Teaching and Learning

George Washington Carver said, “All learning is understanding relationships”. Mrs. pearson, a second grade teacher at , understood just that. She created a comfortable, positive-learning environment where all students were learning and achieving. I know this because I was in her classroom where I learned to read, write, begin to explore numbers and create relationships. I struggled when it came to reading; but Mrs. Searson made it fun and interesting. The relationships she created with her students left them loving her as a teacher, friend and mentor. Teaching and learning are fundamentals of a school. An effective leader has a wealth of knowledge about teaching and learning. It’s their job to ensure their staff is teaching, students are achieving and relationships are being created. “Great principals make it cool to care. They understand that behaviors and beliefs are tied to emotion, and they understand the power of emotion to jump start change.” (Whitaker, 112).
The ground floor of a schoolhouse begins with the teachers. Research shows that top-performing teachers can make a dramatic difference in the achievement of their students, and suggests that the impact of being assigned to top-performing teachers year after year is enough to significantly narrow achievement gaps. A leaders role is to define the qualities needed for a teacher to carry out curriculum and the common core standards each day. A comprehensive teacher evaluation plan is essential to show teachers what the expectations are. Leaders must share these qualities and plans with their staff in order for effective teaching to take place. Ongoing training and opportunities for learning are crucial in quality teaching practices. A leader must hold teachers accountable for their actions evaluate those actions and provide feedback in order to maintain efficiency. An effective leader models desired behavior for teachers. A leader is resource for his or her teachers. They actively support day-to-day instructional activities and programs by being visible within the school. “Teacher effectiveness matters; the research demonstrates that teacher effectiveness contributes more to improving student academic outcomes than any other school characteristic and that an effective principal is central to recruiting and supporting teachers and leading school improvement” (Murphy et al., 2006; Rivkin et al., 2005; Waters et al., 2003).
There are a variety of responsibilities a school leader must have in order to enhance student achievement. Establishing strong lines of communication with teachers and students is essential for a school to be successful. A leader must be visible to staff, students and parents in order to interact and have quality contact. Frequent visits to classrooms will allow a leader to stay connected with curriculum, and students. Marzano says, “The principal’s strong presence communicates that administration and staff are a team working together in all aspects of the school”. Involvement in curriculum, instruction and assessment is critical for an instructional leader. A leader should be directly involved in helping teachers design curricular activities, address assessment issues and instructional issues. With this said, a leader must have knowledge of the curriculum, assessment practices and effective instructional practices. This allows for a leader to help monitor and evaluate student progress in order to address achievement gaps, design and implement intervention and celebrate success.
6. An effective leader builds a culture that positively influences teachers, who in turn, positively influence students. As Leithwood and Reihl (2003) explain: “Leaders act through and with other people. Leaders sometimes do things, through words or actions, that have a direct effect on primary goals of the collective, but more of the their agency consists of influencing the thoughts and action of other persons establishing policies that enable others to be effective” (p.8). Every school has a culture. It’s the leaders job to create a unique culture built on his or her values, beliefs, and feelings. Hanson (2001) states: “these school cultures emphasize what is of paramount importance to them as they strive to develop their knowledge base in a particular direction”. As a leader, I believe producing disciplined classrooms, creating high achievers, maintaining teacher enthusiasm and keeping students smiling as an important key to a positive school culture. Promoting cohesion and a sense of well being among staff is important not only for my faculty but a link to student achievement as well. As a leader, developing a shared vision of what the school could be like and understanding of purpose among staff are crucial for an effective school culture. School culture makes up the community of a school. It creates a climate for collaboration among staff, students and parents. “The vision is, first, that the school will be a community, a place full of adults and youngsters who care about, look after, and root for one another and who work together for the good of the whole, in times of need and times of celebration. Every member of a community holds some responsibility for the welfare of every other and for the welfare of the community as a whole.” (Barth 2002).