1. Instructional Leadership Teams
Statewide System of Support

2. Instructional Leadership Teams Why? Purpose? Work?
Module 1:
Instructional Leadership Teams Why? Purpose? Work?

3. Introductions and Connection
Getting to Know Each Other
Introduce yourself.
State your role within the school
Discuss what you love most about your work
Answer one of the following:
Which color best would best describe you and why?
The person that had the greatest impact on my becoming an educator was …because…
Something interesting you might not know about me is...

4. Theory of Action
If by the end of this professional learning session, ILT members will be able to…
Analyze and discuss the importance of shared and distributed leadership in improving student achievement while implementing the Massachusetts Frameworks and
Identify the foundational work of an ILT
Then we will build the capacity of our leaders and teachers to achieve targeted areas of improvement and develop continuous improvement planning and school based improvement planning.

5. Instructional Leadership Teams: Why? Purpose? Work?
Why? Highly effective schools foster and support distributed leadership, shared responsibility, and time for professional collaboration all focused on improving student achievement.
Purpose? Shared leadership through the empowering of teacher leaders build opportunities for feedback, growth, retain teachers, and drive increased student achievement.
Work? Shared decision making, focus on instruction and continuous improvement through professional learning, guides, supports and monitors PLCs, makes instructional decisions based on internal and external data.

6. What parts of this quote resonate with you? Why?
Reflection
“Leadership acts like a “driver,” in building a school’s academic capacity, and research has found a more team- oriented and collaborative approach to school leadership is directly linked with improving teaching and learning.” (Hallinger and Heck, ,2010)
What parts of this quote resonate with you? Why?

7. Personal Work Style Inventory for Group / Team Work
Compass Points
Personal Work Style Inventory for Group / Team Work  
Process
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
Determine the compass point that best describes how you work when in a
group.
Join the others who
share your compass
point.
Discuss the
characteristics of
your compass point and
the characteristics of others.

8. Which of these best describes how you work in a GROUP?
North / South / East / West
NORTH A leader; Goal-centered; Fast- paced;Task- oriented;Assertive;Decisive;Confident; Determined;Competitive;Independent
WEST A careful thinker; Quality- centered; Analytical; Organized; Logical; Focused; Exact; Perfectionist; Industrious; Structured; Detailed
EAST A speculative thinker;Idea- centered;Creative;In- novative;Flexible;Vi- sionary;Spontaneous; Enthusiastic;Free- spirited
Which of these best describes how you work in a GROUP?
SOUTH A team player; Process-oriented; Slow-paced; Good listener;Non- confrontational;Sensitive;Patient; Understanding;Generous; Helpful

9. Regroup in Your Compass Point
Answer the following questions as a group. Chart your responses. Be prepared to share your responses.
What are the strengths of our style? (4 adj.)
What are the limitations of our style? (4 adj.)
What style do we find the most difficult to work with and why?
What do we need from others so that we can make our work together more successful?

10. Shared Leadership Framework: Professional Reading Discussion
Guiding question: What is shared leadership and how do we cultivate it in our school?
Then:
Protocol: Example - Save the Last Word for Me
First:
Instructional Leadership Teams: Leading the Way to Successful Common Core State Standards Implementation

12. Thank you!

13. Instructional Leadership Teams Membership and
Modules 2:
Instructional Leadership Teams Membership and
Meeting Logistics

14. Theory of Action
If by the end of this professional learning session, ILT members will be able to…
identify and discuss the importance of shared and distributed leadership in improving student achievement while implementing the Massachusetts Frameworks and
Identify the roles and responsibilities as well as meeting logistics of a high functioning instructional leadership team.
Then we will build the capacity of our leaders and teachers to achieve targeted areas of improvement and develop continuous improvement planning and school based improvement planning.

15. Instructional Leadership Teams
Membership, Roles and Responsibilities
Meeting Logistics

16. Is and Is Not An ILT is: Focused on student achievement for all.
Committed to school-wide change.
Models shared and distributed leadership
Models and works as a professional learning community.
Knowledgeable about the content and rigor expected in the MA Curriculum Frameworks.
Knowledgeable about how students learn.
Willing to provide professional learning.
Communicates information from ILT school-wide so everyone feels a part of school improvement efforts.

