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Florida Educational Leadership Standard 2: Instructional Leadership 1

Florida Educational Leadership Standards

Standard 2: Instructional Leadership

Standard 2: Instructional Leadership – High Performing Leaders promote a positive learning culture, provide an effective instructional program, and apply best practices to student learning, especially in the area of reading and other foundational skills.

Knowledge

I have the knowledge and understanding of:

Student growth and development Applied learning theories Applied motivational theories Curriculum design, implementation, evaluation, and refinement Principles of effective instruction Measurement, evaluation, and assessment strategies Diversity and its meaning for educational programs Adult learning and professional development models The change process for systems, organizations, and individuals The role of technology in promoting student learning and professional growth School cultures

Dispositions

I believe in, value and am committed to:

Student learning as the fundamental purpose as schooling The proposition that all students can learn The variety of ways in which students can learn Life long learning for self and others Professional development as an integral part of school improvement The benefits that diversity brings to the school community A safe and supportive learning environment Preparing students to be contributing members of society

Skills


Throughout my internship experience and coursework at FGCU I have learned and evidenced through integrated essays and artifacts the following list. As an administrator I will facilitate processes and engage in activities ensuring that:

All individuals are treated with fairness, dignity, and respect Professional development promotes a focus on student learning consistent with the

school vision and goals Students and staff feel valued and important The responsibilities and contributions of each individual are acknowledged Barriers to student learning are identified, clarified, and addressed Diversity is considered in developing learning experiences Lifelong learning is encouraged and modeled There is a culture of high expectations for self, student, and staff performance Technologies are used in teaching and learning Student and staff accomplishments are recognized and celebrated Multiple opportunities to learn are available to all students The school is organized and aligned for success Curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular programs are designed, implemented,

evaluated, and refined Curriculum decisions are based on research, expertise of teachers, and the

recommendations of learned societies The school culture and climate are assessed on a regular basis A variety of sources of information is used to make decisions Student learning is assessed using a variety of techniques Multiple sources of information regarding performance are used by staff and students A variety of supervisory and evaluation models is employed Pupil personnel programs are developed to meet the needs of students and their

families

Florida Educational Leadership Standard 2: Instructional Leadership

The fundamental purpose of schooling is student learning. The principal is the educational

leader who is ultimately responsible for ensuring that this occurs. Educational leaders take on

many roles; they manage, they operate, and they decide. Above all, they influence the norms,


values, and culture of a school. A school where student learning is a norm, is valued, and is

integrated into the culture will be effective and successful. According to a Mid-continent

research for education (McREL) study there is a significant correlation between principal

leadership and student achievement (Florida Department of Education, 2006).

Through the development of organizational culture, a combination of shared norms, beliefs,

values, that center on student learning, administrators have the responsibility to ensure that a

commitment to relevant curriculum and best instructional practices are a key factor in the

shared vision of the school. In this way, the school administrator is the steward of the

curriculum in a school.

“The curriculum is all of the educative experiences learners have in an educational program,

the purpose of which is to achieve broad goals and related specific objectives that have been

developed within a framework of theory and research, past and present professional practice,

and the changing needs of society”. Curriculum goals can be grouped into two broad areas

generally agreed upon by scholars: goals that relate to society and its values, and goals that

relate to the individual learner and his or her needs, interests, and abilities. Five broad, general

curriculum goals, which can be used to argue the purpose of schooling include citizenship,

equal educational opportunity, vocation, self-realization, and critical thinking (Anctil, Hass &

Parkay, 2006).

Human development knowledge gives administrators, curriculum planners, and teachers

that ability to utilize and design curricula that focus on the nature and needs of individual

learners. The generally accepted stages of human development include infancy, childhood,


early adolescence, middle adolescence, late adolescence, and adulthood. The childhood stage

is typically experienced in a student’s elementary schooling; the adolescent phases occurring

through middle and high schooling. Understanding the needs of learners at various levels of

education is a useful tool in guiding curriculum. Humans have much in common as learners, but

human nature also causes us to be individuals with specific needs and differences, making it

difficult to define the development of a human at any particular age. Five aspects to human

development which are used to guide curriculum planning and planning for instruction include

the biological basis of individual differences, physical maturation, intellectual development and

achievement, emotional growth and development, and cultural and social development (Anctil,

Hass & Parkay, 2006).

