L4. Provide ongoing instructional leadership on evidence-based literacy instruction.

This Action Step focuses on the role of instructional leaders in ensuring evidence-based literacy instruction.

Part 1 explains the connections between this Action Step and the previous three you have learned about in the Leadership module so far.

Part 2 describes the role of instructional leaders in monitoring and providing feedback on literacy instruction and in implementing professional development.

To get started, download the Implementation Guide for this component and refer to the Action Step for this lesson. Review the Implementation Indicators for each level of implementation and note the Sample Evidence listed at the bottom of the chart.

Action Step L4 focuses on instructional leadership. Several connections exist between previously explored Leadership Action Steps and Action Step L4. Let's look at some of these connections.

Action Step L1: Establishing a campus-based leadership team to guide efforts to improve literacy instruction – The team established per Action Step L1 will work very closely to ensure school leadership is appropriately focused on improving literacy teaching and learning. This correlates directly with Action Step L4 because the campus team is asked to establish policies and procedures for using data to inform goal setting and planning for literacy improvement. Instructional leaders play a key role in working with educators and specialized staff to focus efforts and to develop systems for measuring progress toward campus goals (Louis, Dretzke, & Wahlstrom, 2010).

As part of this charge, instructional leaders play a central role in assessing needs and planning professional development, which is a key part of Action Step L4. Ensuring school personnel have access to worthwhile programs of professional development is essential to increase district efficacy (Louis, Leithwood, Wahlstrom, & Anderson, 2010). Also, providing job-embedded support as teachers implement new practices and refine their skills is a key role of instructional leaders.

Action Step L2: Facilitating the use of a response to intervention (RTI) framework for providing literacy instruction – Campus instructional leaders are responsible for directing the establishment and monitoring of the RTI model on campus. Through ongoing instructional leadership—per Action Step L4—campus leaders can ensure teachers have the capacity to (1) implement effective research-based literacy instruction in all subject area classrooms at the core, Tier I level, (2) use formative assessment data to identify students who require intervention and design an appropriate intervention plan, and (3) implement identified interventions with fidelity.

Action Step L3: Creating and implementing a data-informed plan for improving literacy instruction – The campus-based leadership team is responsible for guiding and monitoring implementation of the action items in the campus plan. Monitoring the effectiveness of action items in the plan will facilitate revision of the plan as necessary throughout the year. Allowing your data-informed plan to be a living document is essential in providing relevant and focused instructional leadership, as is the focus of L4. Efforts to improve student learning are more likely to have a positive effect when schools go beyond the mere identification of problem areas in data and investigate the specific nature of identified problems and factors that contribute to the problems (Louis, Leithwood, Wahlstrom, & Anderson, 2010).

In summary, the instructional leader’s critical work is to effectively implement the campus’s data-informed plan for improving literacy instruction. To support the work of the plan, an instructional leader must effectively communicate the expectations of the plan to all stakeholders and ensure staff receives effective training and support for implementing an evidence-based literacy instructional plan, while at the same time providing ongoing assessment and feedback on instruction. This latter facet of the leadership role will be explored in Part 2.

TO LEARN MORE: To learn more about professional development opportunities for providing instructional leadership, contact your regional Education Service Center. Many colleges and universities throughout Texas also provide leadership coaching and professional development programs.

The Indicators for Action Step L4 remind us that the campus principal and other administrators are essential to the successful implementation of the Texas State Literacy Plan (TSLP). Contrary to traditional ideas, recent studies have called into question the notion that the principal is the sole instructional leader. Effectively providing institutional management is the responsibility of the principal, but he or she must hire or build capacity among the administrative and teaching staff to join in the instructional leadership role (Horng & Loeb, 2010).

The establishment of the campus-based leadership team is a good example of this practice. When reviewing the Indicators for Action Step L4, keep in mind that administrators work together with other instructional leaders—such as campus leadership team members, grade-level chairs, and lead teachers—to set expectations, monitor for accountability, and guide teachers toward resources and support.

For example, let's look at one Indicator of the Full Implementation level of Action Step L4: Observe literacy instruction and provide immediate, targeted feedback using established tools and procedures.

In addition to the professional development called for in Action Step L4 and the coaching support discussed in the next Action Step, L5, effective instructional leaders systematically observe instruction and give immediate feedback to educators. As you lead your campus’s efforts in improving identified areas of need in literacy, your regular observation and feedback cycles will support teachers in implementing new practices and refining their instruction over time. Your observations and feedback should connect with coaching and other ongoing supports for literacy practices. For example, you should look for practices that have been targeted during ongoing professional development and coaching and then provide feedback on those practices. Feedback might include providing coaching time to support a teacher's growth in the use of those targeted practices.

The scenario below shows how the instructional leaders at Anywhere Elementary use implementation walk-throughs to support the goals of their data-informed plan for improving literacy instruction.

