Instructional capacity can be described as the quantity and quality of resources provided to the school to ensure high quality instruction (Jaquith, 2013). Efforts have traditionally been focused on improving curriculum materials and training teachers on new instructional methods.
Schools are complex social organizations that interconnect and rely on other social systems. Their instructional capacity cannot be viewed as component-based. Effectively building capacity requires the ability to see the “bigger picture”, recognizing the many challenges to school improvement are unique to each school community (Cohen and Ball, 1999).
Among the many roles of the school principal, ensuring academic success for all students through shared vision and instructional leadership, and creating and maintaining the school environment to achieve that success in a safe and welcoming school are primary responsibilities. To these ends, building capacity is among the most important things a principal can do in guiding his or her school to better teaching and learning. It is the reason, more than any other, that professional development departments exist in school districts.
The components of instructional capacity are explored in greater detail in the ASAP courses associated with each, including Instructional Leadership, Staff Development, Team Building, Assessment & Evaluation, and Operational Leadership. In fact, there are elements in every course related to the instructional capacity of an educational organization. In this course we define instructional capacity, the goals in building and improving it in the school, and strategies and methods for achieving greater instructional capacity to support continuous school improvement.
This course is aligned with the following Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL) as the NPBEA (2015).
Standard 6: Professional Capacity of School Personnel
Effective educational leaders develop the professional capacity and practice of school personnel to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course you will be able to:
- Increase staff capacity within the two-part model of instructional knowledge
- Understand the teacher-focused and school-focused approaches to capacity building and identify how the school district blends or supports these through policies and practice
- Identify and acquire appropriate instructional materials to increase school capacity for teaching and learning
- Forster an instructional culture that supports continuing and effective capacity building
Use collective inquiry and collaborative teamwork to set a results-based action orientation for instructional teams.
Lessons contain exercises that you will be asked to complete, and resources you can use for continuous learning. Use a personal journal to record your completed exercises and document your learning in this course. This guide can assist you with creating your personal journal. Your school district facilitator may request you submit your personal journal to show proof of course completion. Direction on where to submit your finished journal will be provided by your district facilitator, should they require it.
Select a lesson from the table of contents below to begin your learning. Lessons do not need to be completed in sequence. The pre-test and post-test are optional. If you would like to receive a certificate of completion, you must mark each lesson as complete.