Several theories of human development have had influence over curriculum planning in the

last century. Many of these theories determine that there is a fixed order to developmental

changes, and learning occurs as each person passes through the stages. Jean Piaget developed

a theory of cognitive development. His theory suggests that children learn through interacting

with their environment and that a child’s thinking progresses through a sequence of four

cognitive stages. Erikson developed a model of psychosocial development which follows a

person’s emotional growth through eight stages of life, each involving some sort of

psychosocial crisis that must be overcome before moving onto the next stage. John Dewey, a

theorist well-known in the educational field, developed a cognitive-development approach that

recognized that moral education also has its basis in stimulating the active thinking of a child

about moral issues and decisions. Lawrence Kohlberg, building off of Dewey and Piaget’s

theories of moral development, developed a model for moral education which suggests that


people progress through levels of development when reasoning the difference between right

and wrong (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2004).

In the Educational Leadership course Foundations of Curriculum and Instruction I

constructed a timeline of Historical Foundations of curriculum, cross referenced with relevant

legislation, political and economic events, and the party in power. This timeline,

outlines the onset of behavior and cognitive theories, including the influence of

John Dewey as he came onto the education scene.

While not defined but generally agreed upon, learning is a change in an individual’s

knowledge or behavior that results from experience. There are two families of learning and

motivation theories, behavioral and cognitive, each with a significant amount of underlying

subgroups. An administrator needs to understand the key features of each family, as they lead

and support the school teacher in incorporating various forms of instructional strategies in

school lessons. Because the learner has unique and individual needs, most curriculums are

based on both learning theories.

Behavioral learning theories focus on changes in behavior that can be observed, which are a

result of stimulus-response associations made by the learner. Learning is a result of the design,

not an accident. Reward response is a major component of stimulus-response learning

theories, in that a response must be rewarded in order for learning to take place. John B.

Watson and B.F. Skinner, are considered the two developers of the behaviorist approach to

learning (Anctil, Hass & Parkay, 2006).


Cognitive learning theories focus on the mental processes people use as they acquire new

knowledge and skill. This is an unobservable behavior, because the cognitive process involves

processing, storage, and retrieval of information from the brain. The source of learning for the

cognitive theory, is the individuals own original actions and thoughts. Cognitive learning

theories emphasize personal meaning, generalizations, principles, advance organizers, discover

learning, coding, and superordinate categories (Anctil, Hass & Parkay, 2006).

A current education practice which finds its roots in cognitive learning theory is the use of

Thinking Maps. Thinking Maps are a set of eight visual tools use to graphically represent the

following thought processes: defining in context, describing, cause and effect, compare and

contrast, classifying, building analogies, part to whole, and sequencing. Utilizing the maps

creates a connection in the brain between the thought process and the actual content being

used with the map. This program was adapted by Osceola Elementary and I was given the

opportunity to serve as a trainer for staff. See for further detail.

Motivation is the explanation of why people do the things that they do. Motivational

patterns are evident in human behavior, observable through one’s direction of decisions,

persistence, and intensity. Motivation also falls into two families (approaches) of behaviorist

and cognitive. Extrinsic views, behaviorist approach, of motivation states that people are

motivated by external rewards and punishments. Intrinsic views, cognitive or humanist

approach, states that people are motivated by internal capacities, such as aspirations,


perceptions, attitudes, or thoughts that can be motivating or demotiviating (Owens & Valesky,

2007).

A student’s learning style is the approach to learning that works best for them. There is no

one size fits all when it comes to learning styles. All students are capable of learning. Finding

the learning styles and instructional strategies that fit with individual students is part of the

responsibility of an administrator in their role as the instructional leader. A school that chooses

one approach will not be successful, as they will not be meeting the needs of all the learners.

Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences suggests that there are numerous ways in

which individuals connect with the world, and are therefore attributed to learn better through

different approaches.

Throughout my experience in the Educational Leadership program I have spent a significant

amount of time learning about Exceptional Student Education. I have researched the history

, law, theory, and current best practices for students with

disabilities.

In 1997, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), was reauthorized and

amended. The changes made to IDEA affect the way that educational stakeholders, including

administrators, teachers, parents, and related service providers, provide quality education,

special education and related services, and early intervention for students with disabilities.


The principal is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the practices of the school meet the

legal requirements of IDEA, but they are also a key component in so much more. Principals

must make certain that their school meets the diverse needs of students and their families

through many facets of the school including the organization, curriculum and instruction, staff

development, school climate, and assessment (Warger, Eavy & Associates, 2001).

IDEA was developed to guarantee that children with disabilities have access to a free

appropriate public education (FAPE). FAPE involves special education and related services

designed to meet their individual and unique needs, ultimately preparing students for life post-

schooling. The principal has many responsibilities in the implementation of IDEA that are laid

out in Standards of Excellence written by the National Association of Elementary School

Principals (NAESP). Categories of Standards of Excellence which fall to the responsibility of the

principal are organization, leadership, curriculum and instruction, staff development, school

climate, and assessment (Warger, Eavy & Associates, 2001).

