1. Becoming instructional leaders.pdf

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Connie L. Fulmer

109Volum e 18, Fal l 2006

Becoming Instructional Leaders:Lessons Learned from Instructional Leadership Work Samples

Connie L. FulmerUni ver sit y of Colorado at Denver and H ealt h Sciences Cent er

Educational Leadership and Administrat ion

Abstr act: Th is stud y r eports on l essons lear ned fr om pr e-serv ice

pr in cipals as th ey compl eted th e I nstr ucti onal L eadership Work

Sample project and became in str uctional leader s. Dat a were coll ected fr om 150 pa rt icipan ts over a f our-semester ti me per iod.

Teacher par tn er s for th e study w er e r ecrui ted fr om a var iety of

subject ar eas and fr om th ree organi zational levels.

Much has been written on instructional leadership over the past

tw enty y ear s (B ossert, Dw yer, Rowa n, & Lee, 1982; Cooper, 1989; G reenfield,

1987; Hallinger, 1990; Hallinger & Murphy, 1987; Heck, Larson, &

Marcoulides, 1990; Sergiovanni, 2001). Initially, the construct caused

consterna tion am ong practitioners a nd a cademics alike. In fact, one could

argue that the field (professors of educational leadership and school

ad ministra tors) initially rejected the idea of instructional leadership a nd

thought of it m ore as th e lat est entry in a long list of designer-types of

leadership—tra nsformat iona l leadership (Burn s, 1978), credible leader-ship (Kouzes & P osner, 1993), qu a lity lead ership (Deming, 1997), creat ive

leadership (Eisner, 1993), a nd s itua tional leadership (Blancha rd, Zigar mi,



Becoming Instructi onal Leaders

110 Edu cational Leadership and Adm in istrati on

& Zigarm i, 1985)—or a s a n idea or a ctivity t ha t t hey did not ha ve time foror tha t t hey thought to be clearly in the jurisdictional zone of tea chers.

Examples of this ambivalent thinking are portrayed in research

conducted by Harchar and Hyle (1996, p. 21), who reported that some

adm inistra tors believe there is no such thing a s instructional leadership,

while other a dministra tors embrace the concept a nd a rgue tha t th e role

of instructiona l leadership must be in place. Teachers in t his sa me study

provide evidence for the construct of instructional leadership in its

absence. One elementary teacher said that her principal was not an

inst ructiona l leader because he did not hav e experience at t he elemen-

ta ry level. She cla imed he wa s a good man a ger of people, but could not

understa nd t he conversat ions t ha t w ere occurring a t the school level.

Even scholars could not a gree about the construct . While Ha rchar

a nd H yle (1996) report ed tha t key elements of inst ructiona l leadershipinclude esta blishing vision, developing trus t, fostering collabora tion, an d

dema nding r espect for all t he school commu nity , King (2002) a rgued t ha t

there is no litmus t est for the presence of instructiona l leadership, nor

is there a definitive list of its chara cteristics of behaviors. In places where

instructional leadership truly exists, it becomes an integral, almost

invisible, part of how a school community works, lives, and learns

toget her. (p. 63)

More recently, in the current wave of accountability and standards,

instructional leadership is front a nd center in the prepara tion and profes-

sional d evelopment of principals (Leithw ood, 2001; Nat ional Associa tion of

Elementa ry S chool Principals, 2001; Na tional P olicy board for E ducational

Administration, 2002; Sirotnik, 2002; Southern Regional EducationalB oard, 1998). Sta te and na tional sta nda rds ha ve been enacted and imple-

mented in an attempt to improve student achievement and close the

achievement gap (e.g., CSAP an d NC LB ). Since this legislation, responsi-

bilities for principals ha ve burgeoned to th e extent tha t some fear t he job

can n o longer be done by one person, or perha ps only by a fictiona l super-

principa l type (Coplan d, 2001). La mbert (2002) a greed a nd r eported th at “it

has been a mistake to look to the principal alone for instructional

leadership, when instructional leadership is everyone’s work” (p. 40).

Neuma n a nd S imm ons (2001, p. 9) proposed th a t in order for learn ing to

become the focus an d prima ry va lue for every member, leadership is th e

job of the entire educat ion communit y, a nd mus t be distributed— one of the

lat est in the list of designer-leadership types.

Even t hough literature a bout the origin, emergence, demise, a ndrebirth of instructiona l leadership a bounds, lit t le empirical resear ch ha s

been conducted on how pre-service principals lea rn a bout, acqu ire, an d



Connie L. Fulmer


implement instructional leadership strategies and interventions thathelp teachers im prove stu dent a chievement . The purpose of this st udy

wa s to determin e how pre-service principals, lea rning t he role of inst ruc-

tional leader, were able to impact the thinking an d instructional behav-

iors of tea chers a s t hey completed w ork required for th e Inst ructiona l

Lea dership Work S a mple (ILWS) project, modeled a fter the Teachers

Work Sa mple (McConney, S cha lock, & Sch a lock, 1997, 1998; Scha lock,

1998a, 1998b). The most useful research on instructional leadership

(B la se & B la se, 1999a , 1999b, 2000) surveyed 800 tea chers a nd a sked

them h ow their principals, or supervisors, influenced th eir thinking or

inst ructiona l behaviors. Two th emes regar ding influence emerged from

their work: (a) talking with teachers to promote reflection on teaching

a nd (b) promoting professiona l growt h. The IL WS project w a s designed

to ha ve pre-service principals focus their influence str a tegies, or intera c-tions with t eacher, on these tw o themes.

Research Design

This q ua lita tive st udy focused on th e reflections of pre-service princi-

pals found in w ork products of the ILWS (one of tw elve performa nce-ba sed

projects in the ALPS P rincipal-Administra tor Licensure P rogram). Dat a

were collected from multiple sources. Initially 150 participants (25 pre-

service principa ls a nd 125 teacher pa rt ners—5 for ea ch pre-service princi-

pal—were surveyed (see Figure 1). Teacher partners were recruited by

pre-service principals from a variety of content areas (reading, science,

ma thema tics, secondary business education, biology, etc.) an d different

school levels (elementa ry, m iddle, an d seconda ry). Pr e-service principa lsa nd t eacher pa rt ners completed pre-project surveys before being exposed

to literatur e, in-class a ssignments, a nd a ctivities. These data were used to

determine a ba seline of thinking a bout t he effectiveness of past an d present

supervisors a nd t he stra tegies they used to influence teaching. Additional

da ta were collected from (a) progress r eports , (b) a curriculum-intervent ion

report (Mar za no, 2003; Mar za no, P ickering, & P ollock, 2001; Wiggins &

McTighe, 1988), and (c) reflections on Cogan’s (1987) 8-step clinical-

supervision process (see Ta ble 2). Da ta wer e collected over four sem esters

an d entered into NVivo for th emat ic ana lyses and coded using th e process

of constant-comparative analysis (Straus & Corbin, 1998) to determine

emergent themes from th ese student reflections.

