Leading without Being Stung : The Instructional Leader Meets the Apiarist 9781607095231, 9781607095224

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Leading without Being Stung The Instructional Leader Meets the Apiarist

Zach Kelehear

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD EDUCATION

A division of ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK

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Published by Rowman & Littlefield Education A division of Rowman & Littlefield 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.rowman.com 10 Thornbury Road, Plymouth PL6 7PP, United Kingdom Copyright © 2014 by Zach Kelehear All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available ISBN 978-1-60709-522-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-60709-523-1 (electronic)

™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Printed in the United States of America.

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Dedication I write this book . . . in memory of my father, Oscar Leon Kelehear, Jr., who taught me that proportion and perspective mattered. Thank you, Kal, for teaching me about living, loving, beekeeping, and everything else important for a father to know, . . . in honor of my mother, Kathryn Burrell Kelehear, a lover of children and schooling like no other, . . . out of genuine affection for my brother, Leon Stephen Kelehear (i.e., Sparky), who sticks with me no matter what, . . . and, most importantly, out of endless love for and devotion to my wife, Karen Ann Heid, who also serves as my colleague, artistic director, professional collaborator, coauthor, and best friend. She is certainly my favorite art education professor.

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Contents

Foreword by Edward Pajak

vii

Preface: The Art of Leadership Meets the Art of Beekeeping

xi

Introduction

1

1

Staff Development

11

2

Planning and Change

17

3

Communication

23

4

Curriculum

31

5

Instructional Program

37

6

Service to Teachers

45

7

Observing and Conferencing

51

8

Personal Development

59

9

Conclusion: Comments on Perspective

69

Appendix Moving a Vision toward a Reality: A Core Value Worksheet

75

About the Author

79 v

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Foreword

This book revisits a major research project that was conducted some years ago at the University of Georgia in what was then the Department of Curriculum and Supervision. Funded by a grant from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), my colleagues and I sought to identify the major dimensions of successful supervisory practice in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that had been shown to contribute to the improvement of classroom instruction and the professional development of teachers. The findings were originally intended to provide ASCD with a research foundation for standards that could lead to national board certification for supervisory practitioners in education. That next step did not materialize, but the study did result in a number of doctoral dissertations and has been replicated in several countries in Europe and the Middle East. Zach Kelehear breathes new life into the findings of the research report with a perspective that is both organic and aesthetic and represents a positive antidote to the corporate, mechanistic, and legalistic paradigms that currently prevail in education. Zach’s reliance on the beehive as an analogy for school leadership is very appropriate for several reasons. First, the beehive is separated into independent cells that serve primarily to nurture new life, which interestingly parallels the cellular organization of schools into classrooms. While the resulting autonomy of classroom vii

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teachers has long frustrated reformers who prefer a more bureaucratic chain of command, the lessons that Zach draws from beekeeping offer some valuable insights into how a cellular structure functions and can be made to flourish. The supervisory leader may be thought of as helping individual teachers and the entire faculty to open areas of themselves that have been sealed off and to reexamine attitudes and beliefs that they have ingested unthinkingly during their careers. The supervisor helps them to rationally identify and dispose of what is repugnant in their environment, while keeping and nurturing that which is valuable, in order to collectively build ways of working that better suit the needs of their students. Second, of all the animal and insect species that exist on Earth, only human beings and foraging honeybees share the unique capacity for something called “displaced reference.” That is to say, only people and honeybees have the ability to abstract information symbolically and communicate with others of their species about things in the physical environment that are removed from the immediate context in time and space. While research has demonstrated that primates and dolphins can be taught to understand and use symbols, such achievements may testify more to the ingenuity and persistence of their human trainers than to the native intelligence of these animals, because there is no evidence that primates or dolphins use symbols when communicating with one another outside the laboratory. The nectar and pollen a honeybee gathers is not only food, it is information. Upon discovering a new source of food a bee will load herself with as much as she can carry and return to the hive. Unlike most other animals, the bee then communicates the location, distance, quality, and quantity of the food source to other members of the colony through a complex set of behaviors that resemble a dance. The bee is no longer a worker in this role, but is herself a representation of the physical environment to the other bees. The message is conveyed concretely through odor and taste, as well as symbolically through liveliness, duration, and rhythm of movement, patterns of touch, and angular orientation to gravity and the sun. The individual bee gains from this heroic effort by partaking of the general improvement in the common welfare of the hive that results from the work done by other bees who act on her information. Humans, in comparison, have devised systems of numbers, letters, and words to represent their physical environment. These symbols and

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Foreword

ix

abstractions preclude the necessity of humans having to represent the physical environment with their physical being, although some indeed may choose to do so. Humans have only to speak or write in order to convey such information. Our systems of mathematics, writing, and language allow us to evaluate and restructure techniques for dealing with the environment relatively easily. Such inventiveness is largely responsible for the creativity and flexibility that humans exhibit with respect to technology. The honeybee’s amazing capacity for displaced reference and symbolic communication is limited, however, to the physical environment. Although commonly referred to as social insects, it is not correct to say that bees experience a social environment. That is, a bee cannot mentally detach herself from her work or from the hive and comprehend the process or the nature of the social order. She cannot reflect on such things abstractly nor communicate about them to other bees. Technique, role, and structure are unalterable among bees, even if dysfunctional. Although bees and other animals may exist in a social environment, only humans can mentally remove themselves from it and think how things might be done and organized differently. Humans alone can conceive of their work and organizations abstractly, in other words, and communicate these ideas to other people. Humans are comparatively free to alter not only their physical environment and the nature of their interaction with it, but also the structure and nature of their relationships with each other. This fact gives human history the variety that other species lack. Having the capacity to abstract and communicate about the social environment does not mean that it necessarily happens frequently or readily. We humans often carry on with our daily lives within the confines of the world that already exists, taking for granted the social order and daily practices governing our lives. The very great difficulty that humans have in looking objectively at themselves and their environment, and then openly sharing and readily receiving such information, is evident in our species’ long track record of ridiculing would-be innovators and later, after they are proven to have been right after all, referring to them as having “been ahead of their time.” Supervision in education may be thought of as a deliberate effort to increase the frequencies with which educators experience awareness of their work and social reality, and communicate useful information about this

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x

Foreword

reality to one another. For the teacher, this means occasionally disengaging from the work of the classroom and becoming a teacher-leader, communicating personal experience and professional knowledge and skills to his or her colleagues. The person who exercises supervisory leadership conveys a message on at least two levels. Specific behaviors occurring within a classroom or school are described and counted and represented to the faculty as hard evidence about teaching and its outcomes. But the supervisory leader simultaneously communicates a message about the quality of the group’s social environment, as well, by representing through his or her own behavior an alternative social reality characterized by awareness, openness, and trust. Such new information can contribute, as it does for the honeybee colony, to the well-being and effectiveness of the entire group. Based on a foundation of research, this book offers fresh and valuable insights into the practice of educational supervision, while stretching our thinking about leadership and schools into new directions that are creative, engaging, entertaining. Edward Pajak Professor and Director Doctor of Philosophy Program Johns Hopkins University

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Preface: The Art of Leadership Meets the Art of Beekeeping

As I walk into my small, urban backyard some 75,000 honeybees, 11 hens, and 2 dogs welcome me. I am not sure where my typical and normal life turned down a road where I brought such oddities into my neighborhood, and I am certain my neighbors wonder as well, but here I am. It could have been worse, I explain to the locals, as I could have brought a rooster along with my hens. That explanation, mind you, has little impact. I still get a look of confusion or disbelief. A gift of honey seems to invite forgiveness—or possibly a blind eye. It is in this context, a context of busy, purposeful activity, that my reflections on leadership, on schools, on children, on family, on what matters most, often seem to take shape. In the pages to follow, I want to share my perspectives on these topics not only from my vantage point of the backyard, but also from the perspectives of theorists and practitioners who have tried to understand schooling and the role effective instructional leadership may play in cultivating effective school environments

MY PLACE There is something strange happening today in my yard. As I sit in my upstairs study and peer out the back windows, I see my chickens being very xi

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still . . . and silent. My chickens do neither of these things unless there is something out of place or otherwise wrong. Above me, in the branch of an old oak tree, sits a red-tailed hawk glaring down at the “girls.” I muse that if the chickens were the teachers and the hawk the principal I could find no easier or more convenient metaphor for what is wrong with much that we do under the guise of instructional leadership. What happens in schools when principals observe teaching is more akin to inspection than it is to observation. I do not blame the principal and I surely do not blame the hawk. Both are doing what they need to do to survive. However, I do find blame with policy makers, community leaders, weak thinkers who create such a context that compels the instructional leader to engage in “snoopervision” instead of supervision. Maybe in part the blame lies with me, as I have not adequately presented a view of instructional leadership that challenges the habitual one that is more about policing teaching than supporting the practice. So in the pages to follow, I introduce you to eight dimensions of effective instructional leadership.

THE DIMENSIONS My beehives have many parts that work together to support the important work of the honeybees. I have supers, foundations, frames, smokers, entrance reducers, hive tools, and much more. When I focus on any one item I find value in it. When I consider that item within the context of the rest and their shared mission, then value is added. Just as the bees work together toward a shared goal, the many parts of my beehive practice fit together to create a place for me. If for a moment we consider the beehive similar to a classroom or a school building, where much is happening in support of a shared mission, then the tools that support an authentic learning experience are the dimensions of effective instructional leadership. For the instructional leadership, I will consider building a box with eight frames on which to cultivate a foundation for effective leadership that leads to productive teaching. The eight dimensions, a.k.a. tools, for effective instructional leadership that I will consider in the following pages are:

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1. Staff Development: Developing and facilitating meaningful opportunities for professional growth. 2. Planning and Change: Initiating and implementing collaboratively developed strategies for continuous improvement. 3. Communication: Ensuring open and clear communication among individuals and groups throughout the organization. 4. Curriculum: Coordinating and integrating the process of curriculum development and implementation. 5. Instructional Program: Supporting and coordinating efforts to improve the instructional program. 6. Service to Teachers: Providing materials, resources, and assistance to support teaching and learning. 7. Observing and Conferencing: Providing feedback to teachers based on classroom observation. 8. Personal Development: Recognizing and reflecting on one’s personal and professional beliefs, abilities, and actions. I selected these 8 dimensions from a list of 12 dimensions originally researched by Pajak (1990). I have a book to follow this one that will address the next four dimensions from Pajak’s work and I will add one to his original work that deserves treatment: the dimension of technology. Interestingly, however, as I continue to imagine the significance of these dimensions for informing practice, the research continues to point to the dimensions’ persistent relevance. But before we jump into a discussion on the dimensions of supervision, it will be important to understand the context out of which I engage them.

MY PATH My professional journey has been rooted in aspects of the arts. From my beginnings in public education as an eighth grade and high school Latin and history teacher to my present station as an Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, I have coupled my lived experience and emerging understanding to visual metaphor. I argued that my worldview and research methodology was a true, arts-based leadership model that blended the

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xiv

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aesthetic and artful work of Eisner, Barone, Bressler and Feldman with the leadership research of Glickman, Nolan, Pajak, Starratt, and others. In bridging supervision and arts-based leadership, I determined that if, indeed, leadership and teaching are performances that dance to the music of personal interaction, then assessing those performances would be best captured using an assessment instrument that is aligned to performance. The typical practice of assessment is misdirected, if not entirely off the mark, as policy makers, at the state and federal levels, push to quantify a purely qualitative experience. What I imagine is an individual using a yardstick to assess weight gain. Both the weight gain and the yardstick are important data points, but one does not fit the other. Likewise, if assessment remains exclusively focused on the quantitative measures in life, then one runs the real chance of missing the qualitative elements. If Common Core State Standards becomes the best choice for adding rigor to a child’s learning, one can only know that fact if an assessment can accurately capture data to inform such an assertion. The piece that is often missed, however, is that when one does poorly on an assessment then the conclusion is that he or she did not know the material fully. Rarely, however, is the question brought forward that the assessment was in error and that the instrument did not capture accurately the student content. In two words, the questions become a matter of validity and reliability. The arts-based assessments suggested in my work are valid and reliable for performances that are not only substantive but also qualitatively significant. Considering this notion of educational leadership as an artful practice, therefore, can sometimes challenge traditional notions of school as a business, but yet, artful leadership remains an important construct of effective schools research. In a conversation over coffee not too long ago, Tom Sergiovanni, a pivotal spokesman for instructional leadership and the humane practice it might become, commented that schooling was very often a social enterprise and to apply business metrics at the exclusion of all other measures, was at least inaccurate; at worst, immoral. Taking his lead in this matter, I began to apply visual arts language to represent the performance of human interaction, the life-dance we lead. In other words, if I were to describe something I see, then I needed to have a language that was appropriate for such visual descriptions and distinctions. I suppose, in part, I have tried to avoid the overly simplistic,

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xv

formulaic models of teaching (e.g., observations based on checklists and walk-throughs) for a more nuanced, nimble, caring, and thus authentic, approach found in artful leadership. Having claimed such, however, I do recognize the power found in the craft of leadership, as opposed to the art of leadership, and the significance of a list to help guide our journey. It is in this spirit that I frame this book around the eight dimensions of supervision noted above. Understanding instructional leadership, or supervision, can be an elusive pursuit if for no other reason than each classroom or each school has unique features that require a certain approach at a certain time for a certain reason. Just when we find one formula that works, the equation changes. But the eight dimensions in this book will offer a framework out of which we can tease an understanding that might be generalizable to a range of circumstances.

CLOSING REMARKS I must tell you that few things bring sharp focus to one’s view like being in the middle of 75,000 bees on a warm, spring day. When in the middle of the bees there seems to be nothing but noise, confusion, and randomness, but somehow it all makes sense to bees. Just because I do not understand what is happening does not mean it does not make sense to the bees and that their purpose is not clear. When I step away from the bees, just 3 feet or so, I can indeed witness the method and purpose in their ways. As I have often noted in my writings, perspective, position, distance, and so many other factors impact our view and the subsequent understanding drawn from what we see. So, when I approach my hives I do so with a plan, with a calmness that anticipates surprise, and with the tools for the moment. When I approach a school or a classroom, I do so with a plan, with a calm purpose. Similarly, I come to you in the pages to follow with a plan, with some tools, and with an understanding that things change. But I think these dimensions of effective instructional leadership can offer important guidance as we imagine what schools can be.

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Introduction

Originally I was a teacher of history and Latin in middle school and high school, but it would seem that college teaching and research have taken over for the past 25 years. It is often the case that from some points in one’s life, from some assumptions, one never fully escapes. Such is the case when, as a history teacher, one continues to find value in revisiting key moments in history and imagining what messages from that time are still relevant and instructive. In the history of instructional supervision 1989 represents an important point in the research on this topic. In the bookcases at the University of South Carolina, a series of texts and journals date back as far as 1945 with the publication of Group Planning in Education by the nascent professional organization Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). Continuing that journey along the stacks one can consult Kimball and Wiles’s Supervision for Better Schools (1950) as well as Supervisory Behavior in Education by Harrris (1963); Clinical Supervision by Goldhammer (1969); Instructional Supervision: A Behavior System (1975) by Alfonso, Firth, and Neville; the second edition of Sergiovanni and Starratt’s Supervision: Human Perspectives (1979); Pajak’s The Central Office Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction (1989); Glickman’s second edition of Supervision of Instruction: A Developmental Approach (1990); as well as more

1

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2

Introduction

recent work by S. Gordon, C. Glickman, J. Nolan, J. Glanz, S. Sullivan, and the like. This valuable library on supervision was a gift from a colleague with whom there were shared passions for teaching Latin and for the art of supervision of instruction. That colleague, Dr. Ray Bruce, was a young scholar coming to the University of Georgia in 1968, from Arkansas, by way of Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee (graduated with a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction in 1966). Upon his retirement in 1993, he passed on his collection to this office, or as he would say, unloaded his burden. Dr. Bruce and his colleagues at the University of Georgia represent a sort of “high water mark” for research and practice of supervision in colleges and schools. Additionally, and not coincidentally, some of the important and influential research on mentoring, developmental supervision, instructional supervision, and coaching was being published in the late 1980s in journals such as the Journal of Teacher Education and Educational Leadership. In fact, his department at UGA held the name Department of Curriculum and Supervision—a conceptual coupling that may been lost these days at both the practical and philosophical levels. In the fall of 1986, Dr. Bruce was surrounded by what he called “the young scholars.” His supervision team included the likes of Edward Pajak, Carl Glickman, Gerald Firth, and Edith Grimsely, and it was that group that represented the backbone of supervision research for the decade. It was also from that group that the important research on supervision, with support from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, revealed notions of dimensions of supervision.

