ERIC Number: EJ831413
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Mar
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1529-8957
EISSN: N/A
The Top Priority: Teacher Learning
Kassissieh, Julia; Barton, Rhonda
Principal Leadership, v9 n7 p22-26 Mar 2009
Although practitioners have been asked to make fundamental shifts in their beliefs about reaching all students, the structures of high schools to support that work have not changed appreciably. Teachers teach in isolation, departmental silos lack curricular and instructional coherence across core subject areas, and few teachers share students in common due to elective course offerings. This results in increased dropout rates, particularly among Black and Hispanic students, and fewer students overall who are prepared for postsecondary opportunities. How, then, do school leaders break those patterns and shift conditions toward effective teaching? The authors cite several examples of schools that are providing embedded learning opportunities for teachers that promote focused collaboration around student achievement. They describe one particularly strong example, Hillsboro High School (located in a suburb of Portland, Oregon), whose goal is "providing a rigorous and relevant curriculum that will prepare all students for post-secondary education." The practices put in place at Hillsboro reflect a number of research-based principles that have successfully supported teacher effectiveness in the classroom: (1) Collective participation and collaboration among teachers from the same school, department, or grade level; (2) Commitment to continually attempting to realize the organization's ideal mission and vision; (3) A common instructional framework that guides curriculum, teaching, and assessment; (4) Allocation of such resources as staff members, time, and materials to advance the framework; (5) Embedded collaborative culture with a focus on learning for all students; and (6) Sustained time and duration for collaboration and shared leadership opportunities among formal and informal leaders.
Descriptors: Teacher Collaboration, Teacher Effectiveness, Professional Development, Secondary School Teachers, Learning, Educational Change, Administrator Role, Principals, High Schools, Suburban Schools, Literacy Education, College Preparation, Academic Achievement
National Association of Secondary School Principals. 1904 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191-1537. Tel: 800-253-7746; Tel: 703-860-0200; Fax: 703-620-6534; Web site: http://www.principals.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California; Georgia; Oregon; Tennessee; Washington
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A