Lessons Learned from Student Reflections

The followin g themes emerged during t he dat a a na lysis process: (a )

pre-service principals’ reactions to teacher-partner survey data, (b)





gaining entry to instructional-leadership partnerships, (c) pre-service

principals’ impact on teachers’ thinking a nd instructiona l behaviors, (d)

perceived pow er of th e 8-st ep clinical-supervis ion process, (e) lear nin g t he

instructional leadership role, and (f) the price paid when preparing to

lead. Tw o of these t hemes w ere furt her s ub-divided (see Ta ble 3).

Reaction to Sur vey Dat a

Pre-service principal reactions to survey data fell into four sub-

them es: (a ) a focus on t he nega tive, (b) th e ah -ha h fa ctor, (c) a focus on th e

positive, an d (d) a pencha nt for a ction. E a ch sub-theme is discussed below.

A focus on the negati ve . Ma ny pre-service principals commented on t he

negative experiences a nd perceptions t ha t teacher part ners ha d w ith currentan d pa st supervisors a nd t he supervision/evalua tion process in genera l.

I th in k you can see fr om th e surveys th at t hr ee teachers gave meani ngfu l

Figure 1P re-Service Principal an d Teacher P art ner P re-P roject Survey

Directions: When you take th is survey or part icipat e in this interview you ar e

thinking a nd responding a bout a principal or an inst ructional supervisor.

1. Describe and give a det ailed example of a positive cha ra cteristic or stra tegy

(overt or covert, formal or informa l) that a principal or inst ructional supervisor

uses to influence wha t you think or do, that directly improved something a bout

your classroom tea ching.

2. Describe an d give a real-life exam ple of the effects (impact) tha t t he char acter-

istic or stra tegy ha s on your thought s (relat ed to teaching) an d behavior (relat ed

to tea ching).

3. Describe and illustrate your principal or instructional supervisor’s goals

associated with the characteristics or strategies you identified above.

4. How effective is the chara cteristic or stra tegy in gett ing you to think or do wha t

the principal or instructional supervisor intends (mark t he line below)? Please

explain why ?

1 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0

| ———————| ————————| ———————| —————————|

Very Ineffect ive E ffect ive Very

Ineffect ive E ffect ive

5. Wha t feelings do you h ave a bout th e principal’s or instructiona l supervisor’s

characteristics or strategies?

Ada pted from: B lase J ., & B lase, J . (1999). Principals’ instructional leadership and

teacher development: Teachers’ perspectives. Educat ional Adm ini strat i on Quarter ly,

35 (3), 349-378.



Connie L. Fulmer


r esponses to th e questi ons and tw o just hu r ri ed t hr ough i t. T he responses

were in terestin g wit h posit ive, neutr al an d negative experi ences wi th super-

vi sor s. But , most of th e experi ences seem to be negat i ve. [SC1.4]

One even commented tha t “my sur vey was diff icul t to get th r ough. I had a har d ti me think ing of a str ategy that was posit ive. I w onder why t he

eval uat i on pr ocess can’t be more posit i ve” [SC 1.37]. Another put it t his

w a y : “Al l i n al l , t he surveys summed u p my own feel i ngs about

supervi sion…stagnation, fr ustrati on, and very mi nim al focus on t he

adm in istr ator(s) as in stru ctional leader (s)” [SC 1.33]. This s a me st udent

ad ded tha t t he only positive comment s he ever received wa s “that I always

looked n i ce and w as dr essed w el l ” [SC1.35].

One pre-service principal mentioned tha t t eachers th emselves might

be responsible for th is negat ivity.

The negati ve r esponses from teachers were di shear tenin g. I wond er , in

reading th em, if the prin cipal is reall y that poor or if t here is somethin g

about the teacher or t he clim ate in t he bui ld in g that cont ri butes to thi s feeli ng

of worth lessness of th e eval uat ion pr ocess. I can th in k of examp les, even

wh en th in ki ng of my least effecti ve adm in istr ators, of wa ys th ey helped me

change my teachi ng pr actices. [SC2.13]

Ta ble 1Inst ructiona l Leadership Themes and R elated St rat egies

Talking wit h Teachers t o P romote Reflection

Strategies

● Making suggestions

● G iving feedback

● Modeling

● Using inq uiry a nd soliciting a dvice an d opinions

● Giving praise

Promoting P rofessional G rowth

Strategies

● Emphasizing the s tudy of teaching and learning

● Supporting collaboration● Developing coaching r elationship a mong educators

● Encourag ing and supporting redesign of programs

● Applying t he principles of adult learning, growt h, a nd development t o all

phases of sta ff development.

● Implementing a ction research to inform instructional decision ma king

Source: Bla se J ., & B lase, J . (1999). Principals’ instructional leadership and teacher

development: Teachers’ perspectives. Educat ional Administrat ion Quarter ly, 35 (3),

349-378.





