Myth of the Instructional Leader
Never one to avoid a good row, I raised a few eyebrows in a meeting of administrators when I asked whether the “principal as instructional leader” was just a mythical creature. “Is it really possible for one person to provide instructional leadership to all of the teachers in a building?”
Needless to say, I touched a nerve. “The principal is the instructional leader of EVERY building!” one participant replied defensively. “It’s something we’ve been trained to do. We’re the experts!”
The conversation dwindled (thankfully), but my questions didn’t — and my mind hasn’t stopped thinking about instructional leadership yet!
In the best schools, instructional leadership is continuously changing hands because everyone accepts responsibility for leading. Individual passions become areas of expertise shared through formal and informal work with colleagues. Diversity of leadership allows influential ideas to spread throughout an entire organization. Collective knowledge and growth is valued regardless of its source.
My instructional leaders have always been those with high levels of professional credibility earned by demonstrating excellence as educators. They are the people in a school who everyone turns to for advice on teaching and learning. No topic seems to be beyond their grasp, and the ideas that they present are timely and provocative. Instructional leaders are constantly challenging the thinking of others.
Instructional leaders also have a high degree of personal credibility. They’ve built strong working relationships across grade levels and departments. They are widely visible, teaching model lessons, visiting classrooms, and offering feedback during planning meetings. Valuing individuals and respecting the viewpoints of others, they seem to draw others in rather than drive them away.
The best instructional leaders aren’t heroic figures relying on appointed positions for prestige. Instead, they transcend their titles, refusing to see levels of authority in an organization and believing that every member of a team should have an equal voice. They encourage others to examine their practice. They provide practical advice and guidance, supporting efforts and stimulating change. Above all, the best instructional leaders engage others in powerful conversations about learning.
Most recently, the teachers of my learning team have served as my instructional leaders. Mike Hutchinson, a social studies expert, has introduced me to a new instructional practice that is highly engaging, incorporating elements from across our curriculum. Before that, Corinna Knight, Emily Swanson and Marcy Clemmons challenged me to reconsider how I introduced collaborative dialogue in my classroom. Together, we have had lengthy conversations about teaching and learning that have changed the way we work as individuals.
If our schools are to become communities committed to learning, school leaders must shift from functioning as “instructional leaders” to functioning as “leaders of instructional experts.” By tapping into the expertise of their faculties and creating structures for collaboration, they will empower teachers in the truest sense. Individual and organizational growth will multiply exponentially when we realize that each member of a school community has something of value to contribute.
Is this view of instructional leadership possible?
Never one to avoid a good row, I raised a few eyebrows in a meeting of administrators when I asked whether the “principal as instructional leader” was just a mythical creature. “Is it really possible for one person to provide instructional leadership to all of the teachers in a building?”
Needless to say, I touched a nerve. “The principal is the instructional leader of EVERY building!” one participant replied defensively. “It’s something we’ve been trained to do. We’re the experts!”
The conversation dwindled (thankfully), but my questions didn’t — and my mind hasn’t stopped thinking about instructional leadership yet!
In the best schools, instructional leadership is continuously changing hands because everyone accepts responsibility for leading. Individual passions become areas of expertise shared through formal and informal work with colleagues. Diversity of leadership allows influential ideas to spread throughout an entire organization. Collective knowledge and growth is valued regardless of its source.
My instructional leaders have always been those with high levels of professional credibility earned by demonstrating excellence as educators. They are the people in a school who everyone turns to for advice on teaching and learning. No topic seems to be beyond their grasp, and the ideas that they present are timely and provocative. Instructional leaders are constantly challenging the thinking of others.
Instructional leaders also have a high degree of personal credibility. They’ve built strong working relationships across grade levels and departments. They are widely visible, teaching model lessons, visiting classrooms, and offering feedback during planning meetings. Valuing individuals and respecting the viewpoints of others, they seem to draw others in rather than drive them away.
The best instructional leaders aren’t heroic figures relying on appointed positions for prestige. Instead, they transcend their titles, refusing to see levels of authority in an organization and believing that every member of a team should have an equal voice. They encourage others to examine their practice. They provide practical advice and guidance, supporting efforts and stimulating change. Above all, the best instructional leaders engage others in powerful conversations about learning.
Most recently, the teachers of my learning team have served as my instructional leaders. Mike Hutchinson, a social studies expert, has introduced me to a new instructional practice that is highly engaging, incorporating elements from across our curriculum. Before that, Corinna Knight, Emily Swanson and Marcy Clemmons challenged me to reconsider how I introduced collaborative dialogue in my classroom. Together, we have had lengthy conversations about teaching and learning that have changed the way we work as individuals.
If our schools are to become communities committed to learning, school leaders must shift from functioning as “instructional leaders” to functioning as “leaders of instructional experts.” By tapping into the expertise of their faculties and creating structures for collaboration, they will empower teachers in the truest sense. Individual and organizational growth will multiply exponentially when we realize that each member of a school community has something of value to contribute.
Is this view of instructional leadership possible?
posted by Bill Ferriter at 10:16 AM
2 Comments:
I agree that the concept of a single person being 'the' instructional leader for a wide variety of classrooms, content, kids, and teaching styles, while a common view, puts too great a burden on that person while also being ineffective.
Where we might/might not differ is in the idea that being an instructional leader has at it's core the transfer of effective techniques and methods. I think there is a basic skill that is not inherent, but necessary, and instructional leaders are those who foster that skills in others. I'm speaking of the skill of reflection - on practices, influences, attitudes, and outcomes. And after a full career in education I think I've discovered an approach that empowers nearly every teacher and/or administrator to be an instructional leader.
The key is to not praise and not criticize, but to provide the teacher with objective data on the behaviors occurring in the classroom. The act of being an objective, non-judgmental observer of the classroom and providing a data based picture of what's happening in the classroom provides the teacher with the information needed to reflect, discuss, and develop a plan of action.
I developed a software program to help with that, but the method is what's important. Read more at my blog: http://data-based-observation.blogspot.com/. If you want to play with the software, go to www.ecove.net.
That's a funny story about Bill asking at an administrators' meeting if the "principal as instructional leader" is a myth.
(I've been there,done that!) I spent 20 of my 33 years in public education as a building principal. The truth is that school systems place so much pressure on principals to be "jacks of all trades" while managing a building that there is less and less time to do the things that would make a principal an instructional leader. In addition, no matter how hard a principal tells a teacher "take a risk, I'm doing formative assessments of your work and I'm not a threat to you," the teacher always has it in their mind that you as principal are their rating officer! In my new second career, I am working with 'teacher leaders'. The key to sound instructional leadership that results in improved outcomes for students and better morale is building communities of learners in each school that work in teams to improve instruction. The answer is not "one heroic principal or heroic teacher."
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