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Educational Leadership:The Principalship:How Do Principals Really Improve Schools?
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April 2013 | Volume 70 | Number 7 The Principalship Pages 34­40

70th ASCD Annual Conference and Exhibit Show
March 21–23, 2015, Houston, Tex. Discover new ideas and practical strategies that deliver real results for students. More

How Do Principals Really Improve Schools?
Rick DuFour and Mike Mattos Instead of micromanaging teachers, principals should lead efforts to collectively monitor student achievement through professional learning communities. Principals are in a paradoxical position. No Child Left Behind admonished educators to use "scientific, research­based strategies" to ensure that all students learn. Likewise, Race to the Top requires educators to use "research­based" school improvement models. Unfortunately, the core strategies of both of these reform initiatives largely ignore this call for practices grounded in research. Principals are being asked to improve student learning by implementing mandated reforms that have consistently proven ineffective in raising student achievement.

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The current emphasis on using more intensive supervision and evaluation of teachers to improve school performance illustrates this irony. According to Race to the Top guidelines, this more rigorous supervision process should influence a teacher's professional development, compensation, promotion, retention, tenure, and certification. Ultimately, the evaluations should reward highly effective educators with merit pay and remove those deemed ineffective.

Faulty Logic
At first glance, this approach to improving schools seems to make sense. After all, research does say that teacher quality is one of the most significant factors in student learning. Further, there's almost universal agreement that the current system of teacher evaluation in the United States is ineffective. Three of four teachers report that their evaluation process has virtually no impact on their classroom practice (Duffett, Farkas, Rotherham, & Silva, 2008). Like the children of Lake Wobegon, almost all teachers are deemed to be above average, if not superior. Tenured teachers are almost never found to be unsatisfactory. As a comprehensive study (Weisberg, Sexton, Mulhern, & Keeling, 2009) of the current system concluded, "Teacher evaluation does not recognize good teaching, leaves poor teaching unaddressed, and does not inform decision­making in any meaningful way" (p. 1). So why not make tougher evaluation of teachers a cornerstone of school improvement? Why not require principals to spend more time in classrooms supervising and evaluating teachers into better performance? The premise that more frequent and intensive evaluation of teachers by their principals will lead to higher levels of student learning is only valid if two conditions exist. The first is that educators know how to improve student learning but have not been sufficiently motivated to do so. The second is that principals have the time and expertise to improve each teacher's professional practice by observing that teacher in the classroom. Neither of these conditions exists.

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Do Carrots and Sticks Motivate Teachers?
We can find no research to support the assumption that educators choose to use mediocre instructional

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Educational Leadership:The Principalship:How Do Principals Really Improve Schools? strategies and withhold effective practices until they receive increased financial incentives. As former principals with almost six decades of experience working with teachers, we found that the members of our faculty, almost without exception, started each day with honorable intentions, worked tirelessly on behalf of their students, and used the best strategies they possessed to promote student success. Further, there's little evidence to support the idea that offering stronger rewards when educators move in the right direction and applying more dire consequences when they don't—dangling crunchier carrots and wielding sharper sticks—spurs teachers to better performance. Research has consistently established that merit pay does not improve student outcomes or change teacher behavior in a positive way, that it may actually contribute to declines in student learning, and that it's typically abandoned within a few years of implementation (Fryer, 2011; Pfeffer & Sutton, 2006; Springer et al., 2011). A research­based program for improving schools would not be tied to merit pay. As for wielding sharper sticks, in his book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Daniel Pink (2011) presents compelling evidence that this approach has a decidedly negative effect on the performance of knowledge workers like educators. This is not new information. In 1986, W. Edwards Deming argued that leaders must "drive out fear" from their organizations because appeals to fear resulted in short­term thinking, fostered competition rather than collaboration, and served as a barrier to continual improvement. A research­based program for improving schools would not be tied to sanctions and punishments intended to generate fear. The National Center for Education and the Economy (Tucker, 2011) couldn't find any evidence that the carrots­and­sticks strategy leads to improved student achievement in the United States or that any of the world's high­performing school systems use such strategies. The American Educational Research Association declared that "neither research evidence related to growth models nor best practice related to assessment supports the proposed requirement that assessment of teachers and principals be based centrally on student achievement" (Viadero, 2009). A research­based approach to school reform would not define improvement solely as higher scores on an annual standardized achievement test. Excellence with the Common Core 4. Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind: Practical 5. The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High­ Quality Units Shop

