The Nebraska Leadership Initiative

The Nebraska Leadership Initiative Module Three: Instructional Leadership for Learning A Collaboration between NCSA, NDE, and ESUs

Instructional Leadership for Learning

Instructional Leadership for Learning • Use of Data • Curriculum • Instruction • Assessment

Instructional Leadership Rubric

Data provides the power to… Make good decisions, work intelligently, work effectively and efficiently, change things in better ways, know the impact of our hard work, help us prepare for the future, and know how to make our work benefit all children. from Data Anlaysis for Comprehensive Schoolwide Improvement

Quality Information Defined as the collection, management, and use of information to enable the school or district to make informed decisions, take specific actions, and assess the results of improvement efforts. from National Study of School Evaluation

Quality Information The analysis of research indicated that effective schools must: • Transform data into evidence. • Data must be used consistently as the basis for decision making. • Student performance results must also provide guidance that informs educators so as to allow mid-course adjustments. • Data feedback systems must rely on multiple sources of data.

Schools must collect and analyze data to understand the… • Current and future needs of the school community. • Ability of the current processes to meet those needs. • Ways in which the school and community are changing. • Root causes of problems. • Types of education programs and expertise that will be needed in the future.

Four Essential Questions from Dufour’s Learning by Doing • What do we want our students to learn? • How will we know when they have learned it? • How will we respond if they have not learned it? • How will we respond if they have already learned it?

Implications for Leadership Effective superintendents ensure that each school regularly examines the extent to which it is meeting achievement targets. The attainment of achievement goals is the primary indicator of success. from School District Leadership that Works: The Effect of Superintendent Leadership on Student Achievement

Leadership Team Reflection • What are our current practices? • How do we monitor current practices? • What new practices do we need to put in place to increase the academic achievement of our students? • How will we monitor those practices? • What obstacles might impede progress? • What support systems will enhance our progress? • What are our next steps?

Instructional Leadership Rubric Where would you place your school on the Instructional Leadership for Learning Rubric?

Which is most important: curriculum, instruction, or assessment?WHY?

Marzano’s “Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum” • Identify and communicate the content considered essential for all students versus that considered supplemental or necessary only for those seeking postsecondary education. • Ensure that the essential content can be addressed in the amount of time available for instruction. • Sequence and organize the essential content in such a way that students have ample opportunity to learn it. • Ensure that teachers address the essential content. • Protect the instructional time that is available.

Marzano: What Works in Schools

Core Tasks to Improve Teaching & Learning include. . . • Using instructional strategies that provide students with focus, feedback, and sufficient opportunity to master skills. • Using appropriate strategies to assess the performance of students’ academic, cognitive, and meta-cognitive skills. • Adapting instruction to meet individual needs and engage students. • Maximizing the use of time for instruction.

The Big Nine • Meta-analysis combines the results from a number of studies to determine the average effect of a given technique. • Researchers translate the results of this meta-analysis into a unit of measurement referred to as the effect size.

The Big Nine • Effect size of .20 is small • Effect size of .50 is medium • Effect size of .80 is large

The Big Nine

Planning for Instruction • Instructional planning needs to be thoughtful and purposeful. • Instructional planning is more than stringing together as many activities as can be completed in a unit of study. • The use of instructional strategies is to help the learner remember and apply information and skills, not just do schoolwork.

Planning for Instruction Teaching Schema for Mastery Learners from Improving Student Learning One Teacher at a Time • Setting Goals • Accessing Prior Knowledge • New Information • Applying declarative & procedural knowledge • Generalize or summarize • Homework

Each tool has a different purpose and provides different data. StateTests Classroom-basedAssessments NationalTests

Lezotte’s Frequent Monitoring of Student Progress • The First Generation: In the effective school, student academic progress is measured frequently through a variety of assessment procedures. The results of these assessments are used to improve individual student performance and also to improve the instructional program.

Lezotte’s Frequent Monitoring of Student Progress • The Second Generation: The use of technology will permit teachers to do a better job of monitoring their students’ progress. • A shift will occur from standardized norm-referenced paper-pencil tests and toward curricular-based, criterion-referenced measures of student mastery.

Assessment Users and Uses • Classroom Level • Instructional Support Level • Policy-Making Level

Classroom Level Student: Am I succeeding? Does my teacher think I’m capable of success? Teacher: What does this student need? Are my students improving? Parents: Is my child succeeding? Is this teacher doing a good job?

Instructional Support Level Principal: Is this teacher producing results in the form of student learning? Is instruction in our building producing results? Are our students qualifying for college? Curriculum Director: Is our program of instruction working? What adjustments need to be made to our curriculum?

Policy-Making Level Superintendent: Are our programs of instruction producing results in terms of student learning? Which schools deserve or need more or fewer resources? School Board: Are our students learning and succeeding and how much is it costing us? Department of Education: Are programs across the state producing results? Legislature: Are our students achieving in ways that prepare them to become productive citizens?

Discussion and Wrap-Up • What are the implications for leadership? • What are the implications for change?

The job of a leader is not just to defend the status quo, the job of a leader is to define a future . . . . .

Thank You! • We hope that this session will be meaningful for your schools and students.

The Nebraska Leadership Initiative