Leading With Intention
Page 13
The conversation was a great refresher for the principal and an opportunity for him to enhance his skills in supporting teachers with classroom procedures and management. Following this discussion the principal decided to schedule a planning session with the teacher focused on thoughtful procedural and management strategies, including a follow-up classroom visit and reflective conversation. The initial classroom visit was the catalyst for this focused learning opportunity, and resulted in the teacher enhancing her classroom’s learning environment. The principal communicated the importance of a well-managed learning environment and provided support and guidance to the teacher.
This example illustrates one reason we believe classroom visits are critical for school leaders; they contribute to gaining a sound understanding of the current state of classroom instructional practice and its effect on student learning. The information gathered from consistent, short classroom visits provides powerful information leaders can use to support continuous growth and improvement for both teachers and students. Through visits, leaders can also determine if the instructional strategies teachers discussed at team meetings or those they shared with others during reflections on classroom practice have made their way into the classroom. These visits provide opportunities for celebration when instructional strategies produce improvement in student achievement. Katie Sheridan, a former principal of Country Meadows Elementary School in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, and director of language and early literacy in Kildeer Countryside Community Consolidated School District 96, offers her perspective on the instructional value of consistent classroom visits:
In one hour of classroom visits, I was consistently able to gain a good understanding of the instructional climate of my building. I used the visits as an opportunity to celebrate effective practice and carefully and supportively address areas of concern. Most importantly, they provided an entry point into data-driven discussions about teaching and learning with teachers. Some of the best instructional leadership moments I have had as a principal were sparked by a classroom visit. (K. Sheridan, personal communication, March 2, 2018)
The benefits of frequent classroom visits are extensive. Authors Margery B. Ginsberg and Damon Murphy (2002) describe some of the benefits.
• Administrators become more familiar with the school’s curriculum and teachers’ instructional practices.
• Administrators can gauge the climate of a school (Are students engaged? Are cross-curricular concepts part of everyday teaching? Are new teachers catching on?).
• Administrators support the collaborative team atmosphere as they examine instruction and student motivation and achievement.
• Administrators establish themselves as campus leaders and instructional mentors, influencing teaching, learning, and ongoing school renewal.
Most school leaders we work with acknowledge these benefits and want to spend time in classrooms, but struggle to consistently make it happen. Former educator and leadership consultant Kim Marshall (2009) suggests setting a target number of classrooms to visit daily, and not letting anything get in the way of making it happen. Marshall (2009) explains his process further:
When I was a principal, I supervised 42 teachers and settled on a target of five mini-observations a day. On full-moon days, I did zero; on quiet days, I did five; and with a lot of tenacity, I saw each teacher every two to three weeks, which added up to about 450 mini-observations a year. In a smaller school, the principal’s target might be different. (p. 24)
Reflection
How are you currently supporting instruction? Are your classroom visits about evaluating learning, support, and feedback?
The school leaders we consult with are often unsure of exactly what they should be focusing on while visiting a classroom. Our suggestion is, whenever possible, keep the focus on the instructional strategies and ideas teams and individual teachers have discussed and support. Are these instructional strategies happening in the classroom, or was it just a good discussion that never made its way into practice? This may require a more coordinated or planned visit to ensure that you are able to see what you want to see.
Marshall (2009) offers a protocol for unplanned classroom visits when your purpose is to gain a more general idea of classroom practice. He suggests a method reflected in the acronym SOTEL: safety, objectives, teaching, engagement, and learning. Safety refers to the focus on physical and psychological safety in a climate that’s conducive to intellectual risk taking. Objectives refers to clarity regarding purpose, focus of objectives, and alignment with the curricular unit. Teaching is considering whether learning is skillfully orchestrated and differentiated. Engagement considers whether students are paying attention—are they actively involved in learning? Learning refers to on-the-spot and interim assessments teachers use to fine-tune their instruction. Figure 6.2 is a useful protocol for conducting learning walks.
Source: Adapted from Marshall, 2009.
FIGURE 6.2: Protocol for conducting learning walks.
Visit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks for a free reproducible version of this figure.
In addition, leaders can focus their observations on what the students are doing, not necessarily what teachers are doing. Look at student work. Are they reading grade-level text? Are they really reading or just skimming? What does their writing look like? Is it in response to a reading passage that makes it relevant and challenging? Are the students engaged or just compliant? Are the questions they answer requiring them to think at higher levels? Paying close attention to what students are doing can create timely feedback on how the instructional focus is impacting learning. Leaders can use figure 6.3 (page 130) to record impressions of what students are doing during classroom observations.