Do Principal Observations Improve Teaching Practices?
But even if we set the research aside, questions remain: Do principals have the time and expertise to enhance student learning through classroom observations? Is this the best way to improve a school? To answer these questions, consider Tennessee, one of the first states to receive a Race to the Top grant. The Tennessee model calls for 50 percent of a teacher's evaluation to be based on principal observations, 35 percent on student growth, and 15 percent on student achievement data. Principals or evaluators must observe new teachers six times each year and licensed teachers four times each year, considering one or more of four areas—instruction, professionalism, classroom environment, and planning. These four areas are further divided into 116 subcategories. Observations are to be preceded by a pre­conference, in which the principal and the teacher discuss the lesson, and followed by a post­conference, in which the principal shares his or her impressions of the teacher's performance. Principals must then input data on the observation using the state rubric for assessing teachers. Principals report that the process requires four to six hours for each observation. No doubt these requirements are well intentioned, but we're convinced that advocates of this approach fail to recognize the crushing demands on the contemporary principal. A synthesis of research has identified 21 different responsibilities that principals must address in an environment where any or all of those responsibilities may suddenly be put on the back burner by crises over which the principal has little control (Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005).

What We Learned As Principals
But beyond the time demands, the premise behind the policy of having principals observe teachers and help them improve is fundamentally flawed. We were both award­winning principals who devoted massive amounts of time and energy to trying to improve teaching through our different systems' supervision and evaluation processes. We typically found that teachers were unpersuaded by our recommendations. After all, previous principals had found them satisfactory, if not exemplary. Further, as middle and high school principals, we often observed teachers in content areas in which we were clueless. As former social studies teachers, we were not prepared to help a Spanish teacher improve when we couldn't understand what he or she was saying. We were ill­equipped to enhance the pedagogy of an industrial arts teacher when we were mechanically inept. Because we frequently were unable to determine the appropriateness of either the content or the level of its rigor, we had to resort to generic observations about teaching and apply what we knew about effective questioning strategies, student engagement, classroom management, and so on. We don't mean to imply that the process was without benefits. As a new pair of eyes in the classroom, we were sometimes able to help a teacher become aware of unintended instructional or classroom management patterns. We could express appreciation for the wonderful work a teacher was doing because we had witnessed it firsthand. We observed powerful instructional strategies that we were able to share with other teachers. We increased our own knowledge about what constitutes effective teaching. So classroom observations can be meaningful and beneficial to some extent, but principals should not use them as their key strategy for improving their schools. Perhaps intensive supervision of teaching would be a viable strategy for improving student learning—if good teaching could be reduced to a single template,

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Educational Leadership:The Principalship:How Do Principals Really Improve Schools? rubric, or checklist aligned to program fidelity. However, there's no such thing as a universally effective teaching strategy; the effectiveness of any given strategy can only be determined by evidence of its effect on student learning (DuFour & Marzano, 2011). The checklist approach to providing feedback to teachers doesn't enhance their pedagogical expertise. As Marzano (2009) notes, it's "antithetical to true reflective practice … [and] is profoundly anti­professional" (p. 37).

The Case for the PLC Process
If principals want to improve student achievement in their school, rather than focus on the individual inspection of teaching, they must focus on the collective analysis of evidence of student learning. Of course, teaching and learning are not divorced from each other. The key to improved student learning is to ensure more good teaching in more classrooms more of the time. The most powerful strategy for improving both teaching and learning, however, is not by micromanaging instruction but by creating the collaborative culture and collective responsibility of a professional learning community (PLC). Studies conducted by the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools (Newmann & Wehlage, 1995); the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (Carroll, Fulton, & Doerr, 2010); the Annenberg Institute for School Reform (2005); the Wallace Foundation (Louis, Leithwood, Wahlstrom, & Anderson, 2010); and the American Educational Research Association (Holland, 2005) provide just a small sampling of the research base that confirms the positive effect of the PLC process on both student and adult learning. As a review of the research on PLCs concluded,

