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Principal as the Instructional Leader EDL 550 and 551

Western Illinois University Fall 2015 and Spring 2016

Aug. 22, Oct. 3, Nov. 7, Dec. 5, Feb 27, April 16

QC Campus Rm 2128 Dean Halverson, Ph.D. Professor Educational Leadership Work (309) 762-9481 Cell: (563) 370-8788 E-mail: dl-halverson@wiu.edu

Macomb Campus Rm 7 Rene Noppe, Ed.D. Associate Professor Educational Leadership Work (309) 762-9481 Cell: (309) 235 -2899 E-mail: r-noppe@wiu.edu

Course Description

EDL550 (2) and EDL551 (1): Emphasis is placed on enabling leaders to generate the tools to

assist teachers in improving instruction. Topics include research on effective instruction,

conferencing skills, evaluation of lesson plans and instructional materials, and formative and

summative evaluation of teaching. Students will demonstrate competence by applying a research-

based model to assess instructional artifacts and evaluate instruction.

Prerequisites EDL 500, Leadership Development and Self- Assessment, EDL 505, School Improvement and Organizational Development, EDL 517, School Law, EDL528, Supervision of Instruction and the completion of 20 semester hours in the educational leadership program are prerequisites for this course. EDL 555 and 551 are taken in conjunction with EDL 555 and 556, Principal Internship.

Purpose The principal’s most important role is that of instructional leader. Research indicates that, next to classroom teachers, the principal has the most impact on student achievement. The course emphasizes working with marginal teachers, change leadership, and other tools that assist principals in improving instruction.

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Objectives The student will:

1. Acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to supervise, evaluate, remediate, and if necessary to terminate marginal teachers. ( Remediation Plan Template)

2. Develop growth plans/improvement plans for marginal teachers. (Remediation Plan) 3. Research a change model and then work with a team to create a list of similarities and

differences between three different models. (Change Paper) 4. Develop a presentation on a change process as it relates to an identified area in their

own school. (Change Presentation) 5. Analyze their own attitudes regarding management and leadership (Surveys) 6. Read a book on leadership (Read leadership book and listen to reviews of other books) 7. Develop a “One-Pager” related to the leadership book as an example of the format that

is recommended for principal newsletters. (Book One-Pager) 8. Create a list of the leadership characteristics necessary to provide leadership for

learning. (In class activity and Whittaker book) 9. Create a list of the key factors in the change process (Change paper and in class

activity) 10. Develop a personal self-improvement plan. (Part of final exam) 11. Become more knowledgeable regarding professional learning communities (Article and

class activities)

Texts and Handouts Danielson, C. (2007). Enhancing professional practice. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. (EPP)

ISBN 978-1-416-60517-1 (You should have this book from EDL 560)

Whitaker, T. (2011). What great principals do differently. Larchmont, NY: Eye on

Education. (This book is available from the WIU Book Store or other vendors)

Marzano; Balanced leadership: What 30 years of research tells us about the effective

leadership on student achievement. (Western Online—Required Articles—click on the

arrow to the right and then on download)

Handouts: On the first day of class you will be given a set of handouts for the course.

(We suggest that you bring a three-hole binder for the handouts.)

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Calendar of Topics

Date Topics Readings and Assignments

Notes

Below

8/22

Introduction

Syllabus

Characteristics of marginal teachers

Causes of teacher difficulties

Differentiated supervision

Helping marginal teachers

Developing teacher assistance plans

Internship Seminar 1—Electronic Portfolio

1. EPP Chapter 6

2. Article: Widget Effect

3. Bring your district ‘s procedures for working with marginal teachers

4. Bring artifacts to add to your portfolio

See #1

See #2

10/3 Review of assistance plans

Retention vs dismissal

Leadership vs. management

Leadership analysis instruments

1. Leadership book one one-pager

2. Article: Management vs Leadership

3. Mid Term Exam

See #3

See #2

11/7 The learning centered principal

Balanced leadership

Leadership styles

The learning centered principal

1. Balanced Leadership

article and chart

2. Article: The School

Prin. As Leader

See #4

See #2

12/5 Principals as instructional leaders

What great principals do differently

Leading meetings

In basket scenarios for principals

1. What Great Principals Do Differently

2. Article: How You Can Spend Less Time…

See #5

See #5

2/27 The change process

Change in schools

Building Trust

1. Change process paper

2. Article: Powerful Change Accelerator

See #6

See #2

4/16 Change In Schools

Professional learning communities

What works in all cases

1. Change process

presentation

2. Article: What is a

PLC?

