Welcome to "Learning-Centered Leadership". The purpose of the course is to offer a holistic model of leadership, learning and team working focused on strategies to support students' learning and achievement. The course will take a bit longer than most of our other courses. It regularly refers to current research and literature, and will require a commitment to thinking hard about some complicated issues.
The course uses current research and best practice to allow you to reflect on your own practice, and practice in your school, and so develop a model of optimum effectiveness. The course is divided into four modules:
Module 1: What is leadership?
Module 2: Understanding effective learning
Module 3: Learning-centered leadership
Module 4: Effective learning-centered leadership teams
PREPARATION
You don't need to do any preparation work before starting this course.
COURSE STRUCTURE
This is an independent study program which means your individual starting date and due date are based on your date of registration. Your instructor will advise you of this due date.
This is an interactive on-line course. Although you will be able to complete some of it just by sitting in front of your screen working through the on-line material, we will regularly ask you to reflect on what you have learned, and put ideas into practice.
- Activities - exercises or reflections for you to carry out in front of your computer screen. Unlike a Task, there is no specific end product, and you'll always be able to complete them on your own.
- Tasks - similar to Activities, but requiring you to put your learning into practice in a specific situation in school.
- Forms - use to collect the information learned.
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Resources -
a) RESOURCE FORMS: Has PDF forms to help you answer questions in the Student Books
b) RESOURCE FURTHER READING: Includes clarifications about the module.
c) REFERENCE LINKS: Has links to websites referred to in the module.
d) DEFINITIONS: Has definitions of terms used in the module.
e) BIBLIOGRAPHY: The bibliography is located at the bottom of this page that includes books you may check out at your local library.
- Student Book- for you to record your reflections and send to your instructor.
At any time you may email your instructor with questions or problems you may be having with the material or the web site.
How do I get the Student Book to my instructor?
You will need to email it to your instructor. Download and save the document as described below and then you can enter your own text into the Student Book word document. Your instructor will expect a version of your Student Book as you complete each module. These can be saved by you in your files as well as being sent to your course instructor via email as an email attachment.
How do I save and name the Student Book?
You cannot type your answers on this web site. You must download your Student Book template which is a word document, by clicking on the download link below.
For your Student Book, please use a text document or a Microsoft Word document and type your text there. Title the document like this:
- NAME OF CLASS
- NAME OF TEACHER
- YOUR NAME
- DATE
- MODULE1
[NAMEOFCLASS_TEACHERSNAME_YOURNAME_MODULENUMBER.doc ]
like this
6208_DRCLARK_JOHNDOE_MODULE1.docSave the Student Book on your computer and complete the assignments on the document and then email it to your teacher.
INDEX
STUDENTBOOKS Click here to download all student books
RESOURCES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
REFERENCE LINKS
Module 1: What is leadership?
Module1A. Intended learning outcomes for Module 1
Module1B. Activity 1: Personal views of leadership
Module1C. Activity 2: An overview of models of leadership
Module1D. Activity 3: The difference between leadership and management
Module1E. Transactional versus transformational leadership
Module1F. Transactional leadership
Module1G. Transformational leadership
Module1H. Activity 4: Reflecting on the two models
Module1I. Task 1: A leadership audit
Module1J. Activity 5: Hay McBer leadership styles
Module1K. Activity 6: Hay McBer leadership characteristics
Module1L. Activity 7: Distributed leadership
Module1M. Activity 8: Charismatic leadership
Module1N. Activity 9: From good to great
Module1O. Activity 10: Reflecting on the models
Module1P. What have you learned? Evaluation of your learning from
Module1Q. Congratulations
Module 2: Understanding effective learning
Module2A. Intended learning outcomes for Module 2
Module2B. Task 2: Reviewing current knowledge
Module2C. Activity 11: Propositions about effective learning and teaching
Module2D. Activity 12: Techniques and strategies to support effective learning
Module2E. Activity 13: Learning about learning
Module2F. Activity 14: Becoming a good learner
Module2G. Activity 15: Learning and performance orientation
Module2H. Activity 16: Thinking skills and thinking classrooms
Module2I. Activity 17: Multiple intelligences and effective learning
Module2J. Activity 18: Emotional intelligence
Module2K. Brain science and its implications for effective learning
Module2L. Task 3: Learning styles – the VAK model
Module2M. Activity 19: The importance of formative assessment
Module2N. Activity 20: The implications for effective learning and teaching
Module2O. What have you learned? Evaluation of your learning from Module 2
Module2P. Congratulations
Module 3: Learning-centered leadership
Module3A. Intended learning outcomes for Module 3
Module3B. Activity 21: Teaching in a knowledge society
Module3C. Task 4: Knowledge society – what the papers say!
Module3D. Building capacity
Module3E. Activity 22: Keeping up-to-date
Module3F. Building capacity by building learning schools
Module3G. Activity 23: Supporting change in your school
Module3H. Activity 24: Invitational leadership
Module3I. Activity 25: Learning-centered leadership and the culture of the school
Module3J. Activity 26: The concept of 'conferencing'
Module3K. Activity 27: Learning-centered leadership and its impact on the school
Module3L. Activity 28: What do learning-centered leaders do?
Module3M. Activity 29: The development of 'teacher leadership'
Module3N. Activity 30: Examples from the field
Module3O. What have you learned? Evaluation of Module 3
Module3P. Congratulations
Module 4: Effective learning-centered leadership teams
Module4A. Intended learning outcomes for Module 4
Module4B. Activity 31: Groups and teams
Module4C. Activity 32: Why have teams?
Module4D. Activity 33: Becoming a team
Module4E. Task 5: A framework for leadership teams
Module4F. Activity 34: Building trust and social capital
Module4G. Activity 35: Structures and systems
Module4H. Activity 36: Continuing professional development
Module4I. Activity 37: Coaching and mentoring
Module4J. Activity 38: Evaluation in a learning-centered school
Module4K. Activity 39: Seven propositions from the NCSL about leadership
Module4L. What have you learned? Evaluation of your learning from Module 4
Module4M. Congratulations
Module 1: What is leadership?
Module1A. Intended learning outcomes for Module 1
By the end of this Module you should:
• know about the prevailing models of leadership in schools
• understand how these models relate to your own context
• understand the difference between leadership and management
Module1B. Activity 1: Personal views of leadership
What is leadership? It's not as simple as you might think. For a start, there's no one agreed definition of leadership. The National College for School Leadership (NCSL) commissioned a literature search on leadership – and found around 350 definitions. Also, much of the more recent and relevant research into leadership is linked to the development of thinking on other key issues, including organizational culture, the management of change and the sustainability of organizations.
A theme we'll be exploring is that there's more than one way of providing leadership in a school, depending on the particular context of the organization. That said, there are some important principles and 'understandings' that should underpin any process of leadership, if schools are to develop the capacity to lead and manage effectively the challenges they face in the 21st century.
To begin, go to your Student book (1) and note down your personal reflections on leadership.
Module1C. Activity 2: An overview of models of leadership
The NCSL survey of literature on school leadership we mentioned on the previous page identified an amazing 350 definitions of the word "leadership". You could say it's a contested concept! The authors of the survey used a typology from Leithwood, Jantzi and Steinbach (1999) to summarize the various models. These are set out in Resource 1.
The last on the list, the contingency model of leadership, has proved to be very useful – we'll be discussing this in more detail later.
When you've read Resource 1, go to your Student book (2) and answer the questions there.
Module1D. Activity 3: The difference between leadership and management
There's some confusion in the literature about the difference between leadership and management. Certainly in the past, the focus has been on management rather than leadership. Both concepts are necessary of course.
John West-Burnham in The Principles of Educational Management notes the following:
"...leadership is a distinct component of organizational effectiveness which needs to be differentiated from management and administration.'
To unpick the three concepts further: Leadership is about values, vision and mission. Management is about execution, planning, organization, deploying. Administration is the operational details.
Louis and Miles, in Improving the Urban High School, say this:
'The leadership aspect relates to mission, direction and inspiration and involves articulating a vision, getting shared ownership and evolutionary planning; the management aspect involves designing and carrying out plans; getting things done; working effectively with people.