The collective results of these studies offer an unequivocal answer to the question about whether the literature supports the assumption that student learning increases when teachers participate in professional learning communities. The answer is a resounding and encouraging yes. (Vescio, Ross, & Adams, 2008, p. 87)

This finding is not limited to the United States. In a study of high­performing school systems throughout the world, researchers concluded that successful systems structured their schools to function as PLCs to provide the teacher collaboration vital to powerful professional development (Barber & Mourshed, 2009). A report from the International Academy of Education (Timperley, 2008) concluded that the key to improving teaching was ensuring that educators "participate in a professional learning community that is focused on becoming responsive to students." Research shows that educators in schools that have embraced PLCs are more likely to

Take collective responsibility for student learning, help students achieve at higher levels, and express higher levels of professional satisfaction (Louis & Wahlstrom, 2011). Share teaching practices, make results transparent, engage in critical conversations about improving instruction, and institutionalize continual improvement (Bryk, Sebring, Allensworth, Luppescu, & Easton, 2010). Improve student achievement and their professional practice at the same time that they promote shared leadership (Louis et al., 2010). Experience the most powerful and beneficial professional development (Little, 2006). Remain in the profession (Johnson & Kardos, 2007). Research has also established that simply providing time for educators to meet will have no effect on student learning unless their meetings focus on the right work (Saunders, Goldenberg, & Gallimore, 2009). In traditional schools, the question of who will determine what constitutes the right work becomes a question of power: Will the principal or teacher teams have the authority to determine what will happen at team meetings? However, in a professional learning community, principals and teachers engage in collective inquiry to decide on the work that will most benefit their students. To help more students learn at higher levels, team members ask themselves,

What knowledge, skills, and dispositions should all students acquire as a result of the unit we're about to teach? How much time will we devote to this unit? How will we gather evidence of student learning throughout the unit in our classrooms and at its conclusion as a team? How can we use this evidence of learning to improve our individual practice and our team's collective capacity to help students learn, to intervene for students unable to demonstrate proficiency, and to enrich the learning for students who have demonstrated proficiency? To foster school cultures in which PLCs flourish, principals need to focus on five key steps (see "Five Steps to Success on the PLC Journey"). They can start by forming teams in which members share responsibility to help all students learn essential content and skills, providing teams with time to collaborate, helping to

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Educational Leadership:The Principalship:How Do Principals Really Improve Schools? clarify the work that teams need to do, and ensuring that teams have access to the resources and support they need to accomplish their objectives.

Five Steps to Success on the PLC Journey 1. Embrace the premise that the fundamental purpose of the school is to ensure that all students learn at high levels and enlist the staff in examining every existing practice, program, and procedure to ensure it aligns with that purpose. 2. Organize staff into meaningful collaborative teams that take collective responsibility for student learning and work interdependently to achieve shared goals for which members hold themselves mutually accountable. 3. Call on teams to establish a guaranteed and viable curriculum for each unit that clarifies the essential learning for all students, agree on pacing guidelines, and develop and administer common formative assessments to monitor each student's learning at the end of each unit. 4. Use the evidence of student learning to identify

Students who need additional time and support to become proficient. Students who need enrichment and extension of their learning because they're already highly proficient. Teachers who help students achieve at high levels so team members can examine those teachers' practices. Teachers who struggle to help students become proficient so team members can assist in addressing the problem. Skills or concepts that none of the teachers were able to help students achieve at the intended level so the team can expand its learning beyond its members to become more effective in teaching those skills or concepts. The team can seek help from members of other teams in the building with expertise in that area, specialists from the central office, other teachers of the same content in the district, or networks of teachers throughout the United States that they interact with online. 5. Create a coordinated intervention plan that ensures that students who struggle receive additional time and support for learning in a way that is timely, directive, diagnostic, precise, and most important, systematic.

