Rodney Napier

Grades and grading are an accepted part of modern education. But why? Why do we accept a system that is more focused on ranking students than on learning? Why do we accept the negative effects of standard grading approaches, including turning students off from learning, increasing stress, creating winners and losers, and perpetuating racial and economic inequality? Why do we accept these things when there are better alternatives?Wad-Ja-Get? is a unique discussion of grading and its effects on students. The book was written by three education professors who have had first-hand contact with the problems of grading in all its forms. Written in the form of a novel, the topic is explored through the eyes of students, teachers, and parents in one high school embroiled in a controversy around grading. Possible alternatives to the grading system are examined in detail and the research on grading is summarized in an appendix. This 50th anniversary edition of the book includes a new introduction by Professor Barry Fishman, updating the research and setting the original book in the context of today’s educational and societal challenges. Wad-Ja-Get? remains timely five decades after its original publication, and will be inspiring to students, parents, educators, and policymakers.

Create a fresh, intentional approach to meetingsWhen meetings draw employees away from day-to-day tasks but fail to reach their intended outcome, it has huge costs to the organization. All too often, this happens because meetings lack purpose—people gather together to discuss a problem but don’t know how to approach it strategically. Consider that the typical leader spends at least 10 hours a week in meetings with an average of five people. Now, assume each of those individuals is priced out at $100 an hour. That’s $5,000 a week in meeting costs. Multiply that $5,000 by 50 weeks, then by the 10 top executives. The cost? $2.5 million. Of course, leaders dread the thought of one more ineffective meeting, as do most other workers.With preparation and intention, you can turn these wasted opportunities into sessions that fully engage participants and teams. In Not Just Another Meeting: Creative Strategies for Facilitation, you will learn how to be intentional about diagnosing what your team requires from a meeting. By expanding your repertoire of what to do and how to do it, you can respond to any situation with calm, certainty, and creativity.Experienced facilitators and consultants Rodney Napier and Eli Sharp describe 13 classic designs, such as the Future Search, Collapsing Consensus, and Genie in the Bottle. Applying to wide-ranging workplace issues, these designs provide the tools to enable any gathering to solve problems, build trust, and deal with conflict. Accompanying them are animated videos, available online, that allow you to observe exactly how to facilitate each design. This book shines a new light on situations you’ve taken for granted for years. Break out of your old meeting habits—and actually excite the participants of meetings you lead.