THE ASCD STUDY In 1989, one of the key studies in the history of instructional supervision was to be published by this very group of young scholars, principally under the leadership of Pajak. At about the same time as the study was being conducted, an international collection of supervision leaders was gaining traction in the form of the Council of Professors of Instructional Supervision (COPIS). This group was dedicated to meeting annually to discuss matters relative to research and theory for

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Introduction

3

supervision. The group also met at each annual meeting of ASCD. The membership of that organization continues to be a who’s who among scholars of supervision, including the likes of Carl Glickman, Ed Pajak, Pat Holland, Jim Nolan, Sally Zepeda, Jeffrey Glanz, Susan Sullivan, Fran Schoonmaker, Ben Harris, Francis Duffy, Lee Goldsberry, Robert Starratt, Frances Rust, Stephen Gordon, Bernard Badiali, Helen Hazi. So, with the confluence of the research coming from COPIS members coupled with the influence of ASCD supervision, it could be argued that in the last years of the twentieth century, supervision found a place at the table of educational reform. No single event proved more important during that time than the work by Pajak with the Dimensions of Supervision in 1989. Supported by the ASCD, Pajak’s study sought to identify and verify: [D]imensions of proficiency associated with effective supervisory practice. One objective of the project was to review supervision textbooks and research literature to determine which knowledge, attitudes, and skills have strongest support for representing highly effective supervision in education. A second objective was to survey a national sample of outstanding practitioners in order to verify the importance of the dimensions of practice and the relevance of the knowledge, attitudes, and skills that were identified through the literature review.

Out of that study emerged 12 dimensions of effective supervisory practice on which this book, some 20 years later, is constructed. Building on work from the past 7 years, this book affirms that these 12 dimensions might still be relevant; however, they might also be consistently underutilized. Put differently, it would appear that many practitioners in today’s schools are fully aware of the importance of the dimensions of supervision, and they are also fully aware that those same dimensions are not being accessed at all or at best, inconsistently, in the day-to-day practice of school leadership. In this book, the reader confronts this gap between the ideal applications of supervision and the realized practice. Additionally and practically, given the use of the gap analysis included at the end of the book, one can begin to imagine the extent to which he or she is currently utilizing these strategies for effective supervision of instruction and couple that with strategies for improved implementation, as well as recent research on each of the dimensions.

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4

Introduction

In each chapter one will find several citations and references that seem to bring the 1989 findings right to the schoolhouse doorstep of 2013. Clearly this collection of dimensions of supervision will offer school leaders a way to assess and improve instructional practice through reflections and action plans.

AN ACTION PLAN FOR THE TEXT This book is best read as if each chapter, each dimension, is a stand-alone concept—and in fact each can be. As this book lacks the linearity of some writings the reader is invited to see the chapters as basically discrete, small stories meant to highlight elements of a particular dimension of supervision. For example, if the reader finds himself or herself struggling with communication strategies while being an instructional leader, either as a teacher or administrator, then he or she might find chapter 3 or chapter 8 helpful. Let the reader view this text as a resource manual more than as a story to be told. But as the reader refers to sections in the book he or she might do well to consider some strategies utilized in this work. The reader will find the core values exercise sheet in the Appendix—of particular importance, in terms of moving from theory to practice—essential, and maybe enlightening, as he or she reflects on “what is” versus “what ought to be.” As part of the approach in this book the reader will want to use the core values exercise sheet as a way to reflect on the content and to apply it toward his or her daily practice, moving theory to practice.

CORE VALUES A core value is a thematic, guiding principle that guides our intentions, our actions, and the outcomes of our actions. Moreover, a core value, because of its import and centrality to who we are, what we value, and what we do, is often nonnegotiable and central to all that we do. By its nature, thus, a core value is neither concrete nor specific; rather, it is abstract and broadly framed. These core values are defined as statements of our convictions, expressing what we care deeply about. They are not observations, forecasts, or facts.

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5

PUTTING CORE VALUES TO WORK In curriculum development one might speak of “The Big Idea” or “The Enduring Idea” for binding multiple classes and projects to one concept. Recently, in an arts curriculum development project, the teachers determined which artists would speak loudly to the big idea, core value, of “family.” Another group of artist teachers considered the roles that various artists might play in the core idea of “transition.” As a consequence of these core value proclamations, teachers were able to combine a wide range of artists under the umbrella of guiding core themes. Instead of isolated, unrelated facts, the arts instruction was tied together by themes and core values. It was obvious that these conversations helped bring together various teaching strategies and differing artists into a coherent theme for the students. In leadership development work one might ask school leaders to decide what is central, guiding, and nonnegotiable in their practice. What are the core principles that guide decisions? Some examples of core values might include openness to diversity, conflict, or to fairness, or to communication. In intentionally and overtly stating a core value teachers and leaders are moving the abstract notions of what they believe to more concrete statements of intent and purpose. Once a broad, thematic core value is shared by the organization, individuals within the organization can decide independently and differently how they will choose to support that core value. The consequence is a shared vision without reducing everyone to a single approach. Or put differently, the organization may be characterized as having standards without reducing the individuals to a single, standardized practice. With the core values in place one might ask individuals to establish three to eight very specific things that they will do to support that shared vision, that core value. Often there will be a wide range of action steps, but they will all share a connection to the core value. After the particular actions are listed one might ask the participants to list those same three to eight concrete, specific actions and then determine which one is most important, next important, all the way to least important. It is somewhat an exercise in forced ranking. But by observing what is most important versus least important one might come to terms with beliefs and attitudes.

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6

Below, the dimension of “Community Relations” is used as an example of the initial list and then the ranking of “importance” determination: I. Core Supervision Dimensions: Table I.1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Create a monthly newsletter to be published by the PTO. Have parent/teacher conferences after school and in the evening. Invite stakeholders to be a steering committee for developing the school mission. Identify a corporate sponsor in the community with which to collaborate. Host a neighborhood bazaar or craft show to raise money and build community. Host a father/daughter and a mother/son event. Have a weekly reading time for grandparents and local leaders. Conduct a community outreach/service project.

II. Importance Inventory of the items listed in table I.1. On a scale of 1–5, indicate how important each point is to helping you support your articulated core value: Table I.2 1 Not important

2

3 Somewhat important

4

5 Highly important

Table I.3 Importance

Key point or “We will” statement

3 5 4

Create a monthly newsletter to be published by the PTO. Have parent/teacher conferences after school and in the evening. Invite stakeholders to be a steering committee for developing the school mission. Identify a corporate sponsor in the community with which to collaborate. Host a neighborhood bazaar or craft show to raise money and build community. Host a father/daughter and a mother/son event. Have a weekly reading time for grandparents and local leaders. Conduct a community outreach/service project.

2 3 2 3 4

III. Implementation Effectiveness Inventory of the items listed. On a scale of 1–5, indicate to what extent you have effectively implemented each key point. This exercise helps us make judgments about how well we are doing completing particular items.

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7

Table I.4 1 Not implemented

2

3

4

Somewhat implemented

5 Highly implemented

Table I.5 Effectiveness

Key point or “We will” statement

1 4 2

Create a monthly newsletter to be published by the PTO. Have parent/teacher conferences after school and in the evening. Invite stakeholders to be a steering committee for developing the school mission. Identify a corporate sponsor in the community with which to collaborate. Host a neighborhood bazaar or craft show to raise money and build community. Host a father/daughter and a mother/son event. Have a weekly reading time for grandparents and local leaders. Conduct a community outreach/service project.

2 3 5 2 1

IV. Gap Analysis Inventory: List the scores of importance (Part II) and the level of implementation (Part III) in table I.6. Then, look for differences in the two, or the gap. It does not matter if the difference is a positive or negative value; we are simply looking for differences, or variance. Table I.6 Key Point Create a monthly newsletter to be published by the PTO. Have parent/teacher conferences after school and in the evening. Invite stakeholders to be a steering committee for developing the school mission. Identify a corporate sponsor in the community with which to collaborate. Host a neighborhood bazaar or craft show to raise money and build community. Host a father/daughter and a mother/son event. Have a weekly reading time for grandparents and local leaders. Conduct a community outreach/service project.

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Importance (From Part II)

Implementation (From Part III)

Gap

3

1

2

5

4

1

4

2

2

2

2

0

3

3

0

2

5

3

3

2

1

4

1

3

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V. Given the results of the Gap Analysis, I will do the following to support Best Practices of Supervision: Supervision Dimension: Community Relations

Table I.7 Task

Timeline

Leadership Responsibility

Resources Needed

Indicators of Accomplishments

Host a father/daughter and a mother/son event. Conduct a community outreach/service project. Create a monthly newsletter to be published by the PTO. Invite stakeholders to be a steering committee for developing the school mission.

In reviewing the eight items listed in the core value exercise, it would be likely that the leadership and staff would have collaborated to build an initial list and then develop consensus on the top eight items. There could, of course, be fewer than eight, but many more than eight can result in so many core commitments that the depth of attention can be diluted for them all. So, it is recommend that one not exceed eight. Having listed the eight, the leadership team then determined, working on table I.2, which items were most important (i.e., assigning a 5 to it) and which were less important (i.e., assigning something less than 5). Building on the identical list of eight, the leadership team then assessed (see table I.3) the degree to which the core items were implemented. Receiving a 5 was symbolic that the core activity was fully implemented. When receiving a 1 or 2, then the team was affirming that the core activity was not implemented at all. In table I.4 the team then assessed the difference in table I.1 and table I.3 and listed the gap in what is important versus what is implemented.

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Introduction

9

USING THE GAP INFORMATION Identifying the largest gap between what is valued and what is implemented is the breakthrough moment for a team; in that realization, the group can frequently find that the school leadership and staff may be spending the majority of their time on the very things that have the least value, and, conversely, they are spending the least amount of time on the most important practice. This gap is often the source of institutional frustration and morale collapse. Identifying this gap is the first step toward cultivating a school culture that is clear about its priorities and the roles of key players in those priorities. Equally important in this realization is that the leadership and staff can be mindful of distractions to the core mission. This understanding can also enable the team to develop capacity for strategic planning, for resource allocation, and for resisting the invasion of the latest learning “fad” that distracts the group from the core mission. More specifically to the core mission of this book, one might ask, “Am I an instructional leader?” In determining the answer to that question one might examine the extent to which he or she is aware of—is skilled with— one of the eight dimensions of effective instructional leadership. It is not necessary to use them all. It is important to embrace one or two or three as core practices for instructional leadership and thereupon begin the quest toward what is important, toward who is implementing each in practice, and toward what possible gaps may be present between the value stated and the implementation. At the end of each chapter the reader can access the core value work sheet in the Appendix to support a moment for reflection. The reader would do well to take time to reflect on his or her practice, and, in so doing, maybe he or she might become more effective and more efficient in leadership practices. Once the reader begins to be comfortable with this gap analysis score sheet, he or she could use it with the leadership team to identify what is important, what is practiced, and what is neglected. .

CLOSING REMARKS This idea of dimensions of supervision comes from the important scholars on whom instructional leadership rests firmly, from scholars and

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Introduction

practitioners who continue to cultivate much support for instructional leadership, and from whom the reader will continue to seek guidance. As such, a final word about the Council of Professors of Instructional Supervision is in order. Arriving in San Antonio in 2001 to make a presentation to the organization, the author stood before the likes of Ben Harris, Thomas Sergiovanni, Ed Pajak, Robert J. Starratt, Duncan Waite, Sally Zepeda, Stephen Gordon, Martha Ovando, O. L. Davis, Art Costa and Marcia Knoll (the last two were both past presidents of ASCD), and Carl Glickman. Not able to find a way out the back door the author forced his way through the presentation. The consequence of that presentation was a conversation that might be characterized as caring, thoughtful, and supportive. They asked much and they did not tolerate fools. But, they were not so insecure that they tried to tear the presenter down as some insecure leaders might be inclined to do. Rather, they were eager to hear a perspective and to offer avenues for the presenter’s continued improvement. Imagine that—supervision scholars practicing that about which they wrote! This group of scholars represents all that is good in higher education. They are thoughtful, reflective, productive, and constantly pushing the limits of what others might assume is the truth. These are at once colleagues and friends—an important and far too often scarce combination.

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Chapter One

Staff Development Providing diverse opportunities to feed the queen, gather the pollen, and clean the hive Or Developing and facilitating meaningful opportunities for professional growth

From the hive: When the colony is weak, do not spend too much time messing with it. Offer support in the form of sugar water, pollen packs, or top feeders. From the organization: When the community of learners is stressed or fatigued, offer support and build on strengths. Do not mess with the individuals too much by having unreasonable demands or seeking too much change too quickly. For better or worse, federal mandates for school reform such as No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, or Common Core State Standards have school boards and superintendents across the country looking carefully at staff development, especially as staff development affects the notion of “highly qualified teachers” and “school improvement.” Two questions that continue to arise among many system leaders are, “How can we be sure that our money spent on staff development has measurable results?” and “How can we sustain any benefits so that our good intentions might last longer than just to the end of the training session?” Historically, mission and vision statements have provided organizations a means to articulate what they value most. More recently, some school systems have adopted a Core values approach to school leadership. Core values help school districts communicate to the community, students, teachers, and administrators what is most important. It would 11

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Chapter One

stand to reason that the daily activities within the district would support those values as well. Superintendents have an especially important role in making certain that what schools and teachers are doing is supportive and consistent with the articulated core values. Additionally, in a time when much staff development is being eliminated because of diminishing budgets, initiatives must be able to communicate to various audiences their value with specific and understandable assessments. And as instructional leaders begin to “justify” their expenditures for staff development in light of meeting federal mandates, then they might return to what matters most: helping children learn. Even when a staff development program adopts a core values approach, it will continue to find challenges to implementing successful professional development. If on the other hand school leaders couple core values with an intentional, ongoing reflection process, then they can greatly improve their chances for successful staff development. One way that professional development efforts can achieve desired results is by the board of education, superintendent, and staff development leader answering affirmatively seven questions about each initiative. Given the core values of the district, have we done the following successfully? 1. Have we made all involved aware of the initiative? 2. Have we provided information about the initiative and how it supports the core values of the district? 3. Have we communicated the personal impact the initiative has on people affected? 4. Have we provided strategies for managing the initiative within the current realities? 5. Have we communicated what consequence the initiative will have on student achievement? 6. Have we provided opportunities for collaboration among those affected? 7. Are we willing to provide opportunities for the affected parties to work together to further extend and refocus the initiative beyond its present form? In order to achieve desired results, the questions must be answered sequentially. Only after one is answered adequately can the next ques-

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Staff Development

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tion be asked. Skipping or avoiding a question will prevent the successful implementation of the initiative because one question is necessarily built upon the one(s) previously answered. The school district has a core value that states: “We value knowledgeable, reflective, and thoughtful students.” At the high school a committee, facilitated by the staff development leader, has examined various scheduling models that would support the articulated value. With district-level support, the high school team has committed to team teaching for mathscience and English-social studies. The first order of business is for the staff development leader, with the collaboration of the high school committee, to make the entire staff aware of team teaching. The leader then provides information that clarifies in what ways team teaching supports the core value. Once the faculty has the team teaching information, it will necessarily begin asking questions like, “What does this have to do with me?” Individuals quickly move to decide if the idea affects them personally. Again, the leader shares with the faculty how team teaching affects them. The faculty imagines how it, collectively and individually, will absorb or adopt team teaching into its existing schedule. In other words, how will each teacher manage team teaching? Up to this point, questions focus on the teachers. Many of the change initiatives found in schools become “bogged down” at this level of concern. When the faculty begins to consider the impact of team teaching on student achievement, for example, then the focus of the change energy moves from inward looking to outward looking. The discussion about team teaching might move to the consequence on student scheduling or student achievement. This phase reveals a significant shift in the focus of the faculty. The faculty (principal and teachers) ceases to think primarily of itself and more of the students. It is important to note that the faculty cannot be asked to consider the needs of the students until the first four phases are addressed. It is this understanding that so many change initiatives fail to appreciate. The phases are necessarily linear and sequential. An especially exciting moment is realized when a faculty moves to the next phase of concern and begins asking question about how it might collaborate to further enhance the positive benefits of team teaching. This level of concern represents the best elements of site-based management and shared decision making. This level, however, serves to remind reformers that systems change is a multiyear challenge and that there are no

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Chapter One

shortcuts to addressing the phases of concern sequentially and completely. Finally, and in very rare instances, a faculty might begin to imagine how team teaching could be refocused or reconstructed to be an even better strategy for enhancing the quality and quantity of student learning. For staff development leaders the message from the phase of concern work is that as schools engage in professional development, they would do well to attend in specific and intentional ways to the needs of those caught in the change. And only after individuals begin to understand how they will manage the change can the staff development move to its most important point: affecting student achievement. Understanding this process can help reduce frustration and ambiguity amidst the storm of change. And, as NCLB, Common Core State Standards, and other federal mandates begin to disappear on the political horizon and the next “miracle plan” arises, then school systems can be confident that they are already attending to what matters most, helping children be productive, reflective, and knowledgeable citizens in a global society.