3. Final Exam

See #7

See #2

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Notes

1. Read the sections listed below from Chapter 6 (Danielson’s Enhancing Professional Practice). Create a bulleted list of 8-10 major points and then write a reflection of about ½ page. P. 168-170: Using the Framework for Reflection and Self-Assessment P. 176-177: Using the Framework for Peer Coaching P. 177-181: Using the Framework for Supervision and Evaluation

2. Assigned Articles: All the articles can be found on Western Online in the Assigned

Articles folder. Go to EDL 550 on Western Online; click on Course Content; open the

folder titled Assigned Articles. As you read each article make a list of what you consider

to be the 8-12 key points in the article—these should be in a bulleted list. At the end of

the list write a reflection of about ½ to 1 page over the area(s) that struck you as the

most enlightening or reinforcing. (Think in terms of about 1 to 2 pages and not more than

2 pages for each article assignment.) Some of the articles are PDF documents so they

may take a little while to open.

8/22: The Widget Effect? (Pages 1-30) 10/3: Management vs Leadership 11/7: The School Principal as Leader 12/5: How You Can Spend Less Time….. 2/27: Powerful Change Accelerator 4/16: What is a PLC (In reflection include info on PLC status at your school)

3. Read a book on leadership (not the Whitaker book)—see Appendix A for a list of books that students in previous classes have read. Prepare a summary of the book as a front and back “one-pager” using Piktochart which will be demonstrated during the August 22 class. The emphasis should be on leadership principles with one section listing what you consider to be the “top ten” leadership principles from the book. Present a “review” on the book you read. You will utilize your “one-pager” for your presentation so bring at least 18 copies. Your goal is to convince other people in the class that they should read the book. (Please do not select a book you have utilized in a previous class.) (See Appendix A for scoring criteria.)

4. School Leadership That Works: Balanced Leadership: What 30 Years of

Research Tells us About the Effective Leadership on Student Achievement. (This

article is located in the Western Online folder titled Assigned Articles at the bottom of the

list.) Make a list of the 5 areas that you would consider areas of strength and the 5 areas

that you feel would be the most challenging for you. Give reasons for each of your

choices and for each area list at least two things you could do in the school as the

principal to demonstrate that responsibilities. This works best if you put it in table format

with the following headings;

Responsibility Why a Strength/Weakness How Demonstrated in School

5. What Great Principals Do Differently: Review the entire book.

A The text lists 18 things that the author feels matter the most. Which of the practices do

you feel would be the most difficult to implement if you were the principal in your present

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building? The easiest to implement? Include at least 4 in each group and give reasons for

your choices.

B. You will do a short presentation to the class on one chapter of the book. This will be 5

minutes or less and will not require visuals.

6. Prepare a paper that compares and contrast three different change models. The paper (think in terms of 3-5 pages plus a bibliography of at least 5 articles in APA format) should include information on 3 different change process theories (not a specific change). Possible models to research include: Fullan, Kotter, CBAM, Satir, Lewin, McKinsey, or any other that you might find. The format of the paper should be: introduction, overview of model 1, overview of model 2, overview of model 3, comparison/similarities of all models, contrasting/differences of the models, which model would work best in your school, and a summary.

7. A. Change Process Presentation: You are to utilize a multimedia presentation to

demonstrate how you would implement a specific change at your school. (The

multimedia could be PowerPoint, Prezi, etc.) Using change process information, adult

learning theory and effective leadership principles, the presentation will explain the

specifics of how the change would be facilitated. (Previous individuals have looked at

areas like block scheduling, multi-age grouping, middle school concept, balanced

literacy, RTI, drug testing, differentiated instruction, student led conferences, 4 day

school week, PLC, restructuring the senior year, etc.) The area you select should be

one that impacts nearly all the teachers in your building and one that would be

considered controversial (a second order change) by many of the teachers. (You will

need to have instructor approval of your topic.) At least 5 different resources should be

cited in the presentation and on a reference page at the end of the PowerPoint. The

scoring criteria are listed in Appendix A. Your “audience” for this presentation is the

school staff or the school board. Your Presentation should be posted on the Discussion

Board in Western Online.