Anoth er pre-service principal n oted commona lities in m a ny of th enegative responses and turned the review into a posit ive learning

experience for herself:

The teachers who di d not gi ve positi ve feedback m ade refer ence to th e th eme

of the im port ance of relat ionshi ps— th e la ck thereof. Exam pl es of bein g

overw helmed, receivi ng no encour agement, la ckin g a ment ori ng r ela ti on-

ship, feeli ng fr ustrat ed w it h l ack of pur pose for observat ion, or th e coun ti ng

the num ber of “ahs” in an observat ion period, all point to a dysfunctional

supervi sory relati onshi p. So, as an adm in istrat or, I mu st establi sh per-

sonal and r eal r elat i onships wi th the staff I work w ith . I must give them

respect and f r eedom t o do wh at i s best for students. I, i n t ur n, need t o shar e

wi th them i nstru ctional r esour ces availabl e for th eir own pr ofessional

betterment (and u lt im ately m y own ). I know I am onl y as good as my l east

pr oductive teacher. As the leader in my school, I mu st not only moti vate the

stud ent s, but t he teachers as well . [SC2.8]

Th e ah-hah factor . As pre-service principals responded to their

an alyses of data , they shared those ah-ha h moments when they gained

a deeper understa nding of wha t t eachers really th ink about the supervi-

sion process. One r eport ed “I th in k t hat most t eacher s feel t he ‘obser va-

ti on’ process as they know i t, or ha ve kn own i t, is someth in g that is at m ost

a snap shot of what th ey ar e engaged w it h at school” [SC 1.28]. Anoth er pre-

service principal wa nted more from the da ta tha n the dat a revealed. “I

woul d l ik e to kn ow specifi cally w hat was effective, not effective, or di d n ot

make a di ff er ence” [SC2.5].

One recognized, almost immediately, tha t her tea cher part ners had

different skills levels a nd needed different types of int erventions.

The teacher s who have two year s are very u nsur e of their tal ent s. Thi s is

fr ustr ati ng for m e because I can see th eir tal ent , but I can’t get t hem to see

it . I carri ed th is frustr ation w ith me unt il I read their sur veys. One teacher

had ver y bad experi ences wit h h er f orm er supervi sor. N o wonder she is

negative about th is pr ocess. [SC1.6]

Another recognized that to be an effective supervisor, “I need t o

collect a body of k nowl edge th rough th e readin gs and t o use th is

kn owledge to bri ng effecti ve str ategies to aid teachers, and th r ough my

obser vati ons, to im pr ove student l ear ni ng and achievement , and to

im pact teachin g behavi ors” [SC 1.30]. Another w isely noted, a fter r eview-

ing survey responses, tha t

. . . those wh o did not seem t o und erstan d t he goal s of t he supervi sor or th e

im port ance of th e strat egies bein g suggested gi ves me insigh t on t he im port ance of a leader to stat e goal s clear ly, to model in stru ctional

strategies, and to help t eachers to im pact student l earn in g wi th wh at t hey

do in t heir cla ssrooms. [SC2.2]



Connie L. Fulmer


A focus on the posi ti ve . Several pre-service principals, viewing thesa me response dat a , choose to focus on positive responses.

As for t he surveys, I see that t he number one th in g an adm in istr ator h as done

to help a t eacher i s positi ve r ein forcement. Gi vin g a teacher r oom t o gr ow

and l earn is a vital par t of bein g an effecti ve supervi sor. Being a facil it ator,

and not a di ctator, wi ll all ow teachers to effecti vely teach i n th eir classrooms.

[SC2.24]

Another r eport ed th e follow ing:

I beli eve th e comm on th eme that I saw i n t he responses to the fir st question,

was relati onshi p. I f th e pri ncipal had established some type of tru st,

pr ofessiona l r espect, teacher va li dat ion or sense of team, t he teacher f el t

connected t o the adm in istrat or and / or school. [SC2.7]

A penchant for action . Ma ny pre-service principals responded to th ean alysis of survey dat a w ith a sta ted or intended future action. Whether

reacting to posit ive or negat ive data , the response wa s towa rd a ction. One

student d ecided to collect da ta from his st aff , once he landed th at first

leadersh ip position.

A common th eme in th e r esponses was th e appr eciati on teachers had for

bein g acknowl edged for t he positi ve th i ngs they do. I n eed t o coll ect teacher

percepti on da ta wh en I am a supervi sor , because I beli eve th at th e responses

to these questions wil l have the same im pact on me as readin g the li terat ur e

wi ll have on i n h elpi ng m e to become a better i nstru ctional supervi sor.

[SC2.21]

Another was so intrigued with the survey data and her posit ive

relationship wit h her teacher partners t ha t she wr ote the following:They view me as a coll eague and a fr iend w ishi ng to obser ve and make

suggestions regard in g teachin g and l ear ni ng. Aft er r eadi ng th e responses to

each survey, I have had severa l d iscussions at length regard in g the most

beneficial outcome of supervi sion as a positi ve exper ience. I beli eve I h ave

been r eceiv ed by m y teacher-par tners as a coll eague in support of i mp r oving

classr oom i nstr ucti on, as evi denced by their posi ti ve feedback du ri ng th ese

conversati ons, and t heir wi l l in gness to work wi th me on t hi s project. Th is

conti nued dial ogue wi th t eacher par tners was a great rapport bui ld in g

strategy. [SC1.5]

Other pre-service principals felt “r e-directed” a fter rea ding su rvey

dat a. One sha red how th is helped her decide how she would act once in

the role.

Readin g th e r esponses to these questi ons actu al ly made me feel a bi t m ore

comfort able about m y role as in str uctional l eader. I t hi nk w hat I worr ied

about the most w as that I would not be ‘tough enough’ for t he job. But as I





r ead t he posit i ve responses of teachers to the fir st questi on, I di d not see ‘tough’

li sted anywh ere! I saw compassion, visibil i t y in th e bui ld in g, help w it h

classroom man agement, tr ust, in clusion of teachers in decisi on maki ng,

staff developm ent , encoura gement, posit iv e feedback, hi gh expectati ons,

honesty, shar in g of curr ent research and li terat ur e, and t eam bu il di ng.

Th ese are str ategies that I wi l l use in my own i nstru cti onal l eadershi p

practice. [SC2.12]

Anoth er pre-service principa l sha red t hese perceptions:

I thi nk the answers were, and wi ll conti nue to be, very h elpfu l to me. They

give real in sight t o what I can do to be the best that I can be. Th e person wh o

menti oned th at change is a process wi ll remi nd u s to take chan ge slowl y and

not tr y to change a bui ld in g overn ight . Th e im portance of observat ional

feedback w as str essed severa l ti mes. H igh expectati ons and a positi ve

envi ronm ent were key chara cteri stics. I wi ll keep th ese surveys in my portfoli o to remi nd me of w hat teachers are seein g and wh at t hey wan t t o

see in a qual it y in str uctional leader. I wi l l do my best to become that type

of super visor. [SC2.17]

Gain ing Ent r y

P rincipal candida tes were both a nxious a nd excited about enlist ing

the support of teacher partn ers to complete their work on the I nstruc-

tiona l Lea dership Work S a mple project. Their reflections ra nged from

feelings of perceived incompetence to excitement about working on

authentic projects with teaching colleagues. Perceptions of incompe-

tence were expressed a s “I don’t k now wh at I am doing…my teachers are

ready and I am n ot. I keep thi nki ng I wi l l get i t, but I haven’t so far” [SC1.8].

