PRODUCTS

In Advancing Special Education Through Improvement Science: A Practical Guide, educators, administrators, and policymakers will find a comprehensive resource designed to enhance the effectiveness and equity of special education services. This book bridges the gap between theory and practice, providing a structured approach to implementing improvement science in the context of special education. The ultimate goal is to create a more inclusive and effective educational environment for students with disabilities. Improvement science is a methodical approach to identifying, testing, and refining practices to achieve better outcomes. Rooted in principles of continuous improvement, it focuses on understanding the complexities of educational systems and leveraging data-driven decision-making to foster meaningful change. This guide demonstrates how the principles of improvement science can be applied specifically to the field of special education, offering practical strategies and real-world examples that illustrate successful implementation.

Advancing Special Education Through Improvement Science emphasizes the critical role of data in driving improvement efforts. The book provides detailed guidance on how to collect, analyze, and use data to inform decision-making. It also addresses common challenges in data collection and analysis, offering practical solutions to overcome these obstacles. By focusing on the importance of data, this guide empowers educators to make evidence-based decisions that lead to measurable improvements in student outcomes. One of the core strengths of this book is its focus on collaboration and stakeholder engagement. Effective improvement efforts require the involvement of teachers, administrators, students, and families. The book outlines strategies for building strong collaborative teams, fostering a culture of trust and shared responsibility, and ensuring that all voices are heard. By prioritizing collaboration, educators can create a more inclusive and supportive environment that benefits all students, particularly those with disabilities. Throughout the book, readers will find numerous case studies and examples of successful improvement efforts in special education. These real-world stories provide valuable insights into the challenges and successes experienced by educators who have implemented improvement science in their schools. By learning from these examples, readers can gain practical knowledge and inspiration for their own improvement initiatives.

Advancing Special Education Through Improvement Science also includes a variety of tools and resources to support educators in their improvement efforts. These resources include templates for data collection, checklists for implementing PDSA cycles, and guides for facilitating collaborative meetings. These practical tools are designed to make the process of implementing improvement science more manageable and accessible for busy educators. In the final chapters, Advancing Special Education Through Improvement Science addresses the importance of sustainability and scaling up successful practices. The book provides strategies for embedding improvement science into the fabric of school and district operations, ensuring that improvements are sustained over time and can be scaled to benefit more students. By focusing on sustainability, this guide helps educators create lasting change that continues to benefit students with disabilities long after initial improvement efforts have concluded. Whether you are a teacher, administrator, or policymaker, this guide will provide the tools and knowledge you need to advance special education through the power of improvement science.

Perfect for courses such as: Introduction to Special Education; Exceptional Children; Foundations of Special Education; Special Education Leadership; School Improvement and Reform

Implementation Science: A Playbook for Instructional Leaders offers a practical approach to driving sustainable, impactful change in educational settings. Grounded in research-to-practice methodology, this essential guide is designed for district and school instructional leaders committed to elevating student outcomes through strategic, evidence-informed decisions. Dr. Carlson draws on decades of experience in teaching, leadership, curriculum development, and literacy research to deliver a step-by-step framework that empowers leaders to effectively plan, implement, monitor, and assess initiatives.

In clear, accessible language, Implementation Science demystifies the core principles of implementation and bridges concepts to turnaround. It offers actionable strategies and tools for tackling complex challenges in today’s educational landscape. From curriculum selection to fostering an engaged, capable team, this playbook navigates the nuances of change management, helping leaders make data-driven decisions that stick. Each chapter culminates with key takeaways and questions for reflection, supporting instructional leaders in aligning their work with broader district goals.

Perfect for superintendents, principals, curriculum directors, and aspiring leaders, Implementation Science is more than a guide—it’s a hands-on resource for building a sustainable, student-centered culture of continuous improvement. The book can also be adopted for a variety of courses such as Educational Leadership and Administration; Curriculum and Instructional Design; Data-Driven Decision Making in Education; Change Management in Education; and many more.

Improvement Science in Education: A Primer, second edition, is the first and introductory volume in the Myers Education Press series, Improvement Science in Education and Beyond. It provides a comprehensive overview of improvement science as a framework to guide continuous improvement and reconceptualizes improvement by centering equity and justice as the purpose of improvement.