For example, a team that attempts to create a unit assessment would benefit from an overview of the research on the power of common formative assessments to improve both teaching and learning, a brief article on keys to writing good assessments, access to released sets of assessment items for the skill they're teaching, and examples of the assessment frameworks used by their state or province to ensure they become familiar with the format and rigor of those assessments. For performance­based assessments, team members might need recommendations from content experts on the criteria they should use in assessing the quality of student work as well as time to practice applying those criteria until they're able to provide students with consistent feedback. But the most vital support a principal can give these collaborative teams is helping them use evidence of student learning to improve their teaching. When members of a team make the results from their common assessments transparent, analyze those results collectively, and discuss which instructional strategies seem most effective based on actual evidence of student learning, they're using the most powerful catalysts for improving instruction (Elmore, 2004; Fullan, 2010; Hattie, 2009). This ongoing, collective analysis of learning is far more likely to improve teaching practice than a principal stopping by a classroom a few times each year to see whether the teacher is making the right moves. The PLC process also promotes shared leadership by empowering teams to make important decisions. Teachers have a voice in determining the content they'll teach, how they'll sequence the content, which instructional strategies they'll use, and how they'll assess student learning. At the same time, principals ask their teams to be accountable for results, and they publicly recognize and celebrate incremental progress. Principal acknowledgement and appreciation are vital to sustaining a continual improvement effort (Heath & Heath, 2010). Finally, effective principals are willing to confront those who fail to honor the commitments to their team and their obligations to their students. These principals make it clear that an individual teacher cannot disregard the team­developed curriculum, dismiss the sequencing of content, refuse to administer the team's common assessments, or opt out of the collaborative team process in any way. They are willing to use their authority to break down the walls of educator isolation and create new norms of collaboration and collective responsibility for student learning (Bryk, Sebring, Allensworth, Luppescu, & Easton, 2010).

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A Culture of Collective Responsibility
Both research and our own experience as principals have convinced us that this PLC process is more likely to improve instruction than classroom observations. An algebra teacher has a better chance of becoming more effective when he or she works with other algebra teachers weekly to improve student learning than when he or she is observed by a former social studies teacher four times a year. Further, the PLC process has two powerful levers for changing adult behavior: irrefutable evidence of better results and positive peer pressure (Elmore, 2004; Fullan, 2010; Hattie, 2009). When team members see that students in a colleague's classroom consistently perform at higher levels on team­developed assessments, they become curious about the conditions and practices that led to those better results. Further, if a team is consistently unable to achieve its goals because the students in a team member's classroom are repeatedly unable to demonstrate proficiency, there's more pressure on the teacher in that classroom to try new practices. So what's a principal to do when confronted with state or district policies that mandate a more stringent approach to evaluation? Although principals may be stuck with punitive accountability policies, they don't have to be stuck with a punitive mind­set (DuFour & Fullan, 2013). A highly effective principal will look for ways to align the process to a culture of collective responsibility for learner­focused outcomes. For example, the principal can repurpose the individual teacher goal­setting process to focus on team goals. Rather than establishing goals for individual teachers that focus on teacher activities ("I will improve my ability to use differentiated instruction"), they help teams establish collective goals that focus on student learning ("Last year, 84 percent of our students demonstrated proficiency on the state assessment. This year, we will help at least 90 percent demonstrate proficiency"). These results­oriented goals help create the interdependence and mutual accountability vital to effective teams. Principal observations can provide feedback to team members who implement new strategies as part of their action research. For example, a team may decide that members need to focus on checking for student understanding more frequently and effectively to improve achievement in a unit that has traditionally proven difficult for the students. The principal could focus on that aspect of instruction during observations and work with teachers to expand their strategies in that area. Finally, many new evaluation tools have components related to teacher collaboration. An effective principal will use that aspect of evaluation as a catalyst to strengthen the team process.

Asking the Right Question
If current efforts to supervise teachers into better performance have proven ineffective (and they have), the solution is not to double down on a bad strategy and demand more classroom observations, tighter supervision, and more punitive evaluations. The effort to improve schools through tougher supervision and evaluation is doomed to fail because it asks the wrong question. The question isn't, How can I do a better job of monitoring teaching? but How can we collectively do a better job of monitoring student learning? Today's schools don't need "instructional leaders" who attempt to ensure that teachers use the right moves. Instead, schools need learning leaders who create a schoolwide focus on learning both for students and the adults who serve them.

