Supervisory

2. A collaborative orientation to supervision
would include the behaviors of presenting,
problem solving, and negotiating in order for
both the teacher and the school head to come
up with ideas on how to solve teaching learning
problems.

3. It involves frank, open exchanges of ideas. During
a discussion between the school head and the teacher,
disagreement is encouraged so that a mutual
agreement can take place. A mutual decision on the
course of action to be taken is very important. The
collaborative orientation to supervision requires a
great deal of negotiating. During the process, the
school head should clarify the problem and listen to
the teacher’s perception of the problem.

4. The school head should restate what the teacher has
said so as to verify it, and then the school head should
state his or her opinion on the situation. Next, the
school head and the teacher discuss the options that can
be negotiated to find a solution (Zepeda, 2007).

5. Ria San Juan, a fifth grade teacher, is full of energy.
She constantly moves around the classroom, talking,
listening, and observing. Her classroom has plenty of
learning materials, much of which is utilized by
students.
An example is given below.

6. The classroom is always busy with different
activities. However, by February, Ria San Juan
appears tired. Several times during the week she
would lose her temper over students who
misbehaved in the classroom. She started to
withdraw, staying in the classroom during her free
time instead of being with other teachers in the
faculty room.

7. If you were a collaborative supervisor, how
would you handle Mrs. San Juan?

8. Practicing the Collaborative Orientation to
Supervision
If you were a collaborative supervisor, you might
decide to speak casually with Mrs. San Juan to see if
she needed help or just wait for her to initiate the
conversation. You would be concerned about Mrs. San
Juan’s physical condition. You see a physically weak or
tired teacher in an activity-centered room. Therefore,
you would take the initiative and meet with the teacher.

9. In this kind of orientation, the supervisor and the
teacher actively negotiate the plan of action. They listen
to each other’s views before arriving at a final plan.
They review, revise, reject, prepare, and make counter
proposals until an agreement shall have been reached.

10. Both the supervisor and teacher believe that their
individual ideas about instructional improvement may
not be as effective as mutual ones. Each might
negotiate long and hard to promote his or her
proposal, but in the end both must agree upon a
mutually accepted solution

11. In Mrs. San Juan’s case, you, the supervisor following
the collaborative orientation, would find time to speak
with her and carefully tell her about your observations –
her seeming lack of energy, which is quite the opposite
of how you have known her. You show your concern
and present your desire to help her, especially in the
improvement of the teaching-learning process
(Presenting). Then you ask her about her own
perception of what is going on or her own problems
with instruction.

12. When she agrees to the help being given, you try to
discuss together the real problems she has, especially in
the classroom. You and Mrs. San Juan present each of
your own views on how to improve instruction
(Problem-solving). You both consider each other’s ideas
until you agree on what should be done to bring back
her enthusiasm and motivation in her active and self-
contained classroom (Negotiating).

13. Together, you tackle the problem, plan activities, and
make decisions. So, you end up with a plan to be
carried out by Mrs. San Juan, with both of you
assuming responsibility for the results of
implementing it.

14. But suppose the supervisor and teacher could not
agree. In a truly collaborative context, a mediator
agreeable to both parties (such as a master teacher or a
department head) would have to step in with authority
to “break the vote”.

15. The collaborative approach is most suitable for
teachers who are open to change and innovations and
are willing to be helped. They have already gained a
certain amount of experience so that they, too, will
have some ideas to present as they negotiate with the
supervisor for a professional improvement plan.

16. What do you think are the major differences
between the directive and the collaborative
orientations to supervision?

17. Enumerate the supervisory behaviors required in
the collaborative orientation to supervision and
explain each one’s relevance to collaborative
orientation.

18. The Non-Directive Orientation to Supervision

21. Given this situation, how would a nondirective
supervisor address his/her teacher’s problem?

22. You may have found it difficult to answer this question
inasmuch as this is a style that is very much different
from directive and collaborative supervision. You saw
how Ms. Lopez shared her problem with Mrs. Palacio.
They started to discuss the sudden disinterest of
students in Mrs. Lopez’s class until their conversation
was cut by the arrival of Mr. Perez, the school head. It
shows a case where colleagues are concerned with each
other’s need to effectively facilitate student learning.

23. In the nondirective orientation under developmental
supervision, colleagues work closely together to help
each other in improving instruction. Minimal help is
extended by the school head. The school head’s role is
nondirective as he/she “tells less” and supports more.
It is the teachers themselves who work together to help
each other solve their instructional problems.

24. Practicing the Non-Directive Orientation to
Supervision
Let us look more deeply into the third type of
supervisory orientation - non-directive supervision.

25. The nondirective orientation to supervision rests on
the premise that teachers are capable of analyzing and
solving their own instructional problems. The
supervisor acts as facilitator by imposing little
structure or direction. He/she is there to help when
the teacher requests for it

26. If a supervisor accepts the teacher’s right and responsibility
to make the final decision on the teacher’s self-improvement
plan, a question might be raised: What if the teacher’s plan is
downright bad or inappropriate? Does the supervisor simply
accept and approve it?

