EDLDR861: Principles of Instructional Leadership

Main Content

Unit 3 | Supervising and Evaluating Instruction

Lesson Activities

Unit 3 | Whole Group Discussion | Conducting and Reporting on a Classroom Observation

Learning Outcome:

Discuss what instructional supervision sounds and looks like.

Activity Expectations: Two Week Discussion

Initial Posts to this discussion's prompt(s) should be approximately 250–350 words in length. All Initial Posts and Responses should be posted no later than 11:59pm (ET) according to the following deadlines:

Posting Deadlines
Day	Task
Thursday	Initial Post
Sunday	2+ Responses

Please be reminded that these discussion requirements provide a minimum requirement for participation in the discussion thread. You are expected to engage with the discussion in ways that contribute to your learning as well as enhance learning for others. Read the posts and respond where you can be helpful/provide thoughtful comments and insightful feedback. Likewise, you should take care to facilitate discussion within your own thread (the thread that follows your original post).

Instructions

The purpose of the discussion for this unit to address questions, concerns, about conducting your classroom observation and supervision analysis report. Provide a brief description of your plan for this assignment (with whom are you collaborating, where, what level of instruction, what are you observing, what goals have you decided upon for observation, etc.), and a reflection of how the process is going thus far. Conclude with your final thoughts, questions, etc. for the whole group to consider and address in response.

Additional Resources

As noted in the Overview for this unit, a Marzano webinar is available for you to view in support of your discussion here.

Units 1, 2, and 3 | PLC Discussion | Preparing for Peer Coaching Signature Assessment

Learning Outcome:

Collaborate to manage and complete your signature assessment the Peer Coaching Experience.

Activity Expectations: Multiple Week Discussion

Note: This discussion spans three units.

This is a group activity in which you will be working with your assigned professional learning community (PLC) to complete the requirements no later than 11:59pm (ET) according to the following deadlines:

Requirement Deadlines
Day	Unit	Task
Tuesday	1	Post a Plan for Conducting PLC Collaborations
Thursday	1	Initial Post (asynchronous plans/components)
Sunday	1	First Meeting (synchronous plans/components)
Tuesday	2	Post Plan for Conducting Pre Conferences
Thursday	2	Follow up postings and meetings
Sunday	3	All PLC group work must be completed and submitted

Please refer to the “PLCs | Working in Groups” page for directions on collaborating with your PLC.

Planning for collaboration is up to the group, and discussion may be managed asynchronously (using the discussion boards), synchronously (using Zoom), or a combination of both as the group sees fit. Be sure to visit your PLC discussion forum immediately to make your plan/establish a schedule for collaboration.

Connect early on in the week, (Monday or Tuesday) to set and post a plan to the discussion forum by Tuesday.
If you are using any asynchronous discussion components to collaborate, ensure that your initial post is submitted no later than Thursday.
If you are meeting via Zoom (encouraged), conduct (at least) your first meeting by Sunday. Record and post your zoom session(s) to the discussion forum.
All groups should continue to engage with and learn from one another on this topic throughout the unit.
For both synchronous and asynchronous methods of collaboration, a summary of your learning and conclusions should be submitted at the end of the unit.

Overview

Your activity in this PLC should be specific to planning, implementation, and discussion to support completion of your signature assessment.

Your goals for this activity are to connect for planning how you will conduct your assessment, post evidence of your collaboration to this discussion, and ultimately support one another in completing your signature assessment.

Before You Begin

Review the directions for your signature assessment, the Peer Coaching Experience, and the Zoom session video conducted in preparation for the assignment. After reviewing enough to become familiar with assignment expectations, come back to this lesson page to proceed with PLC instructions.

Getting Started

At the start of the unit your professional learning community (PLC) will need to connect with each other, via your PLC Group Space and make a plan for conducting your PLC work. In planning you should decide:

Set a date and time to meet via Zoom for discussion about further planning.
Establish what (if any) synchronous components will be needed by Thursday of Unit 1. (If not meeting synchronously then what will this initial post from each be/include?
Format for future discussions—you may use email, this activity's group-designed discussion board, Zoom, or Canvas collaborative work space. Please refer to the “PLCs | Working in Groups” page for directions on collaborating with your PLC.

