Review
Praise for the first edition: "Whole-faculty study groups have become a central part of the journey toward transformation in ATLAS Communities across the country. The collected wisdom of "how-to" offered in this book will be an invaluable asset for teachers in every school who are pursuing collegial efforts to refine their craft."
(Linda Gerstle )
Praise for the first edition: "The contents of this book can change the professional interactions of teachers in schools. I know. We are currently in our third year of having all teachers in study groups that meet weekly. I have found whole-faculty study groups to be a process that stimulates professional dialogue and focuses ‘grass roots’ wisdom on student achievement."
(Barry Shelofsky )
Praise for the first edition: "Teachers generally believe in the value of staff development; they also generally believe that staff development is a waste of time in the ‘one size fits all’ format most frequently used. Whole-faculty study groups have rejuvenated our enthusiasm for teaching and for teaching better."
(Elizabeth McGonigal )
Praise for the first edition: "There is power in faculty study groups. Student learning deepens when professionals have a chance to come together to thin, ask questions, problem-solve, discuss, share, and reflect in a supportive climate."
(Bertha Pendleton )
Praise for the first edition: "Whole-faculty study groups have provided USD 405-Lyons with a process to assist in becoming a true learning organization. Site-based study groups are the framework for district, building, and individual staff development that builds organizational learning and personal mastery."
(Edwin Church )
"Offers practical guidance to start, lead, and maintain faculty study groups."
(National Staff Development Council, Dec/Jan. issue, page 7 )
About the Author
Dale W. Lick is past president of Georgia Southern University, the University of Maine, and Florida State University, and he is currently a university professor in the Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University. He teaches in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and works on educational and organizational projects involving transformational leadership, change creation, leading and managing change, learning teams, learning organizations, distance learning, new learning systems (e.g. the HyLighter Learning and Assessment Systems), strategic planning, and visioning. A mathematician by academic training, Lick previously held administrative and faculty positions at the Port Huron Junior College, University of Redlands, University of Tennessee, Drexel University, Russell Sage College, and Old Dominion University. He also served as a visiting research mathematician at Brookhaven National Laboratory, an adjunct professor of biomathematics at Temple University, and a scientific consultant to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Included in 45 national and international biographical listings, Lick is the author of four books; more than 60 book chapters, professional articles, and proceedings; and 285 original newspaper columns. His recent books are
Whole-Faculty Study Groups: A Powerful Way to Change Schools and Enhance Learning and
Whole-Faculty Study Groups: Creating Student-Based Professional Development (both with Carlene Murphy), and
New Directions in Mentoring: Creating a Culture of Synergy (author and coeditor with Carol Mullen). Lick received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Michigan State University and a PhD from the University of California at Riverside.
Carlene U. Murphy is the director of the National Whole-Faculty Study Groups Center in Augusta, Georgia. She began her teaching career as a fourth-grade teacher in 1957 in her hometown of Augusta. She has since held various teaching and administrative positions, developed and administered programs for gifted children in the Richmond County school system, and served as a director of staff development. In 1992, she was the inaugural winner of the National Staff Development Council’s Contributions to Staff Development Award, one of the organization’s highest honors. Her personal service to the National Staff Development Council included serving as chairperson of the annual national conference in Atlanta in 1986, as president in 1988, and on the board of trustees from 1984 to 1990. After retiring from the Richmond County schools in 1993, she worked through 1997 as a private consultant for the schools and districts that wanted to implement the process that she would name Whole-Faculty Study Groups (WFSGs). She has written extensively about her work in
Educational Leadership and the
Journal of Staff Development. From the summer of 1997 to December 2002, Murphy worked as a full-time consultant with ATLAS Communities. She worked with all ATLAS schools in the implementation of WFSGs. She also continued to work with schools not associated with the national comprehensive school reform design.