Recommended format:

Introduction: Why is there a need for a change?

The change desired What do you want to do differently?

Research: What research supports the change?

“Selling” the Change How do you plan to “sell” the change to both

internal and external audiences?

Implementation Plan *How will you implement the change? You need a

detailed plan that covers a 2-3 year span.

*How do you plan to adapt to the needs of the

supporters, resistors, and those in-between?

*How will you involve the staff in the decision

making process?

Assessment How do you plan to assess the on-going success or

non-success of the process and the change itself?

Closure/Summary

References

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7. B The information you turn in for this project will be used to grade you

presentation. (See Appendix A for scoring criteria.)

Outline that includes:

Why is there a need for that change?

What do you want to do differently?

What research sources did you utilize to support your change?

How do you plan to “sell” the change to both internal and external

audiences?

How will you implement your change? You need a detailed plan that

covers a 2-3 year span of time.

How do you plan to adapt to the needs of the supporters, resistors, and

those in-between?

How will you involve the staff in the decision making process?

How do you plan to assess the on-going success or non-success of the

change process and the change itself?

Copy of your PowerPoint—6 slides to a page

Assessment

Activity Points All assignments, unless otherwise indicated, should be placed in the Western Online Drop Box

Day 1

EPP Chapter 6 10 Drop Box prior to 7:30am on August 22

Article: Widget Effect 10 Drop Box prior to 7:30am on August 22

Day 2

One Pager on Leadership Book 15 Drop Box prior to 7:30am on October 3

Article: Management vs Lead. 10 Drop Box prior to 7:30am on October 3

Mid Term Exam 26 Completed in class on October 3

Day 3

Balanced Leadership Chart 10 Drop Box prior to 7:30am on November 7

Article: Prin. As Leader 10 Drop Box prior to 7:30am on November 7

Day 4

Great Principals Chart 10 Drop Box prior to 7:30am on December 5

Article: How You Can Spend.. 10 Drop Box prior to 7:30am on December 5

Day 5

Change Process Paper 20 Drop Box prior to 7:30am on February 27

Article: Powerful Change Acc. 10 Drop Box prior to 7:30am on February 27

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Day 6

Change Presentation Assignment

24 PPT on Discussion Board prior to 7:30am on April 16

Hard copy of “outline” and PPT to class on April 16

Article: What is a PLC? 10 Drop Box prior to 7:30am on April 16

Final Exam 25 Completed in class on April 25

TOTAL POINTS 200

A grade= approximately 95-100% B grade=approximately 82-94%

Additional Resources DiPaola, M.F. & Hoy, W.K. (2008). Principals improving instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Elder, C.H. (2004). Dismissal doesn’t have to be difficult. Lanham, ML: Scarecrow Education. Gorton, R., Alston, J. A., & Snowden, P. (2007). School leadership & administration. New York: McGraw Hill. Guthrie, J.W. & Schuermann, P.J. (2010). Successful school leadership. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Hanson, K.L. (2009). A casebook for school leaders. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson

Education.

Isaacson, L.S. (2005). Smart, fast, efficient: The new principal’s guide to success. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education. Kowalski, T.J. (2008). Case studies on educational administration. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Razik, T.A. & Swanson, A. D. (2010). Fundamental concepts of educational leadership & management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Sergiovanni, T.J. (2009). The principalship: A reflective practice perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Terrell, R.D. & Lindsey, R.B. (2009). Culturally proficient leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. Whitaker, T. (2002). Dealing with difficult teachers. Eye on Education, Larchmont, N: Eye on Education.

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Policies and Expectations Attendance (For courses at the 500 level) A student who is absent for more than 50% of a scheduled day of a Weekend Academy class will be assigned a grade of incomplete (I) by the instructor and must make up the appropriate day in its entirety the next time the course is offered in order to change the Incomplete to a letter grade. If a student is absent for more than 50% of the first day of a weekend academy class, the instructor may, at his/her discretion, either exclude the student from attending the class or award an incomplete under this attendance policy.

Incomplete Grade for Missing Course Requirements An incomplete grade may be given only when a student, due to circumstances beyond his or her control, is unable to complete course requirements within the official limits of the term. The instructor may allow additional time for completion of the requirements after consideration of a written petition from the student to the instructor. The petition must include what the student will do to complete the requirement and the expected date of completion of the incomplete requirements.