SUGGESTED READINGS Elliott, E. M., Isaacs, M. L., and Chugani, C. D. (2010). Promoting self-efficacy in early career teachers: A principal’s guide for differentiated mentoring and supervision. Florida Journal Of Educational Administration Policy, 4(1), 131–46. This study reinterprets data from a previous study of teacher confidence and self-efficacy in terms of mentoring and supervision needs (induction activities). The results suggest that mentoring and supervision activities at the school level can be implemented to improve retention in perception of key competency areas. Promotion of early career teacher self-efficacy is critical to student success, especially in schools that have the greatest need for qualified, competent, and confident educators. Additionally, it focuses on the differential needs for training and mentoring that alternatively certified, early-career teachers bring to their first assignments. Horng, E., and Loeb, S. (2010). New thinking about instructional leadership. Phi Delta Kappan, 92(3), 66–69. Strong instructional leadership is essential for a school to be successful. However, defined narrowly only in terms of curriculum and classroom instruction, instructional leadership is unlikely to result in increased student learning

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Staff Development

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or other desirable outcomes. Our studies have found that growth in valued school outcomes comes more from organizational management for instructional improvement than it does from principals’ time observing classrooms or directly coaching teachers. School leaders influence classroom teaching, and consequently student learning, by staffing schools with highly effective teachers and supporting those teachers with effective teaching and learning environments, rather than by focusing too narrowly on their own contributions to classroom instruction. Kose, B., and Lim, E. (2011). Transformative professional learning within schools: relationship to teachers’ beliefs, expertise, and teaching. Urban Review, 43(2), 196–216. This survey study explored the relationship between professional learning and teachers’ beliefs about diversity, transformative expertise, and transformative teaching, by comparing two models of professional learning in 25 small, urban, elementary schools. Results indicated that factors in both the process and transformative content models predicted differences in teachers’ reported beliefs, expertise, or teaching. One implication for school leaders, professional developers, or other practitioners is that they should design professional development that intentionally promotes and assesses specific transformative beliefs and practices. Puryear, P. A. (2012). A program evaluation of the experiences provided to novice teachers through M school district’s teacher-mentor training program. Walden University. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from http:// search.proquest.com/docview/924489629?accountid=13965. (924489629). The purpose of this program evaluation was to examine a teacher-mentor training program and the experiences provided to participants to gain a deeper understanding of how mentor-training programs prepare novice teachers to perform effectively. Data collection occurred through document analysis; open-ended questionnaires distributed to mentors, novices, and the administrative leader of the mentor program; interviews with participants; and journal entries found in the anecdotal notes of a novice’s co-teacher. These data sources were analyzed using open and axial coding. The researcher found that the teacher-mentor training program lacks a comprehensive induction-training program, which impacts the quality of the experiences that novice teachers receive. An experienced teacher workforce should enhance the culture of the school by arming novices with effective teaching strategies, which enable them to influence student achievement positively. Scricca, D. B. (2008). Administrative guidelines for staff development based on secondary-school teachers’ learning styles: Impact on teachers’ attitudes and classroom implementation. St. John’s University (New York). ProQuest Dis-

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Chapter One

sertations and Theses, Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/30 4812910?accountid=13965. (304812910) This author examined whether staff development provided to secondaryschool teachers in a learning-style consonant workshop, as opposed to in a learning-style dissonant workshop, would result in more positive attitudes toward the training and a higher degree of workshop content implementation. After analyzing the participants’ learning styles, two workshops were designed—one Auditory/Verbal Kinesthetic (A/VK) and the other Tactual/ Kinesthetic (T/K). Participants were randomly assigned to one of two workshops resulting in either a learning-style consonant or a learning-style dissonant treatment. At the conclusion of each workshop, the Semantic Differential Scale (SDS) was administered to determine participants’ attitudes toward their staff development. One month after the workshop, the Small Group Technique Implementation Survey (SGTIS) was administered to assess the degree of the workshop content implementation. Stanulis, R., Little, S., and Wibbens, E. (2012). Intensive mentoring that contributes to change in beginning elementary teachers’ learning to lead classroom discussions. Teacher Education, 28(1), 32–43. This study examines whether targeted mentoring can make a difference during the induction years. The effects of a mentoring intervention based on principles of instructional quality and effective professional development were studied. Learning to lead classroom discussions is a high-leverage practice related to effective teaching. Professional development within this study allowed mentors and beginning teachers to communicate using a common language of instructional practices related to leading text-based discussions to promote higher-order thinking.

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Chapter Two

Planning and Change Working individually while being part of the swarm Or Initiating and implementing collaboratively developed strategies for continuous improvement From the hive: All the workers in a hive are sisters, each originating from a single queen. The males, also known as drones, eat the honey and hang out waiting only for one thing. I will let you guess what that one thing is. Nevertheless, without the worker bees, the drones, and the queen working individually toward a shared goal the hive would die. From the organization: In a learning community there are many players. As such the effective instructional leader would do well to invite active participation of all stakeholders, each being clear as to his or her role in helping the larger organization remain alive and productive. To leave any one group out is to ask for a collapse of the organization. The idea of “change,” by its very nature, suggests that there is a better way to do things. As such, there is this subtle but powerful message that maybe what one is doing is wrong, or at least might be accomplished better, and therefore one needs to change. If this reality were true then one might understand when coworkers act defensively, passive-aggressively, uncooperatively, or dysfunctionally. However, leading change does not have to create resistance. In fact the artful instructional leader, as opposed to a transactional reformer, might be exactly what is called for to lead change in these complicated days. Fashionable among many critics of public education is the assertion that the solution to poorly performing schools is to run the schools like 17

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Chapter Two

businesses. In other words, let free market influences reward those who can produce or punish those who do not succeed. Some would say that making such a simple change, one that echoes a business model, might offer hope for beleaguered schools. Given the remarkable economic demise of businesses worldwide over the past few years, one has to wonder whether running a school like a business is a good idea. Instead of hiring bureaucrats as CEOs to manage the business of schooling, now more than ever we need to carve out space for artistic, aesthetic leadership—a style of leadership that uses sensory experience to inform decision making, to lead change. The artistic, creative leader—not the manager or technician—might be just the person we need to lead schools in the twenty-first century. The artful instructional leader can manage planning and change by being flexible and creative in problem solving. But being an artful leader, the characteristics of which are listed below, is no small achievement. However, this artful capacity is present in all, but discovered in few. Sometimes uncovering artful leadership abilities requires only that leaders find a peer or a colleague who helps them see possible blind spots. At other times instructional leaders might need simply to change perspective and unlearn the assumptions they have carried, and from that different vantage point, they might see a path that had heretofore remained hidden. Building on the important research of the arts by retired Stanford Professor Eliot Eisner, an understanding of what the artful instructional leader of change in public education might look like has been cultivated. In considering these attributes, it might prove enlightening for the reader to list these characteristics in the Core Value exercise (Appendix) and then ask himself or herself to what extent these traits might be present, or equally important, to what extent others might see these traits in action. The artist as leader of change can make good judgments about qualitative relationships. Arts-based leadership recognizes the subtleties of teaching and learning and that the best teaching and learning often are not captured in simple, reductive assessment models. Arts-based leaders understand the larger context of schooling and are able to resist simplistic conclusions about the important relationships in the school. The artist as leader of change can see that multiple solutions to problems and diverse teaching choices all can be effective. The arts-based leader invites teachers and principals to create unique approaches to the

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Planning and Change

19

myriad challenges that students bring to classrooms. As such, instructional leaders invite alternative approaches to assessing performances in teaching. Even when a state-mandated test exists, arts-based leaders know that to rely on only one type of evaluation invites partial understanding. And teaching that escapes prescription is often the very performance that embraces the aesthetic in life, the learning that can matter most to children. The artist as leader of change celebrates multiple perspectives. Empathy is an essential leadership skill and represents the capacity to understand, feel, and recognize the perspectives of others. Just as a viewer of art might “feel” the images from an artwork and the emotions of the artist when constructing the work, the arts-based leader can feel the emotion and perspective of the principal, teacher, parents, and students. Arts-based leaders push for different perspectives. The artist as leader of change can engage in complex forms of problem solving given differing circumstance and opportunity. The arts-based leader knows the difference between grappling and griping. Some ineffective leaders find disputes and challenges a sign of griping by stakeholders when in fact they are grappling to understand. Arts-based leaders, however, find that when stakeholders do not dispute and challenge, they may in fact not feel their voices matter. The artist as leader of change knows that small differences can have large effects. The arts-based leader knows that some days the most important thing he or she can do is the simple act of being present in a classroom, at a bus stop, or at the carpool line. Or maybe that day the leader takes time to sit with a group of teachers at lunch. When a teacher or student realizes his or her absence is noticed—that his or her presence matters—the artful leader has made a big difference with a small act. The artist as leader of change knows that some important messages and truths cannot be reduced to words. In some schools, there is a balance and comfort that seems to emanate from the interaction between leaders, teachers, parents, and students. There is a sense of civility and acceptance that transcends all activities and choices. The degree to which human dignity is emphasized is in large part the measure of artful leadership. The artist as leader of change can experience the aesthetic joys of successful schooling. In many struggling schools, the focus of evaluation is more and more about less and less. Arts-based leaders find a way to

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Chapter Two

acknowledge and celebrate the specific and technical successes of good teaching, but also embrace the ambiguous and aesthetic successes as well. As noted at the beginning of this chapter, the reader is encouraged to reflect on his or her artful leadership practices (see Appendix), using the qualities above, to determine the degree to which he or she values each and currently implements each, and where possibly he or she leaves gaps between the two.

SUGGESTED READINGS Carter, L. B. (2010). The practice of mentoring: A comparative study of career and psychosocial functions of mentoring among educational administrators in Tennessee K–12 public schools. Tennessee State University. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/84722 5964?accountid=13965. (847225964). The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which the practice of mentoring aided male and female administrators in securing employment at an administrative level within four Tennessee public school systems as measured by the Carter Mentoring Scale during the 2009–2010 school year. A total of 118 male and female administrators were the identified participants. The study sought to determine if statistically significant differences existed in the mentees’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the mentoring relationship based on different characteristics of the mentoring relationship. The findings suggest that the administration, professional associations, and districts should help males and females develop a network through mentoring to improve their career functions and psychosocial functions. Gordon, S. P., and Brobeck, S. R. (2010). Coaching the mentor: Facilitating reflection and change. Mentoring Tutoring: Partnership In Learning, 18(4), 427–447. The purpose of this study was to explore the process of coaching a mentor of experienced teachers. In particular, the authors sought to determine if coaching would help a mentor to compare her espoused beliefs about mentoring to her mentoring behaviors and possibly resolve any dissonance. The mentor and coach (the coresearchers) participated in a platform conference, three coaching conferences, and a debriefing conference. The process of a mentor establishing a platform, recording conferences with mentees, and reviewing those conferences with a mentor coach who assists her or him to identify and resolve

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Planning and Change

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discrepancies between beliefs and behaviors has enormous potential. Future research involving variations of this coaching process is warranted. Kensler, L. W., Reames, E., Murray, J., and Patrick, L. (2011). Systems thinking tools for improving evidence-based practice: A cross-case analysis of two high school leadership teams. High School Journal, 95(2), 32–53. This study involved a cross-case analysis of two high school leadership teams’ early stages of evidence-based practice development; differing forms of external support were present in each school. The conceptual framework guiding the study integrates literature related to communities of practice, effective professional development, evidence-based practice, systems thinking, and dialogue. Findings suggest the value of data rooms, professional development focused on individual data interpretation skills, collective dialogue skills, and systems thinking skills for developing a community of evidence-based practice. Maslyk, J. (2012). A qualitative study of blue ribbon elementary school principals: Perspectives on promoting student achievement. Indiana University of Pennsylvania. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from http:// search.proquest.com/docview/1012769820?accountid=13965 The purpose of this case study was to gain a greater understanding of the leadership practices of principals in Pennsylvania who have been successful in earning the Blue Ribbon School designation for their elementary schools. The study explored how principals perceive their own leadership behaviors and experiences in an era of high-stakes accountability with regard to their impact on student achievement as measured by the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA). Four significant themes emerged: organization and operations, roles and relationships, data-driven practices, and an instructional leadership model. The research confirmed the importance of the principal’s involvement in the development of collective teacher efficacy, as well as the potential of transformational leadership as an effective leadership model. Newton, X. A., Darling-Hammond, L., Haertel, E., and Thomas, E. (2010). Value-added modeling of teacher effectiveness: An exploration of stability across models and contexts. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 18(23). This article reports on analyses that examine the stability of high school teacher-effectiveness rankings across differing conditions. The authors found that judgments of teacher effectiveness for a given teacher can vary substantially across statistical models, classes taught, and years. Furthermore, student characteristics can impact teacher rankings, sometimes dramatically, even when such characteristics have been previously controlled statistically in the value-added model. There were a number of potential reasons for these

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findings, and the authors conclude that caution should be exercised in using student achievement gains and value-added methods to assess teachers’ effectiveness, especially when the stakes are high. Palandra, M. (2010). The role of instructional supervision in district-wide reform. International Journal Of Leadership In Education, 13(2), 221–234. This article represents an example of how supervision of instruction can be an integral part of a coherent plan for district-wide reform. The author argues that instructional changes can be most effective if introduced in a system that has first put in place the personnel and structures needed to support them. The article highlights the role of cooperative strategies involving all school stakeholders in achieving measurable educational improvements in a context that promotes ongoing adaptation and change. The specific role of curriculum maps and lesson plans in enhancing instructional supervision is also discussed.

