Data-Driven Instructional Leadership

Strategic Resourcing: “Strategic resourcing matches human resources to the strategic and operational requirements of the organization and ensures full utilization of those resources.” Smith & Smith, p. 55 The first element of data-driven leadership concerns reducing fragmentation and promoting coherence,… and taking a strategic approach to the use of money, time, and people. Smith and Smith, p. 55.

Strategic Resourcing “Strategic resourcing has an average effect size of 0.31 (Robinson, Lloyd, & Rowe, 2008, in Smith & Smith, 2015, p. 55). Resourcing Staff: Best hires, strong recruitment, performance interviews. Resourcing Instructional Resources: Examine collective decisions concerning curriculum materials, priorities, and choices of what will be taught.

Strategic Resourcing: Resourcing Instructional Time: Time division within the school; how much time is allocated to which areas of curriculum? Resourcing Instructional Leader’s Time: Time Journal: Keep a time journal for one week. How are you really spending your time? Priorities: Instructional Leadership, Public Relations, School Management, Discipline, Planning, Emergencies, Other?

Ensuring Teacher Effectiveness Promote clear goals and high expectations. Reduce teacher isolation and fragmented efforts. Ensure that teachers’ professional learning centers on “providing different or more effective strategies for teaching and learning” (Hattie, 2009, p. 245). Initiating discussions about instructional approaches with individual teachers and teams.

Ensuring Teacher and Staff Effectiveness Principal Behaviors that Promote Effective Teaching: Promote coherence of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Link curriculum to state learning goals and use common instructional strategies with fidelity (Newmann, Smith, Allensworth, & Bryk, 2001). Engage in ongoing dialogue with faculty about the relationship of teaching and leadership practices to student achievement

Ensuring Teacher and Staff Effectiveness Create a structure for on-going dialogue about student achievement growth. Calculate and examine teacher-by-teach and student-by student effect size data. Develop a “convergence of meaning” to help teachers make critical sense of the data. Help teachers link student learning to their classroom environment and instructional practices.

Ensuring Teacher and Staff Effectiveness Be a frequent presence in classrooms for the purpose of observing the impact of teacher work on student learning. Provide frequent feedback to teachers on what you observe. Link professional development to to needs that are focused on the common instructional framework. Make new instructional strategy a focus for teacher discussion and reflection.

Ensuring Teacher and Staff Effectiveness Methodically monitor student performance data. Use student performance data to drive continuous program improvement. Develop a clear understanding of which programs and practices are not having desired impact on student achievement. Percentage of teachers whose yearly effect size measures are 0.40+

Teacher Learning and Development “Principals play a key role in supporting and encouraging teachers’ professional growth (Smith & Smith, p. 79).” “Leading teacher learning and development is … one of the most impactful leadership strategies in which school leaders should be engaged (Smith & Smith, p. 79).” Research by (Timperley, Wilson, Barrar, & Fung (2007): 1) Professional interventions guided by explicit professional learning goals linked to student outcomes. 2) Outside expertise is employed to challenge the status quo.

Teacher Learning and Development Research by (Timperley, Wilson, Barrar, & Fung (2007): 3) Leaders participate in professional learning experiences along with teachers. 4) Teachers accept responsibility for teaching challenged academic groups. 5) Time for implementation of new ideas and practices is provided and supported. 6) Challenge existing assumptions and provide alternate instructional practices.

Orderly, Safe, Supportive Learning Environment “Create an environment that provides assurance that teachers can focus on teaching along with its impact on student achievement and students can focus on learning,” (Smith & Smith, p. 91). This provides a “solid foundation” that supports other instructional leadership practices. An environment of trust and respect.

Feedback for Learning (Hattie & Timperley, 2007): Definition of Feedback: “information provided by an agent (e.g., teacher, peer, book, parent, self, experience) regarding aspects of one’s performance or understanding” (p. 81, in Smith & Smith, p. 105). Feedback has an overall effect size of 0.75 Where am I going? How am I going? Where to next?

Feedback for Learning (Hattie & Timperley, 2007, in Smith & Smith, p. 111): Feedback at four different levels: 1) The Task Level – What tasks do I need to add or do differently? 2) The Process Level – What processes do I need to adjust? 3) The Self-Regulation Level – How can I better regulate my own performance? 4) Self Level – Feedback that compliments “self” without specifics of what was good or what needs to be changed.

Feedback for Learning Recommendations based on my own personal experience: Focus on positive. Be honest about what needs to be fixed. Encourage teacher self-reflection. Provide suggestions and solutions. Involve teacher in creating improvement plans. Be respectful and supportive as you provide feedback.

Deliberate, Theory-Based Practice Define “Problem of Practice” (ie: what needs to change?). Research: What is known about this issue? What suggestions can be found through research? Good resource:  What Works Clearinghouse: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/ Utah State Office of Education: www.schools.utah.gov

Deliberate, Theory Based Practice Based on your research, what is your solution/goal? What high-impact practices (1-2) could leverage goal attainment? What do you believe will happen? What data can you gather to “measure effect” or give feedback? Did your “intervention” provide the expected change? What should you do next?

Orderly, Safe, and Supportive Environment (1) Setting and enforcing clear expectations. (2) Protecting teachers from outside pressures. (3) Addressing staff conflict quickly and effectively. (Smith & Smith, p. 92). How do we do this?

References Hattie,J., Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta- analyses relating to achievement. New York: Routledge. Hattie, J.,& Timperley, H. (207). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81 – 112. Newman, F., Smith, B., Allensworth, E., & Bryk, A. (2001) Instructional program coherence: What it is and why it should guide school improvement policy. Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23(4), 297-321.

References Robinson, V.M., Lloyd, C.A., & Rowe, K. J. (2008). The impact of leadership on student outcomes: An analysis of the differential effects of leadership types. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44(5), 645-674. Smith, J.R., & Smith, R.L. (2015). Evaluating instructional leadership: Recognized practices for success. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. Timperley, H., Wilson, A., Barrar, H., & Fung, I. (2007). Teacher professional learning and development: Best evidence synthesis iteration [BES]. Wellington, NZ: Ministry of Education.