Scenario: The instructional leaders at Anywhere Elementary establish a walk-through schedule, dividing up the list of teachers among administrative team members. During a regular staff meeting, the principal shares the walk-through schedule with the teachers. The principal also takes the time to review the data that prompted previous professional development on reading comprehension and the related goals included in the data-informed plan. Together with the staff, the principal recaps the main learning points from the professional development session. The principal uses staff input to integrate these points into the walk-through observation form that the leadership team will use in coming weeks. The principal reviews the walk-through process and states the purposes: (1) to monitor efforts to implement the comprehension strategies learned in professional development and (2) to identify areas where support is needed. The principal explains that teachers will receive initial feedback in a concise written format following their observation. The principal then explains that if an observer sees a need for support in implementing the target comprehension strategies, the teacher will be provided with three kinds of support: (a) time to plan and work with the literacy coach, (b) follow-up assistance from the principal or grade-level chair, and (c) time to observe and conference with another teacher. The principal also invites staff to suggest other resources that would be helpful.

Noting some nervous body language among the staff, the principal assures them that the goal of the leadership team is to support teachers in refining their instruction. The leadership team members are looking for best efforts, not perfection; everyone recognizes that it takes time to learn and implement new practices in the classroom.

During the following week, the instructional leaders conduct their scheduled walk-throughs. They provide written feedback to each teacher they visit. The observers note what each teacher is doing well and comment on the teacher’s efforts to implement the new comprehension strategies. During the review of all observers’ walk-through notes, the principal sees instances of effective implementation of the comprehension strategies by several teachers across all grade levels. As a result, the leadership team asks those teachers if they would be willing to share their experience by meeting with or being observed by some of their colleagues. The principal shares the list of willing teachers with the whole campus. For teachers who are struggling with implementation, the principal schedules short meetings with them to decide collaboratively what form of support would be most helpful to them: additional coaching time, working with a grade-level chair or another teacher, or more direct help from the administrator or campus team. The principal documents their plan and follows up with these teachers.

The staff response to the walk-throughs is mixed at first. Many teachers receive recognition of their efforts to implement the comprehension strategies they have learned. Some are surprised by the praise. They see more room for improvement in their own efforts, but they are glad to have their initial attempts acknowledged. Some teachers who meet with their principal to plan for follow-up support are frustrated; others are thankful for the assistance. All of the teachers realize that they are expected to implement the strategies learned during professional development and that they will be held accountable.

Even for those who are frustrated at first, the clear expectations and the ongoing walk-throughs motivate them to work on the comprehension strategies and to use the available resources. One teacher comments in an anonymous survey, “I was nervous at first, but then I realized that it was an opportunity. It is like when I walk around to observe my students at work, seeing how they are doing so that I can provide more information or assistance. I see the walk-through as formative assessment of my teaching. It helps me know if I am on track and gets me the help I need if I am not.”

Instructional leadership through observation and feedback is critical. In many ways, it is the key to successfully implementing your campus plan for literacy improvement, as well as sustaining those improvements. As experts in instruction, leaders will play key roles in communicating your campus’s efforts in the different areas and components of the TSLP. Systematic walk-throughs and feedback also guide you in planning professional development at your campus. Through the ongoing observation and feedback cycle, you can accurately identify areas of strength and need, and you can plan for ways to effectively build your staff’s knowledge and skills.

As you and your team move through the different components of the TSLP, effective professional development will be needed at each stage of the implementation process.

In the To Learn More section, you will find examples and guidance for using different classroom walk-through instruments. Like the principal in the scenario, you may want to consider how you will adapt these or other instruments for your campus. For example, you might focus on just one section at a time to match the initiatives that you are working on at your campus. On the other hand, you may want to include specific practices from professional development that your staff has attended.

TO LEARN MORE: Review the resource below to learn more about walk-throughs.

“Using the Classroom Walk-Through as an Instructional Leadership Strategy,” by the Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement, is available on the All About Adolescent Literacy website.

NEXT STEPS: Depending on your progress in implementing ongoing instructional leadership to support the goals of your data-informed plan for improving literacy instruction, you may want to consider the following next steps:

• Allocate time for administrators to attend professional development in instructional leadership.
• Allocate time for administrators to attend literacy professional development with staff.
• Develop a plan for observing literacy instruction and providing feedback.
• Plan and conduct regular meetings with instructional staff to review student progress and the impact of the initiatives in your data-informed plan.

L4. Provide ongoing instructional leadership on evidence-based literacy instruction.

With your site/campus-based leadership team, review your team’s self-assessed rating for Action Step L4 in the TSLP Implementation Status Ratings document and then respond to the four questions in the assignment.

TSLP Implementation Status Ratings K–5

In completing your assignment with your team, the following resources and information from this lesson’s content may be useful to you:

• Refer to Part 1 for a summary of previous Action Steps (L1–L3) and how instructional leadership plays a key role.
• Refer to Part 2 for information about instructional leaders’ key role in observing instruction and providing feedback.

Next Steps also contains suggestions that your campus may want to consider when you focus your efforts on this Action Step.

To record your responses, go to the Assignment template for this lesson and follow the instructions.

Horng, E., & Loeb, S. (2010). New thinking about instructional leadership. Phi Delta Kappan, 92(3), 66–69. Retrieved from www.kappanmagazine.org/content/92/3/66.short

Louis, K. S., Dretzke, B., & Wahlstrom, K. (2010). How does leadership affect student achievement? Results from a national US survey. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 21(3), 315–336.

Louis, K. S., Leithwood, K., Wahlstrom, K. L., & Anderson, S.E. (2010). Learning from leadership project: Investigating the links to improved student learning: Final report of research findings. St. Paul, MN: The University of Minnesota, Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement.