Creating a Cycle of Continuous Improvement Through Instructional Rounds

Instructional Rounds is a continuous improvement strategy that focuses on the technical core of educational systems as well as educators collaborating side-by-side. Concentrating on collective learning, this process only makes sense within an overall strategy of improvement. This case study examined the Instructional Rounds process in a northern Michigan school district. Pressure points identified included a culture of distrust, an unclear definition of learner outcomes and effective teaching, and a status quo view of improvement. Supportive strategies for change were identified and continue to be implemented as part of the district’s continuous improvement strateg

An examination of the relationship between the generation a teacher is born into, teaching style, and high school student engagement

Educators across America are attempting to prepare students for a world of rapid change, including globalization and the move from industrialization to the Age of Information (Marx, 2006). Dynamics of change include teachers, who encompass a wide range of generations and experiences (Marx, 2006). Each generation includes a set of value and belief systems (Oblinger, 2003). Each generation has been engaged in their learning experiences in differing ways. The primary purposes of this study were to determine if there were relationships between teacher generation and teaching style, teacher generation and student engagement, and teaching style and student engagement. A survey of 53 teachers in five large Michigan high schools identified teachers’ generations and analyzed their preponderance towards five different teaching styles. Close to 3000 ninth and tenth grade students in the same high schools were also surveyed regarding nine different constructs related to student engagement. A quantitative, non-experimental, correlational design determined relationships using the Pearson Product Moment statistical test. Five low relationships were found – teacher generation and the delegator teaching style, facilitator teaching style and three constructs of student engagement, and the delegator teaching style and two-student engagement constructs. Further research into these two teaching styles and student engagement constructs should be conducted. The more we learn about effective teaching practices and how they relate to the engagement of students, the more effective we can be in our teacher professional development and continuous learning programs

A Regional Case Study: Effective Administrator Feedback to Inform Teacher Performance

In 2013, the Michigan Department of Education required all public school districts to adopt a state-approved evaluation system. The Department’s rationale for this change was to increase teacher accountability and thus to improve student achievement. Because schoollevel administrators are responsible for implementing district policy and acting as the primary evaluators of teacher performance, the authors conducted a study to identify the type of administrator feedback principals give in observations and evaluations. In this 3-year study, evaluation data were collected from random districts within a rural Michigan Intermediate School District and analyzed for average total score and manner of feedback. Three primary results emerged. First, the rating count and average score per element rated varied widely; second, evaluators frequently provided comments with each rating; and finally, these evaluators’ comments were not actionable for teacher performance improvement. The results of this work suggest a need for clarity around the definition and purpose of feedback in teacher performance evaluations

Implementing the Change Process for Staff and Student Success: An Instructional Module

Successful schools have a clearly defined vision for student success, usually measured by college and career readiness standards. They are able to articulate success indicators for student performance as well as success indicators for the staff performance needed to meet those student indicators. Successful schools are able to describe a theory of change, or change model, which drives their school improvement process to close the gaps between their current reality and their desired future state or vision. This article discusses change theory, describes the tenets of a change model, and illustrates those tenets describing a grant-funded change initiative in one school that has demonstrated sustainability

Building School Leader Capacity for Impact

Effective school leaders focus on identifying the changes needed to improve student learning. However, school improvement is often reduced to a checklist of compliance activities, and, consequently, achievement gaps continue to stay the status quo, or even widen. This paper reports on a qualitative case study analyzing how professional learning was implemented by 17 school leaders within a northern Michigan intermediate school district. From 2016-2020, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews, administered a participant needs survey, and analyzed artifacts from a professional learning series for principals. The series, Building Leadership Capacity, was framed using Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, as well as current educational leadership standards. We found that the principals failed to implement strategies that could have stimulated instructional growth for teachers and students in their schools. We illuminate three challenges principals face when implementing such strategies: 1) leadership capacity, 2) support from district office, and 3) transiency. Overall, results of this study accentuate the role school superintendents play in ensuring principals engage in intentional learning, collaboration with peers, and job-embedded coaching

Increasing Teacher Effectiveness Through Faculty Learning Communities

Faculty sometimes experience isolation, which can negatively influence their teaching and capacity for improvement. The authors share the benefits of participation in a faculty learning community (FLC) to mitigate teaching isolation. This study used a protocol to structure conversations around instructional problems of practice. Participants found that these structured conversations benefited their teaching and learning as well as collegiality, collaborative inquiry, and reflective practice. This study affirmed the critical importance of FLCs as a structure for increasing teaching capacity and provided insights about the roles each participating faculty member must learn for an FLC to be effective