Good Reads for Teachers to Partake in Self-Improvement Month

For those unfamiliar, September is self-improvement month. Many educators use the summer months to focus on professional development and to improve teaching practices, but the back-to-school season also represents a good time to brush up while getting back into the swing of things.

To make the most of your self-improvement endeavors, use this list of useful PD books that are favored by educators nationwide.

1. Teach Common Core & Standardized Testing Vocabulary

Though many educators may have issues with various aspects and components of the Common Core, learning its vocabulary is extremely important because that same vocabulary pops up on standardized tests administered to students. With teacher evaluations in many states now relying heavily on standardized test scores,these tests are more high-stakes than ever.

Marilee Sprenger's Teaching the Critical Vocabulary of the Common Core: 55 Words That Make or Break Student Understanding helps K-12 teachers pick through the words that are most critical for students to understand in order to master the material.

Check it out here. 

2. Manage Student Behavior in the Classroom

When it comes to dealing with special-needs learners, it can be really trying to deal with challenging behavior.

Managing Challenging Behaviors in Schools: Research-Based Strategies That Work (What Works for Special-Needs Learners) is based on research from several well-qualified authors who instruct on how to problem behavior in the classroom and how to respond to it when it arises.

Check it out here.

3. Build a Professional Network

Countless studies have pointed to having a successful professional network of peers as a big determinant of teacher retention.

In order to either start building or expand upon your professional learning network, use The Networked Teacher: How New Teachers Build Social Networks for Professional Support by Kira J. Baker-Doyle as your bible.

This book looks at the benefits of using social networks as a resource as well as the challenges to building one and how to overcome them.

Check it out here. 

4. Strengthen Parent-Teacher Relationships

Strong parent-teacher relationships are a staple in any given successfully-ran classroom. Parents and teachers must work hand-in-hand as a team to ensure learning success for students, but recent studies have indicated that there is frequently a disconnect between the two.

A Second Classroom: Parent-Teacher Relationships in a Waldorf School by Torin M. Finser looks at how important strong parent-teacher relationships are in successful schools and "features a comprehensive examination of the parent-teacher relationship in all its dimensions, from parent evenings and conferences to communication, conflict, and the life-cycle of parent involvement in their school."

Check it out here.

5. Reduce Stress, Increase Relaxation

Teachers have one of the most stressful professions out there; large percentage of teachers report experiencing high stress levels throughout the school year.

While it's important to focus on improving within the profession, the foundation of self-improvement is to first take care of the self.

This work book, The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook, is the sixth edition of a book that has since 1980 been helping individuals relax.

Even in the busiest of times, this book will help you find ways to balance the stress of the classroom with your personal life without buckling under pressure.

Check it out here. 

Compiled by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

09/18/2015