Resources

Use the following information to inform your activity in your assigned groups.

Required by all members

Unit 3 | Supervising and Evaluating Instruction

Tools

Unit 3 | Assignment | Signature Assessment | Peer Coaching Experience

Instructions

PLC Organization +

By Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. (ET) of Unit 1, post a plan to this PLC discussion space indicating all required elements for collaborating to complete your assessment. See Getting Started above for detail.

In accordance with your plan, meet for your first synchronous Zoom session to discuss the assessment and plan further.
Determine:
- Who will review whom? …who will your “teacher” from your group be? …the person for whom you will serve as a peer coach?
- Date and deadlines for activity and assignments (as needed for the group) …where, when, how will each preconference, observation, post conference take place? (get some ideas from each other about data collection, resource development, improvement planning strategy/format, etc.)
Revise your existing plan posted here to document these details.

For all stages of the Peer Coaching Experience, remember that your role is to be supportive and collaborative. “How can I be helpful to you in achieving said goal(s)?” is your position for each phase of the cycle.

Pre Conference +

As noted in the directions for the Pre-observation Conference in Unit 3, this phase conference has three objectives:

establish understanding
determine a focus
clarify logistics of data collection

Review the Pre-observation Page in Unit 3 linked above. Discuss your approach for achieving these objectives and conducting your pre-conference.

Observation +

As noted in the directions for the Classroom Observation in Unit 3, the purpose is to collect data to inform decision-making and improvement planning. Data should be collected on what is observable from instructional delivery, and also from the teacher who delivers the instruction. Specifically, at the time of the observation, you should be able to collect data in the form of responses to the following prompts:

What went well?
What didn't go well?
What would you do the same way next time?
What would you change/improve for next time?

Discuss your approach for conducting your observation and collecting your data from the teacher about her/his instructional delivery of this lesson. Consider tools and format, as well as strategy for data collection. Discuss any foreseeable challenges in observing instruction and discuss with your PLC group how to mitigate potential challenges with preparation.

Post Conference +

As noted in the directions for the Post-observation Conference in Unit 3, the purpose of this meeting is to discuss delivery of instruction and the teacher's goals for improvement. A specific plan for improvement should result.

Review the Post-observation Page in Unit 3 linked above. Discuss your approach for conducting your post-conference and developing your teacher's plan for improvement.

Continued Collaboration +

After planning for each phase has concluded, you will be ready to implement your schedule for each of these phases. Continue coming together for discussion to check in on progress, discuss any challenges or concerns, and support one another in creating your reports (completing your assignment for submission). Indicate these check-in meetings in your plan for conducting this PLC posted here.

Special PLC

This PLC is created as a space for collaborating and managing work for your signature assessment. While it will look and feel different from PLCs for other units (this spans across 3 total units), the work that you do here will prepare you for working in PLCs for the remainder of the course. Please take care to consider the following:

your PoP for this PLC Units 1,2,3 may remain fixed across all three units OR you may plan to vary it as needed in accordance with each unit of instruction
the PLC plan for this and any given unit should be posted at the top of the discussion space, and plans should be updated consistently throughout the PLC to reflect a complete representation of collaborative problem solving by the end a given unit
the PoP drives the collaboration and the PLC plan organizes it

Unit 3 | Assignment #1 | Reflective Practice Response Journal

Learning Outcome:

Articulate evidence of ongoing reflective instructional leadership practice.

Overview

As per the course syllabus, and in accordance with set up directions provided in the Student Resources module, reflective practice journals are kept throughout the course and submitted for review at the end of each unit of learning. You should be using your journals as a companion to your work and learning in all aspects of the course. As you work through your modules, complete your tasks, engage in discussion, etc., this body of work informs discussion and decision-making in your collaborative PLC learning and problem-solving. Driven by the PoP determined for each PLC within a given unit, your journal should serve to record your reflections specific to outcomes identified within the course that most resonate with you.

Reflective practice journals are graded as a typical assignment. Journals will be kept for regular reflection on the learning as it applies to the development of your individual leadership practice. The journal should be clearly organized by content (by unit, then PoP, then outcome, then prompt; with clear labels for each of these organizational components).

