Leadership
Building Capacity Through Leadership
Leadership - Summary
Effective leadership acknowledges the agency of all members of the learning community to take on formal and informal leadership roles to advance the school mission.
To create the culture and conditions necessary for all to take on leadership roles, leaders lead by establishing a shared purpose, encouraging shared responsibilities and building leadership capacity in the learning community.
Effective leaders:
Develop strong personal relationships.
Work collaboratively with others.
Value and operate with diversity.
Are open and share
Listen to understand
Praise more than criticize
Source: ibo.org | Career Management
The Future of Educational Leadership
An Insightful Booklist For PYP Leaders
Trust & Inspire
This wonderful keynote presentation by Stephen MR Covey focuses on what he believes is the leadership crisis today, where even though our world has changed drastically, our leadership style has not. Most organizations, teams, schools, and families today, he states still operate from a model of “command and control,” focusing on hierarchies and compliance from people. In his speech, he offers a simple yet bold solution: to shift from this “command and control” model to a leadership style of “trust and inspire.”
Stephen RH Covey's book: Trust & Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in Others
PYP Coordinator 101
But walking in on the first day, planning and organizing for the year ahead can seem like an insurmountable mountain.
Here is a friendly and heartfelt look at how to survive the first month.
Sustainable Leadership Criteria
Especially at the middle leader level, colleagues can work collaboratively to create success criteria that can positively impact student learning by developing knowledge, effectiveness, impact, and contributions toward professional culture. Developing criteria and reflection routines for leadership success that can be sustained over time, adapted, and used at your school will help measure leadership growth and its impact on student learning. This process allows the consideration of individual leadership, team, and overall school growth so that appropriate support can be offered where needed. It allows schools and leaders to know how they are doing and where they might need to make adjustments and/or decisions to continue on the same path.
Click/Tap to view more
Book: What Makes a Great Principal: The Five Pillars of Effective School Leadership
By: George Couros & Allyson Apsey "What Makes a Great Principal" provides an insightful look at the key qualities and practices that define truly effective school leaders. Authors George Couros and Allyson Apsey, both experienced educators themselves, outline five core "pillars" that they believe are essential for principals to embody:
Visionary Leadership - Great principals cast a compelling vision for their school and inspire others to work towards that vision. They think big picture while still being grounded in the daily realities of their school.
Click/Tap to Continue
Amazon.com: ISBN13 -978-1948334730 / Impress (April 17, 2024)/ 212 pages
Instructional Leadership - Effective instructional leaders are deeply knowledgeable about curriculum and pedagogy. They work closely with teachers to improve instructional practices and create an environment of continuous learning for all.
Management Leadership - While not the sexiest part of the job, principals must still be skilled at managing school operations, budgets, schedules and resources effectively and efficiently.
Relational Leadership - Perhaps most importantly, great principals build strong relationships and view their school as a community. They connect with and support students, teachers, parents and the wider community.
Innovative Leadership - The best principals aren't complacent. They embrace change, encourage new ideas, and aren't afraid to take calculated risks to better serve students.
Through a mix of research, relatable examples and practical advice, the authors make a compelling case that integrating these five pillars is crucial for creating positive school cultures and driving student success. While targeted primarily at principals, the book offers valuable insights for any current or aspiring educational leader.
Overall, "What Makes a Great Principal" is an insightful and actionable guide for cultivating the mindsets and practices needed to lead an effective 21st century school. The authors' passion for great leadership shines through.
Spaces Leaders Need to Create
Theory of Thriving at Work
Observe Me - Teachers Observing Teachers
"A teacher who doesn’t collaborate works on an isolated island. When this lack of collaboration permeates an entire school, teachers more closely resemble independent contractors than colleagues." In this podcast, Rober Kaplinski advocates for teachers to observe colleagues by posting a sign to let people know they are welcome in their classroom. Here’s a template you can use and below is what it looks like.
For this to work there needs to be an element of trust and risk-taking preferably school-wide, but at minimum between two teachers. I would start small - with my grade-level colleagues. During a planning session, you could set out the protocols for observation and feedback. No time to observe, you say. With a grade-level colleague decide to plan and co-teach a lesson. Decide on who will teach what and come up with a few observation goals (look fors). Combine classes - teach and observe each other - reflect.
** If you've had your sign up but aren't getting the results you hoped for, then here's a blog post that should really help you.
Workshop Protocol to Solve Any Problem
Looking for a workshop/PD protocol that you can use for ALMOST ANYTHING involving getting a people in a room to define and solve challenges. Look no farther than Lightning Decision Jam: A Workshop to Solve Any Problem
This website blog provides step-by-step instructions on how to run a LDJ workshop (see video - right). There is even a video that explains the process. The LDJ workshop is perfect for learning coordinators, grade level/division leaders and administrators wishing to define and solve challenges.
Also, check out A. Juliani's video where he walks you through the steps of a "Lightning Decision Jam" which he believes is one of the fastest ways to take our problems and reframe them into "how might we..." statements and ultimately a plan that multiple stakeholders have developed together.
Giving Constructive Feedback
Feedback is essential for improvement, regardless of age, profession, or skill level. But many in leadership avoid giving constructive feedback or simply focus on the positive. Why is that?
