Every school I have ever worked in or visited is keen to improve. When school leaders often talk about improvement, they more often than not consider what is needed to help teachers grow and develop. This may be in through the provision of resources to complement the teaching and learning that we wish to see... Continue Reading →
Bringing new teachers and support staff into a school can give the energy boost it needs, or maintain the momentum of positive change that may have been built up over time. This is why induction programs matter so much. Anthony Muhammad in his book, Transforming School Culture, identifies four groups of people within a school,... Continue Reading →
One of the obstacles educational leaders face when giving colleagues feedback is deflection. Over the years, through numerous conversations with educators centering on giving and receiving feedback, this issue of deflection often gets in the way of moving forward. Take the following example. Over several weeks a school leader received numerous complaints about the way... Continue Reading →
It is questionable whether teachers and leaders are given regular feedback in order to grow professionally. When teachers work with students feedback is given in most lessons throughout the learning journey. The same does not happen for the adults in the school. We need to change this. When busy, teacher feedback is often the first... Continue Reading →
Numerous school leadership courses and programs exist, designed to prepare aspiring leaders, or to further support existing leaders in their roles. Looking closely at these courses there are common themes such a leading innovation and change, establishing strategic direction and developing collaborative teams. It is noticeable, however, that many courses miss some of the key... Continue Reading →
This talk from Alan November got me thinking further to a post that I wrote called: Avoiding “Just Google it!” with your students. One of the points in Alan's talk refers to the need to explicitly teach web literacy skills to students in schools. Upon reflection, I too am short of some techniques in... Continue Reading →
Where should schools start when determining how they are going to spend their available funds on professional learning for their teachers and who makes such a decision? This question needs to be addressed each and every year as part of a school's planning cycle, so that it gets the best out of the resources that... Continue Reading →
When observing classes in high schools, it is possible to see two extremes of teacher support. Firstly, there is complete hand-holding or, as some teachers would like to say, spoon feeding, with the teacher doing most of the work. Secondly, at the opposite end of the spectrum we have some teachers who provide little... Continue Reading →
With a wide variety of professional learning opportunities and a certain limit to the funds that schools can spend on teacher learning and professional growth, it is important that school leaders ensure that the available funds are spent wisely on teachers to improve student learning. There are a number of things that leaders need to... Continue Reading →
