Table of Contents
About the Author xi
Introduction 1
The Importance of Effective Instructional Leadership 2
About This Book 4
Week 1 High-Performance Instructional Leadership Fundamentals 7
1 Understanding Why Instructional Leaders Belong in Classrooms 9
Gain Decisional Information 10
Build Strong Professional Relationships 11
Enhance Professional Development 11
Day I Action Challenge: Determine Your Baseline for Classroom Visits 12
2 Following the High-Performance Instructional Leadership Model 15
Make Frequent Visits 16
Make Brief Visits 17
Make Substantive Visits 18
Make Open-Ended Visits 19
Make Evidence-Based Visits 19
Make Criterion-Referenced Visits 20
Make Conversation-Oriented Visits 21
Day 2 Action Challenge: Find Your Framework 22
3 Acknowledging Related Instructional Leadership, Supervision, and Walkthrough Models 23
Formal Teacher Observations 23
Annual Formal Evaluations 25
Mini-Observations 26
Data-Collection Walkthroughs 26
Feedback-Focused Walkthroughs 28
Instructional Coaching 30
The Downey Walkthrough 31
Learning Walks and Instructional Rounds 32
Hybrid Models 34
Day 3 Action Challenge: Review Your Instructional Leadership Models 34
4 Conducting Your First Two Cycles of Visits 35
Consider Planning Issues 35
Conduct Your First Cycle of Visits 39
Look Ahead to Your Second Cycle of Visits 40
Day 4 Action Challenge: Visit Your First Three Classrooms 41
5 Thinking Ahead to Your Third Cycle of Visits 43
Keep an Open Mind 43
Prepare Staff for Your Third Round of Visits 44
Take Notes and Share Them With Teachers 45
Forge Stronger Links to Your Instructional Framework 46
Experience the Rewards of the Classroom Habit 48
Day 5 Action Challenge: Visit a Team 49
Week 2 High-Performance Habits 51
6 Making Time to Visit Classrooms 53
Reduce Interruptions From Emergencies 53
Create Time Through Self-Discipline 55
Schedule Short Time Blocks for Visiting Classrooms 55
Coordinate and Track Your Visits 58
Day 6 Action Challenge: Schedule Your Classroom Visit Blocks 59
7 Keeping Your Communication Channels Under Control 61
Stay Current 62
Streamline Your Information Sources 62
Reduce Interruptions From Non-Emergency Communication 63
Avoid "Fuzzy" Channels for Important Requests 64
Process Your Inboxes 64
Day 7 Action Challenge: Streamline Your Inboxes and Communication 67
8 Managing the Work You're Not Doing Yet 69
Separate Planning From Doing 70
Use a Task-Management App 70
Keep Your Task Lists Short 74
Prioritize Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats 74
Day 8 Action Challenge: Link Everything to Your Task-Management App's Inbox 76
9 Organizing Your To-Do List 77
Organize by Action With the PEEP Approach 77
Organize by Due Date, Time Required, and Energy Level 79
Out of Sight, Out of Mind, but Not Out of Control 82
Dauy 9 Action Challenge: Set Up Your PEEPs 82
10 Maximizing Your Mental Energy With Habits 85
Learn How Patterns Become Habits 85
Understand How Habits Work 86
See Why Habits Matter 87
Conserve Mental Energy With Habits 90
Learn Five Ways to Change Your Habits 91
Day 10 Action Challenge: Inventory Your Habits 93
Week 3 High-Impact Instructional Conversations 95
11 Going Beyond Data Collection and the Feedback Sandwich 97
Learn Why Data Collection Undermines Professional Conversations 98
Understand Why the Feedback Sandwich Undermines Professional Conversations 100
Avoid Feedback Unrelated to Teachers' Goals 102
Day 11 Action Challenge: Break the Suggestion Habit 103
12 Facilitating Evidence-Based Conversations 105
Ask Evidence-Based Questions 105
Ask Genuine Questions 106
Ground Conversation in Specific Evidence 107
Understand the Teacher's Goals 110
Seek Context and Withhold Judgment 111
Evaluate Practice, Not Lessons 111
Day 12 Action Challenge: Refer to Evidence 113
13 Bringing a Shared Instructional Framework Into the Conversation 115
Understand Problems With Opinion-Based Conversations 116
Use the Instructional Framework as an Arbiter 116
Understand the Components of Your Instructional Framework 117
Make Sense of the Instructional Framework and Grain Size 120
Learn Strategies for Handling Disagreements About Performance 122
Day 13 Action Challenge: Use Instructional Framework Language 124
14 Developoing Skills for High-Impact Conversations 125
Have Professionally Rewarding Conversations 125
Listen When Teachers Ask for Feedback 126
Understand How to Handle Teachers Who Become Defensive 127
Have Impactful Conversations 128
Accept a Lack of Closure 129
Day 14 Action Challenge: Engage Without Defensiveness 130
15 Handling the Toughest Conversations 131
React Thoughtfully When You're Not Welcome 131
Discourage the Impromptu Dog-and-Pony Show 133
Keep Conversations on Track 134
Maintain Rigor and Accuracy in Discussing Levels of Practice 135
Day 15 Action Challenge: Prepare for Challenging Conversations 136
Week 4 High-Performance Instructional Leadership Enhancement 137
16 Building Your Feedback Repertoire 139
Wtrite High-Quality Feedback 140
Learn the Vocabulary of Your Curriculum 141
Keep Your Feedback Repertoire Accessible With a Phrase Database 142
Structure Your Thinking With Templates 143
Build Trust With Consistency, Not Canned Feedback 144
Notice and Document What Matters Most 145
Use Your Feedback Repertoire in Conversation 146
Day 16 Action Challenge: Find Reusable Language 146
17 Balancing Your Formal Evaluation Responsibilities 149
Consider Everything Fair Game 150
Remember Contractual Restrictions on Informal Observations 151
Differentiate High Stakes and Low Stakes 152
Allocate Formal Evaluation Time With the 80:20 Rule 154
Close the High-Stakes Evidence Gap 156
Learn the Claim, Evidence, Interpretation, and Judgment Format for Writing Rock-Solid Evaluations 158
Day 17 Action Challenge: Identify High-Stakes Teachers 162
18 Identifying Improvements From Classroom Visits 163
Build Relational Trust 163
Use Classroom Visits to Enable Better Decision Making 165
Build a Common Vision 166
Day 18 Action Challenge: Identify Your Biggest Insights From Classroom Visits 166
19 Opening the Door to New Models of Professional Learning 167
Celebrate Exemplary Practice in Meetings and in Writing 168
Share Practice-Focused Video Clips 170
Facilitate Instructional Rounds 172
Engage in Student Shadowing 173
Day 19 Action Challenge: Share the Highlights 174
20 Choosing an Instructional Focus for an Observation Cycle 175
Ensure Broad Relevance 175
Establish Observability 176
Confirm Strategic Impact 177
A Word of Caution About Instructional Strategies 177
Day 20 Action Challenge: Choose a Focus for Cycle Three 178
21 Scaling Classroom Visits Across Your School and District 179
Scale Within Your School 179
Scale Across Your Network 181
Day 21 Action Challenge: Scale Up Your Success 182
Epilogue: Guilding Capacity for Instructional Leadership 183
References and Resources 185
Index 189