The management function involves: negotiating demands and resource issues with the environment; co-ordinated and persistent problem-coping.'
What do you think about the distinction between leadership and management? Go to your Student book (3) and answer the questions there.
Module1E. Transactional versus transformational leadership
An early theory that still has a particular relevance to recent models is that of James McGregor Burns in his 1978 book, Leadership.
His particular contribution was to add to leadership the concept of "followership". He categorized two types of leadership – transactional and transformational. He believed that the transactional form of leadership was the most important and most useful because it:
• focuses on developing core values in the institution
• provides a form of leadership that is sustainable in the long term, and
• builds capacity in the organization
Module1F. Transactional leadership
Transactional leadership is a direct, operational, instrumental approach to leadership, based on control by the leader. Leithwood (1992) explains it in the following way:
"Leadership is based on an exchange of services (from a leader for example) for various kinds of rewards (salary, recognition, intrinsic rewards) that the leader controls, at least in part. Transactional leadership practices, some claim, help people to recognize what needs to be done in order to reach a desired outcome and may also increase their confidence and motivation." (pp 8-12)
In transactional leadership, the emphasis is on maintaining structures and systems. Because of this, it's only suitable for very stable situations, and isn't so helpful for organizations that are dealing with many complicated changes. In this sense it's a form of "managerial leadership" since its characteristics are more akin to management than leadership in the more values-driven way that we use "leadership" in this course.
The next page describes transformational leadership
Module1G. Transformational leadership
Compared to transactional leadership, the transformational approach is more complex. It's more values-driven, and based on a clear vision about the organization's core purpose. In this model, leaders try to ensure that staff understand and "buy into" the vision and aim of the organization. The leaders consciously try to develop the type of culture identified in the school improvement literature as being present in improving and effective schools.
This quote from Leadership and Teams in Educational Management refers to the work of James Burns. He thought that for transformational leadership to be successful in school, school leaders must have:
"...a vision for the school, and be able to articulate that vision in such a way that others become committed to it and day-to-day activities are imbued with its meanings and values. It is necessary, of course, that the vision be sustained or "institutionalized", with it, meanings and values embedded in the culture of the school" (p34).
So although transformational leaders try to achieve outcomes for the organization, they understand that these outcomes can only be achieved and sustained through the commitment of their staff. Staff have to be committed to the goals and vision of the organization if they're to give more of their discretionary effort to a task.
Module1H. Activity 4: Reflecting on the two models
Read Resource 2, which compares transactional and transformational leadership.
Then go to your Student book (4) and think about how these models apply to your own experiences.
Module1I. Task 1: A leadership audit
Over the next week that you're in school, keep an informal diary, noting evidence that you see of leaders displaying transactional and transformational leadership.
You can print out and use the form provided in Resource 3 (or use it as a basis for your own form if you prefer) to note your findings.
When you've observed for a week, go to your Student book (5), and write up your thoughts.
(You can continue with the course in the meantime.)
Module1J. Activity 5: Hay McBer leadership styles
Research on leadership in our schools is not limited to the United States, but the findings still manage to interest and guide us. The United Kingdom has contributed much to the field of educational research for decades and it is worth our time to consider their contributions.
Hay McBer are the international management consultancy company who designed the Leadership Programme for Serving Headteachers (LPSH) in the UK. Based on their accumulated knowledge about effective leadership, they researched over 40 head-teachers and other key stakeholders to develop a model of excellence of what outstanding head-teachers do to lead their schools and raise standards. They also compared 200 head-teachers in UK schools and 200 senior executives in private enterprise, looking at the strengths and weaknesses of leaders in the two sectors.
Their model of leadership has three components:
• leadership styles - the leadership styles determine the "feel" of an organization. They create a sense in the minds of the employees about how they are expected to behave.
• leadership characteristics - the leadership characteristics (motivation, attitudes and behavior) of an individual determines the style of leadership (or method of influencing) they habitually employ.
• the climate of the organization - the climate influences and directs the motivation and engagement of the employees. It stimulates the effort that co-workers working in an organization are willing to give over and above the minimum necessary.
These components work together to influence the performance of the organization. In the case of schools, they influence how teachers and other staff undertake their role, and how this in turn affects the learning and achievement of the pupils.
Hay McBride were able to link their leadership research with their research into effective teaching and show how the climate of the school can have an effect on the climate in individual classrooms. (This part of the research is not included in this course.)
Resource 4 sets out the six leadership styles that Hay McBride use when working with Principals and others. It also shows the most important aspects of an organization's climate. Once you've read the resource, go to your Student book (6) and answer the questions there.
Module1K. Activity 6: Hay McBride leadership characteristics
Leaders need to consider specifically what leadership style or blend of styles would work best in the context of their particular school. Leaders then need to consider their leadership characteristics. All of these characteristics are needed by effective leaders, though no one leader will possess all of them to the same degree. Effective leaders need be clear which characteristics they possess, which need further development and which they need to acquire in order to support their leadership processes. Leaders can be "coached" to develop these characteristics.
Resource 5 lists the leadership characteristics that Hay McBride identified as being the most important for effective leaders. Print out the list and assess your own characteristics, then go to your Student book (7) and answer the questions there.
Module1L. Activity 7: Distributed leadership
Distributed leadership is one of the most important concepts in the development of leadership models. Leaders who believe in a distributed model of leadership share responsibility for aspects of the school’s work widely amongst their colleagues, and help foster relationships between people that encourage and require a more open and trusting way of working.
This impacts positively on working groups within a school – they become more fluid, their life span isn't indefinite, and everyone is enabled to make a contribution. This also means that the capacity for leadership is increased and a school is in a stronger position to manage change. This represents a shift away from the notion of one, single charismatic leader.
In other words, the idea is to build leadership capacity throughout the school.
Read Resource 6, which describes distributed leadership in more detail and includes extracts from the research by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL).
Then read Resource 7, which is a head's account of why and how she has developed distributed leadership as the style of leadership in her school.
When you've read Resource 6 and Resource 7, go to your Student book (8) and answer the questions there.
Module1M. Activity 8: Charismatic leadership
So far in this module we've looked mainly at leadership, rather than the leaders themselves. In the last part of the module, we'll look at a specific type of leader: the "charismatic" leader.
The idea of the "charismatic" or "hero" leader has come, particularly in schools, in challenging circumstances. There's sometimes been an assumption, by no means always correct, that in order for these schools to improve, a charismatic leader is needed. Interestingly, the school leaders who have successfully improved a school from difficult circumstances are always at pains to emphasize the fact that they couldn't have managed this on their own and that it was very much a team effort!
Read Resource 8, which looks at the concept of charismatic leaders in more detail.
Then think about the following leaders:
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Nelson Mandela
- Adolph Hitler
- The Pope
- The Current US President
Go to your Student book (9) and answer the questions there.
Module1N. Activity 9: From good to great
Michael Cullan, writing about the 'change leader', notes that:
'...charismatic leaders are actually a liability for sustained improvement' (p20).
Why? Because they are potentially "skilling" others in the organization. Cullan and others cite the recent work of Jim Collins, who, in his book From Good to Great, discusses the characteristics and behaviors of leaders of companies which moved from being "good" companies to being "great" companies.
Read Resource 9, which summarizes Collins' findings. Then go to your Student book (10) and note your own responses to these ideas.
Module1O. Activity 10: Reflecting on the models
Having looked at the theories and models of leadership so far in this Module, there's at least one conclusion we can draw – leadership is clearly a "contested" concept! Indeed, some theories, such as charismatic leadership and distributed leadership would almost seem to contradict each other.
Having said that, even at this stage we can highlight some key principles that currently inform thinking about the leadership process. Have a look at the list below:
• Effective leadership practice will vary according to the particular context in which it takes place. Leadership is therefore "contingent" – it varies according to circumstances. For example, the style of leadership that may be needed in a school in difficulties may be very different from that which is required in a school that is excellent in many aspects of its work.
• Effective leadership is based on a clear and explicit moral purpose and set of core values.