One expressed fear of taking up a teacher’s va luable t ime:

I have mu ch tr epid ati on in t aki ng up th eir time. Everyone is very busy. I fin d

myself t hi nki ng about a supervi sion project that wi l l be worth wh il e and

benefici al to th e fi ve teacher par tn er s and yet get i t d esigned so as to take as

li tt l e ti me as possible from th em. [SC1.3]

Another student recognized this issue, but put it t his w ay: “I th i nk my

concer n, that I w ould w aste th eir ti me, is pur ely self -inf l i cted on my par t,

as these teachers are ver y posit i ve about pa r ti cipat i ng” [SC1.25]!

Other entry issues were that pre-service principals had trouble

gett ing th eir teacher partn ers to fill out the surveys.

M y hope was to have the sur veys done wit hi n a w eek. Thi s has not happened.

I have actuall y had a few t eachers ju st l eave the material in their mai lboxes,

stati ng that th e survey was safer t here than i n th eir rooms. Th e ki nd r equests

and gent le remi nd ers have not d one th e tr ick. I am n ow goin g to have to put a d eadl in e on th e surveys. [SC1.20]

Another shared tha t “. . . th i s pr ocess has been a bi g eye opener for me. I



Connie L. Fulmer


now see wh at i t i s li ke for an adm in istr ator t o tr y to get a group of teacher s to do thi ngs in a ti mely manner” [SC1.19].

Many pre-service principals expressed perceptions that teacher

part ners were willing a nd excited to work on this inst ructional leadersh ip

work sa mple project.

Th e evid ence I have that I was accepted is th e teacher par tn ers’ wi ll in gness

to comp lete the pre sur vey ju st before 1st qu ar ter r eport card s wer e du e,

par ent teacher conf erences wer e being schedu l ed, an d before we went on our

fal l break. [SC1.2]

Another ta lked a bout the a uthentic na ture of the project : “My teacher

par tners all appear to be excit ed. I thi nk a n oppor tun it y to be in volved w it h

a real educat i onal exper i ence and to col la borat e and d iscuss new id eas is

refreshing, and t hey are looki ng forwar d to it ” [SC 1.32]. B ut even the m ost

optimistic pre-service principal ha d a na gging fear t ha t t eacher partner

part icipation would be at a cost t o teacher part ners.

I am glad to have the ball roll i ng on thi s parti cular project and am thi nki ng

that it may be one of th e most r ewar di ng of all the projects in thi s program .

I am w orki ng wi th a t alented and dedi cated group of teachers. They are

extremely i nvolved an d busy. I w il l m ake every at tempt to make thi s

worthw hi l e for t heir t im e. [SC1.18]

I mpact on T eachers’ Thi nki ng or Behaviors

The Ins tru ctional Lea dership Work Sa mple P roject ta kes place over

four semesters. B y th e end of the program, principal ca ndidat es need to

produce a body of evidence tha t demonstra tes w hich, if any, inst ructiona l

interventions ha d a n impact on th e thinking or instructiona l behaviors

of teachers. The responses below describe student perceptions of the

perceived impact of their w ork on tea cher part ners. St udent r eflections

a re orga nized into the followin g themes: (a ) support from a dminist ra tors,

(b) ease of selecting in tervent ions, (c) valued intervent ions, (d) differen-

tia t ion in sta ying power of interventions, a nd t he (e) impact of interven-

tions at t his point .

Support from admi nistrators . One of our principal candidates ex-

plained her project t o her principal. It involved ha ving tea chers learn how

to use running record a ssessments wit h their students.

I di d speak t o my pr in cipal and he agreed t o provide coverage for a fu ll day

wh il e teachers adm in i stered th is assessment! We have a stud ent in tern

workin g in our build ing, and she wi ll work i n each grade 1 classroom, wh il e

the teacher pu ll s indi vid ual chi ld ren for assessment. Thi s should all ow teachers to relax, about th e ti me commi tm ent , as well as let t hem know t hat

thi s is a procedur e, an in str uctional i nterventi on, that i s valu ed by my

pr inc ipa l . [SC2.10]





Unfortunately, another had quite the opposite experience.Everyone is ready and w il l i ng to help. T hey are all excited about t hi s

program , and I beli eve are very r espectfu l of what I am tr ying t o accompli sh.

Th e only r esistance I have felt is wi th the elementar y pri ncipal. Sh e is not

ver y coll aborat iv e. I beli eve she is very u ncomfort abl e wi th th e kn owl edge

and ski l l s I am acquir in g. I wi l l be respectful of her f eeli ngs and tr y to deal

wi th her only w hen i t i s necessary. [SC1.39]

Ease of sel ectin g in terventi ons . Early in the project, pre-service

principals w ere concerned about finding a n a ppropriate intervention.

Many ta lked about how surprised they were that teachers were eager for

new ideas a bout their work. One student t alked about how easy it wa s to

select a n appropriat e intervention.

Once we focused on w hat she want ed t o accomp li sh it was very easy to put a schedul e togeth er. She just n eeded some gui dance and reassur ance. I remem-

ber w hen a teacher d id th at w it h m e wh en I was a new t eacher. [SC1.7]

Val ued int er vent ions. Some pre-service principal t a lked about how

grat eful teacher partners were a fter intera cting with pre-service princi-

pals. Typically, teachers are worried about their performance during

evaluat ions. This process w as different. E xternal judgment w asn ’t t he

tool—new ideas w ere. “One teacher comment ed on h ow excit ed she was

to fi nal ly have thi s inf ormati on because she felt she never r eceived i t in

college. I t w as good t o be tal ki ng about teachi ng and im pr oving student

learning” [SC1.10].

Di ffer ent iat ion in stayin g power of in ter vent ions. Yet an other pre-

service principal wa s a ble to reflect on the impact of a former adm inistra -

tor, who ha d since moved from t he district , and how the st ay ing power of

some of those prior interventions were determined by the skill and

experience levels of the tea chers wh o remained behind .

