This has been a summer of discoveries for me. For the second time in the past few weeks, I’ve found a book on my bookshelf that I hadn’t read and forgot that I had.
Thanks to our North Alabama Instructional Partners Network, Closing the Teaching Gap: Coaching for Instructional Leaders by Donald Bartalo, was brought to my attention. When I went online to order the book, the cover looked familiar. And, sure enough, it was on my bookshelf, just waiting to be explored.
Those who know ABPC’s history won’t be surprised that the title resonated with me. That the foreword was written by Grant Wiggins was another clue. And when I read the preface, I knew it was about to become one of my “new favorite books.”
Bartalo lays out his theory of action in the opening pages.
▶ Students need to not only understand what they are learning, but understand why it is important, how it relates to other learnings, and how to apply it.
▶ Teachers need to “understand how students learn best and can translate that understanding into generating better learning opportunities for students.” (p. xiii).
▶ To help teachers do that, instructional leaders must understand what works, know how to help teachers improve their practice and have the capacity, when needed, to turn their understanding into action.
Bartalo is not limiting the definition of “instructional leader” to those in traditional administrator positions. His vision encompasses the work of instructional partners and coaches.
Bartalo also includes parents and school board members in the equation and emphasizes that they need to deeply understand their roles. Parents should be involved, support the work of teachers, and encourage their children to do their very best. School board members also need to understand the importance of closing the teaching gap and “turn that understanding into guidelines, procedures, and decisions to strengthen and support student learning and effective teaching.” (p. xiii)
Pretty common sensical, right? Then why aren’t these things happening in concert in every school and district across Alabama and the United States? Once again, we see that we have a knowing-doing gap. The research/best practice is available – and where it’s being applied, schools are showing great gains in student achievement. But this “perfect storm” of high quality teaching and learning is far from pervasive.
An international comparison
Take a moment to look at the chart below. It captures differences in activities of teachers to improve instruction in Japan and in the U.S. The inverted triangles speak volumes to me.
In the U.S., way too many teachers are still operating as “independent contractors,” where they most often work in isolation. In Japan, teachers collaborate daily – they observe colleagues regularly and discuss and fine-tune lessons. On the other hand, most U.S. teachers individually develop lessons and only have infrequent opportunities to collaborate, plan, and learn from each other.
Bartalo cautions that he is not advocating simply copying Japan’s model. He does argue, however that “U.S. educators can learn from (the) Japanese experience” and “rethink our systems of improving teaching.” And, he contends that instructional leaders are “often in the best position to help teachers learn how to learn about teaching” (p. 9).
Guidelines for instructional leadership
I’ve only started on this book, but I think it offers instructional leaders good guidelines to strengthen their knowledge of practice and their leadership skills. Then, in turn, they can help strengthen the practice of those they serve. A quick glance at the next chapter has me hooked. The subtitles are:
- Data Informed, Not Data Driven
- Developing Credibility
- Finding Strength in Others
- Getting Into Classrooms
- Knowledge, Not Packaged Programs
- Learning from Master Teachers
- Learning from Students
- Not Enough Time?
- Try it in the Classroom
- Journal Reflection
Each chapter of the book concludes with an invitation to reflect, where the reader is encouraged to journal about what they are reading and learning and how it applies (or could apply) to their role as an instructional leader. Most chapters also feature a Leadership Team Activity, which suggests a professional learning opportunity for the reader and his/her leadership team.
You’ll hear more about this book in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, you can browse the opening chapters (click on the Google Preview tab). If you are an instructional leader, instruction coach or teacher leader and looking for a professional book to read during the summer, you might add this to your list!
