and superintendents—in your school community!

Educators at every level go through different stages of development over the course of their lives and need different kinds of supports and challenges to grow. Leading Adult Learning introduces a model of adult development that helps school and district leaders consciously cultivate teacher, principal, and superintendent capacities in the educational workplace.Eleanor Drago-Severson's developmental model of learning-oriented school leadership draws from multiple knowledge domains, including adult learning, developmental theory, leadership practice, and organizational collaboration. The book shows school leaders how to foster growth and learning for individuals with different needs and developmental orientations. With a focus on research and application, this volume:

Details four Pillar Practices for growth—teaming, providing leadership roles, collegial inquiry, and mentoring—which can support all adultsPresents extensive research and practical application from principals, teachers, superintendents, and other school leaders from across the nationIncludes application exercises, reflective questions, and lessons from the field to assist you in applying this learning-oriented model to your school and school system

Drago-Severson makes a compelling case for deliberately supporting adult development within and across school systems to enhance adults' capacities, school improvement, and student achievement.

"Eleanor Drago-Severson takes hold of an important and neglected truth: students grow best in schools where the adults around them are growing, too. In this nurturing and much-anticipated work, the author shows us exactly how to make this happen. Sound theory, vivid examples, and, best of all, a practice-ready framework—it's all here! Anyone who cares about making our schools better will feel richly rewarded for spending time with this encouraging book."—Robert Kegan, Meehan Professor of Adult Learning and Professional DevelopmentHarvard University Graduate School of EducationCoauthor of Immunity to Change

"With this comprehensive and compelling book, Eleanor Drago-Severson establishes herself as a leading authority on authoritative leadership in education."—Howard Gardner, Author of Leading Minds

Support the growth and development of all adults—teachers, principals, and superintendents—in your school community!

Educators at every level go through different stages of development over the course of their lives and need different kinds of supports and challenges to grow. Leading Adult Learning introduces a model of adult development that helps school and district leaders consciously cultivate teacher, principal, and superintendent capacities in the educational workplace.Eleanor Drago-Severson's developmental model of learning-oriented school leadership draws from multiple knowledge domains, including adult learning, developmental theory, leadership practice, and organizational collaboration. The book shows school leaders how to foster growth and learning for individuals with different needs and developmental orientations. With a focus on research and application, this volume:

Details four Pillar Practices for growth—teaming, providing leadership roles, collegial inquiry, and mentoring—which can support all adultsPresents extensive research and practical application from principals, teachers, superintendents, and other school leaders from across the nationIncludes application exercises, reflective questions, and lessons from the field to assist you in applying this learning-oriented model to your school and school system

Drago-Severson makes a compelling case for deliberately supporting adult development within and across school systems to enhance adults' capacities, school improvement, and student achievement.

Prepare education leaders to support adult professional growth with this comprehensive guide!

Supporting adult professional development—or capacity building—is a challenge in today’s high-accountability atmosphere, especially with new teacher and principal evaluations. Help prepare leaders to nurture human potential and build internal capacities with this one-of-a-kind resource. Through the authors’ practical advice, you’ll learn to

Employ practices that support leadership development in your schools and districts Teach on-the-ground applications for effective professional learning initiatives Design and implement action plans based on Four Pillar Practices for Growth that comprise a learning-oriented model of school leadership: Teaming, Providing Leadership Roles, Collegial Inquiry, and Mentoring with Developmental Intentionality Help leaders bridge theory and practice with first-hand case study analyses

If you want to improve student achievement, then make schools and districts havens for learning for both students and educators with this comprehensive, highly adaptable, and accessible resource!

"Ellie Drago-Severson is one of our most insightful experts on the development of adult educational leaders. She is unique in her ability to move back and forth comfortably between powerful ideas and promising practices." —Howard Gardner, Professor of Cognition and Education Harvard University

“This is not another book about education reform to be read and cast aside—this is a book to be savored. It contributes profoundly to our understanding about how adults learn, the differences in the ways that adults learn, and how we can support and challenge adults as continuous learners within the context of the school day.” —Deanna Burney, Executive Director Leading by Learning, LLC

“Can those who teach in and lead our schools dramatically improve the development of their students without a new commitment to their own ongoing development? Drago-Severson and her co-authors think not. But more than this, they provide an expansively intelligent, intensely practical, research-based route to realizing this new commitment.” —Robert G. Kegan, Meehan Professor of Adult Learning and Professional Development Harvard Graduate School of Education

The right learning design can support professional growth!

Learning Forward is a leader in understanding and advancing professional learning that leads to student success.  This series explores Learning Forward’s seven Standards for Professional Learning which outline the characteristics of effective professional learning that, collectively, advance teaching and learning.

In this volume, you’ll get original essays, an inspirational case study, and detailed guidance on implementing the Design standard.  Deepen your knowledge of standards with

An original essay by Eleanor Drago-Severson that offers a fresh take on designs for professional learning that is grounded in adult developmental theory Practical tools that assist readers in selecting appropriate learning designs that promote educator growth Examples of powerful designs for professional learning that are job-embedded, promote active engagement, and support implementation

With this book, educators will reach new heights of professional growth and students will reap the benefits.