Academic Accommodations In accordance with University policy and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), academic accommodations may be made for any student who notifies the instructor of the need for an accommodation. For the instructor to provide the proper accommodation(s) you must obtain documentation of the need for an accommodation through Disability Support Services and provide it to the instructor. It is imperative that you take the initiative to bring such needs to the instructor's attention, as he/she is not legally permitted to inquire about such particular needs of students. Students who may require special assistance in emergency evacuations (i.e. fire, tornado, etc.) should contact the instructor as to the most appropriate procedures to follow in such an emergency. Contact Disability Support Services at 298-2512 for additional services.

WIU Academic Dishonesty Policy Western Illinois University is dedicated to the discovery and communication of knowledge. The University can best function and accomplish its objectives in an atmosphere where high ethical standards prevail. For this reason, and to insure that the academic work of all students will be fairly evaluated the University strongly condemns academic dishonesty. The most prevalent forms of academic dishonesty are cheating and plagiarism. Dishonesty of any kind with respect to examinations, course assignments, alteration of records, or illegal possession of examinations shall be considered cheating. It is the responsibility of the student to not only abstains from cheating, but also to avoid making it possible for others to cheat. Any student who knowingly helps another student cheat is as guilty of cheating as the student he or she assists. The submission of the work of someone else as one's own constitutes plagiarism. Academic honesty requires that ideas or materials taken from another course for use as a course paper or project be fully acknowledged. Plagiarism is a very serious offense in whatever form it may appear, be it submission of an entire article falsely represented as the student's own, the inclusion within a piece of the student's writing of an idea for which the student does not provide sufficient documentation, or the inclusion of a documented idea not sufficiently assimilated into the student's language and style.

Student Rights and Responsibilities A complete set of links to student rights and responsibilities can be found at the following URL: http://www.wiu.edu/Provost/students/.

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Appendix A

Listed below are a variety of “easy reads” on leadership. You may pick one of these titles or

another title of your choice. (Please do not select a book that was utilized in a previous class.)

Lincoln On Leadership by Donald L. Phillips

Be Quick-But Don’t Hurry! by Andrew Hill with John Wooden

Leading With The Heart by Mike Krzyrewski

The Heart of a Leader by Ken Blanchard

Leadership and the One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard

Whale Done by Ken Blanchard, et al

Fish by Lundin, Paul, and Christenson

Cigars, Whiskey, and Winning: Leadership Lessons from U.S. Grant by Al Kaltrnan

Good to Great by Jim Collins (Good book, but not an easy read)

The 21 Indisputable Qualities of a Leader by John Maxwell

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell

If You Don’t Feed The Teachers, They Eat The Students by Neila Connors

First Break All The Rules by Marcus Buckingham

Winning Everyday by Lou Holtz

Leadership by Rudolph Giuliani

The Winner Within by Pat Riley

Practical Modern Basketball by John Wooden

If Aristotle Ran General Motors by Tom Morris

What It Takes to be #1 by Vince Lombardi

Finding the Winning Edge by Bill Walsh

Rules of Leadership by Bill Russell

The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn

Leadership Secretes of Colin Powell

One Minute Manager by Blanchard

Getting it Done by David Allen

Mentor Leadership by Tony Dungee, et al

My Personal Best by John Wooden

Charging the Human Battery by Matt Anderson

Energy Bus by John Goran

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Scoring Criteria for One-Pager

Criteria Possible Points Points earned

Use of at least 4 of the following:

White spaces

Visuals

Blocked stories/articles

Use of bullets or numbers for lists

Bolded sentences or statements

Break up long blocks of text

4

Attractive and appealing to the “30 second” reader 2

Accurate and complete presentation of

the key areas of the leadership book

2

Inclusion of the top ten leadership principles 2

Grammar, punctuations, spelling, etc. 5 (-1 per error)

TOTAL POINTS 15

Scoring Criteria for Change Presentation

Criteria Possible Points Points Earned

Why is there a need for that change? What do you plan to

differently?

2

How do you plan to “sell” the change to both internal and

external audiences?

2

What research sources did you utilize to support your change? (1

point for each source sited)

5

How will you implement your change? You need a detailed plan 4

How will you adapt to the needs of the supporters, resistors, and

those in-between?

2

How will you involve the staff in the decision making process 2

How do you plan to assess the on-going success or non-success

of the change process and the change itself?