References
Annenberg Institute for School Reform. (2005). Professional learning communities: Professional development strategies that improve instruction. Providence, RI: Author. Retrieved from http://annenberginstitute.org/pdf/proflearning.pdf Barber, M., & Mourshed, M. (2009). Shaping the future: How good education systems can become great in the decade ahead. McKinsey and Company. Retrieved from www.mckinsey.com/locations/southeastasia/knowledge/Education_Roundtable.pdf Bryk, A., Sebring, P., Allensworth, E., Luppescu, S., & Easton, J. (2010). Organizing schools for improvement: Lessons from Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Carroll, T., Fulton, K., & Doerr, H. (2010). Team up for 21st century teaching and learning: What research and practice reveal about professional learning. Washington, DC: National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. Deming, W. E. (1986). Out of the crisis. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Duffett, A., Farkas, S., Rotherham, A. J., & Silva, E. (2008). Waiting to be won over: Teachers speak on the profession, unions, and reform. Washington, DC: Education Sector. DuFour, R., & Fullan, M. (2013). Cultures built to last: Making PLCs systemic. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree. DuFour, R., & Marzano, R. (2011). Leaders of learning: How district, school, and classroom leaders improve student achievement. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree. Elmore, R. (2004). School reform from the inside out: Policy, practice, and performance. Boston:

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Harvard Educational Press. Fryer, R. (2011). Teacher incentives and student achievement: Evidence from New York City Schools. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Fullan, M. (2010). The moral imperative realized. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta­analyses relating to student achievement. New York: Routledge. Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2010). Switch: How to change things when change is hard. New York: Crown Publishing. Holland, H. (2005). Teaching teachers: Professional development to improve student achievement. Research Points: Essential Information for Educational Policy, 3(1), 1–4. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association. Johnson, S. M., & Kardos, S. (2007). Professional culture and the promise of colleagues. In S. M. Johnson, Finders and keepers: Helping new teachers survive and thrive in our schools (pp. 139– 166). San Francisco: Jossey­Bass. Little, J. W. (2006). Professional community and professional development in the learning­centered school. Washington, DC: National Education Association. Retrieved from www.nea.org/assets/docs/HE/mf_pdreport.pdf Louis, K., Leithwood, K., Wahlstrom, K., & Anderson, S. (2010). Learning from leadership: Investigating the links to improved student learning. New York: Wallace Foundation. Louis, K., & Wahlstrom, K. (2011). Principals as cultural leaders. Phi Delta Kappan, 92(5), 52–56. Marzano, R. (2009). Setting the record straight on "high­yield" strategies. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(1), 30–37. Marzano, R., Waters, T., & McNulty, B. (2005). School leadership that works: From research to results. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Newmann, F., & Wehlage, G. (1995). Successful school restructuring: A report to the public and educators by the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools. Madison: University of Wisconsin. Pfeffer, J., & Sutton, R. (2006). Hard facts, dangerous half­truths and total nonsense: Profiting from evidence­based management. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Pink, D. (2011). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York: Riverhead. Saunders, W., Goldenberg, C., & Gallimore, R. (2009). Increasing achievement by focusing grade­ level teams on improving classroom learning: A prospective, quasi­experimental study of Title I schools. American Educational Research Journal, 46(4), 1006–1033. Springer, M. G., Hamilton, L., McCaffrey, D. F., Ballou, D., Le, V., Pepper, M., et al. (2010). Teacher pay for performance: Experimental evidence from the project on incentives in teaching. Nashville, TN: National Center on Performance Incentives. Timperley, H. (2008). Teacher professional learning and development. (Educational Practices Series. Number 18). Brussels: International Academy of Education. Retrieved from www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/Educational_Practices/EdPractices_18.pdf Tucker, M. (2011). Standing on the shoulders of giants: An American agenda for educational reform. Washington, DC: National Center for Education and the Economy. Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of the research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 80–91. Viadero, D. (2009, September 3). Where's the research in race to the top? [blog post]Retrieved from Education Week: Inside School Research at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside­school­ research/2009/09/wheres_the_research_in_the_rac.html Weisberg, D., Sexton, S., Mulhern, J., & Keeling, D. (2009). The widget effect: Our national failure to recognize differences in teacher effectiveness. New York: New Teacher Project.