There is a vast di fference betw een m y th r ee par tn er s who have been w it h t he

di stri ct f or an extend ed t im e and the two teachers wh o are new to the distr ict

in th e la st th ree to four year s. The ‘seasoned’ teachers w ere here wit h t he

former Assistant Su peri ntendent w ho put our r egion on th e map w it h th e

developm ent of Perform ance Based L ear ni ng. H e left us and moved to

anoth er d istr ict and our new Assistan t Superi nt end ent h as not focused on

th e ongoin g use, trai ni ng, and impl ementat ion of thi s wonderf ul r esearch.

I t i s amazing how qu ickly i t h as disappeared from our n ewer classrooms.

Dur ing m y work w ith my teachin g partners, I hope our col l aborat i on w i l l

bri ng th e group closer t ogeth er i n t he way they look at in stru ction. I can see

that di fferences exist at thi s poin t. [SC2.11]

Im pact at th is point in t im e. Ma ny pre-service principa l comm ents

provided perceptions of their impact at this point in time, as novice



Connie L. Fulmer


instructional leaders. Perhaps not at the evidentiary level, but thefollowing comments suggest that pre-service principals perceived that

their interventions were having, or w ould ha ve, a posit ive impact on t he

thinking or inst ructiona l behaviors of teachers.

Overal l, I am excit ed t o be doing th is. It doesn’t feel li ke just another t hi ng

to do. Thi s is somethi ng th at should be happeni ng in thi s school anyway.

I f w e are goin g to i ncrease wri ti ng scor es, we need consistency across th e

board . Th ese in tervent ions pr omi se to get u s there. [SC1.36]

One principal candida te ta lked about using her ‘instr uctional conver-

sat ion’ assignment to find out if teachers were actually implementing t he

intervent ions in th eir teacher practices. This str at egy wa s sure to provide

this pa rt icular pre-service principal wit h da ta for her body of evidence.

Thi s strat egy is one of th e best ways to acqui re und erstan di ng i n stud ent s.Th ese strategies are what I am at tempt in g to cul ti vate in m y teachers

par tners. The questions I asked them on th e ‘instru ctional conversation’ were

designed to help me understand if the in terventions are bein g im plemented.

I see some in it i al att emp ts. However , we are not th er e yet. [SC2.19]

Another felt his impact w as felt immediat ely and spread t o the entire

district.

I di scussed what we were doing wi th the superin tendent a nd h e asked i f we

woul d pr esent th e one-mi nu te assessments to th e ent ir e facul ty. I hope to

conti nue wi th thi s type of program. We are very i solated i n our smal l

comm uni ty and thi s is a great m ethod of i nvolvi ng everyone in professional

development. [SC2.23]

Similarly, another reflected about the power of collaboration in herintervention a nd commented tha t

. . . the concept of colla borat ion seeks to tap t he potenti al th at gr oup

in teracti on offers for l earn in g and development. As a team, our effort s have

been overw helm ingl y posit i ve. The student s see how the teachers ar e worki ng

together and w e use our teamwork as a model i n our i nstru cti on dur in g

coopera ti ve group a ssignments. [SC3.2]

Yet a nother talked about the impact t he intervention wa s ha ving, not

only on the t eachers, but a lso on him.

Whil e Wiggins and M cTi ghe (1998) suggested t hi s woul d h appen to

teachers, I m ust report th at I am al so becomi ng awar e, empa theti c, and h ave

found m yself consciously questi oning m y own un derstand in gs. When I fin d

myself questi oning w hat I thought I und erstood, a w hole new experi ence occur s and my beli efs have ei th er been chan ged (pr omoti ng more questi on-

in g) or m y beli efs become tr ut hs. [SC3.1]





Other projects in the program were impacted by th e work under-ta ken by pre-service principa ls for t he IL WS project.

I have also involved al l of my teacher part ners in my School Cu lt ur e Project,

a cul tur al study activi ty from D eal an d Peterson (1999). Thi s was very

effecti ve. My pr in cipal w as im pr essed w it h th e in form ati on we received from

th e survey. We ar e now t ryi ng to develop an i mp rovement pl an t o addr ess

some of th e i ssues di scovered f rom th e surv ey. I am very excited about wh ere

we are headed. I t is n ice to ha ve so much coopera ti on fr om others. [SC1.26]

Another opened her project to the ent ire sta ff.

I have spent t im e organizin g what I would do for t hi s project. I came up wit h

a col la borat i ve teacher s meeti ng t o be held once a week. I opened th is gr oup

to anyone in our school wh o want ed to par ti cipate. So far I have 8 teachers

in th e group. We have a mi ssion stat ement (DuFour & Ea ker, 1988) and

an essenti al questi on for each meeti ng. Th is keeps it from tur ni ng i nto a gr ip

or gossip session. D ur in g our f ir st meeti ng w e focused on t he mi ssion

statement an d d eveloped an agend a. I asked t he teachers for t heir in put as

to what th ey would l ik e to learn . [SC2.22]

Power of 8-Step Cli ni cal-Superv ision Pr ocess

P re-service principals were a sked t o use C ogan’s (1973) 8-step clinical-

supervision process to learn how to work with teachers and provide

interventions (see Ta ble 2) an d to wr ite up a personal na rra tive about t he

experience. Tra ditiona lly, ma ny supervis ion processes use the short ened

version (pre-observation, observation, post-observation), or the 3-step

process (Acheson & Gall, 2003). While these principal candidates were

beginners in working w ith t eachers, the power of the 8-step process came

through loud and clear . P erhaps th is is the strongest evidence tha t t hesepre-service principa ls ar e becoming ins tr uctiona l leaders.

I really l ik e the 8-step pr ocess. H owever, I don’t kn ow if man y pri ncipals

reali ze how impor tan t establi shin g the teacher-supervi sor r elat ionshi p is.

Fr om my own experi ence, the pri ncipal has in form ed m e I wi ll be observed,

and , most of th e tim e, th e expectati on of t he observ ati on i s conveyed (Cogan’s

th ir d ph ase). Most of th e ti me, however, I beli eve th is fi rst ph ase is skipped

enti rely. A pri ncipal needs to establish a r elat ionship fi rst. Th is would

pr obably al leviate man y of th e fears t eachers ha ve about ‘bein g evalu ated’.