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Chapter Three

Communication Doing the waggle dance Or Ensuring open and clear communication among individuals and groups throughout the organization

From the hive: The most fascinating thing in the hive, possibly, is a worker bee who has returned from finding a new source of pollen or nectar. The bee gets in the middle of the frame and does a dance with her abdomen pointed in the direction of the new treasure. The frequency and intensity of her vibrations tells her sisters how far the journey is. Communicating in this way keeps the hive healthy and well fed. From the organization: It can be distressing when I realize that what I thought was most obvious is actually invisible to my colleagues. My very best e-mail leaves all confused and angered! Oh my. Likewise, even when I communicate an idea, I expect others to see me as trustworthy and honest. Truth is, we all imagine ourselves trustworthy, but we are suspicious of others’ motivations. Effective, authentic, and frequent communication in advance is essential to know where to go, how far we have to go, and in what ways we will be fed professionally. A successful school leader is an effective communicator. Today’s school leaders assume multiple roles and are expected to be many things to many people. Those roles might include responsibilities related to supervision, counseling, professional development, building direction, and financial management. Integral to those capacities is the expectation that instructional leaders will communicate often and accurately with teachers, administrators, parents, and community. 23

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Given the media-frenzied world in which many people live—and the world of public schools is not exempt—the success of many instructional leaders seems to hinge in large part on their public relations acumen. In many ways everything instructional leaders do involves public relations. For example, toward the goal of establishing a school atmosphere characterized by efficacy and trust, where learning is the focus and communication is invited and celebrated, instructional leaders must communicate clearly and openly to the instructional staff. In other words, they must focus on public relations within the school walls. It does not take one very long to recognize a school where public relations are not a priority. At such a place there often is little sense of community or collegiality among the professional staff and student learning may be lost as a focus. The research literature on effective leadership has as an underpinning a research base articulating effective interpersonal communication. As instructional leaders communicate increasingly through electronic communication, authentic communication remains crucial to productive relationships and successful schools. And with e-mail and its loss of visual contact, instructional leaders and teachers can lose both important cues and signals that generally contribute to the message, and thus, to understanding. Understanding and developing electronic communication skills then becomes especially significant for instructional leaders who are effective communicators. Clearly, authentic communication through e-mail calls for special attention in today’s school reform movement. Three questions emerge: 1. How can the existing literature on interpersonal communication contribute to effective e-mail communication? 2. What are the critical attributes of authentic communication as they relate to communicating by e-mail? 3. How can instructional leaders begin to understand, develop, and maintain authentic communication given the possible limitations and parameters of e-mail? The research literature on effective communication focuses on three behaviors: listening, acknowledging, and questioning. The effective listener is an effective communicator. As individuals communicate in person, they look for signs or signals that the listener is actually engaged in the con-

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versation. The listener can deliver that message in nonverbal and verbal ways. Nonverbal signs that the listener is uninterested might include body posture that is “slouching” or turned away. Or, the nonlistener might be grading papers, preparing a meal, watching television, reading a book and, in so doing, not give the talker feedback that might encourage additional dialogue. Additionally, the nonlistener can verbally stop the conversation by moralizing, preaching, lecturing, changing the subject, or simply saying “Oh, don’t worry about it,” or, “You shouldn’t feel that way.” In so doing, the nonlistener has not valued the other’s contribution and additional, more substantive conversation is not likely to occur. The active listener, on the other hand, can encourage communication in many ways. Instead of presenting a body posture that says “I really do not care about this topic,” the listener can lean forward, smile, and provide acknowledging nods that communicate, “I am hearing what you are saying.” Also, the active listener can use a pause in the conversation to paraphrase, or possibly reflect, the content of what the speaker just said. This act communicates to the speaker that the listener has captured the right message, understands what is said, and cares about the message. Toward acknowledging another’s message, the most powerful tool to encourage conversation is to paraphrase the feelings embedded in the message. Only when listeners can empathize with another can they truly paraphrase feelings in a message. The listener who empathizes will set aside private or distracting thoughts and try to assume, figuratively, the position of the speaker. In so doing, the listener understands not only the content of the message but also the effect on the speaker and the resulting emotions. Through the listener’s efforts to paraphrase content and feelings, an air of trust tends to develop. And with trust as a cornerstone of the relationship, effective communication is encouraged and celebrated. A third component of effective communication is questioning. Effective questioning supports communication by seeking information and clarification. Effective questioning is open-ended. Open-ended questions provide a forum for conversation and reflection as both parties are looking for answers and direction. The relationship is parallel, supportive, and valued. Questions that are not open-ended usually focus on a specific answer and tend to discourage parallel dialogue. In other words, the person who presents the question assumes a position of power while the other’s contribution is often not given the same consideration. Rather than

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collaborative, the nature of the relationship becomes vertical. Conversation is interrupted, postponed, and often terminated. In much the same way as listening, acknowledging and questioning can support interpersonal communication; they can support effective e-mail communication. In e-mail correspondences, the effective listeners are the ones who respond promptly. Even if the response is one that says, “I can not answer your question right now but I will do so by 4:00 p.m.,” listeners feel valued and are more likely to continue communicating. Effective e-mail communicators understand the power of paraphrasing content and feeling. The act of paraphrasing is crucial to encouraging thoughtful communication and the same benefit comes from paraphrasing in e-mail correspondences. Through this type of acknowledgement, e-mail can create a bridge for communication. And finally, effective questioning in e-mails helps develop understanding, provides opportunities for clarification, and promotes ongoing dialogue. It appears, in fact, that there is much to be gleaned from the literature on successful interpersonal communication as individuals strive to communicate well through e-mail. Out of the research on empathic writing, active listening, and effective questioning, the critical attributes of authentic communication emerge. The research areas are not independent of each other. Indeed, many of the key elements of one can be found in the others. But as a collective understanding, they all speak to a style of communication that is accurate, genuine, and trustworthy—thus authentic. One type of authentic communication can be a qualitative, written conversation known as empathic writing. Empathic writing involves instructional leaders taking effective listening practices and transporting those elements to the written medium, specifically e-mail. Upon examination of instructional leaders’ writings by e-mail, it was clear that the medium was badly used. Misunderstandings, supported through poor writing, were the norm rather than the exception. Not surprisingly, teachers were unwilling to communicate with instructional leaders openly in e-mail unless there already existed an atmosphere of trust. In addition to fostering trust, empathic writing also helps establish accuracy in communication. By the very act of paraphrasing content and feelings, for example, writers clarify messages and communicate a genuine concern for accuracy. The resulting relationship can then be characterized as authentic (i.e., accurate, genuine, trustworthy).

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Active listening, both as an independent component of effective communication and as a construct of empathic writing, supports authentic communication. As individuals engage in conversation, one’s ability to figuratively embrace the other’s conversation tends to encourage further communication. The most effective listeners have the capacity to empathize with another’s perspective and empathy requires a genuine concern for another’s status. And as stated earlier, the ability to empathize has as a by-product the cultivation of trust. Thus, the speaker comes to see the active listener as one who is interested in understanding the message, is genuinely concerned about the message, and is trusted with the message. Active listening thus supports authentic communication. Effective questioning is also a key element of authentic communication. Through the appropriate use of questioning, the listener can reduce confusion, seek additional information, and provide focus. In eliminating these distracters, the opportunity for improved communication is improved. Effective questions can also help individuals build on their collective wisdom and in so doing cultivate a sense of collaboration. The issues at hand become “ours” instead of “mine.” And by depending on each other to resolve problems, individuals begin to trust each other. The resulting atmosphere is one where attitudes are positive, self-esteem is high, people are encouraged and encouraging, and relationships are nurtured. A place where these attributes are found would be one characterized by authentic communication. Because of the commitment of time, energy, and emotion, authentic communication can be an elusive goal. But working at a place where people are the reason for being there, instructional leaders and teachers have a special obligation to be accurate, genuine, and trustworthy—people committed to authentic communication. As leaders and teachers reflect on developing authentic communication in e-mail correspondences, many instructional leaders and teachers will be excited about the effect on school atmosphere and culture. Through examining poor communication in emails, many teachers and leaders may begin talking with each other more often, taking time to hear what is said and what is intended. Some of the communicative and cultural barriers between school leadership and instructional staff will dissolve when authentic communication is a commitment. Amid fear that technology might replace the need for personal contact, there is little evidence that successful schools might

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lose the “human touch” simply because teachers and leaders attend to being effective communicators via technology. The fact remains that in all forms of communication, successful instructional leaders consistently support and challenge teachers to grow, and students to learn. In so doing, they support the notion that successful leaders are above all else effective communicators. Now, it is time for the reader to refer to Appendix A and consider what communication practices are currently being used, what is valued, and where gaps may exist between those realities.

SUGGESTED READINGS Blanchard, G. A. (2012). Communication satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, and the relationship to student achievement in high schools. Northern Arizona University. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from http:// search.proquest.com/docview/1021197464?accountid=13965 This study used a correlational design that allowed the researcher to examine the relationship among communication satisfaction, organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB), and student achievement. High school teachers were surveyed from a convenience sample of 12 school districts in Arizona. The findings indicated that a relationship exists between organizational citizenship behavior and communication satisfaction in Arizona high schools. The findings suggest that high school teachers who worked with male principals were more satisfied with the communication they received than high school teachers who worked for female principals. OCB levels did not differ with respect to principals’ longevity, but did indicate that there is less communication satisfaction associated with principals who are working in their 4th–6th years. Epstein, J. L., Galindo, C. L., and Sheldon, S. B. (2011). Levels of leadership: Effects of district and school leaders on the quality of school programs of family and community involvement. Educational Administration Quarterly, 47(3), 462–495. This study tested key constructs of sociocultural and organizational learning theories with quantitative methods to better understand the nature and impact of district and school leadership and actions on the quality of programs of family and community involvement. In this study the authors used survey data from a nested sample of 24 districts and 407 schools to measure theoretical constructs of district assistance to schools and shared work on partnership program development. With a large sample of districts and schools, appropriate quantitative methods, and a content focus on partnerships, the study provides

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strong empirical support for the importance of sociocultural and organizational theories in studying school improvement. Implications for improving district and school policy and practice are discussed. Suchorsky, K. A. (2012). A leadership covenant: School leaders’ promise to the community they serve. College of Saint Elizabeth. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1013836904?acco untid=13965. (1013836904). This mixed-methods study was designed to explore the perceptions of parents, teachers, and school leaders of District K as to the importance of a research-based school leader’s growth and evaluation process. This research data revealed that all three subgroups involved in this study valued the New Jersey Professional Standards for School Leaders (NJPSSL) as a strong foundation for a research-based school leaders growth and evaluation process. These stakeholders displayed an affinity to ensure a school leader’s professional growth and evaluation process is cognizant of the school’s mission—to enhance student achievement while acting with moral character. Recommendations are offered to support the education of the district’s stakeholders in order to develop a shared vision, clear understanding, and consistent implementation of the NJPSSL 2008. Wahnee, R. L. (2010). The effect of instructional supervision on principal trust. The University of Oklahoma. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/845929334?accountid=13965 The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of instructional supervision behaviors of principals on teachers’ perceptions of the principals’ trustworthiness. A 10-item survey instrument was designed to capture principal direct-assistance behaviors in his or her role as an instructional supervisor. The study involved multilevel data: teachers nested within schools. Data were collected from 248 teachers representing 56 Title I elementary schools from an urban school district in a midwestern state. The results of this study support prior research, which examines behaviors and conditions that affect interpersonal trust. The contribution of this research was to utilize the empirically tested facets of trust relative to instructional supervision to gain a better understanding of the evolving concept of principal trust and any influence instructional supervision may have.

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Chapter Four

Curriculum Some build comb, some make honey, but all contributions matter Or Coordinating and integrating the process of curriculum development and implementation

From the hive: As you will remember, all the worker bees are sisters. When one of these girls emerges from the comb she will go through a full range of job responsibilities that change as she grows older. At first she tends to the queen, cleans the hive, and removes any dead bees from the hive. Then she soon will venture out into the fields in search of nutrition for the hive. From the organization: A new teacher will often fear, more than anything else, that he or she will lose control of the classroom. However, if we are effective instructional leaders we will lead that teacher through a whole set of job responsibilities that reflect his or her growing confidence and command. In our schools we have teachers who fall across a spectrum of professional proficiencies and skills. All of our teachers, however, play an important and essential role in a healthy organization. Your trick as leader is to help them—know that where they are right now is an important place to be and that their skills and dispositions contribute important benefits to the larger organization. It is difficult not to be shackled by the energy around Common Core State Standards. Some policy makers and school leaders purport that the implementation adds depth to student learning and, as such, requires a different type of teaching with a standards-based curriculum. The effective instructional leader and teacher both assume multiple roles in striving to 31

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address these new standards. With each of the assumed roles, however, teachers and leaders are burdened to communicate to stakeholders in word and action that even amidst significant curriculum change, what has not changed is value for the person and how each really treats the other. And as a consequence, no one was diminished by the implementation, or imposition, of the new curriculum design. It would seem that caution for this potential would be important for this most recent curriculum innovation, Common Core State Standards. The effective curriculum leader understands the teacher’s role in developing an understanding that curriculum is a vehicle to share a message of care and concern at the same time it brings knowledge and skills to all involved. However, the traditional view that the teacher is the conveyor of knowledge and truth is only partially correct. If the advocates for the Common Core State Standards are right, then the successful implementation would affirm that teaching is about providing educative experiences for students, rather than the passive, spectator model where students come, watch, and learn. Students have many, many experiences every day. Indeed, having experiences is really no problem. Providing quality experiences, ones that create such a cognitive dissonance that students are forced intellectually to engage them, is the challenge for teachers. In the view of the instructional leader, teachers, among other responsibilities, serve to instruct, guide, redirect, support, and challenge students. Teachers also should model what they teach. The history teacher reads and writes history. The art teacher is an artist. The English teacher writes poetry or narrative. Again, this is the rhetoric coming from Common Core State Standards: that this curriculum innovation makes knowledge accessible and authentic. As with all curriculum implementation, the instructional leader’s capacity to lead and support the instructional staff to this end weighs heavily. But if this is done well, then students are able to view the teacher as the embodiment of the idea, or the ideal, and then teachers begin to instruct the students, not by words alone, but in practice. The curriculum takes on life as it moves from the text to the teacher. The teacher breathes life into the structure that is the curriculum. In a word, the teacher becomes midwife to the emergence of ideas. By extension, the instructional leader is the coach through the process of giving birth to the ideas in the curriculum.

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Conversely, the notion of teacher-proof curricula is a cancer in the heart of teaching, and if Common Core State Standards becomes teacher-proof, then its implementation serves to destroy teaching and learning, not elevate it. Just as students might come to a new understanding, a maieutic experience, instructional leaders can assist teachers also to have a gestalt experience when, through the course of working with the students, they are encouraged to understand learning and teaching in a whole new way. To offer a prescription, or a script, for the teaching act flies in the face of effective teaching. As an instructional leader’s primary goal is to bring teachers to higher levels of autonomy and effectiveness, the authentic implementation of Common Core State Standards looms large. Amidst the storm of curriculum design, and redesign, effective instructional leadership communicates trust for the teacher’s professional judgment and supports her or his work that stretches the boundaries of traditional classrooms. In like fashion, for teachers to encourage expression from students—for teachers themselves to experiment with what works for different types of students—there will need to be a special type of instructional leadership. In fact the role of the instructional leader is to protect jealously the learning environment, to guard the classroom as a safe place where teachers and students may take risks, and to promote an atmosphere of openness and authentic communication. Through open communication, shared decision making, and mutual respect amidst the adoption and implementation of Common Core State Standards, the school membership can model the characteristics of a pluralistic, democratic society. There will be many teaching styles—ideally, as many as there are different learning needs. The leadership will celebrate those differences while maintaining high expectations for student learning. Allowing teachers to utilize different techniques does not free them from responsibility for student learning, of course. In fact, the opposite is true. Inasmuch as the instructional leader allows for teachers to choose strategies for student learning, then the instructional leader can hold those teachers responsible for what happens in the classroom. The question to the teacher will not be “Did you teach well today?” but rather, “Did the students learn today?” If the answer to the second question is “yes,” then the answer to the first question is “yes.” Said differently, one cannot have taught well in the absence of student learning! Curriculum design cannot happen in the absence of authentic instruction and effective instructional leadership.