17. Is and Is Not An ILT is NOT:
Additional responsibilities for an existing committee.
Composed of only staff haphazardly.
An elite group.
The school improvement council however some staff may serve on both teams
School managers
Dominated by one person or group.

18. Instructional Leadership Framework: Professional Reading Discussion
Guiding question: What is instructional leadership and how do we improve student learning by all staff in a teaming approach?
First: Read an article on Instructional Leadership
Then: Protocol of Choice

19. Instructional Leadership Framework
Protocol TBD
Video:
ILT at Condon School, Boston, MA

20. Leaders
Buffalos vs. Geese

21. Morale Lessons from Geese
Video:
Morale Lessons from Geese

23. Thank you!

24. Stakeholder Communication
Module 3:
Stakeholder Communication

25. Theory of Action
If by the end of this professional learning session, ILT members will be able to…
identify and discuss the importance of shared and distributed leadership in improving student achievement while implementing the Massachusetts Frameworks and
Identify the importance of two-way communication among all school stakeholders as a responsibility and function of a high functioning instructional leadership team.
Then we will build the capacity of our leaders and teachers to achieve targeted areas of improvement and develop continuous improvement planning and school based improvement planning.

26. Instructional Leadership Communication:
Professional Reading Discussion
Guiding question: Why do high-functioning teams welcome disagreement as a way to bring about the best results?
First: Read ASCD article Making Team Differences Work
Then: Protocol of Choice such as Save the Last Word for Me

27. Instructional Leadership Communication
Choose one quote and write a brief reflection on how this quote can support student achievement as a member of an ILT.

28. Member Communication continued
Communication Items for Meetings:
Agenda
Review of team norms
Minutes from previous meeting
Related documents that may be referenced and/or used at meeting such as data, surveys, or resources for planning professional development

29. Member Communication continued
Communication Items Outside of Meetings
Agendas
Send out 2 days before meeting
Hard copies, if need be
Minutes
Distribute digitally within two days after the meeting
Determine if your team wants minutes sent to members only to edit before sharing with staff
Store minutes electronically
Electronically Post ILT Folder for All Staff
Meeting dates for year and update any changes
Post all forms of data once analyzed by team including surveys, learning walk results, articles, etc.

30. School-wide Communication
Communicating with Faculty
Strive for transparency with faculty
Explain the ILT to faculty: what it is, and what it’s not
Develop a consistent system for communicating with school community on current work (i.e. faculty meetings, weekly communication, grade level teams)
Share findings generated from a learning walk within 2 days
Invite interested faculty to attend a portion of an ILT meeting

31. Clarity in Communication
Turn and talk with a team member about a time you felt you were misunderstood and the impact it made on you at the time.

32. School-wide Communication
Communicating with Students
Consider including student leaders at one of your ILT meetings when appropriate
Share relevant information with the student council and other co-curricular groups
Share student survey findings with students
Invite students to share ideas with ILT regarding student-related initiatives
Communicating with Whole School Community
Parent surveys--share results with parents
Take a role as an ILT member at your school’s open house
Choose members to present current work to district and at School Committee meetings

33. Communication
With a partner pick one of the following activities that supports communication with the school community and be prepared to share your idea using pictures, words and/or both on chart paper. Be creative!
Develop a presentation of data to the entire school in order to create a shared understanding of the data and do so in an interactive manner.
Develop a plan that would support two-way communication with school stakeholders throughout the school year.
Create an activity for the whole staff that reminds teachers of the importance of building relationships with students.

34. Miscommunication Happens

36. Thank you!

37. Examining Instructional Practice Strategies
Module 4:
Examining Instructional Practice Strategies

38. Theory of Action
If by the end of this professional learning session, ILT members will be able to…
identify and discuss the importance of shared and distributed leadership in improving student achievement while implementing the Massachusetts Frameworks and
Identify and understand varied ways of examining effective and researched based instructional practices.
Then we will build the capacity of our leaders and teachers to achieve targeted areas of improvement and develop continuous improvement planning and school based improvement planning.

