Motivate! Inspire! Lead!: 10 Strategies for Building Collegial Learning Communities » (New Edition)

Robert J. Vojtek is an engaging speaker whose teaching experience spans middle school to graduate school. His administrative experience includes chief information officer (CIO) at two universities (Concordia University in Portland, Oregon and the University of Hartford in Connecticut), dean of graduate studies (The University of Hartford), and manager of instructional technology services where he provided professional development in the utilization and integration of technology at the Harvard Law School. He is currently employed by Avon Public Schools in Connecticut. He designed a pre-engineering program for Avon High School and is the unified arts coordinator.

Vojtek began his career as a junior high school teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He worked at the College of The Redwoods, where he served as the Vocational Technical Division chair and department chair for Drafting and Technology. He established the AutoCAD Authorized Training Center and was voted the 1987 Top AutoCAD Instructor for the US and Canada.

Vojtek has been active in numerous professional organizations. He has been named an exemplary educator by SMART Technologies. Vojtek currently serves as a member of the Tri-State Consortium, a learning organization devoted to assisting school districts in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey in using student performance data to develop a rigorous framework for continuous school improvement.

Vojtek was associate professor of education at Concordia University as well as an adjunct faculty member at three other colleges and universities. He has presented and consulted at numerous local, state, and national conferences on technology, staffdevelopment, organization development, leadership, and change. Vojtek has served as a lobbyist for the Oregon Community College Association (OCCA). He received a scholarship from the MIT Hartford Alumni Association to attend the Science and Engineering Program for Teachers (SEPT).

Vojtek completed his doctorate in 1995 from the University of Oregon. His dissertation was titled, The Role of Computer Coordinators in the Implementation of the Internet as a Tool for School Improvement and School Reform.

Incorporating motivational theory and the authors' administrative experience, this resource presents 10 strategies for developing a collegial learning community through positive interdependence, reciprocal relationships, and mutual responsibility.

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Understanding Motivation
2. Leadership Within
3. Quality of Life: Creating the Essential Conditions to Support the School Environment
4. Mission: Defining the Important Work We Do
5. Communication: Using Shared Vocabulary and Definitions to Clarify Purpose Through Dialogue
6. Relationships: Building Human Connections
7. Accountability: Creating Ownership and Mutual Responsibility to Accomplish the Mission
8. Competence and Capacity: Generating the Confidence to Successfully Achieve the Goal
9. Autonomy: Leveraging the Freedom Within Articulated Boundaries to Make Informed Decisions
10. Empowerment: Delegating the Responsibility That Affords Educators the Authority to Do Their Work
11. Positive Interdependence: Interacting in Ways That Promote Each Other's Success
12. Results: Achieving the School's Morally Compelling Mission and Goals
13. A Call for Action
Epilogue
Appendix A. Satisfying Basic Needs
Appendix B. Further Reading
References
Index