Instructional Leadership

Articles | Books & Publications | Webinars | Online Learning | Videos | Experts & Events

Effective instructional leadership is grounded in building the capacity of individual leaders and leadership teams to generate schoolwide and systemic growth that positively influences student outcomes. Supporting leaders' capacity with opportunities for professional learning and reflective practice is as important as the work to support individual teachers' ongoing improvement and effectiveness in the classroom.

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Articles 

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The Power of Instructional Leadership

School leaders set the tone and direction for what happens in the classroom. The March 2019 Educational Leadership explores strategies and processes school leaders can use to better understand students' and teachers' needs and guide teaching and learning more effectively.

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• ASCD Express: The Power of Instructional Leadership, March 14, 2019
• Educational Leadership: Conversation Walks: Improving Instructional Leadership, May 2017
• Educational Leadership: The Many Roles of an Instructional Coach, June 2016
• Educational Leadership: What's an Instructional Leader? October 2015

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Books and Publications 

See free sample chapters, study guides, and author interviews.

Personalized Professional Learning: A Job-Embedded Pathway for Elevating Teacher Voice

Learn how to transform existing professional development programs into innovative, empowering learning experiences that meet staff's real needs and align with school and district priorities in this new book by Allison Rodman.

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• Advancing Formative Assessment in Every Classroom: A Guide for Instructional Leaders, 2nd Edition (2019)
• Focus: Elevating the Essentials To Radically Improve Student Learning, 2nd Edition (2018)
• Qualities of Effective Teachers, 3rd Edition (2018)
• You're the Principal! Now What? Strategies and Solutions for New School Leaders (2016)
• Leading with Focus: Elevating the Essentials for School and District Improvement (2016)
• Intentional and Targeted Teaching: A Framework for Teacher Growth and Leadership (2016)
• The Artisan Teaching Model for Instructional Leadership: Working Together to Transform Your School (2016)
• 17,000 Classroom Visits Can’t Be Wrong: Strategies That Engage Students, Promote Active Learning, and Boost Achievement (2015)
• Formative Classroom Walkthroughs: How Principals and Teachers Collaborate to Raise Student Achievement (2015)
• Never Underestimate Your Teachers: Instructional Leadership for Excellence in Every Classroom (2013)
• Using Data to Focus Instructional Improvement (2013)
• Ensuring Effective Instruction: How do I improve teaching using multiple measures? (2013)
• Engaging Teachers in Classroom Walkthroughs (2013)
• Qualities of Effective Principals (2008)

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Building Teacher Capacity Through Reflection

This Quick Reference Guide from authors Pete Hall and Alisa Simeral shows teachers ways to deepen their thinking and reflect on their capacity as educators to improve their effectiveness in the classroom.

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Webinars 

Access free professional development on demand and online.

• Qualities of Effective Teachers: Improving Schools One Classroom at a Time with James H. Stronge (April 10, 2018)
• PD, Data, and Teacher Ratings—These Systems Just Aren't Working! with Kenneth Baum and David Krulwich (December 15, 2016)
• Leading with Focus with Mike Schmoker (February 4, 2016) Requires member login
• From Teaching to Learning: Insights from 17,000 Classroom Visits with John Antonetti (April 9, 2015) Requires member login
• Formative Classroom Walkthroughs with Connie M. Moss and Susan M. Brookhart (February 10, 2015)
• Walk-Throughs for Teachers Observing Peers with Donald Kachur (July 30, 2013)
• Never Underestimate Your Teachers with Robyn Jackson (May 16, 2013)
• Improving Student Learning One Principal at a Time: Walkthroughs and Observations with Jane Pollock (February 14, 2013)

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Online Learning 

Our award-winning PD Online^® courses are interactive, in-depth, and self-paced online professional development courses for educators. Explore these courses, or browse the online course catalog for more options.

• Leading Professional Learning: Building Capacity Through Teacher Leaders (Reimagined)
• FIT Teaching in Action: Learning to Use the Framework for Intentional and Targeted Teaching

PD In Focus^® is an award-winning online platform that features hundreds of hours of videos showing research-based teaching practices in action, including the Principal Leadership channel.

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ASCD Learn Teach Lead Radio is a podcast series featuring authors, experts, leaders, and educators discussing topics of interest.

• Unpacking the Critical Skills for Facilitating Successful PLCs with Adam Brown and Daniel R. Venables (July 16, 2018)
• Why Consistently Great Teaching Requires Skill and Will with Olympia Williams and Robyn R. Jackson (June 16, 2016)

Videos 

ASCD Master Class Video Series: Leadership

The ASCD Master Class Leadership Series is an advanced seminar that examines the toughest and most thought-provoking education issues of the day with teachers, administrators, and education experts. Topics covered include teacher evaulation, instructional leadership, school culture, professionalism, and student achievement.

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Experts and Events

ASCD Faculty members are available for on-site capacity-building professional development on effective instructional leadership. ASCD can design a precise professional development plan, organized around our field-tested solutions, with a focus on the education foundations that make sense for you.

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Download the Effective Leadership brochure (PDF)

ASCD Conferences, One-, Two-, and Three-Day Institutes, and other special events frequently feature sessions about effective instructional leadership.

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