Rick DuFour is an author and consultant on implementing the PLC process. He is coauthor, with Michael Fullan, of Cultures Built to Last: Making PLCs Systemic (Solution Tree, 2013) and, with Robert Marzano, of Leaders of Learning: How District, Schools, and Classroom Leaders Improve Student Achievement (Solution Tree, 2011). Mike Mattos is an education consultant and is coauthor, with Austin Buffum and Chris Weber, of Simplifying Response to Intervention (Solution Tree, 2011).

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...In the later 19th century, Finance was a part of the Economics. But due to the globalization and more expansion of international trade, Finance plays the major role for the economic development. The development of a modern economy would not have been possible without the use of money. Bank is an important and essential financial institution for the necessity of the use of money and the protection of the money. Bangladesh is now integral part of global market. As such there is an urgent requirement for Bangladesh to place the traditional banking pretties in harness with the global trades of a free market economy by following international Banking customs, practices and standards. Today clients of a bank in Bangladesh are exposed as well as interNational markets. They have to stay update with their practice and standards to meet the demands of achieving harmony in the high standards of a free economy. Rationale of the Study: Now a days banking sector have built up as the most important player of the economy. Economists have observed that loan is of the most important aspects of economic activity because of its great role in establishing various projects that generates production and thus generating employment. The only important aspect of loan is economic and social development in addition to achieving a suitable profit margin. Islamic banks consider loan as the basic motivation for community development and a means to get rid of social and economic problems through employment...

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...The 6th International Scientific Conference “DEFENSE RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN THE 21st CENTURY” Braşov, December 02-03, 2011 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE LTC. Tirtan Catalin Army Academy “Nicolae Bălcescu”/ Sibiu/ Romania Abstract: This article examines the existing literature on relationships between an organization and its culture, processes and approaches, individual efforts of those involved from leaders to employee. The paper further argues that certain organizational cultural attributes contribute to the shaping of future courses of action, failure or not in achieving change, and considerate the goals and strategies of the business. Next, this article focuses on vision, values, and mission as core descriptive of an organization and the climate required for successful achievement of the mission statement and vision statement. Basically, organizational culture is the personality of the organization, and will drive the employee’s efficiency and company performance levels. Culture is comprised of the assumptions, values, norms and tangible signs (artifacts) of organization members and their behaviors, and leadership. Keywords: Organizational, vision, mission, culture, performance, culture of forgiveness, and leadership 1. Introduction Organizational culture can be described as “the personality of an organization”, or simply as “how things are done around here”. It shows how employees think, act, and feel. Organization culture is a key aspect to the organization's success...

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...PROLOGUE GILGAMESH KING IN URUK I WILL proclaim to the world the deeds of Gilgamesh. This was the man to whom all things were known; this was the king who knew the countries of the world. He was wise, he saw mysteries and knew secret things, he brought us a tale of the days before the flood. He went on a long journey, was weary, worn-out with labour, returning he rested, he engraved on a stone the whole story. When the gods created Gilgamesh they gave him a perfect body. Shamash the glorious sun endowed him with beauty, Adad the god of the storm endowed him with courage, the great gods made his beauty perfect, surpassing all others, terrifying like a great wild bull. Two thirds they made him god and one third man. In Uruk he built walls, a great rampart, and the temple of blessed Eanna for the god of the firmament Anu, and for Ishtar the goddess of love. Look at it still today: the outer wall where the cornice runs, it shines with the brilliance of copper; and the inner wall, it has no equal. Touch the threshold, it is ancient. Approach Eanna the dwelling of Ishtar, our lady of love and war, the like of which no latter-day king, no man alive can equal. Climb upon the wall of Uruk; walk along it, I say; regard the foundation terrace and examine the. masonry: is it not burnt brick and good? The seven sages laid the foundations THE COMING OF ENKIDU GILGAMESH went abroad in the world, but he met with none who could withstand his arms till be came to Uruk. But the men...

