FDP

1. Academic Leadership
Strengthening the Instructional
Core
Born to Teach!
This is taken from Workshop on Ignatian School Leadership
April 2007 Antipolo City, Philippines

2. academicleadership
3 Levels of Teaching
1. INCOMPETENT: Performance is so far below standards as to
be considered incompetent.
2. EXCELLENT: Performance is high quality because what teacher
knows and is able to do enables students to learn and achieve at high
levels.
3. MEDIOCRE: Knowledge and/or performance is neither substantive
and skilled enough to help most of the students learn nor poor enough
to warrant a move toward dismissal.
The Skillful Leader

3. academicleadership
Some realities…
5% of the teaching force in the US are INCOMPETENT.
The total number of students of these teachers exceeds
the total combined public school enrolment of 14
states.
“All children deserve excellent teachers!”
The Skillful Leader

4. academicleadership
In informal studies, over 90% of teachers in sampled districts are rated
EXCELLENT. But when supervisors were asked how many were really
excellent, they reported only 20%.
Usually excellent teachers and mediocre teachers receive
the same ratings.
“Mediocre supervisors breed substandard performance.”
The Skillful Leader

5. academicleadership
Skillful leaders should focus effort on
confronting mediocre teaching to prevent lost
opportunities in learning.
The Skillful Leader

6. academicleadership
Sources of Mediocre Teaching
THE TEACHER

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with skill deficiencies in teaching
with limiting beliefs about their own ability to learn to become better
teachers.
THE SUPERVISOR

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with skill deficiencies in supervision
with limiting beliefs about others’ ability to learn
THE SCHOOL
 Norms and practices that support and sustain mediocrity
The Skillful Leader

7. academicleadership
T H E C H A L L E N G E
As a school leader, do you have what it takes to
promote teaching excellence and confronting
mediocre teaching?

8. academicleadership
3 Conditions for Confronting Mediocre Teaching
CONVICTION widely shared belief that:
(a) “every student deserves and can have expert instruction” and
(b) “supervisors must be advocates for students.”
COMPETENCE as an INSTRUCTIONAL LEADER who can:
(a) speak with teachers about teaching in substantive and balanced
manner
(b) describe the problem in performance and design a plan to address it
CONTROL adequate structures, processes, and resources to support the
supervisors who are charged with confronting mediocre performance
The Skillful Leader

9. academicleadership
3 Conditions for Confronting Mediocre Teaching
CONVICTION
“This work is important!”
“We can do it and do it well!”
“We won’t give up on one another!”
COMPETENCE
Need for a shared language and shared understanding of
Teaching Excellence.
CONTROL
Performance Appraisal Instrument and System and other practices
The Skillful Leader

10. academicleadership
What is our usual definition of a good teacher?
“Anyone who keeps a classroom in order and
who does not send problems to the office.”
The Skillful Leader

11. academicleadership
Areas of Performance in Classroom Teaching
(Research for Better Teaching and Bridges, 1993)
MANAGEMENT

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Maintain discipline.
Manage the routines of the classroom.
Set a climate of discipline and respect.
CURRICULUM PLANNING


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Clearly communicate objectives.
Set and assess standards for quality student work.
Produce intended or desirable results.
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

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Use a variety of explanatory devices to reach various learners.
Impart subject matter effectively.
STUDENT MOTIVATION

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Communicate and enforce high standards and expectations
Maintains personal contact with students.
Involve the students in their own learning.
The Skillful Leader

12. academicleadership
Institutional Practices that Sustain and Support Mediocrity
a.) Transfer Practices
b.) Teacher Assignment
c.) Evaluation Practices
d.) Cultural Practices
The Skillful Leader