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The highest measure of effective curriculum leadership is one where the teachers and principal work together to form a school culture and remain focused on student achievement, authentic instruction, meaningful curriculum and engaged citizenship. The teachers and principal would be clear about student achievement and teaching excellence as essential core values. They would attend only to those activities that support and foster student and, as an extension, teacher successes. The nature of curriculum leadership is such that it too cannot be a prescription. Rather, effective leadership in the school celebrates children’s uniqueness and the art of teaching. Similarly, teachers and principal alike would understand that leadership is an imperfect practice that is persistently under construction. And, just as the principal celebrates and promotes the uniqueness of teachers, the teachers would likewise support and challenge the principal to be open, authentic, and a risk taker in making decisions that support the core curriculum—the core values—of the school. In the final analysis, instructional leaders and teachers alike are confronted with the harsh reality that effective teaching involves experiment, reflection, and refinement. That sort of ambiguity can make everyone most uncomfortable. But educating the children who come through the doors each day is too important for teachers to be frightened by uncertainty. Effective instructional leaders allow teachers to recognize their own humanity and that of their students. Even amidst the most ambitious curriculum revolution, instructional leaders, teachers, and students ought all to be allowed to fail and the school culture should be characterized in such a way that they find support in their mistakes. Consequently, out of the diversity of ideas, the range of teaching approaches, the myriad curriculum innovations, wonders can emerge. If that be the result of a successful implementation of Common Core State Standards, then we all can wonder together why this curriculum innovation has not been embraced before now. However, the best curriculum is one that attends to the needs of the children while also allowing for a curriculum where teaching is authentic, learning real, and caring valued.

SUGGESTED READINGS Berman, K. M., Schultz, R. A., and Weber, C. L. (2012). A lack of awareness and emphasis in preservice teacher training: Preconceived beliefs about the gifted and talented. Gifted Child Today, 35(1), 18–26.

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Gifted and talented (GT) learners in most classroom settings endure unchallenging curriculum, a slow pace of instruction, and a state of ignorance by many of their general education teachers. The authors wanted to know how in-service teachers, preservice teacher candidates, and preservice education students viewed GT learners. It was apparent from the data gathered during this ongoing project that preservice teacher education students lack an understanding about the nature and needs of GT learners. Doolittle, G., and Browne, E. (2011). Who moved my curriculum? Leadership preparation programs and the core technology of schools. Journal Of School Leadership, 21(2), 293–318. This cross-case study utilizes the publically available data of three urban low-performing, low-socioeconomic-status districts designated as districts in need of improvement under No Child Left Behind legislation. Current research points to the value of preparation programs focusing on the development of instructional leaders and a curriculum that focuses on improving student achievement. The authors argue that preparation programs must prepare leaders who can ensure that a well-articulated curriculum aligned to the state standards exists and, more important, is implemented effectively. Schleigh, S., Bosse, M., and Lee, T. (2011). Redefining curriculum integration and professional development: In-service teachers as agents of change. Current Issues In Education, 14(3), 1–14. Numerous factors including cycles of practice in teacher development and professional development practices have inhibited the development, dissemination, and implementation of integrated curriculum. This paper examines the characteristics of the professional development standards of both disciplines, considers inherent hindrances to the implementation of integrated curriculum, generates a novel definition for integrated curriculum, argues that the most effective change agent is in-service professional development, and provides guiding notions for effective in-service professional development. Ylimaki, R. M., and Brunner, C. (2011). Power and Collaboration—Consensus/ Conflict in Curriculum Leadership: Status Quo or Change? American Educational Research Journal, 48(6), 1258–1285. This exploratory article draws on multiple theoretical lenses and empirical research to focus on collaboration-consensus/conflict and power as experienced within literacy curriculum change efforts. The curriculum director, principal, and teachers practiced collaboration, but their understandings did not include power and conflict theory. Thus, the authors’ findings add a macro level of understanding to collaboration about curriculum change efforts that include conflict and provide educational leadership scholars and practitioners with theoretical understandings that have the potential to disturb traditional propensities for order, stability, and the status quo.

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Chapter Five

Instructional Program When it is cold, there is no room for the drones Or Supporting and coordinating efforts to improve the instructional program

From the hive: As winter approaches, the worker bees make an important and practical decision. Given that they will not fly in weather below 55 degrees and given the range of nectar and pollen sources is greatly diminished during the winter months, only those bees that offer a skill that directly supports the hive may remain. The worker bees push the drones out of the hive, as they do nothing helpful toward sustaining the hive during the winter. From the organization: Amidst the difficult challenges of hiring highly qualified teachers in many rural and urban schools, the instructional leader has a particularly acute responsibility to select, support, and develop all teachers, even those who are only marginally prepared or who might come from international settings. The children expect us to do so in this “winter” of talent and we have a moral burden to do so. It is true that one challenge of schools is that many teaching jobs are open in depressed, impoverished settings and far too few teachers available. When teacher candidates ask if jobs are available, the answer is unquestionably yes. However, the places where the greatest need for teachers exists are often places where pay is low, turnover, high, and morale, missing. But yet, the popular narrative continues to suggest that trained teachers come to schools to meet these needs and in them, as with any teacher, 37

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observers expect a positive instructional program and instructional climate. This expectation is folly in the absence of an instructional leader who can support an alternative and intentional paradigm, unique to the situation and to the needs of that teacher. One of the dimensions for the effective instructional leader is the ability to differentiate efforts to improve instructional programming in a context that is supportive and coordinated. Such a challenge is a daunting one but the effective instructional leader can smoothly differentiate instructional leadership that fits the situation and meets the needs. What is often remaining for these schools with the highest needs but the lowest access to quality teachers is that alternatively certified or international teacher candidates are hired on a short-term basis. Given this collision of the highest needs with the lowest preparation, instructional leaders are left with two options: 1) Do the same as they would anywhere, or 2) Apply an instructional support model that reflects the unique needs of both the school and these inexperienced teachers. There is plenty of research from the last decade that suggests that while retaining teachers who come from traditional four- and five-year college preparation programs is difficult (e.g., attrition rates as high as 50 percent after five years), retaining teachers who come from alternative certification tracks is even more difficult (e.g., attrition rates as high as 75 percent in my research). In trying to understand this phenomenon, it is essential to highlight the basis for the high attrition rates coupled with the apparent disconnect of traditional instructional leadership practices with non-traditional teachers. Out of that discussion there are some alternative instructional support strategies of alternatively certified teachers out of which instructional leaders can provide differentiated supervisory training for mentor teachers. Out of that discussion important instructional programming solutions can emerge. In the 1980s, researchers and educational theorists predicted massive teacher shortages across America. This prediction by the Department of Education regarding the teacher shortage claimed that some 2.2 million teachers would need to be hired by 2010. In April 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education published A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform (A Report to the Nation and the Secretary of Education United States Department of Education by The National Commission on Excellence in Educa-

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tion). In that writing it was suggested that schools were failing, curriculum was meaningless, and teachers were underqualified. It might be claimed that this report influenced the direction of educational change for decades to come. In response to criticisms of schools and the impending crisis if they were to collapse, in 1984 the Council of Chief State School Officers suggested that there was a need to attract and retain high-quality teachers. Shortly thereafter some of the most important research on instructional leadership, mentoring, and developmental supervision began to appear in leading journals. As a result of A Nation at Risk and more recently No Child Left Behind legislation, instructional leaders continue to struggle with the daunting reality of high teacher attrition rates and inequities as they seek to provide equal resources for all students in all schools. Through the years, researchers, politicians, and educators have engaged in numerous debates over teacher quantity and teacher quality. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are four potential reasons for the teacher shortage: increased enrollment in elementary and secondary schools, increased attrition rates, insufficient number of individuals pursuing teaching, and increased numbers of teachers retiring. And the shortage does not seem to be abating, as it has been argued that within the next 10 years, 700,000 teachers will retire and thus leave huge gaps both in terms of expertise and experience. In one attempt to address the teacher shortage, alternative certification programs began to sprout throughout the country. Because alternative programs were able to accelerate entrance into the teaching workforce it was suggested that expanding them would help alleviate the teacher shortage. Some observers believe that the push for alternative routes to certification was motivated by policy makers and political agendas, while others suggested the phenomenon was a sincere movement to save schools. On whichever side of the argument one might fall, there is little debate that a shortage of qualified teachers loomed. In 1983 only eight states had some alternate route to traditional teacher certification. New Jersey created an alternative certification program to address the state’s impending shortages in September 1984 and in the mid-1980s California and Texas developed alternative teaching programs. By 2006, there were 124 alternate routes in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Within the last decade, the National Center for

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Education Information (2005) estimated that over 250,000 individuals have been certified through alternative routes. The attrition rate for teachers is high during the first three-to-five years of a new teacher’s entrance into the profession. Teachers leave the profession because of a number of issues, but frequently one hears complaints stemming from a lack of administrative support, from issues related to classroom discipline, on account of parental pressures, and because of low pay. According to the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) and the Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS) conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, between 40 and 50 percent of all beginning teachers leave the profession within five years. Interestingly, the researcher Richard Ingersoll suggests the attrition of first year teachers who are unprepared is 25 percent compared to 12 percent for teachers who completed a coherent preparation program. The attrition rate can often be even higher in low-income communities. It has been suggested that as many as 27 percent of new high school teachers in the inner city and 23 percent of teachers in schools with a large minority population cited discouragement in the teaching profession. All first-year teachers need support, but teachers entering the profession through alternative routes absolutely need to have support that is framed for their unique challenges within their special circumstances. In large part, alternative routes to certification were established for three primary reasons: to provide the opportunity for candidates who had not previously considered teaching as a career, to attract a diverse population, and to recruit individuals to teach in geographic regions or subject areas that have shortages. However, as noted above, the teacher shortages are not equally distributed across the public school districts throughout America. The teacher vacancies are highest in high-poverty and low-performing schools, the very places where the student needs are the highest and most demanding. Since the inception of alternative paths to teaching, people increasingly pursue teaching careers through alternative means. Retention of alternatively certified teachers is important, as high teacher turnover has effects on the entire school. Teacher attrition can negatively affect the quality of instructional programs as the turnover disrupts program continuity and student learning. In addition to teacher attrition affecting quality, employee turnover is costly and it is important for instructional leaders to

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create ways of retaining the teachers, as some estimate spending $11,000 per recruit. Adding to the challenges of retaining teachers, rural schools have a disadvantage when wealthier schools compete for highly qualified teachers. It is important to retain new teachers as it increases the staff stability and increases the number of experienced teachers. Also, teacher retention is important as it positively affects a teacher’s craft by supporting continuity of student learning. Teachers are significantly more effective after their second year of teaching and to lose them at the very point places an especially tough stress on the education system. Importantly, continuity of teachers at the same school through the years creates positive studentteacher relationships and, as such, decreased teacher turnover can positively increase student academic performance. Whether it is an innovative curriculum or inspired teacher, effective instructional programming is best managed when there is a continuity of effort by instructional leaders and teachers alike. Whether the need is rooted in urban settings or rural ones, an instructional leader’s best energy would be an effort toward creating a responsive, nimble, and long-term support mechanism for all teachers across the school. It matters little what curriculum is embraced if there is no one in the classroom who has the experience and skills to bring that material to life. Instructional leadership to build successful instructional programing is challenging in the best of circumstances. When one couples the challenge of retaining highly qualified teachers from traditional programs with the compounding influences of alternative certification teachers and high-risk schools, it is little wonder that frustration often describes the cultures in those schools. In considering the ways in which leaders support the instructional programming through specific and intentional support mechanisms, instructional leaders would do well to implement a gap analysis of current practice and preferred practice. The needs are so great and the time so limited, there is little room for wasted effort. The children are waiting for us. The reader can now refer to the Appendix and reflect on Instructional Programming. In what ways might the support strategies for all teachers be characterized as such that attrition will likely not be a problem? What is happening? What ought to happen? Where is the gap between what is happening and what ought to happen?

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SUGGESTED READINGS Kragler, S. and Martin, L. (2012). Learning to read in first grade: Developing effective programs in urban schools. The Educational Forum, 76 (2), 248–258. This article describes the reading instructional program that first-graders in an urban school located in a large, midwestern city received as a result of a grant initiative. Effective beginning reading instruction in urban schools requires discussions at various levels. At the state level, literacy educators need to advocate for instructional programs and practices that develop all facets of reading (e.g., motivation, comprehension, word analysis skills, vocabulary, and strategic reading). This would allow teachers and administrators to have a voice in choosing and implementing a variety of practices and programs to meet the needs of their specific students, rather than using district-wide programs for all elementary students. Youngs, P., Holdgreve-Resendez, R. T., and Qian, H. (2011). The role of instructional program coherence in beginning elementary teachers’ induction experiences. Elementary School Journal, 111(3), 455–476. This article draws on interview data to analyze how instructional program coherence in seven elementary schools in two Michigan districts seemed to affect novice teachers’ induction experiences. Of the seven study participants, four were at schools that had adopted a common language arts framework and had opportunities to collaborate with colleagues and participate in professional development related to their schools’ framework. For these teachers, the frameworks seemed to combine with opportunities for collaboration, participation in professional development, and strong principal leadership to result in clear, consistent messages regarding reading and writing instruction and regular access to resources that supported these messages. Darling-Hammond, L. (2003). Keeping good teachers: Why it matters, what leaders can do. Educational Leadership, 60(8), 6–13. Research supports the direct link between the quality of teaching and its impact on students’ achievement, but, unfortunately, beginning teachers often leave before developing the teaching expertise that would provide students with the opportunity for higher academic success. Ingersoll, R. M. (2001). Teacher turnover and teacher shortages: An organizational analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 38(3), 499–534. Ingersoll, R. M. and Kralik, J. (2004). The impact of mentoring on teacher retention: What the research says. Denver, CO: Education Commission of the States. 1–23. Ingersoll, R. M., and Smith, T. M. (2003). The wrong solution to the teacher shortage. Educational Leadership 60(8), 30–33.

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Ingersoll, R. M. and Smith , T. M., (2004). Do teacher induction and mentoring matter? NASSP Bulletin, 88(638), 28–40. In these series of research articles one can find the key elements and arguments regarding the nature of, reasons for, and alternatives to high teacher attrition rates in American schools. The list of references will be helpful to provide a foundation for the reader with regard to the arguments posted in the above narrative.

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Chapter Six

Service to Teachers Knowing when to feed the hive and when to get out of the way Or Providing materials, resources, and assistance to support teaching and learning

From the hive: Sometimes I just observe the bees flying in and out from two feet away from the hive entrance. Although one might think I am asking to be stung, it never happens. I am not in the direct flight path (think “bee-line”). I am not disturbing the good work at hand. From the organization: Instructional leadership sometimes is a function of knowing how to watch from a distance. That distance is close enough to get a sense of the aesthetic of the lesson, to hear the noise of learning. That distance is far enough away that I am not in the “flight path” of the teacher’s instruction. For each teacher, for each classroom the right distance is negotiable, variable. To differentiate is to be an effective instructional leader. Notes from a student in an administrative preparation internship: On Monday, five of the school buses are late. One bus arrives 45 minutes after the start of school. On Tuesday, the cafeteria workers inform the principal that the ovens are not working and that there would be no lunch that day. On Wednesday, a new teacher meets the principal at the door. The novice has lost her keys to the classroom and proceeds to assert: “I simply cannot work with my parapro. She is no help at all. I need you to find me someone else.” Also, the principal hears from the central office that the students will be eating sack lunches all week as the repair in the kitchen is going to take some time. Wednesday afternoon she is about to leave for 45

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the day when a student shows up at the principal’s door. The student rode the bus home and no one was there so she walked back to school to find help. Thursday the Finance Director arrives to go over the revised budget and reminds the principal that there is no money for staff development this year. Friday morning is an IEP meeting and the Director of Special Education is at a conference out of town. The Superintendent wants to go over expectations for the coming year today. Also, the reading material has yet to arrive from the publisher and the third grade teachers want to know what to do for next week’s instruction. Shortly after lunch, the principal receives a message from a local Evangelical Congregation of the United States and they need to use the facility over the weekend for church services. Back on campus they are telling me to be an instructional leader! I am sorry but those professors just do not know what is going on in the real world.