FIGURE 6.3: Student-focused observation tool.
Visit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks for a free reproducible version of this figure.
Make frequent classroom visits a priority and don’t let anything get in the way of this opportunity to truly understand and affect the instructional environment of your school.
Reflection
How can you make classroom visits a priority in your day? If you were asked, how would you describe the state of instructional practice in your school? Can you describe it? Do you have enough information?
Supporting Collaboration
Think about collaborative team meetings as opportunities to truly impact instruction and the classroom environment. Figure 6.4 is a sample summary of a team discussion focused on instruction from one school in which we worked.
FIGURE 6.4: Grade 8 mathematics team minutes.
Visit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks for a free reproducible version of this figure.
As the school leader, it is critical you understand and monitor the work of collaborative teams. Attend collaborative team meetings as often as you can, but if you cannot attend, always read the meeting minutes to determine how you can support and guide each team. The meeting minutes (or what you observe) should give you immediate feedback and information about how you can provide assistance to a team. For example, after reading the collaborative team agenda and minutes in figure 6.4 (page 131), you might organize the English language arts support the team is seeking with professional learning focused on instructional strategies to assist the students in understanding how to read and understand word problems. The first step could be to collaborate with the teachers on the team to determine exactly what they feel the students need, followed by a conversation with the grade 8 English language arts teachers (as the team suggested) to organize a quick professional learning opportunity for the team. We want to be clear, while this focus on instructional reading strategies in mathematics may not be a goal area or focus for professional learning for the school or district, it is still something that school leaders can and should support.
After supporting the professional learning, school leaders should follow up with classroom observations and growth-producing feedback, and listen to or review notes from collaborative team discussions to det
ermine implementation levels and next steps. By examining and acting on the minutes in figure 6.4, the leader addressed instructional needs and (indirectly) met student needs. This holds true when you think about strategies for small groups, interventions, and one-to-one student support. Teachers may be able to identify what the students need, but they do not always have all the tools in their toolboxes to provide the best instruction. As a school leader, you impact student success by monitoring teachers’ instructional needs.
Reflection
How do you currently support and monitor the work of your collaborative teams? Are you using their notes and conversations to identify areas of strength and to plan next steps for professional development, coaching, and so on? What can you do to strengthen this focus?
Wrap-Up
As we finish this important discussion on instructional leadership, it is so important that you find ways to support effective planning of instruction. Working with teams to see the benefits of collaborative planning that begin with the understanding of what students must master and then creating many opportunities for modeling, practicing, and formative checks for understanding aligned to goals for mastery give teachers a much better opportunity to successfully meet the needs of students. Wrap up your examination of leading instruction by completing the “Making an Impact in Eight: Leading Instruction” reflections (pages 134–136). In the next chapter, we turn our attention to the very important leadership skill that will help you reach your teachers and improve your ability to have deeper understanding of what you expect and support: the fine art of communication.
Making an Impact in Eight: Leading Instruction
The following eight ideas provide opportunities for further reflection and action. We provide five reflections on what great leaders do and avoid doing to gain focus, as well as three considerations for how to make an impact in eight minutes, eight weeks, and eight months to guide your leadership planning and practice.
Chapter 7
Fostering Communication
The art of communication is the language of leadership.
—James Humes
Strong communication skills are a key feature of powerful leadership, and these skills include building the staff’s capacity to communicate effectively. According to leadership experts Robert J. Marzano, Timothy Waters, and Brian A. McNulty (2005), in their book School Leadership That Works, “Communication is a critical feature of any endeavor in which people work in close proximity for a common purpose” (p. 46). They state that “communication refers to the extent to which the school leader establishes strong lines of communication with and between teachers and students” (Marzano et al., 2005, p. 46).
Marzano et al. (2005) further explain that the responsibility of the school leader includes developing effective means for teachers to communicate with one another, being easily accessible for communication with teachers, and maintaining open and effective lines of communication with staff. And, as stated so often in this book, we believe communication, like so many other leadership responsibilities, must be focused and intentional.
