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Instructional Leadership
Information
Sample tools
available for instructional leaders through Enthused Learning.
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The beauty of
Collegial Walk-throughs is that both parties benefit. Observing
another teacher as well as being visited by another teacher causes a
teacher to reflect on his or her own instructional practice—and to
strive to improve. |
Collegial Walk-throughs. One way to improve instruction is to encourage teachers to visit in one another’s classrooms—to see examples of good (and not-so-good) instructional strategies. Giving them a structure, which is clearly distinguished from individual teacher evaluation, seems to be important in making this a positive, learning experience.
The process is somewhat unique in that it involves a faculty
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deciding what constitutes good instruction (establishing classroom “look fors”)
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visiting classrooms to collect data on those “look-fors”
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compiling the data as a school-wide picture of instruction, i.e. no individual teachers are identified in the process,
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making meaning of the data--deciding their school’s strengths and weaknesses
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collectively establishing goals for instructional improvement
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making personal commitments to those instructional improvement goals
“Thank you for presenting information on classroom walkthroughs for RESA VII administrators last week. With the No Child Left Behind mandates for schools to analyze the design and operation of the instructional program and to desing, implement and monitor a plan to improve student performance, classroom walkthroughs contribute to accomplishing both of these tasks. Your willingness to share important components of this monitoring process is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Marsha Bailes, Ed.D.
Director of Curriculum and Instruction for RESA VII, Clarksburg, WV
“We wish to thank you for your help in establish the Walkthrough process in Mineral County. You did an outstanding job of providing information and acting as a facilitator each step of the way: through your meeting with county office staff and then your training session with principals and key teachers from each school.
The real test came when the principals and key teachers went back to their schools. We’re pleased to report that all schools have chosen to implement the Walkthrough process in their schools. This is truly impressive since no school was directed to use the process. This is a real breakthrough in faculty teamwork; we have always encouraged teacher visitation of each other’s classrooms, but were largely unsuccessful to this point.
Again, your impact in providing information and training principals and key teachers was a critical reason for success. You were a model facilitator during the process.”
Sincerely,
Robert P. Mason, Assistant Superintendent
Michael C. Burke, Director of General Education and Chair, Mineral County Improvement Team
PQP: A Simple and Effective Process to Coach Teachers.
In order for focus to remain
on improved instruction, principals and other school administrators need to
spend time in classrooms—observing and giving feedback. To avoid the negativity
that can accompany this kind of “coaching,” we can train leaders—principals,
administrators, and other teachers—to use the PQP (Praise, Question, Polish)
strategy. This allows both the observed teacher and the observer to reflect on
the lesson in order to identify (1) what went well and why; (2) what questions
they have about the observed lesson; and (3) changes they think might help.
(Adapted from the work of
Gloria Neubert, Improving Teaching Through Coaching, Fastback 277.
Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, 1988.)
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“Next year, I will be an instructional facilitator. These strategies will allow me to more effectively support the faculty and staff in providing quality instruction. I will definitely use the PQP observation process and train others in how to use it."
“This is the next step in the “collaboration” process with teachers. We
look forward to implementing this observation process and feel the
teachers will embrace this opportunity.” |
Data in a Day.
This tool involves students as well as teachers, parents and other members of
the community in (1) deciding what they’d like to see in classrooms, (2)
visiting classrooms to assess the presence or absence of important components,
and then (3) summarizing the data to share with the faculty. The process is
transformative for the participants and has the potential to transform the
entire school. Who would think such power could reside in a process that takes
only 24-hours?
Special features of Data in a Day (DIAD)
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Focuses on teaching and learning
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Involves the entire school community
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Emphasizes student voice
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Enables real-time learning together in community
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Is flexible and can be used to accomplish a myriad of purposes
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Affirms strengths and identifies areas for growth