Instructional Supervision

WSU Principal Preparation Program

November 12, 2014

Our Mission
The Center for Educational Leadership (CEL) is a nonprofit service
arm of the University of Washington College of Education dedicated to
eliminating the achievement gap that continues to divide our nations
children along the lines of race, class, language and disability.

Equity Is a Key Principle of Our Work

Equal Outcomes

Fairness

Access and Support

Equity

Respect for Differences

Achievement of
Every Student

Foundational Ideas
1.

If students are not learning they are not being afforded

powerful learning opportunities.

2.

Teaching is a highly complex and sophisticated endeavor.

3.

Practice of sophisticated endeavors only improves when it is

open for analysis and critique.

4.

Improving practice in a culture of public scrutiny requires

reciprocal accountability.

5.

Reciprocal accountability implies a particular kind of

leadership to improve teaching and learning.

6.

Leaders cannot lead what they dont know.

Foundational Ideas

Of the foundational ideas, what resonates most?

What is most challenging?

Getting Alignment Around Instructional Effectiveness

SCHOOL
LEADERSHIP
DISTRICT
LEADERSHIP
Helping district leaders to
develop policies, practices
and structure that support
principals and teachers in
delivering high-quality
instruction.

Helping district leaders and

principals observe, analyze
and lead for high-quality
instruction.

TEACHING
EFFECTIVENESS

STUDENT
LEARNING
All students,
regardless of race,
class, language and
disability, achieve at
high levels.

Developing the teaching

expertise necessary to
ensure that all students
learn at high levels.

Two-Part Equation

Common language for

high-quality instruction

Knowing how to lead

for that

Instructional
Anatomy

Instructional
Leadership

Instructional
Effectiveness

The Instructional Core:

We can increase student learning by
Text/Task
Content

Context

Increasing the level and

complexity of the
curriculum/content.

Teacher

Student

Increasing the knowledge,

skills and expertise of the
teacher.

Changing the role of

the student as learner.

CHILDRESS, ELMORE, GROSSMAN, KING. Public Education Leadership Project, 2007

Instructional Leadership
observe teaching and learning (nonjudgmental)
script an observation (descriptive & specific)
analyze an observation (use of frameworks)
lead conversations with teachers
give feedback to teachers
organize learning opportunities for teachers
lead/facilitate learning opportunities for teachers
monitor implementation of new learning

Learning Target & Success Criteria

Hone skills to support a coaching conversation
Articulate a personal practice goal around observation,
analysis, and organizing a coaching conversation

Foundational Skills for Observation & Analysis

Non-judgmental noticing

Citing specific evidence during analysis

Asking authentic questions to better understand a

teachers decision making related to specific evidence

Using a strength-based approach

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Observing Examining our Process

What do you tend to look/listen for?
What biases might you bring to classroom observation?
What might you see or hear that would put you in a
judgment mode?

Observing Foundational Questions

What do I see?
What do I see that makes me say that?
What else do I see?

From the work of Abigail Housen and Visual Thinking Strategies, New York.

Descriptive Observation:
Learning to See, Unlearning to Judge
Helps us to search for cause and effect relationships
between what we observe teachers and students doing
and what students actually know and are able to do as a
consequence.
Keeps us focused on analyzing what we see going on in
the classroom vs. debating what constitutes effective
instruction.

City, Elmore & Fiarman, Instructional Rounds in Education, Chapter 4.

Description With Judgment: Reflect

The teacher read from a book that was not at the
appropriate level for the class.

There was too much time on discussion, not enough time

on individual work.

The students conducted a sophisticated lab experiment.

Description With Judgment

The teacher read from a book that was not at the
appropriate level for the class.

There was too much time on discussion, not enough time

on individual work.

The students conducted a sophisticated lab experiment.

Description Without Judgment

The teacher read from a 7th grade text.
Students spent 45 of 55 minutes in a group discussion. Students
spent 10 minutes on individual work.
Teams of students conducted a lab experiment using a 5 step
inquiry method to measure transfer of energy in plants. Students
asked questions of each other: How can we be sure our findings
are accurate, and How will we validate our findings?

Adapted from A Presentation of the National Reading Technical Assistance Center.

Specificity of Evidence
The students talked to each other.
vs.
T. asked students to turn and talk to a partner about the focus for
their learning.

Sts. sat on rug in front of rm and turned to their partner and took
turns talking about what they would be learning today.

T. knelt on the ground next to three partner groups and listened to

their conversation

Case study - Jess

Jess has been teaching for six years. She is an eager
professional learner, a thoughtful practitioner and has
participated in professional development opportunities. She
has been committed to her Professional Learning
Community, which consists of other math teachers in her
building.
Jesss district has had a math initiative for two years, which
is focused on getting students to talk and think in disciplinespecific ways. Additionally, Jess has chosen to work on
increasing student engagement in her classroom,
specifically though increasing student-to-student talk and
having students justify their thinking using mathematical
language.

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Jess video

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Noticing: Sharing Observations

In your notes, highlight what you noticed related to Jess
area of focus:
What did you notice?
What could this be evidence of?

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Sharing Observations and Calibrating Evidence

I noticed ________.
Why do you think that?
How do you know?
What is your evidence?

22

Wondering

Is there anything about the teachers thinking or decisionmaking do you want to know more about?

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Conversation as a Data Point

What do you want to know about the teachers intentions
related to her area of focus?
What do you want to listen for in relation to how a teacher
thinks about her area of focus?

A Wonder is / is not
IS a genuine question to help you learn from the teacher
and helps prepare you to listen for the teachers thinking

IS NOT
A suggestion in disguise
A yes/no question
Feedback

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Wonderings Are Not Feedback

The purpose of wondering is to assume positive intent and
not become overly committed to our initial interpretations:
part of the feedback process to help us understand what
to bring forward as suggestions and what to hold on to as
information for further professional development
help us understand the teachers decision-making and
thinking

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Wonder: Possible Question Stems

How did you make decisions about [who to call on,
who to check in with]
What is your vision for [how students should
participate in, how students should show their
understanding.]
What did you learn from/about your students today
when you/when they?
Talk me through [your thinking about, your planning
for, what you noticed when]
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Analyzing Notes Strength-Based

What can the teacher do? (Code with a c)
What is the teacher on the verge of being able to do?
(Code with a v)

Defining Can and Verge of

Can means there is strong evidence that the practice is in
place (with intention) and effective.
Verge of means there is evidence of the practice in place
(with intention) but it may not be as effective as it needs to
be.

Identifying Possible Feedback

Immediate Coaching Points:
Based on the instructional framework.
Based on verges of.
Based on evidence from observation.
Long-term Coaching Points:
Based on the instructional framework.
Based on what you believe the teacher may be far from
being ready to enact in their classroom.
Based on lack of evidence in practice.
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Learning Target & Success Criteria

Hone skills to support a coaching conversation
Articulate a personal practice goal around observation,
analysis, and organizing a coaching conversation