13. academicleadership
TRANSFER PRACTICES
The way we respond to mediocrity reveals whether we
believe that adults can learn and must be expected to
perform on high levels or whether we protect mediocrity.
Tailoring Classes according to Teachers’Weaknesses: The
assumption is that teachers cannot change or cannot be
changed, so students are changed. (to make or adapt to suit a
special need or purpose)
Moving High Maintenance Students: When we transfer
students we should share the reasons with teachers to
challenge teachers.
Transferring Staff: Passing the problem. According to
Bridges, this is the escape hatch of transfer within or
between schools.
The Skillful Leader
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14. academicleadership
TRANSFER PRACTICES
LONG TERM CONSEQUENCES
a.) Certain groups of students are disproportionately affected
because teachers are being protected from being asked to
improve.
b.) We end up with a pool of people who are known as
substandard performers but for whom there is no
documentation.
c.) Neither supervisor nor teacher develops competence because
evidence is constantly swept under the rug. And the supervisor
neither builds nor acts on his conviction about the importance
of good teaching.
The Skillful Leader

15. academicleadership
TEACHER ASSIGNMENT PRACTICES
Enabling mediocrity through work assignments: When we give less challenging
work to some teachers, we are enabling mediocrity.
For example:
 Assigning easy classes to senior and mediocre teachers and difficult classes to
novice teachers.
Asking some teachers to stretch by teaching new stuff every year while others
are spared because they can’t.

Result: The opportunities to expand one’s skills are limited to those who can do. Not
all teachers are asked to stretch or change or improve. Mediocre teachers end up
having an easier job!
The Skillful Leader

16. academicleadership
EVALUATION PRACTICES
Basing evaluations on sparse or non-existent data: Mediocre
performance is characterized by patterns of behavior, not discrete,
easily identified actions.
Data must come from multiple sources and accumulated over time.
e.g. Low standards set for students show up in homework, testing,
writing activities. Are these used in the evaluation process?
What makes problem worse is the practice of assigning evaluations.
Too many people to evaluate. People accept that importance to capture
or document what it is a teacher does. But it is also important to
document what it is that someone does NOT do.
The Skillful Leader

17. academicleadership
EVALUATION PRACTICES
Assigning inappropriate weight to data unrelated to student
learning. Do not overstress other kinds of contribution.
Example: Teachers with mediocre classroom performance, but active
in extra-curricular activities, in outreach, or community celebrations.
The Skillful Leader

18. academicleadership
EVALUATION PRACTICES
Allowing written evaluations that contain mixed messages: Couching
language so as not to hurt the teacher’s feelings will send mixed
signals and are ambiguous. Or tacking together praise with problems in
the same sentence.
Mediocrity is protected by poor or tentative writing and mixed
messages. Do not make the mistake of praising a teacher for something
that might be considered a normal and expected part of a competent
teacher’s work.
The Skillful Leader

19. academicleadership
EVALUATION PRACTICES
“Your fast pace and rapid-fire response create a
lively momentum. Perhaps you want to think
about exploring ways in which you could
introduce the students to the idea of giving
reasons for their answers.”
The Skillful Leader

20. academicleadership
EVALUATION PRACTICES
“Your warm rapport and quickness to praise made for a
happy environment. While they love to be called on, it
seems that students are somewhat reluctant to give
reasons for their answers and may need to be
stretched. I suggest you try giving them rewards for
thinking, which would be entirely consistent with the
delightful way in which you motivate them.”
The Skillful Leader

21. academicleadership
EVALUATION PRACTICES
Inflated or Overly Generous Ratings:
 Everyone is excellent.
There is nothing left to learn.
Failure is the student’s fault.
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The Skillful Leader

22. academicleadership
EVALUATION PRACTICES
Low standards for hiring new teachers and for renewing contracts of
novice teachers: We may end up with teachers who are considered
untouchables because of their connections.
Do we make allowances or excuses for new teachers even after extra
support has been given? If no improvements after two years, let them
go. To continue to support them is a signal that we support mediocrity.
The Skillful Leader

23. academicleadership
CULTURAL PRACTICES
Toxic Blaming: Blaming others for the problems of the
school - the teachers blame the supervisors; the
supervisors blame the administrators, etc.
Result: A culture of blame and an anti-problem solving
ethos
Lack of reflection and analysis of school patterns and
teacher evaluation or ratings.
No formal induction for new teachers.
The Skillful Leader

24. academicleadership:
personal ref lections
On a personal level:
1. Are my teachers like Miss Ai Ai? Or am I Miss Ai
Ai?
2. What are my realizations after the discussion of the
case study and on academic leadership?
3. What steps will I take to be able to apply these
concepts on academic leadership?