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Leadership-Influenced Practices that Impact Classroom Instruction Related to Writing: a case Study of a


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Mary reported that she exposed her students to lots of different writing genre through the choices she offered them before they begin reading in the self-selected reading time. She said:

They are exposed to lots of different genres through choices. Of course before they go to their self-selected reading, they meet on the floor with me for 5-10 minutes with a different genre and I describe the genre. Once again, exposure to all the different types of writing that is out there.

Instructional sub-theme 2.4: Students are influenced by purposeful writing instruction modeled daily. When asked if the writing block helped their students become better writers, ten of the sixteen responded that this was an area of growth due to a structure that included daily modeling, conferencing and sharing.

The response given by Kate was an example of how the daily requirement of a thirty minute writing block helped her and students become writers. She said:

Doing Four Blocks has made me do writing on a daily basis. This was my least favorite block and if I had to give something up it would probably be that because writing comes difficult for me. But this is what we have to do, so it forces me to so that now I feel comfortable with it.

Liz said she finds that her students are producing more writing in addition to writing with a purpose:

The students are writing tons more than they used to write and the structure of the writing block gives them the time and a real focus, the sequence of lessons, consistency in the lessons, the practicing, that it is something very important and I feel it is very beneficial.

Carla reported that initially she did not have a structure for teaching writing. But after watching the literacy specialist model a mini-lesson, conferencing while students wrote, and having students share their writing, she now had a meaningful structure: “She [literacy specialist] was able … to change my entire schema of how to teach writing, and that was the important point. She gave me a basic structure of how to teach.” Likewise, Grace mentioned her change in schema and how being exposed to a writing structure helped her and her students:

Parents often think writing is handwriting or spelling, I think back to those first few years of teaching and I think “Oh my gosh, I don’t think I taught them how to write” I got so bogged down in copying from the board, and I look now at what they are doing and I think those poor children [in the past] why didn’t I give them this opportunity?

Dana said that she and her students had both grown in their writing ability due to her modeling of writing during the mini-lesson and conferencing. She mentioned:

Doing that mini-lesson at the beginning has been very, very helpful for me.

Writing is probably where I struggle the most, I always think that I’m not a good writer. Having to think ahead to what am I going to teach and maybe doing a little bit of writing has helped me become…I think the writing block has helped me to become a better writer. Then at conferencing time when you are going around and just seeing and pulling kids and helping, we make so much time in those blocks for one-on-one time with the students that I think that has made a big impact on them.

Amy also indicated that the mini-lesson at the beginning of the block taught her students skills that were not taught in her previous school. She stated:

With the Four Blocks, we constantly have a purpose, which at my previous school it would be, “Here. You are going to write. Go at it.” We journaled every day there. But here, I realize, wow, we give the kids their purpose so that they know what is expected of them. Where I didn’t do that at my previous school, they didn’t have a purpose every day for their writing

Mary mentioned that the mini-lesson exposed her students to all kinds of writing. She said:

You are constantly teaching a short quick lesson about what it is they are going to be writing about and so once again you are exposing them to all the types of writing …funny thing is, when I come back to the kids and talk to them about what it is I learned and how we are going to do this and do that. Most of them, a couple of them that don’t like to work will groan, but most of them are going “Ok, let’s learn it, let’s see what it is like. Let’s try it out and see what is happening.” They are doing an excellent job. I see this whole year where we have focused on writing, our scores will be so much better than in the fall!

The impact of conferencing on writing growth for students took place during the conversations Stacey would have with her students while they practiced. She said:

The conferencing during the writing block gives her an opportunity to sit down with her students one on one. I critique but teach “Why did you do this? Why did you do that? How did that help you?” We give all of these small little lessons, of course we do the mini lessons and I focus on those, but I can also go farther with the writing while the kids are working.

In addition Grace reports that the sharing her students did during the last minutes of the writing block impacted her students’ writing skills:

Sharing their writing shows there is an audience, this isn’t something I am just writing and no one is every going to hear it but it gives them a chance to let their friends know what they have written. And they are usually attentive during that time; too, they want to hear what someone else has written.