There are three NAESP Standards of Excellence pertaining to Curriculum and Instruction

which are the responsibility of the school principal: 1. There is an established curriculum

framework that provides direction for teaching and learning, 2. The common core of learning is

supported by adequate financial and material resources, and 3. Effective instructional practices

are essential to accomplishing the schools mission (Warger, Eavy & Associates, 2001).

A NAESP Standard of Excellence in the organization category is that Placement and grouping

practices are determined by child needs. Guidelines for principals in meeting this Standard of

Excellence include the principal ensuring that placement decisions are made by a placement


group including the parent and child, understanding special education is not a place but a

system of instruction and services to ensure opportunity, ensuring all children are full

participants in the school community, implementing procedures consistent with the overall

intent of the IEP team, and ensuring that both regular and special educators share responsibility

for the educational achievement of children with disabilities (Warger, Eavy & Associates, 2001).

There are different ways of organizing the special education system within schools that

are believed to be successful. The law states that students must be placed in the least

restrictive environment (LRE), meaning “that to the maximum extent appropriate, children with

disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are

education with children who are nondisabled; and that special classes, separate schooling or

other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs

only if the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the

use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily”. The law also states

in regards to placement that “each public agency shall ensure that a child with a disability is not

removed from education in age-appropriate regular classrooms solely because of needed

modifications in the general curriculum” (Warger, Eavy & Associates, 2001).

It is my belief that the Inclusion method of schooling is the best practice to meet the needs

students and IDEA. While inclusion has been in development over the past century, only in

recent decades has it become a widely used and accepted system of special education. There is

little empirical evidence to suggest that inclusion does or does not result in student

achievement, making this a prime area for future study. For details see the following artifact


on inclusion research from the course Foundations of Curriculum and

Instruction.

I was fortunate to have completed half of my practicum at a full inclusion school. Osceola

Elementary School opened 7 years ago as a fully inclusive school. All staff members, students,

and families were made aware of this from the inception, as it was a part of the shared vision of

the school. The mission of Osceola Elementary is to provide and outstanding education for

EVERY student. Working with organizations such as the Florida Inclusion Network (FIN) and the

district ESE department, Osceola teachers became versed in concepts such as co-teaching,

accommodations to meet specific student needs, and collaborative planning.

Inclusive education is “a core value and set of practices that support the belief that all

students in a school, regardless of their strengths, weaknesses, or labels – should be full

members of the general education school community, with their individual needs met within

that general education contexts” (Sapon-Shevin, 2007). The preceding comes from the book

Widening the Circle: The Power of Inclusive Classrooms. See for a detailed

review of the book from the course School Curriculum.

Curriculum planning is founded upon three bases; social forces, theories of human

development, and the nature of learning and learning styles. These three bases give way to

many different designs that can be followed when planning a curriculum. Deciding on a


curriculum for a school or district is no simple task. There are many factors that come into play

such as the social forces on the learning community, the vision of the school, norms, values,

and culture of the school (Anctil, Hass & Parkay, 2006). The history of curriculum development

reads a path of change, development, and adaption. The following artifact

outlines various curriculum development approaches over the past century.

The Tyler Rationale lays our four leading questions when considering the planning or

selection of a curriculum for a school or district. The Tyler Rationale questions include:

1. What education purpose should the school seek to attain?

2. What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes?

3. How can these educational experiences be effectively organized?

4. How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained?

Tyler’s model was considered a modern view of curriculum design when first introduced. He

described developing curriculum as a mechanical rational approach that could be systematically

followed in any context with any group of students. Recent theory however, considers this

method to be too constricting and that curriculum design is shifting to be based on diverse

voices, meanings, and points of view (Anctil, Hass & Parkay, 2006).

The curriculum development process typically begins with an analysis of the knowledge,

skills, attitudes, and values that students should be able to convey at the completion of a unit of

study. Things to consider at this phase in curriculum development include the desired balance


between the acquisition of content and mastery of processes, sequencing of content, students’

prior knowledge, identifying methods for assessing student learning, short-term versus long-

term performance, and quality versus quantity. A basic unit of study should have the following

components at a minimum: 1. Introduction, 2. Objectives, 3. Content of Unit, 4. Methods and

Activities, 5. Teaching Materials and/or Resources, and 6. Assessment of Student Learning

(Anctil, Hass & Parkay, 2006).

Since the 1990’s there has been a significant shift in curriculum development towards

standards based education. Content standards, refers to the agreed upon knowledge and skills

that students should obtain in various academic areas. These are often subdivided into

benchmarks which give specific statements of what students should be able to do at specific

grade level or developmental stages. In 2002 the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) required that

states create standards for math, reading, and science. All students were required to be tested

using assessments aligned with the standards. Each state, district, and school are expected to

make Adequate Yearly Progress towards meeting those standards, by sorting students test

results into subgroups for economically disadvantaged, racial or ethnic minority groups,

disabilities, or limited English proficiency. An additional component of NCLB is for all students

to be “technologically literate” by the end of eighth grade (Anctil, Hass & Parkay, 2006).