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...Associate Level Material Bob Purcell Appendix B Price Elasticity and Supply & Demand Fill in the matrix below and describe how changes in price or quantity of the goods and services affect either supply or demand and the equilibrium price. Use the graphs from your book and the Tomlinson video tutorials as a tool to help you answer questions about the changes in price and quantity Event | Market affected by event | Shift in supply, demand, or both. Explain your answer. | Change in equilibrium | Frozen orange crops in California | Orange juice | Supply (left)—Not as many available oranges to offer consumers. | Price will increase and quantity will decrease. | Hurricanes in the Gulf Coast | Retail | Demand- food, water and emergency rescue. | Supply will increase and prices will decrease. | Cost of cotton decreases | cotton | Demand is higher due to lower prices and the supply lowers. | Price and quantity both decrease. | Technology improves efficiency in pasta manufacturing | pasta | Demand will remain the same and there will be little shift in supply. | Supply and demand are evenly balanced. | * 1. What do substitutes refer to in economics? Give an example of two substitutes. “When a fall in the price of one good reduces the demand for another good, the two goods are called substitutes” (Mankiw, 2007, p.68). Substitutes are goods that can be used to take the place of the other. For instance, if the price of Coca-Cola and Pepsi are high...

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...1. ------------------------------------------------- cupcake ------------------------------------------------- Ingredients • 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour • 1 1/3 cups sugar • 3 teaspoons baking powder • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 1/2 cup shortening • 1 cup milk • 1 teaspoon vanilla • 2 large eggs ------------------------------------------------- Easy Cupcake Recipe Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Add shortening, milk, and vanilla.  Beat for 1 minute on medium speed.  Scrape side of bowl with a spatula. Add eggs to the mixture.  Beat for 1 minute on medium speed.  Scrape bowl again.  Beat on high speed for 1 minute 30 seconds until well mixed. Spoon cupcake batter into paper liners until 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in pans then remove and place on wire racks to cool completely. Once cupcakes are completely cooled, frost with your favorite frosting recipe or decorate as you desire. 2. Cupcake ------------------------------------------------- Ingredients • 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted • 1 teaspoon vanilla • 2 large eggs • 2/3 cup butter, softened • 1 and 1/4 cup water • 2 and 1/4 cup all purpose flour • 1 and 3/4 cup sugar • 1 teaspoon baking powder • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda • 1/4 teaspoon salt ------------------------------------------------- ...

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...Insomnia I woke up, bathed in sweat. Once again a nightmare disturbed my night´s sleep. It was too early to early to get up, but I was restless. I knew I would not be able to fall asleep again, doesn´t matter how hard I´d try. I hated to get up at an unearthly hour! I rolled out of bed and trudged into the kitchen to have some lemonade. It was still dark outside and the windy weather made the trees outside scratch against my windows. The thought about my nightmare disgusted me. I drank my glass of lemonade at one go. Afterwards I went to the bathroom to get some cold water in my face to refresh up a bit. I looked myself in the eyes in the mirror with dislike, wondering why such nightmares were torturing me night after night. I hated myself for that, but could not help it anyway. All day long at work I was absent and worn out. All I could think about was that I wanted some sleep. I felt like I did not sleep a wink last night. Pictures from the nightmare whirled around in my head like an infinite movie. The whole day was a pure nightmare too, people looked strangely at me like I was a sick person instead of asking how I felt. But on the other hand I would not like to answer if they did anyway. None of their business. That night I lay in my bed and stared around in the room for indefinite time. I felt so tired, but I was afraid of falling asleep to get hunted by nightmares again. I thought about how I could make an end of this riot. I was sick and tired of that condition...

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...ALEXANDRIA UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF COMMERCE [pic] Organizational Behavior and Management Instructor: Dr. Aly A. Messallam Term Paper Impact of Motivation On Employee’s Performance & Turnover Prepared By: Amr A. Lotfy Table of content 1- Abstract ……………………………………………….3 2- Introduction………………………………………….4 3- Literature review………………………………….4 4- Motivation theories…………………………...…5 5- Turnover…………………………………..………….11 6- Performance Improvement and Appraisal for Employees……………..15 7- Existing situation………………………………..17 8- Conclusion and suggestions………………..18 9- References…………………………………………..19 1- Abstract In any organization employee motivation is the key factor for organizational performance. Since motivation influences productivity, managers need to understand what motivates employees to reach peak performance. It is not an easy task to increase employee motivation because employees respond in different ways to their jobs and their organization's practices. Managers pay a heavy price when employees have motivation problems. When high-performing employees have unresolved motivation issues, their performance either declines or they leave for another job. When poor-performing employees are not motivated to improve, they drag down results, reduce productivity among their team members and, worse, seldom leave because they have no place to go. Alexandria Mineral Oils Company (AMOC) is an industrial company working in the field of petroleum...