Both leaders noticed the impact of daily writing on the students. The principal noted that before Four Blocks “our kids weren’t writing” and the literacy specialist said that now the teachers were modeling every day, purposeful instruction:

Before, there wasn’t writing going on. If there was, it was very programmed, it was journal writing, but we were not teaching kids how to write and showing them how writers think and making connections between books. So I think the depth of what we were teaching [impacted writing] because of our understanding of genre, authors, reading and writing connection all impacted student writing.


Summary

Two major themes emerged from this study (see Table 1 at the end of this chapter): the influence of specific leadership practices and the impact of coherent classroom instruction. Study participants identified these two components as being instrumental in the professional growth experienced by each during their tenure at the school, and how these helped lead to increased test scores in writing and other subjects.

While neither of the two dominant themes in this study match the specific terminology used by Reeves (2004), it is interesting to note the connections between his language and the themes and sub-themes of this research. Reeves suggested accountability for learning could be positively impacted by a successful interaction between the school leaders and teachers. Sub-themes dealing with materials, report cards, and phonics instruction, along with major themes such as leaders providing professional development and an instructional framework raise questions concerning the degree to which these components of Reeves’ model are present in this research. The results of this study lead to a discussion concerning the appropriateness of using Reeves’ theory as a lens to describe the experience of these teachers, which is also presented in Chapter 5.

One of the two dominant themes in this study does match the specific terminology used by Cunningham and Hall (1998) in their Four Blocks framework. It is interesting to note the connections between their language and the themes and sub-themes of this research. Cunningham and Hall suggested these individual blocks each positively impacted literacy and gave administrators a checklist of things to look for. The model was followed closely and the administrators used the checklists developed by Cunningham and Hall. The results of this study lead to a discussion concerning the appropriateness of using the Four Blocks framework as a lens to describe the experience of these teachers and the need for leadership involvement, which is presented in Chapter 5.

Table 1

Summary of Leadership and Instructional Strategies’ Themes


Leadership Themes

1. Leadership Impacts the Classroom through Supervision of Framework

1.1 Classrooms are influenced by leaders with persistent vision.

1.2 Leaders support through providing materials.

2. Leadership Plays a Significant Role in Curriculum

2.1 Leaders support curriculum by providing time for discussion.

2.2 Leaders support curriculum through report card alignment.

3. Leadership Plays a Role in Professional Development

3.1 Classrooms are influenced by focused professional development.

3.2 Modeling is an important aspect of professional development.

3.3 Professional development that impacts classrooms is continuous and on-going.

3.4 Sharing after professional development supports new strategies.

4. Knowledgeable Leaders Impact Instructional Strategies

Instructional Strategies’ Themes

1. Framework Organizes the Instructional Strategies

2. Instructional Strategies Have Roles in Writing Instruction

2.1 Phonics instruction improved word analysis and leadership guidance was

important for teachers.



2.2 Guided reading teaches writing structures and comprehension.

2.3 Self-selected reading teaches vocabulary and genre.

2.4 Students are influenced by purposeful writing instruction modeled daily.

Chapter V: Conclusions


The results of this study are recapped in this chapter, followed by an examination of the four research questions presented in Chapter 1 and how they relate to these results. Limitations, recommendations for further research, and conclusions are also provided at the end of this chapter.

Overall, this research studied the practices of educators at an ethnically diverse, suburban elementary school with at-risk students which had undertaken specific leadership and instructional reforms, and had experienced an increase in their state writing scores. The overall research goal was to examine to what extent and how leadership-related practices impacted classroom instruction in a manner that may have helped produce successful writing scores, even for at-risk students. A case study approach was implemented to help explore four key leadership-related practices: supervision, curriculum, professional development, and knowledgeable leaders, and impact of these practices on classroom literacy-based instructional strategies.