• Effective leadership involves others in the leadership process (it's distributed/participative).
• Effective leadership involves a high level of both intra personal and interpersonal skills.
When the above characteristics are in place, leadership is likely to be "transformational" and, in turn, able to build and increase a school's capacity to respond positively to the challenges that it faces.
Go to your Student book (11) and note down your thoughts on the ideas about leadership discussed in this Module.
Module1P. What have you learned? Evaluation of your learning from Module 1
Now that you've completed the Activities and Tasks in Module 1, have another look at the intended learning outcomes:
By the end of this Module, you should:
- know about the prevailing models of leadership in schools
- understand the difference between leadership and management
- understand how these models relate to your own context
In your Student book (12), note the extent to which you've achieved these learning outcomes. Then e-mail your comments to your instructor.
Module 2: Understanding effective learning
Module 2A. Intended learning outcomes for Module 2
By the end of this Module you should:
• understand more about effective learning – what it is and how you can develop and sustain it
• understand the implications of effective learning for individual teachers in individual classrooms
• have considered the implications for learning-centered leaders
Module 2B. Task 2: Reviewing current knowledge
This Module looks at what we mean by effective learning.
Before you begin the Module, just take a few moments to re-connect with your own knowledge and understanding about effective learning. Go to your Student book (13) and note your initial thoughts about effective learning.
This is a useful task to do with members of staff, parents or Board members as it's a quick way of sharing perspectives and making public any differences of beliefs or views. Find three members of the school community (try and include a Board member, a teacher and a parent) and ask them to answer the same questions you found in your Student book. Share their responses with a colleague in school and discuss the possible implications
Module 2C. Activity 11: Propositions about effective learning and teaching
Look at the following seven propositions about learning and their implications for teaching. It's not meant as an exhaustive list – it's just to start your thinking about the issue.
Effective learning and teaching:
• requires understanding about learning and learning about learning
• deepens understanding and therefore enhances performance
• involves making connections
• involves the intelligent use of ICT
Effective teaching for effective learning:
• is not random
• requires skill, craft, knowledge and a combination of professional characteristics
• involves regular opportunities for evaluation and review with students and teachers
• involves the intelligent use of ICT
Consider these statements for a few moments, then go to your Student book (14) and answer the questions there.
Module 2D. Activity 12: Techniques and strategies to support effective learning
Recent research has identified the following concepts and techniques that support effective learning:
• Meta cognition
• Thinking skills
• Multiple intelligences
• Emotional intelligence
• Brain science
• Assessment for learning
Before continuing, go to your Student book (15) and note down which of the above list you would like to know more about.
Module 2E. Activity 13: Learning about learning
Helping students understand how they learn is essential for effective learning. This means that teachers and other staff in the classroom have to understand how children and young people learn and how they can be helped to develop their own understanding of themselves as learners.
Teachers have to develop their students' awareness of the thinking and learning processes they use when they learn. Teachers then need to help their students consider if these processes are effective and help them develop other learning strategies to support their learning.
In their book Processes in Learning, Biggs and Moore describe this as "metacognition":
"Metacognition simply means that we reflect critically and realistically on what we’re doing, it helps us with new and complex situations of all kinds. It is therefore an important educational aim." (p308)
Other writers, such as Chris Watkins, talk about a similar concept – "meta learning".
Read Resource 10, which is a transcript of a conversation with Chris Watkins. Then go to your Student book (16) and answer the questions there.
Module 2F. Activity 14: Becoming a good learner
Guy Claxton has written extensively on learning. He believes that it's important for learners to know what it means to be a good learner – in particular what to do when the learning gets hard. He believes that effective learners need:
• resilience: a tolerance for failure, fog, frustration, feelings
• resourcefulness: an ability to be prepared to have a go and to have strategies that enable them to have a go
• reflection: the opportunity to think about how they learn
Go to your Student book (17) and answer the questions there about your own learning.
Module 2G. Activity 15: Learning and performance orientation
One of the most useful concepts that crops up in the current literature about learning concerns the "orientation" of learners – more specifically, whether learners are:
• learning oriented, or
• performance oriented
The theory is, students with a "learning orientation" are able to learn more effectively and are better equipped to deal with learning that is hard or challenging.
Look at Resource 11 to see a summary of these two orientations. Then go to your Student book(18) and answer the questions.
Module 2H. Activity 16: Thinking skills and thinking classrooms
A lot of work has been done to understand how children can be helped to "think" better, and therefore learn more effectively. Carol McGuinness was commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills in the England to review the research into thinking skills. Read Resource12, which contains her key findings.
Then go to your Student book (19) and note down your thoughts on this topic.
Module 2I. Activity 17: Multiple intelligences and effective learning
Howard Gardner, writing in The Unschooled Mind, noted that:
"...all human beings are capable of at least eight different ways of knowing the world... we are all able to know the world through language, logical mathematical analysis, spatial representation, musical thinking, the use of the body to solve problems, or to make things, an understanding of other individuals and an understanding of ourselves. Where individuals differ are in the strength of these intelligences and the ways in which such intelligences are invoked and combined to carry out different tasks, solve problems and progress in various domains." (p12)
The eight intelligences Gardner mentions aren't fixed. Teachers just need to be conscious of them when planning the learning. Students need to be aware of their intelligences – those who can bring into play different intelligences depending on the task are much more flexible learners.
We have a course which looks at multiple intelligences in more detail, but for a brief explanation of each of Gardner's intelligences, read Resource 13.
Then look at Resource 14, which shows the planning form developed by Coppenhall High School in England to encourage staff to plan their lessons in a mind-friendly way.
Then go to your Student book (20) and answer the questions there.
Module 2J. Activity 18: Emotional intelligence
Daniel Goleman in his book, Emotional Intelligence, argues that emotional intelligence is crucial for effective learning. A learner who is emotionally intelligent will be able to manage the process of learning, will understand their own responses to the learning and will know whether their responses are supporting or hindering their learning. The same is true for teachers of course.
The link between emotional intelligence, student self-esteem and achievement is one of the reasons why a number of schools are developing their work on emotional intelligence as part of their social inclusion work.
Again, we offer a specific course on emotions and learning, but for some more information on the terms related to emotional intelligence, have a look at Resource15.
Then go to your Student book (21) and answer the questions.
Module 2K. Brain science and its implications for effective learning
The explosion of recent interest in how the brain works has helped us know more about learning – for example, how memory works, and multi-sensory learning.
We know that we remember beginnings and ends more than the learning in the middle of something. This should affect how lessons or blocks of "learning" are designed, e.g. it's a good idea for the learning to include "new beginnings" within the process. Similarly, we know that it's easier to remember factual information in "chunks" so we need to make sure we plan for this when designing learning. Building in active review periods as an integral part of a lesson or period of learning also helps recall
Module 2L. Task 3: Learning styles – the VAK model
The VAK model is one, "multi-sensory" example of learning styles. It's based on the fact that we take in information through our senses, in particular by seeing, hearing and doing. VAK stands for the following:
• visual (seeing)
• auditory (hearing)
• kinesthetic (doing)
It's important for teachers to be aware of the learning styles of the students they teach and ensure that, over time, the strategies they use engage all three types of learning.
If you've already developed your work on learning styles in your school (perhaps by doing our online course on learning styles), choose an aspect of a course you teach and think how it can be modified to provide activities that allow students to use all three learning styles.
If you're in a school that has not yet developed their work on learning styles then choose five colleagues and ask them what they know about learning styles. Note down the responses in Student book (22).
Note: If you'd like to explore the VAK model in more detail, have a look at our Learning styles course.
Module 2M. Activity 19: The importance of formative assessment
The work of Dylan Wiliam and Paul Black, and subsequently the Assessment Reform Group emphasizes the need for a shift in the language we use. We should talk and focus on "assessment for learning" rather than "assessment of learning".
The central theme in the work is that in order for students to improve they need to be given clear feedback on their current work and clear guidance about what specifically they need to do to improve their work further. It's this assessment feedback that helps pupils learn. They note:
"When anyone is trying to learn, feedback about their efforts has three elements – the desired goal, the evidence about their present position and some understanding of a way to close the gap between the two" (Inside the Black Box, p10).
