Education Commons^™

Distribution Of Instructional Leadership Roles Within A School Organization, Zora Wolfe, Kim-Kathie Knudsen, Abbie Mahaffey

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

Educational leaders are tasked with many managerial responsibilities as well as instructional leadership roles. However, effective instructional leadership is a critical factor in improving student achievement. The purpose of this study was to explore how instructional leadership is distributed within a school organization, specifically examining the perceptions of district, building, and teacher leaders in relation to their roles in instructional leadership and the barriers to effective instructional leadership. Qualitative interviews were conducted with district office leaders, building leaders, and instructional coaches, and their responses to the questions were reviewed, categorized, and coded using Crewell’s Data Analysis Spiral (2011).

Data from …

But Are They Good Teachers? Examining Who Takes Up Teacher Leadership And How Their Instruction Differs From Their Peers, Peter D. Wiens, Jori S. Beck

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Teacher leaders function in many roles in supporting school success including instructional leadership and supporting colleagues. This study draws upon the Status of the Social Studies Survey (Fitchett & Vanfossen, 2013) to examine the responses of 6,702 US-based middle and high school social studies teachers to understand the antecedents of teacher leadership and the instructional practices of these individuals compared to their peers. Survey responses indicate that the vast majority of social studies teachers report participating in some aspect of teacher leadership. Teacher leaders tend to be less experienced and have less educational attainment while employing more research-based instructional techniques.

The Need For More Educational Leadership Pedagogical Knowledge In Early Elementary, Megan Hallissey

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

This exploratory, qualitative multiple-site case study examined how principals’ knowledge of early childhood learning, pedagogy, and practices (or lack of) influences their leadership decisions and assessment of teachers. Data collection included four different elementary school configurations and consisted of multiple data sources including the use of a video simulation. The twelve guidelines of Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) and the Professional Standards of Educational Leaders (PSEL) provided a framework for thematic analysis. The results of this study show principals have a limited understanding of early childhood pedagogy which influences their hiring decisions when filling teacher vacancies. Additionally, results indicate principals’ assessments …

An Exploration Of Principal Instructional Leadership Increasing Instructional Capacity Through Collaborative Relationships, Michael Henry Myers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

State and federal mandates designed to increase student learning and development through principal instructional leadership are based on research that demonstrates the potential benefits teacher collaboration can have on teacher efficacy, school culture, and student learning; however, many principals are inadequately trained for instructional leadership roles that utilize collaboration. The problem this study investigated is the lack of research about successful instructional leaders using collaboration to increase the instructional capacity of the teachers in high-achieving, suburban high schools. High-quality teaching is important and requires the collective skills and expertise of well-trained teachers. The organizational development theories of McGregor, the adult …

Shaping The Supervision Narrative: Innovating Teaching And Leading To Improve Stem Instruction, Bill Sterrett, Ginger Rhodes, Dennis Kubasko, Angelia Reid-Griffin, Kerry Kathleen Robinson, Steven D. Hooker, Andrew J. Ryder

Journal of Educational Supervision

This paper offers a model of supervisory collaboration that brings teacher and administrator programs together through a lens of formative evaluation. The roles of teacher and principal must be collaborative to sustain student success, yet the preparation models for those respective positions are often isolated from each other, as varying university departments and focus areas exist in silos. Preparation programs must maximize the clinical experiences of teacher education and administrator preparation programs, with a focus on practical teaching strategies and authentic feedback to pre-service educators and their instructors for reflection and change. This paper overviews a collaborative supervision model and …

Leading School-Based Coaching To Evaluate Open Education Resources, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle (consultant)

This presentation was a people's choice session at the 2018 ISTE conference and engaged participants in conversations about coaching approaches that when coupled with strategies to evaluate Open Educational Resources (OER) can build the capacity of teachers and improve the learning by students. The session provided participants with opportunities to discuss leadership approaches to the evaluation of OER resources that are consistent with education policies, build the capacity of educators and improve the quality of learning by students; and coaching methods for school leaders that enables the identification, analysis, curation and incorporation of OER resources into classroom practices.

Leading School-Based Coaching To Evaluate Open Education Resources, Kathryn Moyle

Digital learning research

This presentation was a people's choice session at the 2018 ISTE conference and engaged participants in conversations about coaching approaches that when coupled with strategies to evaluate Open Educational Resources (OER) can build the capacity of teachers and improve the learning by students. The session provided participants with opportunities to discuss leadership approaches to the evaluation of OER resources that are consistent with education policies, build the capacity of educators and improve the quality of learning by students; and coaching methods for school leaders that enables the identification, analysis, curation and incorporation of OER resources into classroom practices.

The Impact Of A Formative Classroom Observation Tool On Teachers’ Reflective Process On Instructional Practices: An Action Research Study, Lisa C. Cassidy

Theses and Dissertations

This paper details a study focused on the impact of the utilization of a formative classroom observation tool on the teachers’ reflective process as it pertains to instructional practices. The study was developed from a noted problem of practice at a middle school where approximately half of the teachers did not agree that teacher evaluation at their school focused on instructional improvement. The ultimate goal of the research study is to gain meaningful understanding concerning how to improve teacher practices through classroom observation and instructional leadership. This action research study incorporates a qualitative research design. Data was gathered from participating …

Structures & Supports: Building A Throughline Approach To District Partnerships, Jessica Charles

All Faculty and Staff Papers and Presentations

Bank Street College is committed to collaborative, systematic district reform that supports every layer of the school system so that districts are able to thoughtfully plan and implement large-scale instructional improvement initiatives to achieve maximum impact on student learning. The Bank Street Education Center “Education Center,” has developed a “Throughline” approach to district reform, designed to support districts across the system to foster conditions that enable schools to act as units of change and embed strong instructional practices through teacher leaders and teams.

Zoom: The Changing Nature Of Middle School Shared Instructional Leadership On The Way To The Common Core, Ann M. Yanchura

Dissertations

The complexities, diversity, and nuances of schools today require the shared leadership of the best and brightest that education has to offer. All across the country, school districts are embarking on the challenging journey toward higher and better standards and performance found in the adoption of the Common Core State Standards. This dissertation describes the early CCSS implementation efforts of the middle schools in a Midwest suburban district. In particular, it examines the instructional leadership that was shared among the administrators and literacy coaches who led the adoption and implementation of the new Standards. The research was conducted during their …

An Exploratory Analysis Of Principals' Self Perceptions Of Curricular And Instructional Leadership: Evidence From Ohio, Jeffrey Bucher, W. Kyle Ingle

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

In this study, the researchers sought to determine the relationship between principals’ characteristics, their schools’ characteristics, and the dependent variable—principals’ perceptions of their own curricular and instructional leadership (CIL). The researchers found significant and positive relationships between principal characteristics and CIL, including gender (female) and years of principal experience (p<.01). Principals with prior teaching experience in suburban schools were significantly related to increases in CIL compared to their counterparts with prior teaching experience in charter schools (p<.05). With regard to school-level characteristics, a unit increase in the percentage of African-American students was significantly and positively related to an increase in CIL. However, a unit increase in the percentage of Hispanic students was significantly related to a decrease in CIL.