What Every School Leader Needs to Know about Educational Research – Part 2
How many times have you sat through a professional development that promises to be the panacea to all of education’s woes, only for it to be tossed aside a couple of years later when it can’t deliver on its promises? Meanwhile, the frustration at the waste of our time, effort, and money leads to a […]
What Every School Leader Needs to Know about Educational Research – Part 1
So, your colleagues in the next school district over are raving about this great new program they have for helping “catch up” struggling students. They say that you should really look into it for your school district. The catch? It’s pretty expensive. But never fear, they say–it’s research-based. There’s no doubt that the number of […]
6 Reasons New Teachers Leave the Profession—And What Leaders Can Do About It – Part 3
So far in this years, we’ve seen the very real problems that new teachers face—but we’ve also seen that there’s a lot that effective school leaders can do to off-set those problems. Let’s recap so far: previously, we’ve explored Difficult Work Assignments, Unclear Expectations, Inadequate Resources, and Isolation. We’ve seen that the assignment of strong […]
6 Reasons New Teachers Leave the Profession—And What Leaders Can Do About It – Part 2
Remember your first day of teaching—waiting outside your classroom door, pencils freshly sharpened, bulletin board freshly stapled with inspiring slogans and posters? Remember being full of expectation (and maybe some anxiousness), ready to fill the minds of young people with the love of learning? And then the students enter your classroom…and you realize that none […]
6 Reasons New Teachers Leave the Profession—And What Leaders Can Do About It – Part 1
Are you ready for a shocking statistic? Fifty percent of new teachers leave the profession in the first five years. Then again, maybe you don’t find it so shocking. You’ve probably actually witnessed this trend in your very own school or district, leaving us with the question: what can we do to stop it? Quality […]
The Impact of Collective Efficacy on Student Achievement (Part 4)
In the previous three parts of this blog, we have looked at the effect of collective efficacy on student achievement, influences upon collective efficacy and supports needed to foster collective efficacy. This final installment discusses a model for professional development for school leaders that enables them to foster a culture of efficacy in their building. […]
Follow through: It isn’t just about your golf swing (Part 1)
A couple of years ago I was looking at our school district’s data regarding the number of classroom observations that were being conducted. We had been focusing on using walk-through forms to collect data and follow through conversations to give teachers objective feedback regarding their teaching, Visible Learning and Teaching and student engagement. Many hours […]
The Impact of Collective Efficacy on Student Achievement (Part 1)
When looking at the influences on student achievement, it is important to focus on those things over which we have some amount of control. One of the influences with the greatest impact is collective teacher efficacy. Wayne K. Hoy, Professor Emeritus of the Ohio State University defines collective efficacy as: “the shared perceptions of teachers in a […]
SIE: 5 Key Elements for a Meaningful Walkthrough
The main objective of using eObservations walkthrough tools is to improve instruction by providing formative feedback to teachers. If your teachers are only accustomed to observations that are evaluative, it is essential that you do some work prior to beginning walkthroughs. 1. Communication: Many teachers comment that they have either never been observed or the observations they […]