Resource 16 provides some more detail about their work. When you have read the material go to your Student book (23) and answer the questions.
Module 2N. Activity 20: The implications for effective learning and teaching
Our extra knowledge about the complexity of the learning processes should enable us to adjust, hone and fine-tune our teaching practice to take that knowledge into account.
Teachers must be clear how this additional knowledge fits with current practice. Hay McBer (whose work on leadership styles and characteristics we looked at in Module 1) also undertook a survey of current research on effective teaching. They distilled the research into a core list of teacher skills that are common across the research. Print off this list in Resource 17, and for each of the teacher skills, note down how it relates to the recent knowledge about learning.
Then note any important points in your Student book (24).
Module 2O. What have you learned? Evaluation of your learning from Module 2
Now that you've completed the Activities and Tasks in Module 2, have another look at the intended learning outcomes:
By the end of this Module, you should:
• understand more about effective learning – what it is and how you can develop and sustain it
• understand the implications of effective learning for individual teachers in individual classrooms
• have considered the implications for learning-centered leaders
In your Student book (25) note the extent to which you've achieved these learning outcomes. Then e-mail your comments to your instructor.
Module 3: Learning-centered leadership
Module 3A. Intended learning outcomes for Module 3
By the end of this Module you should:
• know what is meant by "learning-centered leadership"
• recognize the characteristics of learning-centered leadership
• understand how learning-centered leadership helps a school build capacity
• understand the importance of "distributed" leadership for 21st century schools
Module 3B. Activity 21: Teaching in a knowledge society
The concept of learning-centered leadership has become increasingly important as schools face the challenges of living in a knowledge society and a knowledge economy.
Andy Hargreaves, in his recent book Teaching in a Knowledge Society explores both these concepts in detail.
He argues that:
"Teaching for the knowledge society involves cultivating these capacities in young people:
• developing deep cognitive learning, creativity and ingenuity among students;
• drawing on research, working in networks and teams, pursuing continuous professional learning as teachers;
• and promoting problem-solving, risk taking, trust in collaborative process, ability to cope with change and commitment to continuous improvement as organizations." (pxviii)
Resource 18 is a further extract from Andy Hargreaves, in which he discusses in more detail the challenge of the knowledge society. Read the extract and then answer the questions in your Student book (26).
Module 3C. Task 4: Knowledge society – what the papers say!
Find out informally from your colleagues what the term "knowledge society" means to them. Does everyone give the same explanation of the term?
As you work through the rest of the course, read and cut out any articles you see in newspapers and journals that refer to the "knowledge society". Good sources might include journals such as the Economist, New Scientist, Time and Newsweek, and newspapers for the views of pundits and researchers.
Of course, you could just search for "knowledge society" on the internet, using Google or a similar search engine. Just do this research when you get the chance. You'll find it helps to cement your understanding of what this important concept means.
Module 3D. Building capacity
Learning-centered leadership shares the key characteristics of effective leadership identified in Module 1. It's transformational, distributed, and driven by a clear vision and moral purpose. However, learning-centered leadership should also strengthen the learning capacity of both the staff and the students in a school.
The NCSL "Building Capacity for School Development" program noted that:
"...as teachers and school leaders wrestle with the complex and challenging task of transforming the learning lives of children, schools and school leaders have themselves become engaged in a process of transformation."
Module 3E. Activity 22: Keeping up-to-date
The idea of "transformation" in schools is that staff continue to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding of effective learning and teaching in the light of the ever-increasing body of knowledge.
Reflect on your own knowledge of recent research about effective learning and teaching. Go to your Student book (27) and note down your responses.
Module 3F. Building capacity by building learning schools
Learning-centered leadership describes an approach and attitude to leadership that is focused on learning at all levels, i.e.:
• student learning
• individual staff learning
• team and group learning
• organizational learning
It's based on a belief that leaders in schools should take responsibility for building the school's own capacity to deal with the unrelenting pace of change. Learning-centered leaders should help staff achieve their core purpose – to have a positive impact on students' learning.
Module 3G. Activity 23: Supporting change in your school
Let's clarify the relationship between this notion of "capacity" and change in a school. The NCSL "Think-tank" report noted that:
"School capacity can be defined as the collective competency of the school as an entity to bring about effective change. It is now clear that leadership needs to focus on two dimensions – the teaching and learning focus on the one hand and that of capacity on the other". (p2)
Learning-centered leadership focuses on both of these dimensions.
Spend a few minutes reflecting on how colleagues in your school are currently supported to manage the pace and scale of change. Go to your Student book (28) to note down your responses.
Module 3H. Activity 24: Invitational leadership
One leadership model that addresses how leaders in schools might lead staff in a learning-centered way is "invitational leadership". This approach was first suggested by Purkey and Novak (1996), and then developed by Stoll and Fink, in Changing Our Schools.
Stoll and Fink believe that good leaders attend to both structures and culture, continuity and change, and that the current models, described in Module 1, are inadequate, given the complexity of schools. They look for a model that synthesizes previous leadership models, particularly transactional and transformational leadership.
You'll find a brief summary of their work in Resource 19. When you've read the Resource, go to your Student book (29) and answer the questions.
Module 3I. Activity 25: Learning-centered leadership and the culture of the school
Learning-centered leaders actively work with their staff and students in such a way that a culture supportive of learning is developed.
The following list is a summary of the key elements that constitute learning-centered leadership. The elements have been chosen to begin with "C" because they all relate to the development of a culture for learning.
- Core values
- Creating a climate
- Coaching environment
- Confidence to question
- Care
- Coherence
- Capacity building
- Collaboration
- Conferencing (more on this later)
- Context
- Challenge
- Culture of professionalism
- Critical reflection
Think about the culture in your school. Go to your Student book (30) and jot down your responses to the questions there.
Module 3J. Activity 26: The concept of 'conferencing'
All leaders know the importance of giving feedback, but we'd all agree it can sometimes be a shallow and perfunctory experience. "Conferencing" is an important concept in learning-centered leadership as it describes a deeper and more sustained professional dialogue between a leader in school and a member of staff.
Read Resource 20, which discusses conferencing in more depth.
What opportunities are there in your school for staff to have a one-to-one dialogue about their professional practice? Go to your Student book (31) and answer the questions there.
Module 3K. Activity 27: Learning-centered leadership and its impact on the school
Let's now draw together the intended outcomes of successful learning-centered leadership. Learning-centered leadership ensures that:
• the core focus of the school is on student learning
• teaching is designed to support effective learning
• pupils understand how to learn effectively and to be independent learners
• teachers and other staff in school focus on student learning
• the culture and organization of the school make it possible for teachers and other staff to continue their own professional learning
• all leaders in the school reflect on what they are learning about the process of leadership as well as about learning and teaching and use that reflection to inform their future actions
Think about the impact of learning-centered leadership in your own school. Then go to your Student book (32) and note down your thoughts.
Module 3L. Activity 28: What do learning-centered leaders do?
So we know the intended outcomes of learning-centered leadership. But what should a leader actually do to bring about those outcomes? Here are some suggestions.
A learning-centered leader should:
- articulate the core values of the school in terms of adult and student learning
- talk with students about learning, helping them understand how to learn
- develop the skills of "learning to learn" in students and integrate them into the design of the teaching
- create a climate that supports collaboration as a working practice
- create a culture of informed professionalism, encouraging staff to develop the habit of "critical reflection"
- work directly with staff in a coaching relationship, and encourage other staff to coach each other about learning and teaching
- encourage pedagogic leadership across the school so the leadership is "distributed" amongst staff in different "locations"
- bring coherence to the work of the school by focusing all efforts on the achievement of the vision
- help staff understand the particular context of the school and the implications of that context for the ways in which they will respond to change and lead the learning of their students effectively
Working in this way creates a climate of trust, security and openness which builds a school's capacity for responding effectively to change and supports learning.
Think about these leadership activities and then go to your Student book (33) to write up your thoughts.
