This course is a guide to independent and collaborative strategies and activities that promote effective instructional leadership. An effective instructional leader recognizes that improving student achievement is directly related to fostering excellence in teaching and learning. Standard 4: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, of The Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL) states:
Effective educational leaders develop and support intellectually rigorous and coherent systems of curriculum, instruction, and assessment to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.”
NPBEA, 2015
Material in this course also is aligned with PSEL Standard 6 (Professional Capacity of School Personnel) and Standard 10 (School Improvement).
Instructional leaders foster excellence in teaching and learning by:
- Assisting teachers to create active learning environments
- Being a resource for effective instructional practices
- Modeling instructional design for effective teaching and learning
- Supervising instruction and empowering teachers
- Evaluating personnel
In the role of instructional leader, consider the term ‘principal’ as both an adjective and a noun. The principal instructor in a school is the school principal. The role of the principal has changed dramatically over the years, with additional responsibilities tied to operational management and accountability. No longer is it expected that the principal be the most skilled and knowledgeable teacher in the school. Many schools employ teachers with greater expert knowledge in the subjects they teach than the principal. This evolution of instructional capacity makes it all the more important that the principal know how to lead, without having to be able to perform every task that expert faculty and staff are best equipped to do. Rather than being the teacher of teachers, the principal must be the leader of leaders, empowering teaching leaders to excel.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Foster excellence in teaching and learning by assisting teachers to create active learning environments
- Act as a resource for effective instructional practices
- Model instruction design for effective teaching and learning
- Supervise instruction while empowering teachers
- Effectively evaluate personnel
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.