Chapter 5: Reflections on
Schools, Teaching and
Supervision
Changing Views
Instructional Improvement
Checking Your Own Beliefs
Schools, Teaching, SuperVision
• Know Thyself:
• What are your beliefs about
schools, teaching and
supervision?
• How do you make human decisions?
• How would you measure the 'Coast of
England?'
• What are your views on effective practice?
Adult and Teacher Development
• Difference between Effectiveness
and Goodness?
• How do we define 'good schools'?
• Must be answered before we can decide
how our schools can become more
effective.
Constructivist Views:
• "In a constructivist approach, teachers
will have to learn to guide, not tell;
to create environments in which students can
make their own meanings, not be handed them
by the teacher; to accept diversity in
constructions, not search for the one 'right'
answer; ... not to stick to rigid standards and
criteria; to create a safe, free, responsive
environment that encourages disclosure of
student constructions, not a closed, judgmental
system." (Airasian & Walsh (1997)
Constructivist Views for
Students:
"Students will also have to learn
new ways to perform. They will
have to learn to think for
themselves, not wait for the
teacher to tell them what to think;
to proceed with less focus and
direction from the teacher, not to wait for explicit
teacher directions; to express their own ideas
clearly n their own words." (Airasian & Walsh, 1997)
Adult and Teacher
Development:
• Instructional Improvement &
Effective Teaching:
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Construction of Knowledge
Problem-centered, flexible, webbed, big ideas, depth.
Open-ended discussion, student initiated questions
Problem solving, inquiry, experimentation
Active, cooperative learning
Self and group reflection on constructions
Co-planned by teacher and students
Authentic assessment of process and product.
Self, peer and group assessment.
Adult and Teacher Development
• Beliefs about Education:
• What should be the purpose of
• education?
• What should be the content of the school
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curriculum?
Who should control the learning environment?
What should be the relationship between
teacher and students?
Under what conditions is student learning most
successful?
Adult and Teacher Development
• What motivates
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students to do their
best in school?
What is your definition
of effective teaching?
What personal characteristics are possessed by
a successful teacher?
How should the teacher assess student learning?
What is your definition of a good school?
Adult and Teacher Development
• Supervision Beliefs:
• What is your definition of instructional
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supervision?
What should be the ultimate purpose of
supervision?
Who should supervise? Who should be
supervised?
What knowledge, skills, attitudes and values are
possessed by successful supervisors?
Adult and Teacher Development
• Supervision Beliefs:
• What are the most important needs
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of teachers?
What makes for positive relationships between
supervisors and teachers?
What types of activities should be part of
instructional supervision?
What should be changed about the current
practice of instructional supervision?
Essentialism: (Bagley, 1938)
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Idealism + Realism.
Idealism: an absolute 'ideal' exists.
There is a body of timeless knowledge
both historical and contemporary that is of value
to the living.
Supervisor as person who teaches truths about
teaching to teachers. Supervisors are most
knowledgeable about absolute standards.
Experimentalism:
• Pragmatism + progressivism
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+ reconstructivism
An historical break from
traditional philosophies of
realism and idealism.
The scientific method. helps us look at reality
and see what works.
Experimentalism:
• ‘What works?'
• Supervisors view schools and laboratories,
working with teachers to develop
hypotheses and try new ones. Work
democratically. Not sole
conveyors of wisdom.
• Trial and Error.
Existentialism:
Kierkegaard (1850)
• Scorn for rational, empirical and
•
systematic thinking as the way of
knowing reality.
The only reality that exists is one's own
existence. Human dignity and worth are of
greatest importance. Morality is the process of
knowing oneself and allowing others the
freedom to do likewise. Faith, intuition,
mysticism, imagery, and transcendental
experiences are all acceptable ways to discover.
Existentialism: (cont.)
• Supervisory Beliefs: Full commitment to teacher
choice. The supervisory provides an
environment that enables the teacher to explore
his or her own physical and mental capabilities.
Teachers must learn for themselves. Supervisor
does not dispense information and shies away
from intrusive guidance. Supervisors
help when needed, protecting rights
of others to self-discovery.
Essentialism:
Supervisor is Expert
Three Superphilosophies
Existentialism:
Supervisor
Facilitates teacher
Exploration, Autonomy
Experimentalism:
Democratic,
Hypothesis
Testing
Course Competencies:
• 1. Develop an understanding of
how to design and implement
research-based school practice.
• 2. Develop consensus-building
and negotiation skills.
• 3. Examine your own beliefs, assumptions
and practices as potential school leaders.
Course Competencies:
• 4. Develop a school 'vision' with high
instructional standards and learning goals.
• 5. Examine theories of adult
development, curriculum development,
assessment, supervision, collaboration,
professional learning and inquiry.
• 6. Reflect on personal learning processes.
Course Competencies:
• 7. Examine processes of human resources
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•
•
supervision.
8. Examine formal and informal teacher
assessment strategies.
9. Acquire knowledge of how teaching, learning
and student development inform leadership
decisions and priorities.
10. Examine strategies to develop your staff as
researchers in school learning communities.
Instructor Over-Arching Goals:
• To prepare you to
develop excellent teachers.
• To prepare you to
develop excellent schools.
• School Improvement Strategies.
• To prepare you to be a change agent.
• To help you understand yourself and the
adults you will supervise.