Module 3M. Activity 29: The development of 'teacher leadership'
In Module 1, we looked at the concept of "distributed leadership". An example of this in action is the development of "teacher leadership". This is an important part of the process of leadership for learning. Resource 21 contains extracts from a paper by Alma Harris explaining teacher leadership in more detail.
When you've read the Resource, go to your Student book (34) and answer the questions there.
Module 3N. Activity 30: Examples from the field
As we've stressed before, the specific context and stage of development of your school will determine how you develop learning-centered leadership.
Resource 22 provides examples of the different ways in which learning-centered leaders develop the learning and culture in a wide variety of primary and secondary schools across the UK. They're intended to stimulate your own thinking and ideas.
When you've read the examples, go to your Student book (35) and note down any useful ideas you could adapt for your own school.
Module 3O. What have you learned? Evaluation of Module 3
Now that you've completed the Activities and Tasks for Module 3, have another look at the intended learning outcomes.
By the end of this Module, you should be able to:
• explain clearly what is meant by learning-centered leadership
• describe the characteristics of learning-centered leadership
• understand how learning-centered leadership helps a school build capacity
• understand the importance of the concept of "distributed" leadership for 21st century schools
In your Student book (36) note the extent to which you've achieved these learning outcomes. Then e-mail your comments to your instructor.
Module 4: Effective learning-centered leadership teams
Module 4A. Intended learning outcomes for Module 4
By the end of this Module you should:
• know why leadership teams are important and what makes them effective
• understand the importance of clear systems and processes in a school to support effective learning
• have considered the importance of "joining up" the thinking in school systems
• have begun to understand how learning-centered leadership translates into practice
Module 4B. Activity 31: Groups and teams
Successful learning-centered leadership requires a team approach. Teams achieve more than individuals working in isolation or colleagues operating simply as a group.
This Module looks at how leadership teams can work together to develop learning-centered leadership in their schools. As always, the focus is on how the teams can have a positive impact on student achievement.
Module 4C. Activity 32: Why have teams?
You won't need reminding how complex the task of leadership in schools can be. It's unrealistic to expect one person to have the whole range of skills, knowledge and understanding necessary to lead a school effectively. This is where leadership teams come in. The best leaders use teams to plan, share expertise and knowledge, share out workloads, and develop their own expertise. Working with others generates energy and a sense of shared purpose which helps support people's capacity to do their job.
Resource 23 gives some examples of what writers have said about effective teams. When you've read the extracts, go to your Student book (37) and answer the questions.
Module 4D. Activity 33: Becoming a team
Groups of people working together don't just become teams. For a team to develop, every member has to pay conscious attention to the working practices. This means:
- thinking and discussing explicitly the core purpose of the team (which should
- be driven by the vision for the organization)
- deciding the priorities of the team and how they will be achieved
- agreeing the working practices of the team to achieve a consistent and
- coherent approach within the team and outside
- reviewing the work of the team and in the case of schools putting learning at
- the heart of its work
John West-Burnham notes that:
"There is a substantial gap between labeling a group a team and creating an effective work team ... too often teams are established and expected to operate by virtue of having delegated tasks... little consideration is given to the way the team functions." (p134)
Resource 24 contains some further thoughts on becoming a team. Read the Resource and then note your responses in your Student book (38).
Module 4E. Task 5: A framework for leadership teams
The authors of The Intelligent School identify nine intelligences that are essential for any school if it's going to continue to develop effectively. The leadership team in the school has responsibility for developing these intelligences, both within itself as a team and with other staff in the school. Resource 25 lists these nine intelligences.
When you've read them, discuss their implication at the next meeting of the leadership team. Ask colleagues to rate the team using the scales shown and return their responses to you. Collate all the responses, and at the next meeting, present them back to the team. This should prompt a discussion about the team's current stage of development and areas that need further attention.
Then go to your Student book (39) and note anything useful that came out of this Task.
Module 4F. Activity 34: Building trust and social capital
Another way of helping develop a climate of trust amongst staff, and in turn encourage distributed leadership, is through the idea of "social capital".
David Hargreaves has discussed the notions of social, intellectual and organizational capital. His views are summarized in Resource 26. When you've read the Resource, go to your Student book (40) and note down your views.
Module 4G. Activity 35: Structures and systems
We touched on the role management has in leadership a bit earlier. Leadership needs to be supported by effective management. The structures and systems that a school has in place are important parts of the scaffolding for effective management. For a learning-centered leadership team, it's important that all the main systems are clearly linked to each other, so that the learning in one part informs and is integrated with the learning in another. These systems and processes will be underpinned by policy documents which set out clearly how the process is to take place and how they relate to action. In a learning-centered school, the core purpose of all of these documents will be to enhance the learning of staff and pupils.
The diagram in Resource 27 shows the main systems and processes that a school has in place and how they relate to each other.
When you have considered the diagram, go to your Student book (41) and answer the questions there.
Module 4H. Activity 36: Continuing professional development
Another key area for learning-centered leadership teams is their approach to continuing professional development (CPD).
So what are the characteristics of a learning-centered leadership team's approach to CPD? Well, they will have shifted away from a model where 'courses' are the main strategy for professional development and will be thinking more laterally about developing their 'learning' practices in school. The emphasis should be on creating the 'enabling' conditions for staff to learn together.
Resource 28 contains the transcript of an interview with a CPD coordinator in England, in which she describes the sorts of strategies that have been put in place in her school to bring an explicit learning focus to CPD.
Having read the interview, go to your Student book(42) and note how you might be able to apply her ideas in your school.
Module 4I. Activity 37: Coaching and mentoring
Coaching and mentoring are two strategies that can help a leadership team become learning-centered. The two terms are sometimes confused, but they do describe two quite different activities. To put it simply, mentoring describes a broad process of support for individual colleagues, of which coaching may be one part.
If you'd like to explore the subjects further, we offer courses on both coaching and mentoring. For now, we'll ask you to reflect briefly on coaching.
Learning-centered schools use coaching as an important professional development process. In many schools, the emphasis is on coaching of individuals, but learning-centered leadership teams may need to work as a team with a coach to enhance their effectiveness and impact.
Resource 29 provides a brief introduction to the concept. When you've read it, go to your Student book (43) and note down your reflections.
Module 4J. Activity 38: Evaluation in a learning-centered school
In a learning-centered school, the processes of monitoring and evaluation are a little bit different. In particular, they are less "managerial" activities (important though that is) and much more processes with which staff actively engage. Evaluation and monitoring should be further opportunities for staff to learn about their practice and talk about it with other colleagues. Once again, the focus should be on staff and student learning.
Resource 30 provides an extract from a recent paper on this issue by Hilary Street and Jane Reed. Read it, then go to your Student book (44) and answer the questions.
Module 4K. Activity 39: Seven propositions from the NCSL about leadership
The National College of School Leadership (NCSL) published its "think tank" report summarizing what is known about leadership from the public and private sectors. As a result of that work, the NCSL has produced a set of propositions that underpin its approach to leadership development. The first seven of these bring together much of the thinking in this course.
Read the propositions in Resource 31 and then go to your Student book (45) and note down your thoughts.
Module 4L. What have you learned? Evaluation of your learning from Module 4
Now that you've completed the Activities and Tasks in Module 4, have another look at the intended learning outcomes:
By the end of this Module you should:
• know why leadership teams are important and what makes them effective
• understand the importance of clear systems and processes in a school to support effective learning
• have considered the importance of "joining up" the thinking in school systems
• have begun to understand how learning-centered leadership translates into practice
Then in your Student book (46), note the extent to which you've achieved these learning outcomes. Then e-mail your comments to your instructor.
Resource 1: A typology of models of leadership
The NCSL published School leadership: concepts and evidence. This is a literature review of the existing research and writing about school leadership. The final paper included a typology of existing models of leadership. A summary of that typology is given here.
Instructional leadership
This model focuses on the school’s central activity of learning and teaching. This is one of the propositions about leadership which underpin the NCSL’s leadership development framework. Module 2 discusses this in detail.
Transformation leadership
This is a core model for leadership which we'll discuss at length later in this module.