Curriculum is the “what” and instruction is the “how”. Successful school leaders will foster

an effective learning environment by encouraging and expecting the use of appropriate

instructional methods paired with meaningful curriculum. Teachers will use different

instructional methods for teaching various subjects as well as students. The school principal, as


the instructional leader must ensure that all teachers are trained and versed in a variety of

instructional methods. Through teacher observations and staff development records, the

principal has information as to what instructional tools a teacher possesses. As the

instructional leader, the principal must work towards strengthening the human capital of all

staff. This can be done many ways. Encourage collaboration between staff members who

share different strengths, conduct staff development needs assessments and plan for staff

development using the data, study student performance data to find areas of strength and

areas of weakness. Then, use that information to brainstorm, research, and obtain various

instructional methods.

Models of teaching, because they are designed to meet different needs and present

different content, are pulled from areas of student and theory such as behavioral psychology,

human development, cognitive processes, and social interaction. Five common models of

teaching are mastery learning, cooperative learning, theory into practice, behavior

modification, and nondirective teaching (Anctil, Hass & Parkay, 2006).

Each of these models of teaching must include a component which assesses the student

learning. Assessment is much more than taking and passing a test. Assessment provides

teachers with information that can be used to determine student learning of material, to

identify type of feedback that will enhance student learning, to develop strategies for

improving their effectiveness as teachers, and to determine if students have reached certain

levels of performance. In addition to student assessment, curriculums must be assessed and

evaluated as well (Anctil, Hass & Parkay, 2006).


I participated in a group curriculum writing project during the class School Curriculum. The

requirements of this project were to develop a curriculum plan using an identified model. We

were required to articulate current social aims, forces, and problems impacting the curriculum,

apply knowledge and theories of human development, apply knowledge about how learning

occurs, apply knowledge of the nature of knowledge, formulate and justify an set of criteria for

evaluation a teaching plan, explain the roles of various persons in curriculum planning and

change, identify, describe, and evaluate characteristic features, trends, and innovations of

education programs, accommodate current reform initiatives, and develop skill in integrating

the knowledge and using the processes required for effective curriculum planning. This project

follows the curriculum writing process from inception to final project. See .

Understanding diversity, embracing it, and realizing the benefits that it brings to a school

community is an important aspect if being an instructional leader. All population projections

point to continued growth in diversity in the years ahead. Unfortunately in today’s world many

view diversity as a problem. Pedro Noguera believes this is due to the fact that American

schools have historically seen cultural assimilation of immigrants and non-whites as central to

their mission. While the arrival of new groups, especially racial minorities, often leads to racial

conflict and the venting of various kinds of prejudice and intolerance. Too often, those receiving

the new arrivals feel threatened and insecure and react with hostility and resentment

(Noguera, 1999).


Multi cultural education, a school reform movement, if implemented properly has the

potential to transform schools in ways that will enable them to prepare students to live and

function effectively in the coming century where the nation’s student population is expected to

have become dramatically more diverse (Banks, 1995).

Educational theory, curriculum, and instructional strategies are dynamic. To keep up with

the times, and best serve our students organizations must have the willingness to experiment.

The will to always do better triggers the ability to change. A culture for change needs to be

programmed into an organization's method of operating (IBM, 2002).

The school administrator must be the captain who guides the wheel of change. The

goals of education, whatever they may be for a particular school, district, community, state, or

nation will be reached by the direction of the instructional leader.


References

Anctil, E.J, Hass, G., & Parkay, F.W. (2006). Curriculum planning: A contemporary approach.

(8th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Banks, J.A. (1995). Multicultural education and curriculum transformation. The Journal of Negro

Education, 64(4), 390-400.

Florida Department of Education. (2006). Florida school leaders: The William Cecil Golden

school leadership development program. https://www.floridaschoolleaders.org/

IBM. (2002). Change toolkit. http://www.reinventingeducation.org

Noguera, P. (1999). Confronting the challenge of diversity. School Administrator 56(5), 16-19.

Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (2004). Curriculum foundations, principles, and issues (fourth

ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Owens, R.G. & Valesky, T.C. (2007). Organizational behavior in education: Adaptive leadership

and school reform (9th ed). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Sapon-Shevin, M. (2007). Widening the circle: The power of inclusive classrooms. Boston, MA:

Beacon Press.

Warger, Eavy & Associates. (2001). Implementing IDEA: A guide for principals. Arlington VA:

Council for Exceptional Children.

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