Being in charge in today’s schools continues to be a daunting task. Given the competing demands of federal mandates, state assessments, standardized testing schedules, shrinking revenue streams, and the like, it is no small wonder that children and teaching somehow get lost in the shuffle. And when one reflects on what the major business of schooling is—learning and teaching—then one can find that the young leaders in today’s schools are spending time on virtually everything but instructional leadership. To put the problem in more acute language, it might be argued that today’s leaders are doing everything except providing service to teachers. Today’s principals are expected to be more than simply instructional leaders. Among the multiple roles principals assume beyond instructional leadership are chief financial officer for the school building, student and teacher counselor for both professional and personal matters, and community contact for topics ranging from dress codes to the bus schedules. It is unlikely that principals can offer instructional leadership and also manage the other, competing responsibilities. In fact, if one were to be consistent with what one believes (i.e., what one says is what one does), then it would be important to consider adjusting the ideal notion of instructional leadership and the reality of a principal’s responsibility to offer a leadership devoted to providing service to teachers. By separating the instructional supervision function from the principal’s responsibility, one could more fully support quality instruction

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in schools. The role of instructional supervision should rest with someone whose primary, if not single, responsibility is instructional development. Managing all other affairs of schooling such as budgets, parent conferences, and discipline should reside with the principal’s position, not the instructional leader’s job. A primary task of the instructional leader would be to provide service to teachers, while also doing the management jobs required for an efficient school. Alternatively, one might consider teasing out the functions of managing and leading and separating the tasks between different people. Therefore, in the spirit of offering a service to teachers, I suggest a way for instructional support to be rooted heavily in mentoring research. The Instructional Leader (IL) would conduct all instructional programs relative to induction, remediation, and staff development. This job would carry with it a supervisory supplement that would recognize the lead teacher’s supervisory responsibilities. The school would have an instructional committee whose responsibility it would be to select an IL who may or may not be a member of the committee. The IL’s appointment would be for three years. The IL would function as a part of the instructional committee, but leadership within the committee would reside with a different person. One way to imagine the organization is to imagine an elected school board with an appointed superintendent. The committee would have representatives from grade levels for elementary schools or from subject areas for high schools. Middle schools would have instructional committees drawn from teams. The goal of the Instructional Leader would be to offer instructional support for teachers throughout their professional career paths. Novice teachers might receive closed ordered coaching to help them through the stresses of being new to the profession. Tenured teachers might receive support in the form of instructional development and experimentation. End of career teachers might receive requests from the IL to share expertise with others or to take on staff development responsibilities. At whatever the career stage, the nature of the instructional support would be in the form of developmental supervision or mentoring. Mentoring has as a core belief that the direction and content of instructional development is a shared responsibility of both the novice teacher and mentor teacher. Through collaboration and coaching, the pair of teachers observe each other, share reflections on experiences, and develop

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professional development plans. Although during the early stages of the professional relationship the mentor will likely assume a dominant role, it is the goal of mentoring that over time the nature of the relationship will shift responsibilities from the mentor toward the novice. In this model for instructional supervision, the IL would develop a cadre of successful teachers who are trained in developmental supervision and mentoring. The IL would be, in effect, the lead mentor and would offer support and guidance to the cadre and will also substitute in cadre classes when the mentor is conducting observations or conferences. Each mentor would provide reports to the IL regarding dates of mentor contacts, the nature of the observation, and any issues that the IL might need to address. Because of the need for confidentiality and trust in the mentoring relationship, care will be given not to offer specific details of the mentors’ contacts. The mentor contacts would be formative in nature. Differently, the IL will conduct summative observations and evaluations of teachers for employment decisions. The IL would offer summary reports and recommendations to the managing principal. The managing principal would also make recommendations for employment based on teachers’ performance of non-instructional responsibilities (e.g., bus duty, lunchroom supervision, committee participation, attendance). The instructional committee would receive both recommendations and would offer its recommendation for employment as well. In effect, employment decisions then would come from a three-vote decision: one vote from the IL, one vote from the managing principal, and one vote from the instructional committee. It is in the form of mentoring that some of the more powerful supervisory benefits emerge. Individuals who have a trained mentor are more likely to realize professional and personal growth than those who work alone. This benefit is especially noticeable when teachers are in new assignments. Whether speaking about new doctors, new teachers, new administrators, or new professors, a supportive colleague can help a novice move to higher levels of effectiveness. As a benefit to school cultures, mentoring in a developmental supervision model encourages conversation among teachers. And in conversation, instructional leaders can begin creating a school community characterized by sharing, support, and caring. And it has become clear through research that when teachers and students work in an atmosphere of caring

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and support, they are more likely to take risks, to experiment, and to attend to each other’s needs. It is just this type of collaboration that the process of mentoring can encourage. By giving leaders clarity of purpose and the tools for performing their jobs well, we stand a better chance of retaining and developing effective leaders in the schools of the twenty-first century. The real beneficiaries will be teachers who have working conditions and instructional support where teaching and learning are celebrated. An instructional leader who is clearly the leader of instruction might be a step in the right direction. I suggest that a gap analysis of ways you offer service to teachers might be exciting and instructive. Who knows? Maybe you and I will begin to see why teachers are so frustrated with us both.

SUGGESTED READINGS Hunzicker, J. (2012). Professional Development and Job-Embedded Collaboration: How teachers learn to exercise leadership. Professional Development In Education, 38(2), 267–289. The purpose of this study was to explore how teachers learn to exercise informal leadership in the schools and districts where they work. Findings of the study revealed three factors that developed teacher leadership: exposure to research-based practices, increased teacher self-efficacy, and serving beyond the classroom. Teachers in the study learned to exercise leadership gradually, over time, as they accumulated professional experience. Professional development designed to improve teaching practice, paired with job-embedded collaboration, supported teachers’ progress toward teacher leadership. Koppich, J. E. (2010).Teacher unions and new forms of teacher compensation: engaging teacher unions in the substantive work of redesigning teacher pay is an essential precondition to making progress. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(8), 22–26. The author examines the role of teacher unions in modifying the current model for teacher compensation. Many states have explored the option of modifying compensation based on increased teaching knowledge, teaching in low-performing schools, and linking compensation to student test scores. Teacher unions will continue to play a major role in determining which of these models are ultimately adopted. Smith, T. M. and Ingersoll, R. M. (2004). What are the effects of induction and mentoring on beginning teacher turnover? American Educational Research

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Journal, 41(3), 681–714. Retrieved September 10, 2010, from http://www. jstor.org.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/stable/3699442. “This study examines whether such programs—collectively known as induction—have a positive effect on the retention of beginning teachers. . . . The results indicate that beginning teachers who were provided with mentors from the same subject field and who participated in collective induction activities, such as planning and collaboration with other teachers, were less likely to move to other schools and less likely to leave the teaching occupation after their first year of teaching”(2004, 681). Wren, W. B. (2010). Principals mentoring teachers to improve instructional practices: A multiple case study. The University of Alabama at Birmingham. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from http://search.proquest. com/docview/804214132?accountid=13965 The purpose of this multiple case study was to examine the mentoring relationship between principals and their teachers in regard to instructional practice at three demographically diverse elementary schools. Research findings revealed that principals supported their teachers through positive vocabulary, instructional and material supplies, and emotional encouragement. Formal and informal mentoring practices were also evident among all research participants, in addition to collaborative communication among principals and teachers. The findings were generally consistent with slight variations among three contrasting demographic settings based on the socioeconomic levels of low-, middle-, and high-income classes.

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Observing and Conferencing Diving in to check the hive Or Providing feedback to teachers based on classroom observation

From the hive: Knowing what to look for when I enter into a hive is an especially important skill. When I check the hive I look for the queen (the largest abdomen of all), the drones (fuzzy and large with no stinger), worker bees (nine out of ten are these busy girls), eggs, capped brood, capped honey, pollen, and any little pests who are not supposed to be there. Being focused during the inspection helps me determine the health of the hive and to do so from observed evidence, not best guess. From the organization: I suspect there is a flawed assumption that when a leader enters a classroom to observe a lesson, she or he knows what to look for to make judgments. Absent a plan for what to see—for what the purpose of the lesson is—the instructional leader is just as likely to miss the point as to offer a meaningful observation that might ultimately help the teacher grow in autonomy and skill. In Roman mythology, Janus represents the god for beginnings and for endings, as well as for doors, gates, and bridges. It is from his name that the name January is derived, the first month of the year, and obviously January first represents the end of the previous year. What is distinctive about the god Janus is that he has two faces, one pointed to the future and one directed toward the past. Likewise, the month of January offers many individuals the opportunity to reflect on past experiences and to anticipate new ones. 51

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Successful observation as a part of instructional supervision, in many respects, can be characterized similarly. The extent to which one has the knowledge, skills, and disposition to reflect on past observations and experiences and draw meaning from those memories affects very specifically the way one begins to envision the future. And generally speaking the degree, both quantitatively and qualitatively, to which a student, teacher, or supervisor reflects on the learning and teaching practices parallels the degree to which they engage in an authentic or aesthetic experience. Whether with a student, teacher, or instructional supervisor, effectiveness in schools is at least partially a function of reflective practice that leads to making meaning out of experience, constructing new knowledge, and making critical judgments about conclusions. The best way to build these reflective capacities is to target observation as a bi-directional action instead of the typical one that acknowledges only the supervisor’s view. In particular, the degree to which instructional supervisors encourage reflection by teachers enhances both the supervisor and teacher’s experience in the observation task. This bidirectional reflection acknowledges the technical and aesthetic dimensions of teaching and the impact instruction might have on both teacher and student, academically and emotionally. As noted in an earlier chapter, teachers that abandon the profession report a variety of factors that impact their decision to leave their teaching career. What they often report is that they feel abandoned and alone. No one sees them or notices them unless a major problem should emerge from the classroom. In like fashion, researchers found that beginning teachers that viewed their colleagues and administrators as providing support were more satisfied with their jobs. This perception of job satisfaction heavily influenced their intentions concerning employment for the next school year. It would stand to reason that beginning teachers who reported higher job satisfaction ratings were more likely to remain in the teaching profession. Anticipating the teachers’ challenges and observing early the manifestation of those problems can reduce the negative impact on teachers and students alike. As the number of problems beginning teachers faced increased, their perception of success decreased, making it less likely the teachers would remain in the teaching profession. Indeed, research indi-

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cates that focused observations that come from induction and mentoring programs have positive impacts on job satisfaction and teacher retention. Effective observations of the induction of teachers, as a primary function of instructional leadership, can help alleviate what a graduate student labeled “the catch and release” of teachers. If this fact were fully embraced, then maybe we could address how teacher turnover depletes resources, diminishes instructional quality, and undermines the ability to close the student achievement gap. So the question might be, “When do I observe my teachers?” The answer is, “Now.” The longer one waits to know what is going on, the harder it will be to address any major issues—and once those problems begin they tend to multiply. The most serious cost of teacher turnover may be the impact of teacher quality on student achievement. Whenever teachers leave a school, they leave some educational disturbance in their wake. Low levels of turnover can be advantageous to schools, but at the same time, high turnover rates in schools contribute to poor performance by students. Teacher attrition adds a strain on school resources and creates a continuous flow of less-experienced teachers into and out of the classroom. Research supports the direct link between the quality of teaching and its impact on students’ achievement, but, unfortunately, beginning teachers often leave before developing the teaching expertise that would provide students with the opportunity for higher academic success. Comprehensive induction programs, with their accompanying focused observations, have been suggested as one strategy to address the problem of teacher attrition, lessen the financial burden on school districts, and ensure the success of all students. Considering the costs of teacher attrition, money spent by school districts to provide meaningful and effective support in areas known to impact teacher retention, could result not only in financial savings, but could also positively impact student academic success. One strategy to target these components is to use an inventory to assess beginning teachers on their current experiences. This inventory would provide implications and recommendations for areas that are most critical in a school district’s comprehensive induction program. Such an inventory might also help provide the clarity and focus required for meaningful observations.

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Retaining new teachers beyond their first year is the cornerstone for beginning teachers to become effective teachers. With careful examination of current practices and by implementing the components of induction that beginning teachers themselves report are most essential, the effectiveness of induction programs may increase. This in turn could lead to less new teacher attrition, to increased retention of qualified teachers, to less disruption of student learning caused by frequent teacher turnover, and to increased student achievement. Increasing teacher retention by implementing targeted and intentional observations may be the most important single factor toward having a positive impact on a quality learning environment for our students. If observations are this important, then it might be interesting to see the degree to which there might be a gap between this articulated importance versus implemented practice.

SUGGESTED READINGS Aistrup, S. A. (2010). Implantation strategies for effective change: A handbook for instructional leaders. Kansas State University. ProQuest Dissertation and Theses, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/857925482?acco untid=13965 The purpose of this study was to research, develop, and validate a handbook of effective strategies that an instructional leader can implement and that are more likely to bring about and sustain a successful change process. Current school reform efforts expect schools to become professional learning communities focused on the continual improvement of student achievement and instructional practice. Fundamental shifts in beliefs and practices on the part of the administrator and staff are required in order for this transformation to occur. The framework included in the comprehensive handbook provides strategies, tips, and suggestions for developing leadership skills, establishing the organization structure within the school community, building teachers’ knowledge base, and creating an understanding of the change process. Brenner, M. Y. (2010). Arts-based learning and leadership development: A case study. Teachers College, Columbia University. ProQuest Dissertation and Theses, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/816838065?acco untid=13965 This qualitative case study was designed to explore how participants in an arts-based leadership development program learned to draw on their right-

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brain capabilities in order to develop the creative competencies required to solve complex modern-day problems in a new way. The rationale for this study emerged from the researcher’s desire to contribute to the understanding of arts-based learning as a viable alternative to more traditional leadership development methodologies. Recommendations are offered for adult educators, organizational decision makers, prospective participants, and future research. Boyd, D., Grossman, P., Ing, M., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., and Wyckoff, J. (2011). The influence of school administrators on teacher retention decisions. American Educational Research Journal, 48(2), 303–333. This article explores the relationship between school contextual factors and teacher retention decisions in New York City. The methodological approach separates the effects of teacher characteristics from school characteristics by modeling the relationship between the assessments of school contextual factors by one set of teachers and the turnover decisions by other teachers in the same school. Findings show that teachers’ perceptions of the school administration has by far the greatest influence on teacher retention decisions. This study provides evidence that the school administration is an important factor in teacher retention decisions. Creemers, B. M. and Kyriakides, L. (2010). Explaining stability and changes in school effectiveness by looking at changes in the functioning of school factors. School Effectiveness And School Improvement, 21(4), 409–427. This paper investigates the extent to which changes in the effectiveness status of schools can be related to changes in the functioning of school factors included in the dynamic model of educational effectiveness. The methods of a follow-up study were identical to those of a study conducted four years ago in order to test the validity of the dynamic model. Since the follow-up study took place in the same schools where the original study took place, changes in the effectiveness status of schools and in the functioning of effectiveness factors were identified. Discriminant function analysis reveals that changes not only in the functioning of some school factors, but also in the quality of teaching practice, can help us classify schools into those which improved their effectiveness status, those which remained equally effective, and those which even reduced their effectiveness status. Implications of these findings for the development of educational effectiveness research are drawn. Hollingworth, L. (2012). Why leadership matters: Empowering teachers to implement formative assessment, Journal of Educational Administration, 50 (3), 365–379. The focus of this research was to understand the role of the district superintendent, the building principal, and the school leadership team of classroom teachers as catalysts for innovation in instruction and classroom assessment.