Moral leadership
This is of a different order from some of the other models in this typology because moral leadership is an essential part of effective leadership, and is implicit (and in some cases, explicit) in the other models described. Effective leaders have a clear vision and an explicit set of values which drive their actions and decisions. Values and vision are underpinned by a clear moral framework and a sense of moral purpose.
Participative leadership
This overlaps with the concept of distributed leadership which is explored later in this module. This quote from Sergiovanni makes the link with distributed leadership clear:
‘ ...the burdens of leadership will be less if leadership functions and roles are shared and if the concept of "leadership density" were to emerge as a viable replacement for principal leadership.’ (Leadership and excellence in schooling, Educational Leadership 1984, 41, p5)
Participative (distributed) leadership is a powerful and important concept in current thinking about educational leadership.
Managerial leadership
This is a model which seeks to 'fuse' management and leadership. It's relevant in situations where heads are simply expected to implement external policy decisions. If that's all they do, they're engaged in a process of 'managerial leadership' which is sometimes described as "managerialism". There are similarities between this model and 'transactional leadership' which is discussed later in this module. It's important to emphasize that we're not saying that effective management is not important – it is. Effective leaders ensure their organizations are organized and administered efficiently to avoid unnecessary waste of energy and to support progress towards the organization's goals.
Postmodern leadership
This focuses on the multiplicity of perspectives in any organization, and argues that leaders in organizations should take careful notice of the variety of perspectives and avoid hierarchy.
Interpersonal leadership
The importance of leaders having highly developed people skills and an ability to work effectively with a range of people and groups is embedded in all the models of leadership we'll be considering in this course. It's an integral part of learning-centered leadership. Without highly developed interpersonal skills and understanding, learning-centered leaders would not be able to develop the type of culture and ways of working required to enable everyone in an organization to be a learner.
Contingency theory
This is the final theory in the typology. It's based on the belief that there can't be a ‘one size fits all’ model of leadership for all situations, because the real world is just too complex for that. The principle underpinning this model is that leadership is ‘situated’ – in other words, the precise leadership styles and processes will vary according to the particular circumstances of the organization.
This quote from Leithwood et al (1999) sums up contingency theory:
‘This approach assumes that what is important is how leaders respond to the unique organizational circumstances or problems... there are wide variations in the contexts for leadership and that, to be effective these contexts require different leadership responses… individuals providing leadership, typically those in formal positions of authority are capable of mastering a large repertoire of leadership practices. Their influence will depend, in large measure, on such mastery." (p15)
Resource 2 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 3 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 4: Hay McBer leadership styles and climate dimensions
Leadership styles are the habitual approaches an individual uses to motivate and direct his or her employees.
Hay McBer found six main leadership styles:
Authoritative: "This is where we are going and why."
Coercive: "You must do this now!"
Democratic: "What are your views on the matter?"
Pacesetting: "This is the way to do it."
Affiliative: "It’s important that we all get on."
Coaching: "How can I support your learning?"
Climate describes the key aspects of the environment of an organisation, as perceived by the people who work there, which affect their motivation and performance.
Hay McBer found six key dimensions of climate:
Flexibility: "There are no unnecessary rules here."
Reward: "If I do well, it gets noticed and recognised."
Clarity: "I know our goals and how I contribute."
Standards: "We are expected to do well and improve."
Responsibility: "I can get on with my job, make decisions."
Team commitment: "People are proud to work here."
This model is not saying that one style is "best". Hay McBer did show, though, that four particular styles are more positively associated with a positive climate in an organisation: authoritative, coaching, democratic and affiliative. Effective leaders have to be able to use all four styles. Hay McBer make it clear though that to use one predominantly is problematic and will not have a positive effect on the development of the organisation. They note that, sometimes, the pace-setting or coercive styles may be necessary in the short-term, but should not be sustained long-term because in the end they have a de-motivating effect and do not build sustainability in the organisation.
Daniel Goleman has extended these concepts further in his book The New Leaders: Transforming the Art of Leadership.
Resource 5 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 6: Distributed leadership
Writers on distributed leadership are clear that it's an essential process for leading a school in the 21st century. Because the task of schools is so vast, and the pace of change so fast, the process of leading a school is simply too large and too complex to be led by just a few people. For schools to deal effectively with the multiple demands and pressures they experience, they need as many staff as possible taking some sort of leadership responsibility, either formally or informally.
As Nigel Bennett et al say:
'Distributed leadership sees varieties of expertise being widely distributed across many people. Drawing many people into the potential leadership group makes it possible for initiatives to be developed from all over the organization, and adopted, adapted and improved by others in a culture of support and trust."
(Nigel Bennett et al, Distributed Leadership, NCSL, 2003, p3)
You may well ask: but what exactly is supposed to be distributed? The NCSL is clear that it's learning-centered leadership. This involves a shift from a focus on teaching and learning to a focus on:
teaching for learning
looking at teaching through the lens of learning
learning as a constructivist activity where the learners (adults and pupils) are reflecting on the learning, understanding how they learn and improving the way they engage with learning
Distributed leadership encourages the development of learning-centered leaders. We'll discuss this in more detail in Module 3.
Resource 7 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 8: Charismatic leaders
In their book Changing Leadership for Changing Times, Leithwood and colleagues distinguish two types of charismatic leader: 'visionary' and 'crisis produced'.
On 'visionary' charismatic leaders, they say:
'The power of visionary, charismatic leaders is to be found in the attractiveness and inspirational quality of the missions that they espouse and the willingness of others to believe in those missions. From the perspective of motivational theory, then, visionary charismatics influence the nature of the personal goals and motivate the behavior of followers. Followers will aspire to more ambitious or perhaps even morally more defensible goals than would be the case in the absence of visionary charisma.'
And on "crisis produced" charismatic leaders:
"Crisis produced leaders, on the other hand, are products of a set of circumstances that potential followers feel unable to cope with. Charisma is attributed to people who are perceived to offer a way of at least beginning to deal with those circumstances. From a motivational perspective, crisis produced charismatic leadership enhances followers' context beliefs; it increases followers' estimates of the likelihood of support for their change efforts through the actions of those awarded leadership status" (p57).
In both types of charismatic leadership, the followers' perceptions are key to whether or not charismatic leadership can be seen to exist. If followers do not "feel" it to be the case then there isn't any. Charismatic leadership is seen to exist by virtue of '...both the extraordinary qualities that followers attribute to the leader and the latter's mission."
Resource 9: From good to great
Jim Collins looked at companies in the USA who had, over time, developed from "good" companies into "great" companies. In particular, he looked at how the leaders of those companies operated. He identified five levels of leadership:
Level 5 Executive (builds enduring greatness)
Level 4 Effective leader (catalyses commitment to vision and standards)
Level 3 Competent manager (organizes people towards objective)
Level 2 Contributing team member (individual contribution to a group objective)
Level 1 Highly capable individual (makes productive contributions)
Collins argued that to move from good to great as an organization, Level 5 leadership is needed. He found that Level 5 leaders:
- are a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will
- display a compelling modesty
- are self-effacing
- are driven with a need to produce results
- are tenacious, dogged, hard-working, diligent
Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company (or school). It's not that Level 5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed they're incredibly ambitious – but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves.
Level 5 leaders are fanatically driven, and infected with an incurable need to produce sustained results. They're resolved to do whatever it takes to make the school great, no matter how big or hard the decisions
Resource 10 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 11 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 12: Thinking skills and thinking classrooms
Carol McGuiness notes that there are three main elements to a framework for thinking skills:
The need to make thinking skills explicit in the curriculum
The importance of developing metacognition in students and encouraging them to develop a "habit of good thinking"
The importance of developing a whole school culture of "thinking"
Currently schools develop thinking skills in one of three ways:
Enhancing general thinking through structured programs which are additional to the normal curriculum.
Targeting subject specific learning.
Infusing "thinking skills" across the curriculum by systematically identifying opportunities within the normal curriculum.
Developing thinking skills through the curriculum means that they can be developed naturally as part of the process of learning rather than being "tagged on". This is therefore a process of infusion. Effective learning cannot take place unless we think!
