Domain 2: Instructional Leadership
Standard 4: Faculty Development - Effective school leaders recruit, retain and develop an effective and diverse faculty and staff.
Recruiting, Retaining and Developing a Diverse Staff
How important is what I present in the classroom?
Instructional leaders are responsible for teaching and learning. In order to ensure that teachers are effectively teaching by implementing the instructional strategies, adhering to the instructional focus and teaching the standards, effective school leaders must monitor these expectations. There is a common phrase that is often stated when the discussion is centered on supervising – “Inspect What You Expect”.
A great management technique that is often used in the business profession that can be utilized in the education realm is Management by Walking Around (MBWA). This technique is derived from the Japanese Gemba walk called Genchi Genbutsu, which means “go and see for yourself”. One of the several benefits of MBWA is leaders will know what is occurring in the classroom and determine the areas of weaknesses and strengths. How do you know who are your model teachers? How do you know who are your struggling teachers? Effective school leaders must be present in the classroom (IT Managers Inbox, 2012)
Jenkins states that instructional leaders need to know what is going on in the classroom. Without this knowledge, they are unable to appreciate some of the problems teachers and students encounter. Therefore, a highly effective leader is seen walking the halls, praising student work, and acknowledging what teachers are doing.
With the increased focus on student achievement, the need for school leaders to be instructional leaders is paramount. With that being said, there are certain characteristics of an instructional leader and this type of school leader directly affects faculty development, which results in an increase of student achievement. Glanz (2004) states that instructional leaders are expertly trained in the areas of curriculum and instruction. Moreover, they are perceived as a teacher of teachers. They promote instructional improvement by conducting meaningful and ongoing instructional conferences, providing relevant and continuous staff development, and encourage teacher reflection about their own teaching practices.
Specifically, an instructional leader makes time to communicate about instruction. This can be done during data chats and grade level meetings where the school leader uses the data from student learning and classroom observations as a base for discussions with teachers. An instructional leader provides their teachers with time for them to collaborate and discuss teaching practices and to analyze data. A great example of this is teachers working in a professional learning community or lesson study group. When teachers work in this forum, school leaders are empowering them to be decision makers and teacher leaders. More importantly, instructional leaders encourage teachers to be risk-takers. They allow them to explore new ideas and strategies and share them with their colleagues.