I h ave never experi enced phase 2, mut ual plann in g, wi th an y pri ncipal , even

in my f ir st few years wh en I could have used t he help. [SC1.11]

Another expressed a preference for the last phase of the 8-step

process, renewed plann ing.

I have always enj oyed t he last phase, because th is i s where teacher l ear ni ng

tak es pl ace. Gra nt ed, th is pr ocess is not al wa ys carr ied out, but t he

pr in cipal s who have tr ul y car ed about my gr owth as a teacher h ave been very



Connie L. Fulmer


helpfu l. I t i s my h ope to do the same for oth er s. I have alw ays want ed to be

a teacher of teachers, so I l ook forwar d to using al l of t hese phases in m y work

wi th teachers. [SC1.12]

One other candidate, a lready working a s a n a ssistant principal, wrote

the followin g:

Ta ble 2Reflection Forma t for the Cycle of Clinical S upervision Ph a ses Report

P ha se 1: Esta blishing the tea cher-supervisor relat ionship.

1. Wha t st ra tegies did you use to establish t his tea cher-supervisor rela tionship?

2. Wha t evidence do you have th at you were accepted by your teacher part ners a s

a colleague in support of improving cla ssroom inst ruction?

Pha se 2: Planning w ith the teacher.

1. Wha t did pla nning w ith t eacher part ners look like?

2. Wha t evidence do you ha ve about how w ell this part of the cycle went for the t eacher?

Pha se 3: Pla nning the s tra tegy of observat ion.

1.Wha t st ra tegies (objectives, processes, physical a nd t echnical a rra ngements,

an d th e collection of data ) did you use to help the tea cher collect da ta from the

teaching learning experience?

2. Wha t eviden ce do you ha ve?

P ha se 4: Observing instr uction.

1. Wha t w ere the logistics of the observat ion?

2. Wha t evidence of student learning did y ou collect?

P ha se 5: Ana lyzing t he tea ching-learning processes.

1. What s tra t egy did you use to ana lyze the data ?

2. Wha t evidence do you have t ha t st udents benefited from this t eaching-learning

cycle?

P ha se 6: Pla nning th e strat egy of the conference.

1. B ased on the da ta an aly sis, wha t is your goal for the conference?

2. How will you deal w ith w eaknesses tha t t eachers exhibit in the instruct ional

process?

P ha se 7: The C onference.

1. Did you follow y our conferen ce pla n?

2. How useful do you thin k the t eacher perceived the conference to be in providing insight

as t o the impact of the teacher’s instructional beha vior on student achievement?

3. Wha t evidence do you have tha t th e teacher wa s receptive your instr uctional

leadership strategies?

Pha se 8: Renewed P lanning.

1. Wha t n ext steps were decided at the conference?

2. Wha t evidence do you have th at the cycle wa s useful to the teacher part ner?





I used th i s pr ocess la st year w hen condu ctin g teacher evalu ati ons. I t ha s

pr oven t o be qui te effecti ve in my school. I t r eal ly creates buy-in f or th e

teachers as wel l as gives me an id ea of t he teacher’s own id eas of th eir

str engt hs and weaknesses. [SC1.22]

Another sha red t hese comments:

I li ke the 8-step process. I get to kn ow the needs of th ese people a l it tl e bett er , and

see that t he appli cation of th is pr ocess is un iqu e to each person, even t hough the

clin ical supervi sion cycle is the same for everyone. Th is is im portant as the

strat egies, str ength s, and needs of th e in di vid ual teacher vary greatly. [SC1.29]

Some comment s provided evidence th a t t hese pre-service principals

ha d not been a ble to discriminat e between evalua tion processes [Eva lu-

a tion Cycle P roject] a nd supervision processes [Ins tru ctional Lea dership

Work Sample] focused on the improvement of instruction. Althoughpresented as two different tools, or projects, this comment illustrated,

tha t w hile she understa nds t he power of the clinica l supervision cycle, she

could not see how it w ould help her evaluat e teachers—which in fa ct wa s

never t he goal of the In structional Lea dership Work Sa mple.

M y ini ti al r eaction to the 8-step process and t he Wi ggins & M cTighe (1988)

cont ent was excit ement. Wh at a w onderfu l w ay to supervi se teachers and

students. Thi s would be a posit ive way and a helpful way to work w it h one

another. H owever, I wonder about t he ti me it w il l t ake to do this wi th every

teacher. Woul d you d o every evalu ati on li ke thi s? Woul d you d o each

evalu ati on li ke thi s if you had t o do three a year f or th e teacher? I t hi nk i t

woul d be great—I ju st w onder about th e ti me. [SC1.38]

It a ppears th at t he instructional team and scholars a nd resear chers have

more work to do in this a rea.Other positive sta tement s by pre-service principa ls a bout th e process

follow: “Th is is not an observ ati on bu t r ath er a pr ocess of lear ni ng

together” [SC2.26]. “I nstead of a pr ocess where a teacher i s sim pl y ju dged

on per formance, it i s a coll aborat i ve pr ocess” [SC1.16].

Thi s meth od of supervi sion is a pr ocess r ath er t han an event in th e cycle of

a t eacher’s tenu re at an in stitu ti on. If th is pr ocess coul d be used on-going i n

a r ather in formal way t he teachers would be all owed t o grow over time rather

than perform for an evaluator a f ew t im es a year. [SC1.23]

One principal cand ida te recognized th e simila rity of the 8-step process

an d the very intervention she was using w ith her teacher partners.

I n a sense, the use of ru nni ng r ecord s wit h stud ents par all els th e cli ni cal

supervi sion pr ocess wi th teachers. We ar e being r efl ecti ve about t he stu dent’s

reading t echniques and teachi ng th em to be reflecti ve also. I am glad that

I chose th is as my pr oject wi th m y teacher pa r tn ers. [SC2.32]



Connie L. Fulmer


Other pre-service principals seem to grasp the power the 8-stepprocess in th e larger sens e.