The underlying theoretic base for this research is Reeves’ (2004) model of student-centered accountability and the potential factors that may impact learning (which had built on the work of Marzano (2003), Fullan (2003) and others). According to Reeves’ theory, educators take charge of learning through not only the review of achievement scores, but also specific information on curriculum, teaching strategies, and leadership practices. The model includes a balance of quantitative and qualitative indicators. It relies on more than achievement scores alone, as it acknowledges the context for the learning. Within the context, leadership supervision is a strong component and the leaders are committed to a comprehensive curriculum. In addition, professional development is necessary to provide educators the opportunity to learn effective strategies and leaders must be knowledgeable about curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Per Reeves, the more these essentials are identified and measured, the more learning takes place.

Another underlying theory revolves around classroom literacy-based instructional strategies that effectively impact writing skills. Such strategies are found within a balanced framework and organized into four areas: phonics, guided reading, self-selected reading, and writing (Cunningham & Hall, 1998). These strategies for instruction are organized in a coherent program that is implemented daily. Within this framework, students are taught their sound patterns with the phonics approach, and text structures and comprehension strategies during guided reading. Additionally, they are exposed to vocabulary and genre during self-selected reading of trade books and writing instruction which incorporates modeling, time for writing, conferencing, and sharing.

The school examined in this study had implemented each of the major leadership strategies as espoused by Reeves (2004), as well as a coherent balanced writing framework developed by Cunningham and Hall (1998). The major themes that emerged from this study are that educators perceive that both leadership-related practices and literacy-based instructional strategies played significant roles in the writing success of their students. Participants primarily identified these themes as including: (1) the influence of the leadership manifested through a persistent vision and materials needed to support that vision; (2) curriculum that was clarified through discussion and report card alignment; (3) the willingness of the leaders to provide professional development that was focused, modeled, shared and continuous; (4) and leaders who were knowledgeable about the instructional methods they sought.

The second category that emerged concerned the impact instructional strategies had on the writing success of the school: (1) the strategies were organized around a coherent framework; and (2) each block in the framework, namely, phonics, guided reading, self-selecting reading, and writing was cited as playing a significant role. The study demonstrated that classroom teachers are aware that development is occurring through time spent on each block as they identified the role of each block in developing writing skills.

The study found that the leadership-related practices impact the instructional strategies in the following ways: the coherent framework is supported through the leaders’ supervision; its foundation is a comprehensive curriculum; and the leaders, as well as teachers, become knowledgeable of the framework through professional development.

A comparison of these results to Reeves’ theory demonstrates an overlap between the findings of this study and his model. Reeves’ inclusion of leadership practices, curriculum, and teaching strategies as all-important factors for a successful school is evident in the participants’ identification of effective practices and strategies. While individual participants did not specifically describe their experience in terms of the components identified by Reeves (i.e. student-centered accountability, antecedents of excellence, holistic accountability), these elements are present in the findings of this study. They are apparent in areas such as leadership supervision of instructional strategies which were based on a curriculum and supported with professional development.

Participants credit both the leadership-related practices and teaching strategies for their students’ writing success. These effective teaching strategies involve a coherent literacy instructional program which is evident in the participants’ identification of effective classroom practice. The applicability of the findings of this research with Reeves’ model and a model of literacy instruction is evident in a comprehensive review of the study’s research questions, as detailed in the following sections.

Review of Research Questions



Research Question 1

The first set of research questions focuses on to what extent and how leadership-related practices consisting of systemic supervision, a comprehensive curriculum, supported professional development, and knowledgeable leaders influenced students’ successful writing scores, (including the at-risk student sub-populations).

In order to address these questions, the concepts of “leadership-related practices” and “successful writing scores” and “at risk” must be further explained. Reeves asserted that educators must examine their buildings’ leadership practices and study the connections of those practices to student achievement. The greater the accountability to these practices, the more likely the students were to succeed on assessments (Reeves, 2004). Since the context of this study dealt with writing, it is appropriate to view the leadership impact on classroom instruction in terms of success on writing assessments. Successful writing scores for this study are defined as MEAP (Michigan Educational Assessment Program) proficiency scores that are higher than the state average. The context of this study also includes students who are at risk, which is defined as those students with limited family income. For the purpose of this study, the leadership-related practices, the classroom instructional strategies, and the ability to be a successful writer on state assessments regardless of family income appear to be a suitable lens to gauge to what extent and how leadership-influenced practices successfully impact classroom writing instruction.