How can we prepare practicing and aspiring education leaders for the complex, adaptive challenges they face? In Helping Educators Grow, Eleanor Drago-Severson presents a new approach to leadership development. Too often, she argues, we teach leadership development the same way we teach world history: just the facts. Instead, we need to create professional learning environments that invite educational leaders to experience the conditions that support adult growth, even as they are learning about them. The book takes as its starting point the premise that adult development is leadership development—that is, the task of school leaders is to develop the capacities of adults as well as students. Drawing on the principles of constructive-developmental theory, Drago-Severson offers a framework for conceptualizing growth based on the core elements of care, respect, trust, collaboration, and intentionality. Richly informed by examples of effective, developmentally oriented learning experiences for aspiring and practicing leaders, the book includes application exercises and reflective questions to help readers engage with the ideas presented. Widely respected for her groundbreaking work in adult development, leadership, and capacity building in learning communities, Drago-Severson provides the tools and concepts to make any professional learning initiative a developmental opportunity for individuals and groups in a variety of contexts: university-based seminars, professional development workshops, professional learning communities, or peer-to-peer networks.

In Tell Me So I Can Hear You, Eleanor Drago-Severson and Jessica Blum-DeStefano show how education leaders can learn to deliver feedback in a way that strengthens relationships as well as performance and builds the capacity for growth. Drawing on constructive-developmental theory, the authors describe four stages of adult growth and development and explain how to differentiate feedback for colleagues with different “ways of knowing,” which include:Instrumental knowers, who tend to see things in black and white (“Did I do it right or wrong?”) and may need to develop the capacity for reflection.Socializing knowers, who are concerned with maintaining relationships (“What do you want me to do?”) and may need support developing their own ideas.Self-authoring knowers, who have strong ideologies and values (“How does this fit with my goals and vision?”) and may need help with perspective taking.Self-transformative knowers, who are able to examine issues from multiple points of view (“How can I understand this more deeply?”) and may need guidance in resolving tensions and contradictions.The authors show how leaders can provide feedback in ways that “meet people where they are” while expanding the developmental capacities educators bring to their work. Drago-Severson and Blum-DeStefano provide real-life examples with practical strategies for creating a safe space for feedback, finding the right words, and bridging feedback and action. Tell Me So I Can Hear You offers invaluable guidance to help educators support a culture of learning in classrooms, schools, and districts.

In Tell Me So I Can Hear You, Eleanor Drago-Severson and Jessica Blum-DeStefano show how education leaders can learn to deliver feedback in a way that strengthens relationships as well as performance and builds the capacity for growth. Drawing on constructive-developmental theory, the authors describe four stages of adult growth and development and explain how to differentiate feedback for colleagues with different “ways of knowing,” which include:Instrumental knowers, who tend to see things in black and white (“Did I do it right or wrong?”) and may need to develop the capacity for reflection.Socializing knowers, who are concerned with maintaining relationships (“What do you want me to do?”) and may need support developing their own ideas.Self-authoring knowers, who have strong ideologies and values (“How does this fit with my goals and vision?”) and may need help with perspective taking.Self-transformative knowers, who are able to examine issues from multiple points of view (“How can I understand this more deeply?”) and may need guidance in resolving tensions and contradictions.The authors show how leaders can provide feedback in ways that “meet people where they are” while expanding the developmental capacities educators bring to their work. Drago-Severson and Blum-DeStefano provide real-life examples with practical strategies for creating a safe space for feedback, finding the right words, and bridging feedback and action. Tell Me So I Can Hear You offers invaluable guidance to help educators support a culture of learning in classrooms, schools, and districts.

In Tell Me So I Can Hear You, Eleanor Drago-Severson and Jessica Blum-DeStefano show how education leaders can learn to deliver feedback in a way that strengthens relationships as well as performance and builds the capacity for growth. Drawing on constructive-developmental theory, the authors describe four stages of adult growth and development and explain how to differentiate feedback for colleagues with different “ways of knowing,” which include: • Instrumental knowers, who tend to see things in black and white (“Did I do it right or wrong?”) and may need to develop the capacity for reflection. • Socializing knowers, who are concerned with maintaining relationships (“What do you want me to do?”) and may need support developing their own ideas. • Self-authoring knowers, who have strong ideologies and values (“How does this fit with my goals and vision?”) and may need help with perspective taking. • Self-transformative knowers, who are able to examine issues from multiple points of view (“How can I understand this more deeply?”) and may need guidance in resolving tensions and contradictions. The authors show how leaders can provide feedback in ways that “meet people where they are” while expanding the developmental capacities educators bring to their work. Drago-Severson and Blum-DeStefano provide real-life examples with practical strategies for creating a safe space for feedback, finding the right words, and bridging feedback and action. Tell Me So I Can Hear You offers invaluable guidance to help educators support a culture of learning in classrooms, schools, and districts.