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School characteristics and structures designed to specifically support professional learning communities were analyzed, and the responsibility teachers take for student learning using formative assessment was evaluated. Findings show that the principal served as a catalyst for building teacher knowledge and implementation of formative assessment practices, and the success of the change initiative hinged on relationships between teachers and school leaders. Kane, T. J., Taylor, E. C., Tyler. J. H., and Wooten, A. L. (2011). Evaluating teacher effectiveness. Education Next, 11(3), 54–60. This study evaluated teacher effectiveness, and probed whether classroom observations identify practices that raise achievement. It focused on the primary stumbling block in the way that teachers are evaluated, as a lack of agreement on how best to identify and measure effective teaching. Data were obtained from teacher classroom observations in the Cincinnati Public Schools between the 2010–11 and 2008–09 school years. Key aspects of the teacher evaluation system included multiple observations and trained peer evaluators in order to identify effective teachers and teaching practices and suggest that teacher evaluation need not be based on test scores alone. It finds that overall classroom practices are the strongest predictor of student achievement, and suggests that improved practice in any of the areas considered in the teacher evaluation system process should be encouraged. It also suggests that scoring individual practices allows for understanding of more fine-grained variations in skill among teachers with similar overall ratings. Matsumura, L., Sartoris, M., Bickel, D., and Garnier, H. E. (2009). Leadership for literacy coaching: The principal’s role in launching a new coaching program. Educational Administration Quarterly, 45(5), 655–693. This study investigated the relationship between principal leadership and variation in teachers’ participation in a new literacy coaching program: Content-Focused Coaching[R] (CFC). Research design: Twenty-nine schools were randomly assigned to participate in the CFC program or to serve as a comparison. Interviews were conducted with elementary school principals and coaches, and teachers completed surveys describing their experiences with their new coach. Correlation analyses investigated the relationship between the categories of principal support and the frequency of teachers’ participation in individual coaching activities. This study provides insight into the features of principal leadership that may support coaches in engaging with teachers and gaining access to their classrooms. Observing teachers’ lessons is a critical dimension of effective coaching and a difficult task for coaches to accomplish. Learning how principals can positively contribute to this process could help schools and districts make more effective use of their literacy coaching resources.

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Martin, P. N., Sutton, M. K., and Janson, K. E. (2011). A policy analysis: State teacher evaluations policies and practices in comparison to evidenced-based characteristics of high-performing teachers. Saint Louis University. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/ 885236945?accountid=13965 This policy analysis of teacher evaluations focused specifically on teacher practices related to student performance. The focus of this analysis was based on 10 states that were identified who mandated districts to implement statedeveloped teacher evaluation instruments. The project’s work synthesized the current research regarding high performing teachers and developed five standards; Instruction, Assessment, Learning Environment, Communication/ Community Relations, and Professional—each with multiple indicators for the content piece. A policy analysis was conducted to determine the extent to which teachers were evaluated on these evidence-based standards in those 10 states. As a result of this policy analysis, nine recommendations were made to four different audiences. A major recommendation of this policy analysis included a national streamlining of standards and indicators of high performing teachers. Neale, J. (2011). To see and be seen: Exploring layers of instructional leadership and supervision in the enactment of a district-wide teacher evaluation reform. University of South Florida. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/910560602?accountid=13965. (910560602) This dissertation analyzes instructional leadership and evaluation protocols from a large, diverse district in the southeastern United States in order to investigate layers of accountability and tensions created when principals are asked to fill the dual roles of both instructional leader and supervisor in a newly implemented teacher evaluation system reform. This analysis shows that district administrators, principals, peer evaluators, and teachers employ nuanced definitions of instructional leadership. The results of this study have implications for our understanding of the role of the principal and how that role is constructed by principals and teachers. This understanding helps to define the latest significant stage of school supervision. The results also help us illuminate perceptions of the role of the peer evaluator. Shidler, L. (2009). The impact of time spent coaching for teacher efficacy on student achievement. Early Childhood Education Journal, 36(5), 453–460. The purpose of this study was to look at the linkage between hours spent coaching teachers in the classroom for efficacy in content instruction and child achievements/outcomes. A significant correlation was seen in year one between the time coaches spent in the classroom and students’ alphabet

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recognition scores. The coaching model for year one was one that focused coaching for instructional efficacy on specific content and teaching methods and saw the coaches directly facilitate and support theory to practice. In years two and three, no significant correlation was found. Years two and three used a coaching model that was less specific in focus and increased time spent onsite with teachers. The implications for coaching practice include balancing time between four components to effective coaching: (1) instructing for specific content, (2) modeling techniques and instructional practices, (3) observing teacher practices, and (4) consulting for reflection. Tuytens, M. and Devos, G. (2011). Stimulating professional learning through teacher evaluation: An impossible task for school leaders? Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(5), 891–899. This study explored the importance of transformational and instructional leadership for the feedback utility and teachers’ professional learning. The results of regression and path analyses showed that leadership directly influences the feedback utility and indirectly influences teachers’ professional learning. This study highlights the usefulness of teacher evaluation and demonstrates the importance of the school leader for the individual teacher in the teacher evaluation process. Wilderman, S. G. (2007). Data-driven decisions in K–12 education: A comparative case study about data-driven decisions in curriculum and instruction in two rural K–12 school districts. University of Missouri . ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/304826117?ac countid=13965. (304826117). The purpose of this study was to examine how the use of data drives academic planning in rural Missouri schools by exploring and comparing the processes in two Missouri school districts. The following research questions were developed to guide the research: (1) In what ways do districts use data to inform decisions around curriculum and instruction for student learning? (2) What factors impede developing and implementing curriculum and instruction for student learning? (3)What factors facilitate developing and implementing curriculum and instruction for student learning?

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Chapter Eight

Personal Development Once the smoke has cleared, what do I know that is new? Or Recognizing and reflecting upon one’s personal and professional beliefs, abilities, and actions From the hive: One of the most interesting times I have with my bee hives are the moments after the inspection is complete. Not immediately afterward, because the adrenalin still runs high and I cannot make sense of what just happened. However, when I have a few moments to sit and reflect, I try to establish what I saw, what I learned, and what I might do differently next time. It is ironic, however, that using smoke for inspecting hives can sometimes be central to getting a clear view of what is happening. From the organization: We so often run and rush in our attempt to offer instructional leadership. In fact, we move so quickly that we do not allow for any opportunities for meaning making. We do and do, but we forget to stop and think about what we just did. The degree to which we can force ourselves to take time to reflect may play an important role in our success and in our ability to sustain that success over time. To this point, this book has been focused primarily on how instructional leaders—whether that might be principals or teacher leaders—can support the cultivation of a positive learning space where students, teachers, and leaders will grow to higher levels of autonomy and effectiveness. It is important to take a moment to reflect on one’s own needs, personal and professional, for to ignore those factors will ultimately have a deleterious impact on both the leader and all with whom he or she comes into contact. 59

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It can be difficult for a professional to take a moment for self but if for only a chapter’s worth of time the conversation will shift to the reader. There is a tendency for public school folks to neglect themselves, and although evidence to assert that fact with confidence is lacking, there is considerable anecdotal evidence that supports such a conclusion. True, school leadership has a responsibility to supervise personnel. A personnel director in a local district reported a high turnover rate of middle grades teaching positions along with several principal positions. As such, it was important that the superintendent support those principals as they tried to assure that all first-year teachers were observed early in the year and at least three times after that first observation. The new teachers needed support, the principal needed support, and the personnel director needed to find a way to support them all. Additionally, some consideration at the school level for the appropriate observation of noncertified staff was in order and, in fact, the central office staff was encouraged to hold conferences with noncertificated staff. It was a matter of having everyone watching everyone else, it seemed. What was missing, however, was that as individuals were supporting everyone else, attending to others’ needs, they seemed to be neglecting themselves. By not attending to one’s own needs, an individual might be missing a real opportunity for professional and personal development. Toward considering one’s own health, an instructional leader might want to consider the answer to three questions: 1) What indicators exist that inform one’s emotional health? 2) In what ways might one’s emotional health affect leadership style and effectiveness? 3) Might one’s emotional health affect his or her ability to survive in the long run? When instructional leaders begin to observe themselves—to reflect on practice—they need to know for what they are looking. Jean Piaget, the educational psychologist, used a term called “equilibration” to describe individuals’ attempts to manage stress. He suggested that some stress was a good thing because it was during moments of stress and angst that individuals were likely to learn and grow. Conversely, if individuals were never stressed, then nothing was challenging them to grow or to adjust. Another way to put it is, if there were no problems, then individuals might not be doing anything, or worse, others might be ignoring them. Be thankful for the wind in one’s face for that pressure suggests movement is involved.

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Each time individuals come to encounter something new, or change a routine, or have a confrontation, their stress increases. To deal with the stress they really have three choices; and each option can be a good and reasonable choice, depending on the nature of the problem. But if individuals consider some possible implications for each of the choices then, decisions about which is best become clear. Importantly, instructional leaders come to realize that they can move from being victims of their environment to being authors of their story. The result is better emotional health. The first option when confronted with a challenge is to ignore the problem. For example, a parent approaches a school leader at the grocery store to complain about a controversial reading program at one of the schools. What might the leader do? He or she concludes that the problem is more with the parent than the reading program, so he or she thinks nothing more about the problem. The leader politely and authentically listens, acknowledges the conversation, and then thinks little more about it. Option two is to change the setting or environment where the conversation happened, change the context where these conversations occur. The instructional leader might come to know the parent shops at that store on Saturdays, the time when he or she usually goes. What does the leader do? The second option suggests that he or she decide to do business on a different day, or at a different time, or maybe at a different store. Whichever decision, the instructional leader has taken control of the situation and has reduced the chances of contact, and the subsequent stress, by changing the setting. What about option three? The instructional leader decides not to ignore the problem (the parent is also the wife of a board member) and also determines that he or she is not willing to drive across town to avoid contact. The leader must then decide to deal with the problem. Once that determination is made then the stress level increases immediately. And for a new principal, a new teacher, a new member of the community, the stress can be much higher than for someone who has much more experience in the community or in the job. On a continuum, one can imagine stress to be either easy or difficult to manage. Piaget described the different points on the continuum as assimilation and accommodation. In option three above, a more experienced principal has more practice and can draw on earlier parent contacts to

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prepare for the next one. This type of adjustment is an example of assimilation. The new principal, however, has no real experience with parents. The whole process for the novice is new, frightening, and stressful. This type of adjustment is an example of accommodation. In effect, the accommodation requires the new principal to create a new learning or a new understanding. Dealing with parents and outside stakeholders is one of the most important challenges in leading schools, and sometimes one of the more challenging. But with practice, leadership can get more comfortable in communications and problem solving. They grow in expertise with each subsequent interaction. Then, when leaders confront a student tragedy, bomb threat, or terrorist rumors, they can fall into accommodating strategies because the event is not like anything with which they have dealt. Leaders try to prepare, to practice, and by doing so they hope to reduce the shock. But until the event happens, nothing can fully prepare leaders for the stress and management challenges. And when leadership is forced to accommodate, the stress is at its highest. The level of stress in leaders lives greatly affects the way they see and make sense of our world. They may be new to a job, to a school, to a state. Or, they may be having challenges with their own teenage children, their spouse, or their in-laws. Or, they might have received a speeding ticket this morning on the way to work, or they might have found someone parking in a favorite spot. All of these events have the potential of disrupting the daily routines in which one finds comfort and thus affect the way leaders view the world at that given moment. The good news is that the frustration and anger they have during periods of stress are going to pass. The time it takes to adjust and the energy they spend dealing with the imbalance is a function of how healthy they are in coming to terms with the new challenge. In coming to understand the different ways adults interact with their environment, David Hunt provides three levels of conceptualization. Additionally, these categories help us understand leadership styles. What is especially interesting about these categories, however, is that they are not “fixed” states. Rather, a single person might move through all three levels during a given day, week, or month. The most important indicator of the stage at which a person would likely function is the level of stress.

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Stage A 1. Employs a single “tried and true” method of leadership 2. Low on self-direction and initiative; needs detailed instructions, structure 3. Very uncomfortable with ambiguous assignments 4. Verbalizes feelings at a limited level; difficulty recognizing feelings in others 5. Reluctant to talk about own inadequacies; blames others exclusively Stage B 1. Separates facts, opinions, and theories about leadership 2. Employs some different leadership strategies in accord with varying needs of others 3. Some openness to innovations and can make some appropriate adaptations 4. Shows sensitivity to others’ emotional needs 5. Enjoys some level of autonomy Stage C 1. Shows evidence of originality in adapting innovations to problems 2. Comfortable in applying various leadership strategies 3. High tolerance for ambiguity and frustration; on task in spite of distractions 4. Fosters an intensive questioning approach with others 5. Responds appropriately to the emotional needs of others As leaders imagine themselves “fitting” into one of these categories, they are likely to notice that they might have a little of all three, depending on the situation. Again, this ambiguity is exactly the point. When people encounter high levels of stress (e.g., an accommodating event, one in which they have little or no experience), they are necessarily pushed to function at level A or B. This movement is how they manage amidst the storms in their lives. And if they listen and watch others as they engage in innovations or problems, then they can register their current or preferred style of conceptualization. So what is the point? The point is that if leaders find themselves acting like A-level, then they have a pretty good idea that they are dealing with a lot of stress. Whether

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they know its source or not, it is still there. And, if they observe others as they interact with problems, then they have a clue how to connect with them. Just as the skilled teacher “reads” the students, the reflective school leader also recognizes preferred styles and can respond accordingly. The lesson for school leadership lies in being patient, both with others and themselves, during times of stress. When they notice that people are displaying the A characteristics, they can count on the following realities: 1. Change will take much longer to manage than might be expected in less stressful times; 2. They will only be able to handle one or two change items at a time; 3. Change will come in small, incremental amounts; 4. Growth will come only in proportion to the level of emotional support they have from concerned peers and friends. An important learning for leadership emerges from the conceptual level literature. In order to be in touch with the needs of others, to tolerate the ambiguities of human processing, to balance the competing demands of the typical day and the myriad other requirements of effective leadership, successful school leaders would necessarily need to function at level B or C. On the other hand, the stress of school leadership will likely push all leaders to function at level A at some time or another. The problem for principals is not that they find themselves functioning at level A. The problem is that if they ignore their level of stress and its source, then they can run the risk of being unhealthy personally and unproductive professionally. Surviving change is in part reflected in leadership’s understanding of the necessary and sequential steps they must travel every time they confront something new. As a practical matter, it would make good sense for some leaders who are dealing with high levels of stress to learn to manage the crisis at hand and then later make time to reflect. High stress creates a tendency to function at Conceptual Level A and as such it would be unreasonable to expect leadership to pay too much attention to the needs of others. What matters at that moment is how they can navigate and survive the moment. After they “conquer” the moment, and the stress begins to diminish, then they can begin imagining issues of consequence or collaboration.

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A different formula that results in a similar reaction as described above is one where a leader takes on several minor innovations simultaneously. No single change alone would create debilitating stress but all together can have the affect. So the point for leadership is to take on enough challenges to create healthy stress (i.e., a manageable accommodation), but to be aware of the possible accumulating affect. So surviving the stress is in part determined by leaders’ ability to recognize the necessary and sequential steps that they must take each and every time they encounter an innovation, a crisis, a problem, or any stresscreating event. When they want badly to manage a crisis, they cannot adequately do so until they have taken the time to become aware, gather information, and then recognize personal involvement. And the higher the level of stress, the more they function at conceptual level A, and the longer it takes to solve the problem at hand. Knowing this interconnection can take leaders a long way toward surviving the stress that comes with leading a school. When school leaders begin to understand the interplay between conceptual level and disequilibrium in their own lives, then they can begin to navigate the turbulent waters of organizational change. They know when to take on extra challenges and when to back off. They recognize that high levels of stress in their own lives, professional or personal, create a need to conceptualize at level A, and necessarily slow the pace of change. And there is nothing good or bad about one style of seeing the world versus the other (i.e., A versus C). What is potentially bad is the tendency to ignore the signals so that leaders’ expectations for their own actions become unrealistic compared to their current abilities. The result is more stress, more frustration, and, often, more missed opportunities for positive results. What is good in understanding current and preferred styles is the recognition that given certain realities leaders ought to reduce the quantity and complexity of innovations for the near future. They can give themselves and those individuals who come under their influence a chance to let their souls catch up to their bodies. And when that happens, what they see in the mirror might not be quite so frightening. Taking care of oneself is the first step toward taking care of others. It is difficult to imagine a more important personal development strategy than to do so. School children need teachers who are wholly present. School teachers need leaders who are present, focused, and attentive. It might

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be a good idea to take a moment to do a gap analysis regarding what the reader values at the personal level, as compared to how much time he or she spends doing for everyone else. This sort of self-inventory can be liberating but taking time to do it well is not always encouraged, is not easy to fit into the schedule. Yet, professionals must make time for self or they will be little help to others.

