Jon Saphier

Founder & President, Research for Better Teaching

Jon Saphier is the founder and president of Research for Better Teaching, Inc. (RBT), an educational consulting organization in Acton, Massachusetts, that is dedicated to the professionalization of teaching and leadership. Since 1979, he and his RBT colleagues have provided in-depth professional development programs based on the knowledge gained from teaching educators nationally and internationally. In 2001, Saphier was appointed a panel member for the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to study the best methods for transferring well-established educational research knowledge to classroom practice. Sloan-Kettering’s annual IDEA Institutes voted him “Best of the Best” for their first 25-year history. In recent years, he has led large-scale district improvement projects, forging alliances between superintendents, union leaders, and school boards.

Saphier is the author and co-author of eight books, including The Skillful Teacher, now in its sixth edition. The Skillful Teacher is used in degree programs in more than 175 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. Other publications include How to Make Supervision and Evaluation Really Work, How to Bring Vision to School Improvement, How to Make Decisions That Stay Made, andJohn Adams’ Promise.

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