The Primer is designed to introduce improvement science, a methodology with origins in manufacturing, engineering and healthcare, to educational audiences. The book first explores the philosophical and methodological foundations of improvement science, juxtaposing it with traditional forms of research so that clear distinctions can be drawn. Chapters in the latter half of the book introduce the principles of improvement, give guidance and tools for operationalizing the principles in practice, and conclude with questions to ensure you are improving with equity in mind. Constantly reminding readers to think about who is involved and impacted, the Primer makes improvement science accessible to novices and adds critical dimensions for experienced practitioners to consider.

In the second edition of this best-selling book, Brandi Hinnant-Crawford, a nationally recognized authority in the methodology, has added valuable new content that updates the literature and enhances the focus of the volume by asking to even more who questions: who benefits, who bears the burden, whose priorities and values are reflected, and who is heard when decisions are made. Improvement for equity requires more than profound knowledge and subject matter knowledge—it requires criticality.

Improvement science is rapidly becoming the signature methodology for accomplishing continuous improvement in universities, public school districts, and professional development programs. Its goal is to create better learning environments.

Perfect for courses such as: Educational Research; School Improvement; and Program Evaluation

A 2023 SPE Outstanding Book Honorable Mention

Improvement Science as a Tool for School Enhancement: Solutions for Better Educational Outcomes is a collection of equity-focused improvement science-in-action, school-based case studies led by practitioners. Chapter authors tell us how and why improvement science principles make system-wide improvements in classroom practice, how they learned from the problems encountered and, further, how they were then able to make changes within a school or district. A core principle of improvement science is variability in context (what works for whom and under what conditions)--a critical concept for improvement in each of the case studies. Each team analyzed their problem of practice from the perspective of the unique conditions in their context, considering what might work, and what might not work, and when the changes could be expanded for implementation school- or district-wide.

Early chapters describe the actions of school personnel to embed social and emotional learning as well as how to serve historically underserved students during disasters. Trauma-informed and restorative practices embraced by all staff enhanced student outcomes and reduced educational disparities in classrooms and throughout the school. The content then explores how improvement science change processes improve chronic absenteeism and discipline issues through whole-school practices related to school climate. Centering student and family perception, developing representative systems, and facilitating collaborative improvement projects were found to measurably improve the experience of students, increase equity, reinforce democratic principles, and empower school stakeholders, especially those whose voices have historically been ignored, to create meaningful system-wide school improvement. Finally, the material in the book provides concrete examples of improvement science as it applies in real-setting to address high school advisories, graduation rates, services for multi-lingual learners, students with disabilities, and reading clubs. Each chapter has an equity focus.

The editors and contributors provide examples of how to use the processes and tools of improvement science to increase equity system-wide. How to use improvement science to address educational disparities system-wide with urgency, commitment, and a belief in the success of every child, of every race, every ethnicity, gender, ability, and cultural identity, is the essence of this book.

Perfect for courses such as: Educating For Equity And Social Justice │ Cultivating Culturally Responsive Classrooms │ Integrating Methods And Curriculum Design │ Inquiry, Assessment, And Instructional Design │ Foundations Of Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Practice │ Math Literacy │ Physical Education │ Professional Collaboration In Education │ Language And Literacy Development Of Diverse Learners │ Equal Opportunity: Racism; Diversity And Equity In Schools │ Cultural Proficiency In Schools │ Language And Power In Education │ Teaching For Equity In Literacy │ Supportive Classroom Communities │ Cultural Diversity In Literature │ Engaging Students In Writing │ Introduction To School Leadership │ Introduction To School Improvement │ Teacher Leadership And School Improvement

To learn more about Improvement Science and see our full list of books in this area, please click through to the Myers Education Press Improvement Science website.