SUGGESTED READINGS Collinson V., Kozina E., Lin Y., Ling L., Matheson I., Newcombe I., and Zogla I. (2009). Professional development for teachers: A world of change. European Journal of Teacher Education, 32(1), 3–19. This article identifies three emerging trends intended to broaden teachers’ learning and enhance their practices through continuous professional development: globalization, mentoring, and rethinking teacher evaluation. The body of the article indicates how these three trends are unfolding in Australia, England, Latvia, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Taiwan, and the United States. At the school level the involvement of teachers is vital for successful change. Shared leadership and collaboration require learning and behaviors for both teachers and principals—new social relationships, sharing of knowledge, blurred and flexible roles, access to information, skills of questioning, inquiry, dialogue, and argumentation learning that is appropriate to and differentiated for teachers/leaders at various levels of knowledge and skills (Collinson 2008). Erickson, A., Noonan, P., and McCall, Z. (2012). Effectiveness of Online Professional Development for Rural Special Educators. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 31(1), 22–32. This study examined the effect of asynchronous online professional development in secondary special education and transition for 86 rural special education teachers. In addition, the study compared results of teachers in rural and nonrural settings. Results indicated that rural special education teachers who participated in the online professional development gained knowledge, increased personal capacity to apply research-based practices, and implemented research-based transition practices within their classrooms. Furthermore, participants developed meaningful, collaborative relationships with rural colleagues across the country. Janssen S., Kreijns K., Bastiaens T., Stijnen S., and Vermeulen M. (2012). Teachers’ professional development: an analysis of the use of Professional Develop-

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ment Plans in a Dutch school. Professional Development in Education, 38(3), 453–469. Professional Development Plans (PDPs) are now increasingly used to stimulate and support the professional development of teachers. A PDP is used to encourage teachers’ professional development and structure their development path in terms of learning goals and plans of action. However, it cannot be taken for granted that teachers will formulate high-quality PDPs on their own. The results of this study suggest that guided teachers are more capable of identifying their strengths and in formulating learning goals. The guided teachers’ PDPs also showed more consistency. No differences were found regarding the action plans that teachers described. Kissane-Long, A. (2012). Using mentor-coaching to refine instructional supervision skills of developing principals. University of California, Los Angeles. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from http://search.proquest. com/docview/1027936382?accountid=13965. (1027936382). This qualitative Action Research study examined the impact that mentorcoaching strategies have on refining the instructional supervision skills of developing (mid-career) principals. Five mentor coach principals used blended coaching strategies to mentor and coach 10 developing principals. Qualitative data collected from journals, interviews, focus groups, questionnaires and open-ended surveys were used to measure the impact that mentor-coaches had on the developing principals when they worked with their teachers during preand post-lesson observation conferences. Savakinas, C. A. (2012). The effect of professional development on teacher attitudes toward online learning in K–12 education. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/1024141811?acc ountid=13965. (1024141811). The purpose of this study was to examine how teacher attitudes toward online learning in K–12 education vary before, during, and after participation in a professional development program focused on ePedagogy and online course development. The study also examined which Key Design Factors influence teachers’ attitudes toward online learning in K–12 education. This study utilized a one-group, repeated measures design. Simon S., Campbell S., Johnson S., and Stylianidou F. (2011). Characteristics of effective professional development for early career science teachers. Research in Science & Technological Education, 29(1), 5–23. Ten schools took part in the study, selected on the basis of their reputation for having effective Continuing Professional Development practices. To gain different perspectives from within the organizations, this study conducted interviews with senior members of staff, heads of science departments, and early

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career teachers. The study revealed a wealth of practice across the 10 schools, which included a focus on broadening experience beyond the classroom, having an open, sharing, nonthreatening culture, and systemic procedures for mentoring and support that involved ring-fenced budgets. Sogunro, O. (2012). Stress in school administration: Coping tips for principals. Journal Of School Leadership, 22(3), 664–700. With the need for rapid school reform amid changes in socioeconomic and political situations, evidence abounds that today’s school principals operate in a stress-strained environment. Participants of this study identified at least a form of stress on the job. More than 96 percent claimed to have experienced work-related stress at a level they believed was affecting their mental and physical health, work habits, and productivity. Through interviews with 52 principals in Connecticut for about 2.5 years, this article brings to the fore various causes of stress in school administration as well as some coping techniques for principals. Implications for school districts, enhanced leadership preparation practices, and further research are also discussed.

REFERENCES Fuller, F. (1969). Concerns of teachers: A developmental conceptualization. American Educational Research Journal, 6 (2), 207–226. Hunt, D. E. (1976). Teachers’ adaptation: Reading and flexing to students. Journal of Teacher Education, 27, 268–275. Hunt, D. E. (1981). Teachers’ adaptation: Reading and flexing to students. In B. Joyce, C. Brown, and L. Peck (Eds.). Flexibility in Teaching. New York: Longman, 59–71. Piaget, J. (1967). Cognitive development in children: Development and learning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 2, 176–186. Piaget, J. (1972). Intellectual evolution from adolescence to adulthood. Human Development, 15, 1–12.

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Chapter Nine

Conclusion: Comments on Perspective Ask five beekeepers one question and get eight different solutions Or Encouraging experimentation and assessing outcomes

From the hive: It is important to be part of a bee club, to attend meetings, to seek other’s wisdom and counsel. Ultimately, however, when in the middle of a swarm of bees, one must make his or her own decision based on all available evidence. Too many answers, too much of an authoritarian approach, can disable one’s creative options. From the organization: There are far too many books that claim to offer THE answer to all of the problems confronting schools. There are far too few books that offer foundations of thinking that enlarge one’s options in any given situation at a given time. Ultimately, teachers and leaders know what is best for children, for it is they who live amongst those children every day. Oftentimes instructional leadership is about perspective. Rather than this book providing single answers to complex questions, it provides a different vantage point on which to observe the complex world that is public schooling. Although the dimensions can be instrumental in guiding best practice, they will only do so to the extent to which they make sense for one’s context, from one’s viewpoint. A young girl’s story comes to mind that seems to emphasize the notion of perspective and freedom to learn. “Daddy, I think I caught one of your friends!” said the four-year-old Kate as she excitedly shouted as she ran across the lawn, hands tightly clasped together. The father took her hands and gently lifted her thumbs to peer 69

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inside this temporary enclosure to see what sort of bug she found this time. Looking at the six-legged creature, the father smiled and replied. “Yes, Kate, that is one of my friends” The small girl smiled broadly in acknowledgement of her father’s approval that the bug was indeed friendly. She opened her hand a little wider and caught the unsuspecting bug between her tiny fingers while her father opened the bug jar so she could put her new and temporary friend inside. As the sun continued its descent behind the horizon, Kate and her father put their heads together and watched the firefly crawl around in the box and periodically emit its bright greenish luminescence. The movement of time for these two seemed to cease as the pair gazed at the beauty of the glowworm’s light. After a few moments had passed, Kate looked up and saw all the many other fireflies that had escaped the small hands of the bug-catching girl. “Look at all the other lights. Are those your friends too?” she asked. “Well yes, I suppose they are” the father replied to her question. “They look like they are dancing,” she said. “You are right, I think they must be dancing.” He then replied, “Tell me why you think they might be dancing?”

For the next few moments the evening dance of the fireflies was witnessed through the eyes of a four-year-old child who had became aware of this spectacle for the first time in her young life. In this moment with her, it was important to let this magical moment be a time of observation, beauty, and thinking for the girl. At this time, when the natural thoughts of a parent might turn into a teachable moment, it was important to allow the daughter the time to let her eyes do the teaching instead of trying to impart knowledge and, thusly, evaporate the visual spectacle. In this sense-filled moment with the beauty of an insect with a special ability, the daughter owned her learning, embraced the aesthetic of the moment. There would be plenty of time for learning about bioluminescence and enzyme-substrate reactions, and the mating rituals of this misnamed beetle. But this first moment of discovery and aestheticism can never be lived again. This was a moment for living in the experience. After a while the father prompted the young girl with some questions. “What did you see, Kate? What did it feel like to see those lights dancing? What would you do if you were a firefly? What would you say to other fireflies?” In essence, the father was cultivating Kate’s imagination by helping her to reflect on her magical experience.

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Verbalizing this experience for four-year-old Kate must have been a daunting task. This experience existed for Kate at a level of perception and feeling that was most likely nonverbal. In reality, this experience would be difficult to capture in words for even the most highly skilled writers or speakers. Although a young child’s verbal reflection on the vision that the fireflies created may be simple, one might argue that her feelings, perception, and sensual awareness can be comparable to the most highly skilled aesthetician’s feelings, perceptions, and sensual awareness. Perhaps one could even argue that because a young child’s sensual awareness is so acute, and because new experiences happen at a greater frequency than to adults, their brains act more like sponges and soak up moments that add to a child’s aesthetic oeuvre at an alarming speed. In responding to aesthetic moments, individuals recognize the child’s world as a superior curriculum for developing critical thinking than many cognitive-based, book-driven ones. This ability to step back and let the other reflect on experience, make meaning out of experience, and create new avenues for future journeys is a skill useful for parents, for teachers, for instructional leaders, and for so many others.

INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP AS AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE When teachers build meaning out of experience through reflection there is a bidirectional benefit that supports the professional growth of the instructional leader as well as the teacher. Likewise, if the instructional leader as educational connoisseur observes teaching experiences and then engages in both reflection as critique (public) and reflection as aesthetics (private), then there emerges an atmosphere that supports inquiry, artistic expression, and exploration. The leader creates a safe place for reflection and aesthetic expression . . . helping the teacher move from the craft to the artistic or aesthetic view of teaching . . . the connoisseur. Instructional leadership that is both craft and art will be more likely to support a range of successful teaching strategies that will thereupon be more relevant and responsive to a wider range of student needs. Ultimately, the affect on student, teacher, and leader will be a wider range of responses that are both cognitive and affective.

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This range is the very essence of teaching as art, for the outcomes become less clear, are more unpredictable, and more adaptable to context. Additionally, leadership developed around craft and connoisseurship, because of its adaptability and flexibility, will also support a variety of student performances and talents in a growingly diverse society. When leadership, therefore, begins to embrace variety and ambiguity as realities in today’s schools, it is more likely to facilitate inquiry-based learning experiences; rich understandings of teaching, learning, and leadership; as well as professional development. As such, teachers across the curriculum deserve to be bolstered by an instructional leader who sees teaching as performance, as a creative and often improvisational act. That instructional leader would be able to select from his or her leadership palette any of the eight dimensions—or more likely some combination of two or three—to support that teaching performance. But even in the very best classroom, enhancing aesthetic understanding takes some intentionality. As noted in the opening story of this chapter aesthetic experiences in any form are based on thoughts and feelings. If a teacher chooses only to confront issues of making things or answering basic questions of knowledge without the “why” or “how come” questions attached to the process-making of meaningful learning, then schooling for many children might become a series of assembly line techniques, list of facts, and otherwise isolated bits of school stuff. If education is about anything, it is about helping students to become alive to the aesthetic qualities of art and life in the worlds in which they live. Indeed, aesthetic learning makes us think, imagine, experience emotion, and, in turn, nourishes our mind and spirit. And, it would take a gifted instructional leader who could draw from these dimensions when needed, ignore them when that is best, but in all cases be responsive to the needs of others. In the eight dimensions above, there is an attempt to offer a balanced view of the potential of each to contribute to a successful teaching experience. All of them, however, in some way or another require an instructional leader to understand the position of the other, the emotions of the other, the challenges of the other. The capacity to be present to the other is not a simple, and certainly not an automatic, talent. It requires regular, intentional effort to show such empathy.

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When leaders acknowledge to children, to teachers, that they are hearing what they say, then they begin to think, “Hey, this is good stuff. They are listening to me. There must be some real power to what I am saying because they are paying attention.” Indeed, when instructional leaders are accused of paying attention to what children and teachers say, then let those leaders celebrate a guilty plea of such because they have extended aesthetic understanding, critical thinking. When it came time for the daughter to return inside, the father and daughter considered whether to release the new friend so that it could dance again with its friends. Kate was eager to free her friend. As the moon was beginning to rise and the luminescence of the fireflies was beginning to wane, Kate could be seen dancing barefoot on the lawn with her small friends. Maybe effective instructional leaders will come to know when to release the teachers and their students to create their own meaningful experiences, their own aesthetic understanding. Then we can step back and know that we have not reduced our artful teachers to products of our eight instructional leadership strategies. Rather, our efforts have created a platform from which they might leap, and in that capacity we can know we have been artful instructional leaders.

CLOSING REMARKS Did I mention I keep honeybees? I am sure you have seen the books sitting about various bookstores that are titled something like Computers for Dummies. Well, I have one titled Beekeeping for Dummies and it stays close to my favorite chair at home. I often hold it in my hand as I look out my window at my three hives and I try to put the practical teachings from the book into the context of what is happening outside. Sometimes I can do that. Many times I miss the connection. Instructional leadership can be that way for me as I look through the door of the classroom, at the buzz of activity, and the way the wonderful teacher orchestrates the many tasks requiring her or his simultaneous attention. As with my bees, I sometimes do my best work when I stay out of the way. Too much meddling with the bees disrupts the natural order of these magnificent creatures. Similarly, too many intrusions by the

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well-meaning instructional leader can sometimes distract the teacher and upset the performance that is her or his art, her or his practice. But when we do enter into our hives and our classrooms I think a similar bit of advice is in order: Take a deep breath, be calm, take your time, look, learn, listen, and when you are done, leave everything better than how you found it. The best record of your presence may in fact be the absence of a record of your presence. The instructional leader and the apiarist have important work to do. In this little book I celebrate them both if for no other reason than the fact that our way of life, our quality of life will be a product of their art.

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Moving a Vision toward a Reality: A Core Values Worksheet Finding a way to stay focused amidst competing influences

I. Core Supervision Dimensions: 1. _________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________ Because we value _____________________ and ____________________ as supervisory practices, we will: Table A.1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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I. Importance Inventory of the items listed above. On a scale of 1–5, indicate how important each point is to helping you support your articulated core value: Table A.2 1

2

Not important

3

4

Somewhat important

5 Highly important

Table A.3 Importance

Key point or “We will” statement 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

II. Implementation Effectiveness Inventory of the items listed above. On a scale of 1–5, indicate to what extent you have effectively implemented each key point: Table A.4 1

2

Not implemented

3 Somewhat implemented

4

5 Highly implemented

Table A.5 Effectiveness

Key point or “We will” statement 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

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III. Gap Analysis Inventory Table A.6 Key Point

Importance (From Part II)

Effectiveness (From Part III)

Gap

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

IV. Given the results of the Gap Analysis above, I will do the following to support Best Practices of Supervision:

CORE SUPERVISION DIMENSIONS: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

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Appendix

78 Table A.7 Task

Timeline

Leadership Responsibility

Resources Needed

Indicators of Accomplishments

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

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About the Author

Zach Kelehear has over 25 years of experience in public education as a teacher, administrator, and college professor. His writings have provided innovative approaches to leadership that are grounded in research but directed toward practitioners who make a difference in the lives of children every day. His primary areas of writing are mentoring, supervision, instructional leadership, and arts-based school leadership.

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