Things to Discuss At Appraisal
Articles: Educational Leadership
Click/Tap to ViewWho Should Evaluate Teachers? | Edutopia | July 14, 2023 | Integrating peer review systems into teacher evaluations can lead to improved teacher effectiveness, academic achievement, and collaboration among colleagues.
One Teacher’s Ideas on How Administrators Can Support Teachers | Edutopia | June 2, 2023 | The key point for school leaders, this teacher believes, is to focus on collaboration, inquiry, and active listening.
When Administrators Lead From the Middle | Edutopia | June 20, 2023 | Bringing a collaborative mindset to the work of leading a school has benefits for teachers and students—and administrators as well.
How Principals Can Find and Work With a Mentor | Edutopia | May 31, 2023 | If you’re a principal, or aiming to be one, it’s a good idea to connect with an experienced leader who can guide you in your career.
How to Become a Better Listener, According to Science | Fast Company | June 5, 2022 | How well and frequently you listen to others is a better predictor of your leadership potential than your actual intelligence or personality.
Designing a Better Staff Meeting | Edutopia | Sept 29, 2021 | With the right planning, these meetings can maximize collaboration and even be uplifting and a little fun.
Effective Teacher Professional Development
In 2017 the Learning Policy Institute put out a comprehensive report on Effective Teacher Professional Development, written by Linda Darling-Hammond, Maria E. Hyler, and Madelyn Gardner, with assistance from Danny Espinoza.
After reading the report it comes down to two things that hold back most professional learning experiences:
Click/Tap to Continue
Reason #1: A lot of professional learning is "sit and get".
The report is clear. This does not usually work, unless it is to kick off follow-up active PD sessions.
In the report they identify seven factors of effective PD. Five out of the first six are specifically about active and hands on learning.
Using the methodology detailed in Appendix A, we identify seven characteristics of effective PD. Specifically, we find that it:
1. Is content focused
2. Incorporates active learning utilizing adult learning theory (can't do this in sit and get)
3. Supports collaboration, typically in job-embedded contexts (can't do this in sit and get)
4. Uses models and modeling of effective practice (can't do this in sit and get)
5. Provides coaching and expert support (can't do this in sit and get)
6. Offers opportunities for feedback and reflection (can't do this in sit and get)
We see that each characteristic is slightly different, but almost all of them cannot be successful in a "sit and get" type of learning environment. This is why the most effective PD is often an "Earn to Learn" session where both the facilitator and the learner are working to create authentic meaning out of the experience.
Reason #2: A lot of professional learning is "one and done"
The seventh characteristic of effective PD is "sustained duration". This means it cannot be a single session on a single topic. When we do this there is no research to support it being effective in any way, and is often a waste of time.
If you are leading professional learning, try to filter the experiences and sessions between these two reasons and see how it stacks up.
If you have to do a sit and get session, follow it up with a hands on experience like a design sprint, rapid prototyping session, or empathy mapping experience.
Then follow up and continue the focus of your professional learning for a sustained duration to make it effective.
Source: Learning Policy Institute & A.J. Juliani Blog
Leading a 'Thinking School' Podcast
This Rethinking Education podcast is a fascinating conversation about why we need to rethink how we capture and evaluate and celebrate the achievements of young people; and how to transform a school by focusing on the professional learning and development of teachers. It would be inspiring to share this podcast with teachers/admin and discuss the implications for their school…and then create a road map on how to implement some of the ideas.
3 Ways Administrators Can Show They Care About Teachers as People
It’s easy for school leaders to get caught up in roles and responsibilities—but it’s important to remember that teachers are more than their job titles.
How To Lead With Empathy
Six ways to build a school culture that prioritizes understanding the experiences and perspectives of others.
Guide to Collaborative Leadership
What's the difference between heroes and leaders? In this insightful talk, Lorna Davis explains how our idolization of heroes is holding us back from solving big problems -- and shows why we need "radical interdependence" to make real change happen. Happy viewing.
Cognitive Biases to become a Decisive Leader
Learn about 12 cognitive biases to become a decisive leader. Humans like to twist the reality in a way that goes along with their own beliefs. Consequently, we often tend to speak with confidence about things we don’t fully understand. As much as we want to be right, rational and logical, we are constantly under the influence of cognitive biases.Almost everything in our lives is a bias. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s important to be aware of these biases and try to mitigate them as much as possible to be in the known.
**You may also wish to explore: What is Bias
Strategies for Leaders to Improve School Culture
School leaders play a critical role in shaping school culture. They should empower and support teachers by providing necessary resources and professional development opportunities. Involving staff in developing the school's mission and vision creates a collaborative culture. Recognizing achievements and celebrating successes of students, teachers, and staff is important. Building partnerships with parents and the community enhances learning experiences. Lastly, leaders should lead by example, demonstrating desired behaviors and values. Implementing these strategies improves school culture and creates a positive environment for all.
Guided Reflection and Review
For a successful beginning to the school year, Toddle provides you a straightforward three-step blueprint designed to assist you in reflecting and resetting with purpose. Developed by Mike Matthews, a seasoned curriculum leader and coach, this one-hour guided reflection session will enable you to ponder on the previous year, delve into your key takeaways, and establish actionable goals for the new school year.
What to Look for in Today's Classroom
What Every Child Needs to Hear
Things Students Want Educators to Know
PYP Approaches to Teaching Poster
Principled Negotiation: Getting to Yes