A 2022 SPE Outstanding Book Honorable Mention

Improvement Science: Promoting Equity in Schools is intended for classroom teachers, school leaders, and district leaders charged with leading improvement efforts in schools. From questions such as “how do I develop a love of reading in my classroom?” to “how can I better manage student behavior during independent learning time?” to “what should we do to make sure kids of all races read at grade level by 3rd grade” to “how could we include families of all backgrounds as partners in learning” or “how do we increase our graduation rate among underserved students," this book shares real-life examples from those who are currently leading equity-focused improvement in our classrooms and schools. If you are curious about how Improvement Science has been used, or how others have succeeded—or failed—at equity-focused improvement efforts in our classrooms and in our schools, or if you’re wondering how to spur discussions in school districts, universities, and communities about leading equity-focused improvement, this book is for you. Teachers, students, family members, community members, principals and superintendents will be inspired to embrace Improvement Science as a method to improve equity in their schools.

The book helps people new to Improvement Science to understand the basic steps to implement the process. If you’re a beginner, it provides some basic steps and a resource (https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/our-ideas/six-core-principles-improvement/) to help you understand the process better; for those with some experience, the book will be an excellent refresher and tool with functional suggestions to take your practice further.

1.       Form a Team.

2.       Examine Data.

3.       Ask Why.

4.       Read Research.

5.       Get Perspective of Those Closest to the Problem.

6.       Plan the Change.

A 2022 SPE Outstanding Book Honorable Mention

Teaching Improvement Science in Educational Leadership: A Pedagogical Guide presents the reader with a range of pedagogies from a variety of viewpoints and approaches. The book provides a holistic picture for how one might develop stakeholder competency and capacity with improvement science as a signature problem-solving methodology for educational leaders. And while there are books that provide foundational knowledge on the field of improvement science (including the list of titles from Myers Education Press), this book differs in that it presents varying approaches for teaching others about improvement science. For those who want to develop the methodology but who need resources, the book provides the illustrations, examples, and other concrete applications so that those involved in teaching the subject matter can connect foundational knowledge of improvement to the applied context. This book serves as the guide for education leaders who wish to have the know-how for developing the knowledge, skills and dispositions relative to the field of improvement science—the education leader’s signature problem-solving methodology.

To learn more about Improvement Science and see our full list of books in this area, please click through to the Myers Education Press Improvement Science website.

Perfect for courses such as: Introduction to Improvement Science | Educational Research for Administrators | Introduction to Program Evaluation | Action Research for School Practitioners | Educational Research | School Improvement | Teacher Leadership

The Improvement Science Dissertation in Practice provides a narrative and illustration about the purpose and features comprising the Dissertation in Practice and how this culminating experience is well suited to using Improvement Science as a signature methodology for preparing professional practitioners. This methodology, when combined with the Dissertation in Practice experience in EdD programs, reinforces practitioner learning about and skills for leadership and change. As a guide, the book is an extremely valuable resource that supports faculty, students, and practitioners in the application of Improvement Science to pressing educational problems in a structured, disciplined way.

CPED Initiative Fireside Chat with Jill Perry: https://vimeo.com/508666806

To learn more about Improvement Science and see our full list of books in this area, please click through to the Myers Education Press Improvement Science website.

Perfect for courses such as: Educational Leadership, Research Methods, The Dissertation Process, Dissertation Writing and Research, and Thesis and Dissertation

The Educational Leader’s Guide to Improvement Science: Data, Design and Cases for Reflection is a collection illustrating applied organizational problem-solving using methods of improvement science in educational leadership. Early chapters introduce improvement science and then the reader is led through a logical sequence of inquiry, presented with cases of educational dilemma matched with principles of improvement science and provided examples of research methodology applied in context. Because improvement science research is so quickly becoming a signature pedagogy and core subject area of inquiry in the field of educational leadership, the literature is still scant in its coverage of improvement science models; it is the purpose of this publication to fill the void by providing concrete examples, through case studies, of instances where improvement research methods and analyses can be embedded to enhance and strengthen efforts at organizational improvement. This text concentrates on the elements faculty, students, and administrators need; specific models where improvement science frameworks enhance the reliability and validity of improvement or quality enhancement efforts.

To learn more about Improvement Science and see our full list of books in this area, please click through to the Myers Education Press Improvement Science website.

Perfect for courses such as: Introduction to Improvement Science, Seminar/Practicum in Educational Leadership, Introduction to Program Evaluation, Educational Research for Administrators, Action Research for School Practitioners, Educational Research, School Improvement, and Teacher Leadership.