Instructional Leadership
Teachers are among the most powerful influencers of learning:
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Through the ways they design and deliver lessons and interact with students, they strongly determine which students will learn and how well they will succeed. It is almost impossible to overestimate the influence of an effective teacher!
The ITC Publications two day instructional leadership program will focus on how principals can guide their staff towards pedagogical growth and excellence.
The ITC Publications two day instructional leadership program
- Establishing a school-wide learning Thinking Skills Framework
- The Power of Co-operative learning – the difference between group work and co-operative learning
- Critical and Creative thinking – the principles and the difference between shallow and deep thinking
- Formulating and Implementing an Instructional Leadership initiative (Action Planning)
- Lesson Observations and Classroom Walk-Throughs (CWTs)
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However, there are a number of other important areas, such as:
Challenging lessons:
Are the students at your school encouraged to investigate topics in greater depth; from surface knowledge to deep knowledge and from foundation thinking to higher-order thinking?
Effective teaching practices:
How do your teachers assist their students with critical and creative thinking? How do your teachers assist their students retain information and think more deeply about the topic?
Student Feedback:
How do your teachers regularly gauge if their students have ‘got it’? How do they give them feedback to improve?
Supportive Classroom environment:
How do we advise teachers to get students to feel comfortable sharing their thoughts – even if they might be ‘wrong’? How do we encourage teachers to encourage their students with intellectual risk taking? How do we encourage our teachers to create a classroom culture where student responses which are ‘different’; are not only accepted, but honoured?
Why does the program focus on these areas? Recent research says that these are the areas where teachers have the highest impact on student outcomes (Hattie, 2009).
What do Principals ‘get’ from the program?
1. Focus on an instructional leadership initiative
During Day 1 of the two day instructional leadership program, a number of pedagogical focus areas such as a school-wide Thinking Framework, establishing professional learning teams, co-operative learning, critical and creative thinking, will be presented.
Participant Principals will decide which of these areas will be worthy of an Action Plan for Day 2 of the instructional leadership program.
2. Reflection and Transfer
There will be many practical ideas from the instructional leadership program. There will be regular opportunities during the two days for Principals to reflect and transfer these ideas to their instructional leadership practice, leading their school. Principals will assess these openly in a professional and collegial environment.
3. Class room Walk-Throughs.
How often do Principals visit classrooms to gauge the quality of teaching and learning occurring at their school? Do teachers feel comfortable with classroom visits? Do these visits reveal shortcomings that need addressing?
Classroom Walk-Throughs (CWTs) are a practical and strikingly effective way to gather objective data about the teaching and learning occurring at a school.
The instructional leadership program introduces Principals to the guidelines for effective Classroom Walk-Throughs
4. Implementing the Action Plan
The real change that will take place in a school will depend on the implementation of the Action Plan that Principals will introduce into their school following this program.
