Instructional Leadership for

Complex Instruction EBCC SymposiumJanuary 27, 2012

About ReachReach supports schools by fostering instructional improvement and

developing instructional leadership

Reach offers range of programs:• Preliminary Credential Program (Intern)• Clear Credential Program• Instructional Coach training• Preliminary Administrative Credential Program• Clear Administrative Credential Program• Professional Development for School Leaders• School Coaching

Reach works with schools across the Bay Area:• 32 Partner Schools• 250 Educators

QuestionElbow partner:

There is ample evidence to suggest that in most cases professional development initiatives fail to significantly impact

teaching practice in the classroom.

In your experience, why do you think that is?

Three Concepts……that complicate professional learning

• Loose Coupling• Designing Learning in Communities of

Practice• Organizational Culture & Learning

Loose CouplingDefinition: Units/events in the system are responsive to one another BUT each event also preserves its own identity and some evidence of its physical or logical separateness.

Occurs When:• Uncertain ends-means relationship• Non-routine work• Norms of autonomy

Loose CouplingThink/Share:

What are the implications of this idea for professional learning?

Communities of Practice

• Learning cannot be designed, it is the result of immersion in a community’s practices

• A community’s practices are emergent: Both highly perturbable and highly resilient, always reconstituting itself in unpredictable ways in the face of new events

• There is an inherent uncertainty between design and its realization in practice, since practice is not the result of design but rather (partially) a response to it.

Communities of Practice

Pair/Share: What are the implications of this idea for professional learning?

Organizational Culture

Organizational CultureFist To Five:

How significant is this idea for the way professional learning unfolds in your school/context?

0- Not significant5- It’s the whole ballgame

Conceptual Framework for Effective Learning Initiatives• Compelling, shared, positive vision• Goals focused on student learning• Involvement of teachers• Cultivates professional community• Formal & informal training• Opportunities for practice, coaching, and

feedback• Models & exemplars• Aligned incentives (formal & informal)• Sustained• Evaluation

Real Life Case StudyThink of a learning initiative you have been a part of that significantly impacted your (classroom or leadership) practice.

Take a few minutes to evaluate which elements of this framework were in place.

If you were implementing an initiative to foster Differentiated Instruction, what could you put in place?