Resource 13 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 14 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 15: Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence
"The capacity to process emotional information accurately and efficiently,
including the capacity to perceive, assimilate, understand and manage emotion."
(Mayer, Salovey and Caruso, 2000)
Emotional and social competence
"The ability to understand, manage and express the social and emotional aspects of
one's life in ways that enable the successful management of life tasks such as
learning, forming relationships, solving everyday problems, and adapting to the
complex demands of growth and development."
(Stewart-Brown, 2000)
Emotional literacy
"The practice of noticing emotions, paying attention to them, giving them
significance, thinking about and understanding them, taking them into account in
deciding how to act."
(The School of Emotional Literacy, Gloucs.)
Resource 16: Extracts from "Inside the Black Box"
The following extracts from "Inside the Black Box" are particularly relevant to formative assessment:
"Feedback to any student should be about the particular qualities of his or her work, with advice on what he or she can do to improve, and should avoid comparisons with other pupils" (p9).
"For formative assessment to be productive, students should be trained in self-assessment so that they can understand the main purposes of their learning and thereby grasp what they need to do to achieve" (p10).
"Opportunities for students to express their understanding should be designed into any piece of teaching, because this will initiate the interaction whereby formative assessment also aids learning' (p11).
'The dialogue between students and a teacher should be thoughtful, reflective, focused to evoke and explore understanding, and conducted so that all students have an opportunity to think and express their ideas" (p12).
"Tests and homework exercises can be an invaluable guide to learning, but the exercises must be clear and relevant to learning aims. The feedback on them should give each student guidance on how to improve, and each student must be given opportunity and help to work at improvement" (p13).
Resource 20: Conferencing
Conferencing is discussed in an article by Geoff Southworth (Instructional Leadership in Schools: reflections and empirical evidence, School Leadership and Management, Vol 22, No 1 2002) in which he quotes from research in America which looked at the sorts of behaviors that effective school leaders exhibited.
The researchers noted that:
"...principals who are good instructional leaders develop a deep appreciation for the potential artistry of an instructional conference ( conversation) with a teacher… such principals realize that most teachers expand their teaching range only with carefully designed support and assistance." (p80)
Conferencing involves knowledge and skill in the following areas:
- classroom observation and data-gathering methods and the skills to undertake them
- teaching methods, skills and techniques
- understanding of the relationship between teaching and learning
- knowing how to make the "conference" process reflective and
- non-threatening
- communication skills (e.g., acknowledging, paraphrasing,
- summarizing, clarifying and elaborating on information)
- awareness of the stage of development, career state, levels of
- commitment of the teacher, learning style, concerns about
- innovation and background of the teacher taking part in the
- conference
Resource 21: Teacher leadership
The following extracts are taken from: Teacher Leadership: Principles and Practice by Alma Harris and Daniel Muijs, University of Warwick, England
"The current educational context is one of rapid and unrelenting change. Consequently, sustainability will depend upon the school’s internal capacity to maintain and support developmental work..."
"The clear message is that sustaining improvement requires the leadership capability of the many rather than the few and that improvements in learning are more likely to be achieved when the leadership is instructionally focused and located closest to the classroom."
"Teacher leadership is primarily concerned with developing high quality learning and teaching in schools... In contrast to traditional notions of leadership, teacher leadership is characterized by a form of collective leadership in which teachers develop expertise by working collaboratively. So, for example, there may be teachers working together on a particular aspect of the literacy strategy or teachers who are jointly preparing new materials and resources for a new topic. There are two key dimensions of teacher leadership. Firstly a focus on improved learning outcomes through the development work, and secondly, an emphasis upon collaborative professional activity."
"Teacher leadership incorporates three main areas of activity:
The leadership of other teachers though coaching, mentoring, leading working groups;
The leadership of developmental tasks that are central to improved learning and teaching;
The leadership of pedagogy through the development and modeling of effective forms of teaching."
"For teacher leadership to be most effective it has to encompass mutual trust, support and enquiry... Heads will therefore need to become "leaders of leaders" striving to develop a relationship of trust with staff, and encouraging leadership and autonomy throughout the school."
Resource 22: Examples from the field
The following examples of learning-centered leadership were taken from a variety of primary and secondary schools across the UK.
"The Expert Trail": a whole-school professional development program where every member of staff is involved at a particular point in the program according to their role and experience. All staff have professional development portfolios which relate to their role and their training. Each step in the program includes an "in-school" task.
"Thinking time" is built into whole staff meetings on a regular basis to allow time for reflection on aspects of the learning developments in the school.
A leadership team gathers feedback from staff on an annual basis about their views of the effectiveness of the leadership team.
A school starts one of the training days an hour late. Staff are to use this as "reading time". The deputy head is responsible for putting together a range of chapters from books and articles that staff can choose from to read. Sometimes they relate to priorities in the school improvement plan, but not always. Staff then spend 45 minutes in groups of four discussing and sharing with each other the main points of interest from their articles.
Another school awarded a member of staff an extra salary step to be responsible for research. This meant seeking out relevant research and making it accessible to staff (either by summarizing or integrating it into a staff meeting) and encouraging and being responsible for research that staff carried out in their own classrooms. Best Practice Research Scholarships (BPRS) when they existed were used to support this.
Individual staff are invited to be temporary members of the leadership team on a rolling basis, either according to their expertise or because of their own professional development needs.
All staff have an "enquiry" objective as part of their performance management review (PMR).
The leadership team models their own learning explicitly to staff.
Resource 23: Reflections on teams
Bell, writing in Leadership Teams and Educational Management says this about teamwork:
"Teamwork is a group of individuals working together towards a common purpose and, in so doing, achieving more than they could alone.
A group of people working together in the basis of
- Shared perceptions
- A common purpose
- Agreed procedures
- Commitment
- Co-operation
- Resolving disagreements openly by discussion
The benefits of teamwork in a school include:
- agreeing aims
- clarifying roles
- sharing expertise and skills
- maximizing use of resources
- motivating, supporting and encouraging members of the team
- improving relationships within the staff group
- encouraging decision making
- increasing potential
- improving communication
- increasing knowledge and understanding
- reducing anxiety and stress" (pp 120-121)
Resource 24: Becoming a team
This Resource is abridged from Leading Teams, an article by John West-Burnham in NAHT Secondary Leadership Paper 14.
In essence the leadership team has to exemplify all that the school aspires to be.
The effective leadership team needs to develop criteria for its own effectiveness and to consider which of the following are relevant and appropriate to its particular situation.
Alignment: the team has to develop a common sense of values and vision which act as the key-stone of its activities. Meetings need to regularly re-visit the core principles of the school and to ensure that it is a values driven organization. There needs to be high consensus in the team and a clear and shared sense of purpose which is known, shared, understood and articulated.
Design: the team needs an appropriate balance of types and behaviors. Belbin’s team styles inventory remains a useful model to explore the dynamics of the team in terms of team roles rather than organizational roles.
Review: this is one of the defining differences between a group and a team. The effective team will invest time and energy in reviewing both what it does and how it works. The team will regularly review:
- the quality of working relationships
- the engagement of all members of the team
- its effectiveness and efficiency in getting things done
- the extent to which it models appropriate working practices
- how far it is focused on the vision and values of the school
A highly effective team will regularly ask itself the questions:
- How well are we doing?
- How can we improve?
Relationships: the team is emotionally intelligent, ie, it works to achieve a sophisticated level of interpersonal relationships as the primary means by which it works. This implies that the team is conscious and deliberate in working to optimize individual and collective effectiveness.
Learning: the team is conscious and deliberate about the individual and collective learning of its members. The team’s normal working procedures are used as the basis for developing knowledge, skills and experience.
Trust: the combined impact of the factors listed above create a climate of high trust.
Resource 25: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 26: Building trust and social capital
This Resource is based on a pamphlet by David Hargreaves called Education Epidemic: Transforming secondary schools through innovation networks, published by the think-tank "Demos" in 2003 (pp 24-25)
Hargreaves believes there are three types of "capital" essential when developing a community of enquiry in schools and in building a school’s capacity to manage the process of change and in particular to take control of it.