Unfortunately, school leaders often think about communication as a one-way street—something leaders do to others: we communicate with them. On the often frantic and busy days, do we even really effectively communicate with them? When Karen was an assistant principal, she got an unplanned lesson in effective communication. On an extremely busy day, her secretary ran into her office with a very urgent, frantic look, her voice shaking. She proclaimed, “The school is without water!” Karen looked out the window and saw water running down the hill away from the school and immediately called the city to report what must have been a water main break. The engineer was puzzled; there had been no other reported incidents or complaints from near the school. After a long (and a bit heated) discussion, Karen emerged from her office to get more information from her secretary—what she should have done first! With the appropriate clarifying questions and focus, Karen learned it was the water cooler—not the school’s city water source—that was the problem. The water rushing down the street had been from a passing street cleaning truck. This may seem like a simplistic example of a communication misstep in a school, however, in our everyday conversations we often rush or assume we understand. It is sometimes difficult to remember to slow down, focus, and check for understanding before proceeding.
In this chapter, we explore unproductive listening habits, including thinking of solutions, prying for details, and dwelling mentally. We then explore productive listening habits, such as asking clarifying questions, reframing the conversation, and closing your mind to other thoughts. Then we discuss deep understanding and what is involved in crucial conversations.
Reflection
Can you recall a time when you had a miscommunication with someone in your school because you were not listening attentively or asking the right questions?
Unproductive Listening Habits
Author and cognitive theorist Robert J. Garmston (2008) identifies three unproductive listening habits that plague many, especially busy leaders who engage in countless daily conversations. Garmston (2008) notes the following three mistakes people make that interfere with attentive listening.
1. Thinking of solutions while listening to someone else speaking
2. Prying for details about what is unimportant to the theme of a conversation
3. Dwelling mentally on a personal experience related to what is being described
Thinking of Solutions
School leaders tend to be solution focused and want to help others solve problems, but this can be counterproductive. While it is normal to think of solutions while listening, it does not contribute to building strong community. According to Garmston (2008), thinking of solutions while listening can cause a leader to lose credibility and trust because he or she might not truly understand the communication of others when busy thinking about how to respond and what solution to offer.
Prying for Details
Inquisitive listening is when listening is occurring, but the listener inquires to see how the speaker’s story compares to his or her own experiences. This takes the focus off the speaker and can make the speaker feel that the leader is not interested in what he or she has to say. Inquisitive listening can be a good thing if the leader’s inquiries are focused on truly understanding the problem instead of comparing his or her own experiences or just because he or she is curious.
Dwelling Mentally
When the speaker’s comments trigger a focus on personal experiences for the listener, autobiographical listening is occurring. This is often referred to as me too listening. Often, the listener can’t wait to share his or her own experience, sometimes cutting off the speaker to share the connection. In order to set aside this type of listening, the listener must recognize it and then send the thought to what Garmston (2008) refers to as call waiting—setting aside the thought to share later.
Reflection
Pay attention to your listening habits for a day. Which one of the three listening habits do you do most often? What do you notice about your listening habits and how they either contribute or detract from your ability to build community in your school?
Productive Listening Habits
In addition to avoiding the three negative listening habits, it is helpful to practice active listening habits. Active listening means focusing fully on the speaker’s message without distraction by doing the following.
• Asking clarifying questions
• Reframing the conversation
• Closing your mind to other thoughts
If you are not actively listening to the speaker, it is difficult to ask questions, reframe, and stay focused on what the speaker is attempting to communicate.
Asking Clarifying Questions
Good listeners ask clarifying questions to be sure that they understand the speaker fully and correctly. Similar to paraphrasing, good clarifying questions help resolve areas of confusion or misunderstanding. For example, the
listener can ask, “Did I hear you correctly when you said …?” “Am I clear that the problem is … ?” or “Am I understanding correctly?” Probing questions are another way to gain clarity and be sure that the speaker is providing clear and accurate information. Probing questions also help the speaker think deeply about the issue he or she is speaking about. Examples of probing questions include, “You said ‘everyone’ felt that…. Do you mean every single staff member? Which staff members specifically?” “Why do you think this is the case?” and “Then what?” Asking clarifying questions ensures the speaker that you are truly interested in what he or she is saying and that you are making an effort to fully understand.
Reframing the Conversation
Reframing involves turning a comment that might be construed as negative into a more positive or more neutral comment. For example, a speaker may say, “My staff are not attentive at staff meetings. They seem bored and uninterested.” Reframing this comment might look like this: “I hear you saying that you would like to see your staff be more energized and excited to learn what you are sharing at staff meetings. Let’s discuss some ways you could add more opportunities for staff to engage in the learning you are sharing.” Without this reframing, it is possible that the conversation could go on and on, focused more on complaints than on solutions.