Of the sixteen individuals who participated in this study, twelve responded that the school was in need of a change in instructional strategies if their students were going to succeed. The remaining four participants had been hired after such a change was implemented. Each participant had to decide if he or she was willing to overcome whatever obstacles existed in order to make those changes. The reasons participants gave for changing their literacy-based instructional practices revolved around the impact of the leadership-related practices they experienced: supervision, curriculum, professional development, and knowledge of their leaders.

The influence of the supervision offered by their leaders is a consistent theme in the development of their successful students in the area of writing and reading. Twelve of the sixteen participants indicated that supervision was an important impetus in their change in instructional practice. The utilization of Four Blocks instructional strategies is an initial demonstration of this impact. Participants described how leaders impacted this process through frequent classroom visits and meaningful dialogue. Indeed, nine of the sixteen participants made changes in their instruction due to the persistent message from leaders as to what effective classroom instruction looked like; and eleven of the sixteen individuals made changes due to the materials provided to them for the implementation of these strategies.

The impact of leadership practices is further demonstrated by the participants’ understanding of the curriculum they are required to teach. Mastery of curriculum can impact students’ educational and career options and be viewed as an indication of how well the students were taught it. All of the sixteen participants indicated they understood the curriculum as being the Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCEs). Eleven individuals identified that discussions about the GLCEs with their colleagues were a significant factor in helping them understand and use the curriculum. Seven of the sixteen participants indicated that the alignment of GLCEs with the district report card supported their use of the curriculum standards. Consequently, some individuals changed their instructional practices due to the influence of these discussions about the curriculum, while others switched after aligning the grade level expectations with the district report card.

Attending professional development meetings and subsequently persisting in the use of the strategies that were taught therein demonstrates that participants in this study changed their instructional practices due to professional development. While it is evident that professional development played a significant role in this process, further clarification concerning the content of professional development must be given before a response to the last portion of the research question can be offered. To that end, definitions of the strategies taught within professional development will be examined in subsequent research questions before determining if the relationship between professional development and writing success can be considered to be evidence of impacted classroom instruction.

The impact of leadership-related practices is further demonstrated by the value placed on knowledgeable leaders. Fifteen of the sixteen participants agreed that their leaders were knowledgeable regarding the instructional practices the leaders wanted implemented and that this was important. Leaders actively sought out information, had extensive knowledge, and subsequently were a resource for the participants who asked questions and received answers regarding the changes they were making in instructional strategies.

A change in instructional strategies used by the educators came as a result of their leaders’ supervision, clarity in curriculum, professional development, and leaders’ knowledge regarding instruction. While it is evident that such leadership-related practices played a role in this process, further clarification concerning how the leadership-related practices influenced students, including those at risk, must be given before a response to the last portion of the research question can be offered. There are several discussions of how leadership-related practices constitute an important school improvement strategy for all students, including the at risk, which are applicable to the findings of this study.

Regarding supervision, Marzano (2003) found that effective leaders identified a strategic intervention and inspired staff with strong guidance and consideration. In addition, Reeves (2004) revealed that leaders must coach through discussions and action items related to student achievement. According to Saha and Biddle (2006), the enthusiasm of supervisors was found to be key to the supervision of new strategies.

Correspondingly, the impact of the leaders’ guidance, consideration and enthusiasm is acknowledged by several participants in this study. Kathy credits the leaders as having the idea for the strategies and then guiding her, starting small and getting larger and larger. Coaching was recognized by John who reported that the leaders always gave him support whenever needed; and if he ever had any questions, he would go right to the leaders immediately.

Similarly, Carla shared how the leaders rearranged her schedules, as well as her schemas, all while steering the boat. Likewise, according to Kate, the leaders researched, put together a plan, and stated “we are going to do this,” yet at the same time the leaders said to take a breath until staff felt comfortable with the plan and then went with it until they were onboard.

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