As a fin al n ote, I am begin ni ng to und erstan d why th is process is no longer

considered evalu ati on but i nstead, i nstru ctional l eadershi p. The role of the

pr in cipal is not t o sim pl y check t he progress of a teacher an d offer ad vice,

but it is an ongoing, cir cul ar process of collaborati ng wi th teachers in all

pha ses to design , plan , in cor porat e, anal yze, and r efi ne. The role of the

pri ncipal is expanded, right ful ly so, to ensure stud ent learni ng is the

objective and school i mp r ovement is th e goal . [SC1.14]

Another example of the power of the cycle is expressed in the

following comment. This principal candidate has seen progress but

recognizes that more must be done to implement the intervention.

Overal l , I f ind that the group is so busy wit h l earni ng the admini strat i on of the assessment, th at t hey have not appl ied the r esult s to dr i ve in stru ction.

I wi ll have the teachers look thr ough mi scues togeth er an d ta lk a bout wh at

th ey mean and w hat strat egies we can gi ve th e chil dr en to help th em solve

reading pr oblems on their own. T hi s should help. [SC2.27]

Others recognized the fact the process is ongoing and while instant

change would be great … i t rarely happens.

Aft er al l, w e can’t expect change to happen overn igh t (Fullan , 2001); it i s a

grad ual pr ocess. I mu st be pat ient and yet n ot l ose the sense of ur gency to

accompli sh somethin g that I feel i s im portant . I thi nk th is wil l be very

di ffi cult for me as a pri ncipal. Fi ndi ng the fin e li ne betw een pushin g and

giv ing change tim e to sink in is a di f f icul t cal l . [SC2.28]

L earn ing t he I nstructional L eadership Role

One of the instr uctional goals of the Inst ructiona l Leadersh ip Work

Sample is that pre-service principals learn what it takes to be an

instructional leader. The following comments show their thinking as

they prepar e to ta ke on th is responsibility.

I n m y head I am seein g a pri ncipal ’s rol e as bein g the master t eacher of th e

staff. I was surpr ised about how k nowl edgeable teachers expect pri ncipal s

to be. Th e teachers assum e that pri ncipals wi l l automat icall y have disci-

pli ne (only mentioned by a few), but focus on h ow the pri ncipal has or has

not helped t hem w it h t heir teaching. I am begin ni ng to reali ze how

im portant it i s to read educati onal li terat ur e and t o stay cur rent on

in str uctional practices.[SC2.9]

Two pre-service principals put it this way. “Th us far, th e over all

exper i ence of super vi sion ha s been very va l uabl e. I t h as in creased m y awar eness as a teacher , but m ore im portan tl y, the role that I have as th e

in stru ctional l eader i n my school” [SC3.3]. “Bein g an in str uctional





supervi sor i s more than just evaluati ng cur ri culu m an d i nstructional str ategies. It is bein g avai labl e for th e teacher s when th er e is somethi ng

to celebrat e and wh en t here is a need” [SC2.6].

Another wrote:

Al l of the fram eworks th at I have read about h elped me get a better han dl e

on my role as an i nstru ctional l eader. Whi le observi ng and learni ng more

about t he role that I wi l l play as a pri ncipal, I have found a competency

observ ati on form th at d evelops my perform ance as a ‘coach’. Curr ent ly, as

my clin ical pr actice becomes more involved, I have been gi ven th e opport u-

ni ty to fi l l i n for th e assistant pr in cipal for several days. Each ti me, that I

have been i n t he role as super visor, I have become awar e of the li abi li ty a

school di str ict h olds when empl oyin g ‘margin al’ t eachers (Lawrence,

Vachon, L eake, & Leake, 2001). [SC2.3]

Another wrote, “I t tr ul y is onl y a mat ter of ti me before th is teacher w il l be i nvol ved i n a ser i ous super vi sion in cidence. The document ati on needs

to be done in order to pr event a l aw sui t t o the school di str ict” [SC2.4].

Others reflected about additional responsibilities for the instruc-

tional leader. “I t hin k that , as an adm in istrator, i t i s up to me to find a way

to cur b negati vit y i n t eacher s” [SC2.14]. “M y goal is th at m y teacher

par tn er s see th e ‘admi ni strat or’ as an avenu e for i nstr uctional suppor t

and as a resour ce in acqui ri ng or pr ovidi ng t he latest exper ti se in

instruction” [SC3.5]. “I now know that I must establ ish and m aintai n th ese

rel ati onship s. I h ave l ear ned the val ue of gi vi ng teachers encour agement ,

support , and gui dan ce as th ey grow in to instr uctional ma ster s” [SC3.4].

Pr ice Paid wh en Pr epar in g to L ead

These fina l perspectives provide compelling evidence of the price paidby pre-service principals who enrolled in leadership programs while

holding full t ime jobs. When w e intr oduce these pre-service principa ls t o

the program , we tell them tha t program expectat ions are high, tha t the

job of a principal is part icularly tough, th a t st rong leadership is crucial for

the success of the school, a nd t ha t w e will do everything in our power t o

help them be successful. B ut, in t he end, it is up to the student to hold it

together in t he face of the economic an d personal costs of the program ,

to invest t he time requir ed for successful progra m completion, to bala nce

the rest of their life with w ork responsibilities, a nd t o come out the other

end of the program as a competent, well prepared, enthusia stic, future

principal. The perspectives below speak for themselves and the price

these pre-service principals pa y w hen th ey prepare for leadersh ip roles.

I am r eall y discouraged and ti red ri ght now, and at ti mes I feel so

overwh elm ed. I ’ve been w orki ng 60 t o 80 hour weeks. Th e core leadershi p

team i n my di str ict is fall i ng apart. I am t ryi ng to hold together what I can.



