The Collective Wisdom of Practice

Chen Schechter is a Professor of Leadership, Organizational Development, and Policy in Education. He believes that educators need to be encouraged to embark on the exciting journey of nurturing the remarkable wisdom of practice that characterizes their magical learning moments with our children. Prof. Schechter aims to build bridges and integrate theory with empirical evidence and practice by supporting teachers, principals, superintendents, and policymakers in their professional growth. His research areas include reform implementation, educational change, professional learning communities, organizational learning, collaborative learning from success, educational leadership, leadership development, and systems thinking for school leaders. Prof. Schechter teaches, conducts research, and serves as a professional advisor in numerous international, national, district, and school development projects, with deep commitment to developing bottom-up school leadership and transformative learning and innovation.Prof. Schechter earned his Ph.D. in K-12 Educational Administration from The Ohio State University and currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Educational Administration (JEA), the oldest and most respected leading international journal in the field of educational leadership and management. Prof. Schechter has published his research extensively in a wide range of highly ranked journals and has authored five recent books: The Wisdom of Practice: Leading Learning from Success (2019); Leading Holistically: How Schools, Districts, and States Improve Systemically (2018); The NSSE Yearbook (National Society for the Study of Education) of Columbia University’s Teachers College on Developing Models for Teaching and Learning Self-Regulated Learning (2017); Systems-Thinking for School Leaders: Holistic Leadership for Excellence in Schools (2017); and also Let Us Lead! School Principals at the Forefront of Reforms (2015).

• List of Tables and FiguresForeword by Ellile Drago-SeversonForeword by Stephanie HirshPrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorChapter 1. Shifting Schools Toward Collaborative Learning CommunitiesChapter 2. How to Learn Collectively: Gleaning Wisdom From Professionals’ Problems and SuccessesChapter 3. Juggling Our Mindsets: Educators’ Perceptions of Collective Learning From SuccessChapter 4. The Learning-From-Success Journey: Enacting WisdomChapter 5. The National Program for Learning From Success in SchoolsChapter 6. Switching Gears: Learning From Success and Learning From Problems as a Catalyst to Growth and ChangeConclusion. Let’s Start Our Journey: Enacting Educators’ Successful Wisdom of PracticeReferencesIndex

"Schechter provides a refreshing lens for examining and learning from past events by showing what is made possible when teams focus on success rather than harp on failure.  If you’re looking to improve the school improvement process, this thought-provoking text just might be the impetus for shifting mindsets from a deficient to an asset-based model."