Instructions

Select for reflection one outcome/set of outcomes from a corresponding lesson within each unit. You should choose the outcomes that resonate with you most, especially in relation to your PLC's chosen PoP, and then provide meaningful reflection for each prompt. For each unit, you will consider and respond to the following prompts:

Consider your readings, collaboration, and problem solving efforts as part of your work for this unit: what have you learned and how does that apply to development of your leadership practice?
How has collaboration as part of your PLC enhanced (or not) your learning as it applies to the practice you desire/intend to develop?
What aspects of the learning resonated most?
What questions still linger?
What action steps did you take for carrying out this learning, and what next action steps do you anticipate in the leadership practice to which you aspire?

Deliverable

Your Reflective Practice Response Journal should go on with each succeeding unit to form one running document of reflection demonstrating your shifts in thinking and your growth as you work in the course to develop your leadership practice. Do not submit separate documents for new weeks/units. Rather, submit an evolving and continuing document for each unit that demonstrates your learning and growth for Units 1-8 of the course.

In submission for each unit, you will also address any feedback provided, from the instructor, for the previous unit. For example: feedback from your Unit 1 submission was provided stating that your action steps were written as goals more than as actions…therefore, for your Unit 2 submission then, you will be required to revise Unit 1 action steps as well as engage in reflection for Unit 2 in your Unit 2 submission.

Submit your Reflective Practice Response Journal by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. (ET) at the end of the unit (see course schedule for specific date).

Unit 3 | Assignment #2 | Signature Assessment | Peer Coaching Experience

Learning Outcome:

Design an instructional supervision plan to foster greater learning for students and develop a professional community of teachers.

*NELP Standards Aligned.

Overview

The following information guides you through the process of completing your peer coaching experience, including

understanding the process of peer coaching;
conducting a peer coaching observation; and
reflecting and reporting on your peer coaching experience.

To understand the process, review information provided below specific to the peer coaching cycle. For the process of conducing a peer observation, review and follow directions for conducting a pre-observation conference, classroom observation, and a post-observation conference. After conducting your peer coaching experience, prepare your Cycle of Clinical Supervision Analysis and submit to the unit assignment.

Directions

Part 1 +

As directed in Unit 2, you should have already connected with a colleague to work through a supervisory experience. Ideally, you should arrange to participate in this experience with a colleague with whom you have established a level of trust and familiarity. (5.1.1)

Use your judgment to not only situate your relationship with your colleague relative to the developmental supervision continuum, but also to interpret and apply techniques in each phase of clinical supervision that supports the goals.

Part 2 +

Reference the following pages for conducting a complete peer-coaching cycle including (2.1.1)

Schedule your pre-observation conference with your colleague to plan for and schedule the observation and post-observation conference. Ideally, these events will occur in close proximity without too much time passing in between meetings. Despite time constraints within a school, it is important to resist bypassing any phase of the cycle. The planning meeting, or pre-observation conference sets the tone. Without it, the integrity of the process is greatly diminished. The post-observation meeting allows both parties the opportunity to collaboratively consider and make shared sense of classroom events. With this information, a course of action/plan for improvement may be determined. The plan of action for improvement is the purpose for the cycle of supervision.

Part 3 +

Once you have completed the cycle, prepare to report on your experience and respond to prompts provided for reflection. Further directions for reporting and reflecting are included in the Peer Coaching—Cycle of Clinical Supervision Analysis. Be sure to explicitly connect to and reference course readings.

Take care to review your scoring rubric to guide you in developing your reflection and report for your assignment. Note: while APA calls for another specific font, Arial (a sans-serif) font for electronic review of work is required here. Your assignment is due the last Sunday of Unit 3 by 11:59 p.m. (ET).

EDLDR Portfolio For PA Principal Certification

By the end of this semester, students enrolled in a program leading to principal certification through the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) are required to submit this completed assignment and scored rubric (provided by your instructor) to your electronic portfolio. If your assignment is a final project, and thus your scored rubric is not provided to you until your final grade is calculated, then submission to your portfolio upon receipt of final grade is acceptable.

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