Connie L. Fulmer


I have so much to do that the quali ty of my work i s sufferin g. But, I also know

that bein g in thi s program is an excell ent learni ng opport uni ty for m e. So,

I wi l l keep goin g. [SC1.1]

Cur rently, t he onl y concern s I have are about schedul in g th e formal

evalu ati ons and compl eti ng them i n a tim ely man ner. I am also havi ng

di fficult y keepin g up wi th al l t he work f or t hi s program and bein g effective

in my posit ion here at t he school at t he same tim e. I am d eali ng wi th a sexual

har assment l awsuit here at school and a di vorce at h ome. I am a person t hat

can be qui te [focused] about t im eli nes and blowi ng t hi s one causes me a bit

of distr ess. I w il l conti nu e to keep plu gging at w hat needs to be done and do

my best on each project. So, in a nu tshell , I am han gin g on, gett in g it d one,

and moving on to th e next m in i-crisis. Han ging on by the ski n of my t eeth

r everberat es th r ough me at th e moment . And on I go. [SC1.24]

I am h oping for a very posi ti ve experi ence. I t r ied so har d to be posit ive on m y

pre-project sur vey, but I ju st d id n’t kn ow how to. A veteran teacher, w it h w hom

I do not alw ays agree, had a wonderful chat wi th me in h er room one day (she

is not a teacher par tner). She sai d t hat she honestly feels sorr y for m e. She has

seen good adm in istr ator s. She has seen a posit iv e school cli ma te and a

thr ivin g educational environment. She said that she knows that I have

not…and for t hat she is sad. She said I tr uly d o not kn ow what a positi ve

educational envi ronm ent n or leader l ooks li ke. And she is ri ght. I have not felt

th at I am par t of somethi ng magn if icent sin ce I started my career six years

ago in th is school d istr i ct. I have loved my students, my job, and my coll eagues,

but there has been somethin g mi ssing fr om th is di stri ct. And I don’t even know

enough to know wh at it is. But, I am learni ng…I w ant to make sure that the

magi c is present in th e school th at I eventu all y lead. [SC1.34]

Major FindingsThe reflections from pre-service principa ls on becoming ins tr uctiona l

leaders collected during th e ILWS project ar e presented in t his pa per. Six

ma jor themes tha t emerged from th ese data were used to orga nize this

a rticle: (a) pre-service principals’ perceptions of tea cher-par tn er su rvey

da ta , (b) ga ining entr y to instru ctional-leaders hip part nerships, (c) pre-

service principals’ impact on teacher part ners’ thinking a nd inst ructional

beha vior, (d) perceived pow er of th e 8-st ep clinical su pervision process, (e)

learning the instructional leadership role, and (f) the price paid when

preparing to lead (see Table 3). The reflections reported here are

representa tive of student responses about lessons learned a nd deta il the

level of impa ct t ha t pre-service principa ls completing the I LWS project

had on the thinking a nd instructional behaviors of their teacher partners.

Ma jor findings from th is work include:

1. A pervasive and negative perception of current and past





supervision/evalua tion processes exists in ma ny s chools a nd

districts in t his study. Research should be conducted to find the

source of this negativity so it can be reduced, mediated, or

elimina ted a nd more development a l practices put int o place.

2. While being positive helps to neutra lize the nega tive culture

of evaluation, it is not enough to change the culture. Teachers

need to experience authentic practices aimed at improvingstudent learn ing, rat her tha n judgmental a ctivit ies focused on

teaching beha viors.

3. The instructional leadership role is crucial for lasting and

productive cha nge in schools. P re-service principals felt t he expec-

tations from their teacher partners to assist them in improving

their instruction. They also felt the need to acquire deep knowl-

edge about instruction and learning t o support t eachers.

4. Pre-service principals found tools, research, strategies, and

instructional interventions tha t w ould impact the thinking and

behaviors of teachers to improve student achievement. They

selected these activit ies from a ppropriat e literature a nd used

them with specific teacher partners to make a difference instudent learn ing activit ies.

5. The ILWS project is a productive tool to help pre-service

Ta ble 3Em ergent Themes from St udent R eflections

1. St udent principal reaction to survey da ta

a. focus on the negat ive

b. the ah-hah factor

c. focus on th e positive

d. pencha nt for a ction

2. Ga ining entry

3. Impact on tea chers’ thinking or inst ructional beha viors

a . support from adminis tra tors

b. ease of selecting interventions

c. valued interventions

d. differentiat ion in staying power of interventions

e. impact at this point in time

4. Pow er of th e 8-step clinica l-supervision process

5. Learn ing the instru ctiona l lead ership role

6. P rice paid w hen preparing to lead



Connie L. Fulmer


principals develop knowledge, skills, a nd dispositions requ iredfor the role of inst ructiona l leadersh ip in schools. The str ucture

of the project provided scaffolding, in the form of conceptual

frameworks and reflective questions, for future principals to

learn a bout inst ructiona l leadership with t eachers in the context

of improving t eaching an d learning.

6. The use of sur vey da ta (tea chers’ perceptions of th e effective-

ness of the current a nd pa st supervision/evalua tion processes) is

a va lua ble stra tegy t o help pre-service principals become inst ruc-

tional leaders. These data helped future principals see the

negative responses to tra dit iona l evaluat ion processes a nd m eth-

ods. Real t ime data from real teachers provided support for

learn ing inst ructiona l-leadersh ip beha viors.

7. The price pre-service principals pa y w hen t hey a tt end prepa-

ration programs is high. Performance-based learning is more

complex tha n sit-and-get lear ning. When futu re principa ls par-

ticipate in leadership preparation programs at the same time

they a re in teaching posit ions, the work load is extremely heavy.

Fut ure leaders sh ould be placed in paid non-tea ching positions

wh ile they are in training.

Summary

The findings of this study support the use the ILWS to help pre-

service principals learn the role of inst ructiona l lea dership a nd th e skills

to impact the th inking and instructional behaviors of teachers. However,in order to a dvan ce the impact instr uctiona l lead ership can ha ve on th e

instructiona l behaviors of tea chers t oward the end of actua lly improving

student achievement, the field—scholars an d practit ioners alike—must

addr ess the ambivalence tha t unfortuna tely exists in both the literat ure

an d in pra ctice. Cur rent processes of eva lua tion do litt le either t o improve

instruction or to eliminate bad teachers from the profession. Far too

much time and effort has been invested in these ineffective processes.

Other more productive stra tegies receive far t oo litt le a tt ention. Man y of

these well-intend ed activit ies (supervision, eva lua tion, an d professional

development) are a t cross-purposes. If scholars a nd pra ctitioners do not

ta ke the t ime t o work through the a mbivalence and refocus t he appropri-

at e practices on intended goals, they w ill rema in unrealized.

References

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manager: Incr easing effecti veness th rough sit uat ional leadershi p . New York:

Morrow.

B lase, J . , & B lase, J . (1999a). Effective instructional lead ership through th e

tea cher’s eyes. H igh School M agazin e, 7 (1), 16-19.

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Documents

1. Becoming instructional leaders.pdf