Giselle Martin-Kniep is a teacher educator, researcher, program evaluator, and writer. She is the President of Learner-Centered Initiatives, Ltd., an educational consulting organization specializing in comprehensive regional and school-based curriculum and assessment work. She is also the CEO of the Center for the Study of Expertise in Teaching and Learning, an organization committed to the discovery and dissemination of teacher expertise. Dr. Martin-Kniep has a strong background in organizational change and has graduate degrees in communication and development, social sciences in education, and educational evaluation from Stanford University. She has taught at Adelphi University, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Victoria. In the last fourteen years, she has worked with hundreds of schools and districts nationally and internationally in the areas of alternative assessment, standards-based design, school change, and action research. Dr. Martin-Kniep has written extensively. Her most recent books are Why Am I Doing This: Purposeful Teaching with Portfolio Assessment, published by Heinemann; Capturing the Wisdom of Practice: Portfolios for Teachers and Administrators; and Becoming a Better Teacher: Eight Innovations that Work both published by ASCD.
The author presents "internal capacity building" as an alternative to external professional development: "Not having to turn to expensive outside experts all the time is, in the long run, cost saving to the school as well as a means to develop a large group of teacher experts." Using case studies that include practical applications and ideas, the author analyzes four approaches to building capacity: standards-based design, professional portfolios, action research, and learning communities. "Independently, these are powerful methods for individual and collaborative professional development. Together, they are synergistic forces that can produce significant organizational change."