3

Quality of the PowerPoint 3

Total Points 24

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Appendix B

NCATE EDL 538

Knowledge Assessments

Although most teachers demonstrate effective instructional skills, there are some teachers who require a professional

growth plan focused on remediation to guide their growth. These plans are more prescriptive that traditional

professional growth plans.

Each student will develop a resource guide that can be utilized when developing a professional growth plan for a

marginal teacher. The Resource Guide will reflect criteria that help the principal to design comprehensive

professional growth plans that are based on reflective practice, research, observation, collaborative reflection, and

adult learning strategies, and that reflect a commitment to life long learning. (ELCC 2.4)

Criteria Exemplary (Exceeds) Proficient (Meets)

Basic (Developing) (Not

Meeting)

Design

Comprehensive

Professional Growth

Plans (2.4)

The candidate developed an

exemplary professional

growth plan that reflected a

commitment to lifelong

learning.

The candidate developed a

professional growth plan

that reflected a

commitment to lifelong

learning.

The candidate developed an

incomplete professional

growth plan that reflected a

commitment to lifelong

learning.

A The professional growth plan

contained a variety of criteria

that addressed reflective

practice and research on

student learning.

The professional growth

plan contained criteria that

addressed reflective

practice and research on

student learning.

The professional growth plan

did not contain criteria that

addressed reflective practice

and research on student

learning.

B The professional growth plan

reflects various aspects of

adult learning theory.

The professional growth

plan reflects some aspects

of adult learning theory.

The professional growth plan

did not reflect aspects of adult

learning theory.

C The professional growth plan

includes multiple uses of

tasks, mentoring, coaching,

conferencing and other

techniques that promote new

knowledge and skills.

The professional growth

plan includes use of tasks,

mentoring, coaching,

conferencing and other

techniques that promote

new knowledge and skills.

The professional growth plan

includes very few tasks,

mentoring, coaching,

conferencing and other

techniques that promote new

knowledge and skills.

D The components of the plan

are designed to create a

commitment to life-long

learning for the individual.

The components of the

plan are designed to help

create a commitment to

life-long learning for the

individual.

A commitment to life-long

learning was not evident in

the resource guide criteria.

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NCATE EDL 538

Application Assessments

Although most teachers demonstrate effective instructional skills, there are some teachers who require a professional

growth plan focused on remediation to guide their growth. These plans are more prescriptive that traditional

professional growth plans. Each student will develop a professional growth plan for a teacher in need of remediation

that is described in a scenario. The plan will focus on tasks, mentoring, coaching, conferencing and other techniques

that promote new knowledge and skills

Criteria

Exemplary

(Exceeds) Proficient (Meets)

Basic (Developing)

(Not Meeting)

Unacceptable (Not

Met)

Design

Comprehensive

Professional Growth

Plans (2.4)

The candidate

developed an

exemplary

professional growth

plan that reflected a

commitment to

lifelong learning.

The candidate

developed a

professional growth

plan that reflected a

commitment to

lifelong learning.

The candidate

developed an

incomplete

professional growth

plan that reflected a

commitment to

lifelong learning.

The candidate did

not develop a

professional growth

plan that reflected a

commitment to

lifelong learning.

A The professional

growth plan

contained a variety

of criteria that

addressed reflective

practice and

research on student

learning.

The professional

growth plan

contained criteria

that addressed

reflective practice

and research on

student learning.

The professional

growth plan did not

contain criteria that

addressed reflective

practice and research

on student learning.

B The professional

growth plan reflects

various aspects of

adult learning theory.

The professional

growth plan reflects

aspects of adult

learning theory.

The professional

growth plan did not

reflect aspects of

adult learning theory.

C The professional

growth plan includes

multiple uses of

tasks, mentoring,

coaching,

conferencing and

other techniques that

promote new

knowledge and skills.

The professional

growth plan includes

use of tasks,

mentoring, coaching,

conferencing and

other techniques

that promote new

knowledge and

skills.

The professional

growth plan includes

very few tasks,

mentoring, coaching,

conferencing and

other techniques that

promote new

knowledge and skills.

D The components of

the plan are

designed to create a

commitment to life-

long learning for the

individual.

The components of

the plan are

designed to help

create a

commitment to life-

long learning for the

A commitment to life-

long learning was not

evident in the

resource guide

criteria.