27. In this situation, the nondirective supervisor has the
prerogative to explain his or her misgivings about the
teacher’s plan and ask for reconsideration or review.
However, a nondirective orientation ultimately assumes
that the teacher makes the wisest and most responsible
decisions for his or her own problem in class; thus the
final choice of which action to take still rests on the
teacher.

28. Let us go back to the case of Ms. Lopez. Let us say that Ms.
Lopez and Mrs. Palacio have finally arrived at a final plan on
how to solve the problem of lack of interest of students. They
must present their plan to Mr. Perez, the school head. Mr.
Perez may give his views about it. He may approve it if he
thinks it could really solve the problem, or if not, he has the
right to ask them to explain further, to change or revise the
plan, and give his own suggestions to improve it. Ms. Lopez is
expected to be mature enough to make the final decision.

29. What supervisory behaviors does the supervisor
manifest here?
The nondirective supervisor engages primarily in
listening, encouraging, and clarifying. In some cases, this
may lead to presenting and problem solving to help the
teacher arrive at a plan of his/her own.

30. The following are examples of such actions:
• The supervisor faces the teacher and intently listens
to his/her problem. He/She shows empathy to the
teacher by nodding his/ her head and articulates
his/her emotions, such as “You find it frustrating.”
(Listening)

31. • The supervisor encourages the teacher to analyze the
problem further: “Tell me more.” “Please go on.”
“Explain that further.” (Encouraging)
• The supervisor clarifies the teacher’s problem by
paraphrasing and questioning: “You mean the students
are bored with the lesson?” “Is there anything they liked
about the lesson?” “What feedback do you get from
them?” (Clarifying)

32. • If the teacher asks for suggestions, the supervisor
offers alternatives. “The students could be reorganized,
or the topic could be enriched to include their interests.”
(Presenting)
• Finally, the supervisor asks the teacher to decide on a
plan: “What are you going to do?” and offers assistance,
“How can I be of help?” (Problem-solving)

33. The nondirective orientation to developmental
supervision is most suitable for teachers with more
professional concerns and who display higher levels of
cognitive complexity in their teaching practice. Typically,
these mature professionals are willing and able to
assume full responsibility for their own self-evaluation
and improvement.

34. These teachers work together as mature colleagues and
are open to any suggestion that would help them
improve professionally. On the other hand, there are
teachers who need a lot of help but want to try things
out on their own first before they welcome help from
the school head. Through a nondirective orientation to
developmental supervision, we give them a chance to do
that.

35. Again, take note of the key differences of the
directive, collaborative, and non-directive orientations
to supervision.

36. Directive supervision sets specific criteria for the
teacher to meet. The teacher is guided to implement
an action plan assigned by the supervisor. This is
most suitable for a beginner or new teacher.
In collaborative supervision, the teacher and the
supervisor solve problems, plan activities and events,
and make decisions together. There is reciprocity
between the teacher and the supervisor that results in
a shared decision on what needs to be done.

37. Non-directive supervision allows teachers to analyze
and solve their own instructional problems. It is most
suitable for more mature and experienced teachers.
Since they have already grown professionally, they are
capable of improving their classroom instruction by
helping one another.

38. Minimal help is given by the school head who trusts
that the teacher is getting the direction and help needed
from his/her colleagues. The behaviors of listening,
encouraging, and clarifying are primarily used as
supervisory behaviors to encourage the teacher to
create a self-directed plan of action

39. It might not have been easy for you to categorically say
that your developmental supervisory orientation is
directive, non-directive, or collaborative. You probably
realized that you have used the three in different
situations. If that is the case, you are right.

40. In reality, each orientation rarely exists in such neat
and precise categories; however, a school head can be
judged according to his/her usual emphasis. This
means that a school head may be more of one of
these three different orientations although he/she can
also be all of the three.

41. Your tendency to emphasize a supervisory orientation
over others is affected by your beliefs about your roles
as a supervisor and your beliefs about teachers and the
teaching-learning process. Do you want to know more
about your own supervisory beliefs or orientations? To
help you do this, answer the Supervisory Beliefs
Inventory found on the next few pages. This is designed
for supervisors/school heads like you to assess your
own beliefs about teachers’ supervision and staff
development.

42. This instrument, developed by R. Tamashiro and C.
Glickman (Glickman, 1981) was field-tested six times
with 90 supervisors and supervisor trainees. Responses
between the options indicated good item
discrimination. The items were also critiqued by
teachers, curriculum specialists, and college professors
in education for theoretical consistency.

43. The inventory assumes that supervisors believe and
act according to all three orientations of supervision,
yet one usually dominates. The inventory is designed
to be self-administered and self-scored.

44. Part I of the instrument (Predictions) contains three
questions intended to surface the frequency of
application of the identified approaches. Part II
(Forced Choices) lists items from which you must
choose one of two options. The scoring key allows you
to compare the responses in Part I with the actual
belief indicated by the forced-choice items in Part II.