WELCOMEHelping Principals Help Teachers:

Improving Instructional Leadership Through Coaching and Self Reflection

Overview

• One-year research study on outcomes from a principal coaching program based on theories of practice.

• Focus on improving instructional leadership

• Hear from one principal

• Discuss implications

Goals of the study

• Assist principals in their efforts to help a struggling teacher improve his or her teaching practice.

• Assist principals in becoming more self reflective about their own

instructional leadership

• Test coaching protocol for

effectiveness and wider use

Structure of the Study

• Four elementary school principals nominated by local co-op leadership

• Principals selected one teacher who needed to improve his or her teaching performance as focus of study

Structure of the Study, cont.

• Coach/researcher visited each principal three to five times face-to-face and by phone throughout the year.

• Sessions focused on developing the principal’s theory of practice

and reflecting on, monitoring

progress in assisting

targeted teacher.

The Principals

• Principal A: 9 yrs of exp, 1st year as principal

• Principal B: 27 yrs of exp, 13 as principal

• Principal C: 25 yrs of exp, 3 as principal

• Principal D: 17 yrs of exp,

1st full year as principal

• All female

Coaching

• Well-established practice in business world, but relatively new to education (Wise & Jacobo, 2010)

• Reeves (2009) offers criteria for successful coaching:– Focus on improving performance– Use of a learning and performance agenda– Feedback

Coaching is not…

• Mentoring

• Evaluation

• Consulting

The researchers/coaches• Three former principals

– Dr. Gary Houchens, WKU– Dr. Rebecca Stobaugh, WKU– Dr. Janet Hurt, Logan County Schools

• All trained in/familiar with theories of practice and coaching protocol

• Emphasis on the principal – not the teacher in question – and helping the principal become more self reflective

What is a theory of practice?

• A theory of practice is a kind of graphic organizer that maps out your “game plan” for how you will solve a professional problem of practice.

• Theories of practice are statements that explain not only how you plan to solve a problem, but also state all the assumptions you are making about the problem.

• SEE HANDOUTS.

Theories of Practice: Key Ideas• Assumptions play a key role in your decision-making

processes, and by laying them out in black and white and then reflecting on how your assumptions may be shaping the outcome of your actions, you can reflect more deeply on why your “game plan” is working – or why not – and make adjustments if needed.

• We all have theories of practice – dozens

(even hundreds) of them – but most of

the time we don’t ever think about

them or try to spell them out.

Another key idea

Sometimes what you initially think is your theory of practice isn’t the real theory of practice you use to make your decisions. This is why it’s helpful to have a coach or group of critical friends to help you develop and reflect on your theory.

Theory of Practice Structure

2. Additional general assumptions.

1. General assumption(s) about what good instructional looks like and the role of the principal in promoting good instruction.

1. Assumptions about this specific problem and how to best solve this type of problem.

2. More assumptions.

AND…AND…

1. Specific action strategies to address the problem based on assumptions.

2. Additional action strategies.

AND…

GENERAL ASSUMPTIONS ASSUMPTIONS SPECIFIC TO PROBLEM ACTION STRATEGIES

Teachers

• A: untenured, struggling with lack of rigor• B: tenured, good instructionally but students

are scared of her; difficulties with other staff• C: untenured, struggles with

classroom management• D: untenured, okay instructionally

but has difficulties getting along

with other staff

Teacher groupings

• “Personality” issues (B, D) vs. instruction/management issues (A, C).

• Tenured (B) vs. non-tenured (A, C, D)

Using the theories of practice

• Principals developed theories of practice (game plans) with action strategies closely aligned to their own assumptions about good instruction and their role as instructional leader.

• Principals facing “personality” issues were less confident about teacher’s capacity to improve

Teacher outcomes

• Principals A and B saw marked improvement in their performance. Teacher A (untenured) was renewed at the end of the year.

• Principals C and D concluded

teachers were not improving

performance, non-renewed

at end of year

Principal A

• Was fearful about emotional consequences of directly confronting teacher’s performance problems

• Challenged own assumptions – discovered positive relationship with staff enabled her to take risks

• Used theory of practice to expand her work with focus teacher to emphasize rigor school-wide

Principal B

• Focused on learning new strategies and using data to help teacher improve her relationship with students.

• Remains a growth area for teacher. Principal assumes it always

will because “personalities

don’t change.”

Principal C• Ongoing data review confirmed teacher

performance was not improving, non-renewed at end of year.

• Principal discovered she placed

a high value on teachers

being self-reflective about

their practice and being open

to feedback and support.

Principal D

• Struggled with directly confronting teacher over her performance issue.

• Ultimately concluded that teacher’s personality was not going to change and non-renewed at end of year.

• Revised theory of practice to include considerations about importance of teachers being team players.

Usefulness of the theory of practice framework• One principal (A) made significant revisions

in her core assumptions, even though her action strategies “worked”

• Other principals (B, C) also found their theories of practice “worked,” and reinforced their core assumptions

• All principals found value in using the theory of practice “game plan”

Principals found value in…

• The opportunity to put their assumptions and action strategies on paper, which fostered better self-reflection

• The chance to “think out loud” with another professional

• The regularity of contact,

which created a sense of

accountability

One Principal’s Insights

Principal A: Christie Biggerstaff

Gamaliel Elementary School

(Monroe County Schools)

Next Steps

• Larger scale study involving group cohort process

• Further refinements in coaching protocol

• Development of a training protocol to “coach the coaches.”

Implications for schools and districts• Confirms the value of (and need for)

coaching relationships in promoting more self-reflective instructional leadership in principals

• Reaffirms need for structure

and specific focus for

coaching activities

Implications for schools and districts, continued• Fee-for-service programs abound, but

districts could consider coaching partnerships with other districts, universities, and co-ops.

• Criteria should include:– Trained coaches– Emphasis on genuine

coaching (not mentoring or consulting)

Implications for schools and districts, continued• Criteria for coaching programs,

continued (Reeves, 2009):– Focus on improving performance

(emphasize specific practice problem)– Use of a learning or performance

agenda (an action plan, like a theory of practice)

– Regular contact, trust, and

feedback

Contact Me

Dr. Gary Houchens, Associate Professor, Dept. of Educational Administration, Leadership, & Research

Western Kentucky UniversityEmail: gary.houchens@wku.edu

Blog: www.schoolleader.typepad.com

ReferencesArgyris, C., & Schon, D. (1974). Theory in practice: Increasing professional

effectiveness. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Houchens, G. W., & Keedy, J. L. (2009). Theories of practice: Understanding the practice of educational leadership. Journal of Thought, 44 (3), 49-61.

Reeves, D. (2009). Leading change in your school: How to conquer myths, build commitment, and get results. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Wise, D., & Jacobo, A. (2010). Towards a framework for

leadership coaching. School Leadership and

Management, 30, 159-169.