39. Role of the Instructional Leader in Leading Pedagogical Improvement?
Developing a shared vision of high quality teaching and learning and provides on-going open communication about such practices and expectations.
Communicating the vision and associated action steps to all stakeholders
Leading a dialogue on equity and diversity school-wide
Using data to make informed decisions regarding school and district goals with clear expectations for all stakeholders as well as a process to monitor effectiveness of all decisions and actions
Supporting and providing feedback for teacher growth based on evidence of student learning

40. Role of the Instructional Leader in Leading Pedagogical Improvement?
Allocating and deploying resources based on data  
Focusing on the continuous learning of staff by examining data
Scheduling adequate time and space for collaboration
Managing school wide systems and processes critical to teaching and learning
Build and calibrate capacity of teacher leaders in examining instructional practice through leading learning walks, peer observations, lesson study, looking at student work and video analysis

41. Learning Walks
Learning walks allow a building administrator or team leader to lead a group of teachers into a variety of classrooms to examine one focused area of instructional practice.  
Participants collect data based on a designed rubric through written observations about a teacher’s instructional practice and evidence of student learning.  
After collecting the information, the group engages in a robust discussion about what was seen, its implications for improving instruction and learning, and how it relates to school improvement or district goals.  
Observations are not evaluative in nature, but instead allow participants identify patterns or trends to deepen their understanding of what is required to engage in school wide improvement.

42. Learning Walks Video
Learning Walks

43. Learning Walks
Turn and talk to a partner about how you would proceed to communicate to your colleagues about what Learning Walks are. Then make two columns on a piece of paper and list the strengths and areas of concern as they relate to the implementation of Learning Walks in this school. Be prepared to share out.

44. Peer Observation
Peer observations allow teachers to observe each other during the school day and provide an opportunity to have meaningful conversation about their instructional practice.  
Participants build common understanding about what strong instructional practice looks like, try out new instructional practices or curriculum in a low-risk environment, and makes the work of teaching and learning more public.  
All teachers have the opportunity to observe instruction and to receive and give generative feedback on instructional practice.
Peer observations align with a more traditional evaluation cycle as there is time for a pre-and post-conference, observation, and follow up regarding changes made based on the observation.  

45. Peer Observation Introduction by Teachers to Peer Observation
Guiding question: Why does Peer Observation improve student achievement school wide?
Read the ASCD Article: Peer-to-Peer Observation: Five Questions for Making It Work:
Then: Protocol of Choice such as Save the Last Word for Me

46. Lesson Study
Lesson study is a long term professional development practice rooted in inquiry and problem solving that allows a team of teachers (who typically teach the same subject) to collaboratively design a research-based lesson reflective of effective instructional practices that are aligned to curriculum frameworks.
A teacher volunteers to teach the research lesson in front of their team to get and give feedback on the lesson’s design, and reflect on the outcomes to better understand student learning and improve the lesson.
This practice makes student learning a focus of the lesson.  Lesson study allows teachers to be the driver of instructional change, promotes data driven decision making and creates a sense of ownership for all involved

47. Lesson Study Lesson Study
After viewing the video on lesson study use the Chalk Talk Protocol with the heading on the chart paper: “What did you learn from the video?”
Chalk Talk Protocol Link

48. Looking at Student Work
Guiding question: How does Looking at Student Work by high-functioning teams bring about teaching and learning to a more robust level?
Then: Protocol of Choice such as Save the Last Word for Me
First: Read an article Looking at Student Work by Georgea M. Langer and Amy B. Colton in EL

49. Calibration
Calibration activities focus professional development on developing a shared understanding of high-quality instruction, rigor, and student engagement and is a critical professional development goal for leadership teams and faculty.  
Examples of calibration activities include: observing instruction through direct study or through video examples, looking at student work using a common rubric, or developing common assessments.  
Calibration practices help build the coherence and coordination necessary for rapid improvement and eliminates variance in instructional quality that so commonly impedes higher performance.

50. MA ESE Exemplar Videos
Pick an area of interest from the URL above and watch a calibration video. While watching the video please refer to the “What to Look for” document from the Inclusive Guidebook. Please be prepared to share out your observations referencing the “What to Look for”!
Inclusive Guide What to Look For

53. Thank you!

54. Using and Understanding Data – Tom?
Module 5:
Using and Understanding Data – Tom?

55. Theory of Action
If by the end of this professional learning session, ILT members will be able to…
identify and discuss the importance of shared and distributed leadership in improving student achievement while implementing the Massachusetts Frameworks and
TBD
Then we will build the capacity of our leaders and teachers to achieve targeted areas of improvement and develop continuous improvement planning and school based improvement planning.

57. Thank you!