Intellectual capital is the human capital in an organization. An effective and empowering organization will put this to good use.
For example, an effective leadership team will have a clear understanding of the strengths and areas needing development of their staff. They will use this knowledge to inform their decision-making and their management of each individual member of staff in order to make sure that they give individual staff the opportunity to "play to their strengths" and so contribute as effectively as possible to the organization. They will also ensure that the necessary professional development opportunities are provided so that individual staff can continue to develop professionally in those areas identified as needing further support.
Social capital is the cultural and structural capital in an organization. It is about the trust that is generated between people working together and the quality of the network developed.
Michael Fullan and Andy Hargreaves amongst others have written extensively about the fact that it is the responsibility of the leaders in a school to develop structures and ways of working to enable colleagues to "connect" with each other professionally and to work together on aspects of professional practice. This may mean for example, working in coaching pairs, having guaranteed time each term to visit another colleague's class to observe and learn, being part of an action research group. By enabling these activities, "social capital" is developed – individuals become stronger professionally.
Organizational capital. This refers to the colleagues in schools, particularly those in leadership roles. Their capital is their knowledge, skill and ability to improve the school and make the best use of the intellectual and social capital.
If leaders in schools are attending to the processes mentioned in the previous two types of capital then they are contributing to the development of organizational capital because they are working in a way that makes the staff and therefore the school stronger professionally. In addition, leaders in schools are ensuring that all aspects of the systems and processes are "joined up'" (see the diagram in Resource 27), to ensure that all resources are deployed and used as effectively as possible.
Resource 27 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 28: The experiences of a professional development coordinator
"We decided to rethink our approach to continuing professional development because of an increasing dissatisfaction with the lack of impact of one-off courses off-site.
The first thing we did was to plan a core CDP program in advance for the following year. We worked with the Teachers’ Standards Framework in the UK and concentrated on the skills, other than teaching, that staff needed to have to undertake their role effectively. This included how to chair meetings, how to make presentations, how to give feedback. We run in-house training sessions on those themes every year. This means that anyone who is new to a role that requires these skills can have access to the training. It also means we develop a house-style and that colleagues at different stages in their careers may be working together.
We then took up a strategy that Davison High School in England use which is the "expert trail". This means that every member of staff in the school is on a particular development stage in our whole-school professional development program. Depending on your role you'll undertake a particular set of professional development activities – for recently qualified teachers the focus will be on development in your own classroom and for the most experienced staff it will focus on a whole school project.
The professional development portfolio for staff has been pivotal in this process. All staff have a file which is their professional development portfolio. There are standard sections in the contents including job descriptions, performance management review information, their CV, relevant schemes of work, and information about current classes. Staff are encouraged to add to it through the year – and to include copies of anything that they feel shows they have made progress with their performance management objectives or something that they are particularly pleased with in their teaching. We give one of the meeting slots a term as time for updating professional development portfolios. Staff are always asked to bring them if they are applying for an internal post in the school.
The thing that has had the most dramatic impact however, has been the development of a rolling training program in coaching skills. All staff will have been trained within two years – and most of the staff will be using those skills in some way in their role. This has made a profound difference to how we give and receive feedback and has also enabled us to introduce a wider variety of opportunities for lesson observation.
Staff are taking more responsibility now for their own professional development and expect to be supported to develop their classroom practice."
Resource 29: What is coaching?
Coaching is:
- bespoke and focused – addressing the perceived needs of the person being coached
- context-specific – the discussions should make sense for the person being coached because they can see the immediate relevance to their situation
- immediate and timely – the conversation should relate to the "here and now" because that's the starting point for the coaching to go forward
- a way of working that supports adult learning, drawing on what we know about how adults learn
- a process which impacts positively on culture and attitudes in school
The words "coaching" and "mentoring" are used differently by different people in different contexts. Mentoring tends to be the more general of the two concepts, encompassing peer mentoring, mentoring of newly qualified teachers, head mentoring and mentoring of staff new to an organization, to name but a few examples. The activities that take place under the umbrella of mentoring also vary and may well include some sort of coaching.
Coaching is a qualitatively different activity from mentoring and is focused on the specific aspects of the professional development of an individual. It may focus on coaching a person to develop a particular skill, develop and change attitudes or develop particular personal qualities or a combination of all three. The following definition of 'a coach' from Goldsmith et al (2000) encapsulates those elements:
"...a coach helps a person develop – by expanding a skill, by boosting performance, or by changing the way a person thinks. Coaches help people grow." (p11)
Resource 30: Self-evaluation for student and teacher learning
The extract below is from The Learning School: Towards a new relationship between School Self Evaluation and School Improvement, by Jane Reed and Hilary Street.
"Schools that are becoming consciously self-evaluating are developing the following characteristics:
- They are continually developing both students’ and teachers’ capacity for undertaking evaluation
- They have the skills not only to collect, analyze and use different kinds of data, but to notice and use feedback
- There is clarity about the wide range of purposes for evaluation and an understanding of its relationship with school improvement
- They are flexible in their use of evaluation processes, both informal and formal
- They are able to lead and manage the process of evaluation effectively and the initiation of evaluation in the school is distributed beyond the senior leadership team
- They are aware of the tensions inherent in the process of self-evaluation and the leadership team is able to manage these tensions with and for the staff (e.g., external/internal; checking/coaching; accountability/development)
- The school has a secure, trusting and open climate
- All stakeholders are involved in the evaluation process
- The link between school self-evaluation and other school processes is clear and explicit, e.g., performance management review (PMR), continuing professional development (CPD), school improvement planning
Teachers who are learners: - generate questions amongst themselves and with students about learning
- engage in regular dialogue to find out more about students’
- experience and orientation in learning
- develop a critical interest in current research about learning and use it to reflect on their own practice
- are willing to stand back from their own situation and use evidence
- more systematically to come to new conclusions about the reality of
- what is happening in their classroom rather than basing their work on unexamined assumptions" (pp5-7)
Resource 31: NCSL leadership propositions
School leadership must be purposeful, inclusive and values-driven
School leadership must embrace the distinctive and inclusive context of the school
School leadership must promote an active view of learning
School leadership must be instructionally focused
School leadership is a function that needs to be distributed throughout the school community
School leadership must build capacity by developing the school as a learning community
School leadership must be futures-oriented and strategically driven
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DEFINITIONS
Discretionary effort
The amount of effort that co-workers working in an organization are willing to give over and above the minimum necessary.
Distributive leadership
A shift from the belief in the power of one to belief in the power of everyone; a shift from domination and charisma to empowerment and teams.
Metacognition
Describes the process of thinking self-consciously about what we are doing when we learn, so that we understand the processes that we are using, so that we can improve the processes that we use to learn.
Thinking skills
There is no one simple definition. they include general processing ability, specific skills such as analyzing, planning, etc., and metacognitive skills.
Multiple intelligences
The idea that there are several different types of intelligences. The parts are interconnected but can work independently if needed they are not fixed and can be developed.
Emotional intelligences
David Goleman defines emotional intelligences as " the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, for managing ourselves, for managing emotions well within ourselves and in our relationships." We offer a course on this subject.
The branch of neuroscience concerned with the brain
Neuroscience
the scientific study of the nervous system
Assessment for learning
Sometimes known as formative assessment, this describes the process of teachers and students using assessment feedback as a tool to support future learning.
Capacity
School improvement literature defines capacity as the ability of all in the school to manage the complex demands of the 21st century. Change is now a constant and leaders have to find a way of leading their staff so they can operate effectively, survive and flourish in a climate of unrelenting change. To do this they have to "build capacity".
REFERENCES
Name: To Serve First
Description: This is one of many sites available for information on Servant Leadership practices.
http://toservefirst.com/index.html
Name: The American Educational Research Association
Description:A quick way of keeping up to date with the main themes in research in the USA. It includes work on leadership and management.
http://www.aera.net/
Name: The Change Leader
Description: This article talks about the importance of effective school leadership, making cultural changes, as well as several other important points.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may02/vol59/num08/The-Change-Leader.aspx
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