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...Wiki Loves Monuments: Photograph a monument, help Wikipedia and win! Production theory From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Production theory is the study of production, or the economic process of converting inputs into outputs. Production uses resources to create a good or service that is suitable for use, gift-giving in a gift economy, or exchange in a market economy. This can include manufacturing, storing, shipping, and packaging. Some economists define production broadly as all economic activity other than consumption. They see every commercial activity other than the final purchase as some form of production. Production is a process, and as such it occurs through time and space. Because it is a flow concept, production is measured as a “rate of output per period of time”. There are three aspects to production processes: 1. the quantity of the good or service produced, 2. the form of the good or service created, 3. The temporal and spatial distribution of the good or service produced. A production process can be defined as any activity that increases the similarity between the pattern of demand for goods and services, and the quantity, form, shape, size, length and distribution of these goods and services available to the market place. Contents * 1 Neoclassical Theory of Production * 1.1 Factors of production * 1.2 Total, average, and marginal product * 1.3 Diminishing returns * 1.4 Diminishing marginal returns...

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...Website: www.bangladesh-bank.org www.bangladeshbank.org.bd www.bb.org.bd Banking Regulation & Policy Department Bangladesh Bank Head Office Dhaka BRPD Circular No.02 Date: February 27, 2011 ---------------------Falgun 15, 1417 Chief Executives All Scheduled Banks in Bangladesh Policy Guidelines for Green Banking Introduction: We are aware that global warming is an issue that calls for a global response. The rapid change in climate will be too great to allow many eco-systems to suitably adapt, since the change have direct impact on biodiversity, agriculture, forestry, dry land, water resources and human health. Due to unusual weather pattern, rising greenhouse gas, declining air quality etc. society demands that business also take responsibility in safeguarding the planet. Green finance as a part of Green Banking makes great contribution to the transition to resource-efficient and low carbon industries i.e. green industry and green economy in general. Green banking is a component of the global initiative by a group of stakeholders to save environment. The state of environment in Bangladesh is rapidly deteriorating. The key areas of environmental degradation cover air pollution, water pollution and scarcity, encroachment of rivers, improper disposal of industrial medical and house-hold waste, deforestation, loss of open space and loss of biodiversity. In addition, Bangladesh is one of the most climate change vulnerable countries. In line with ...

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...Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank the entire OII team for their support of OxIS research. Our particular thanks to Prof. Helen Margetts, Dr Rebecca Eynon and Martin Dimov for their contributions to this report. We also wish to acknowledge Kunika Kono and David Sutcliffe for their design and editorial support of this report. For their early contributions to OxIS we would like to thank Prof. Richard Rose, Dr Adrian Shepherd, and Dr Corinna di Gennaro. All have helped shape the evolution of this research. We are grateful for the support of OxIS 2007 by the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE) and sponsorship of the OxIS 2007 Survey by The British Library, Cisco, Ofcom, and Talisma. Our colleagues from these sponsoring organisations have made valuable comments, helping to ensure that OxIS continues to address enduring as well as emerging issues of policy and practice. Please cite the source of text and data excerpts as: Dutton, W. and Helsper, E.J. (2007) The Internet in Britain: 2007. Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford (Oxford, UK). © The University of Oxford for the Oxford Internet Printed copies can be ordered from the enquiries assistant at: enquiries@oii.ox.ac.uk. Copies cost £5 each (to cover the cost of postage and handling). All orders should be sent along with full payment in UK Pounds Sterling to: Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 1 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3JS, United Kingdom. Please do not send cash. Cheques should be drawn...

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...Ozone Layer Depletion: Introduction Are we damaging our protective blanket? Sunlight contains some ultraviolet light, and when we expose ourselves to too much of it, we get a sunburn. Over time, too much exposure to ultraviolet light can lead to cataracts and skin cancer. The earth has a layer in the upper atmosphere, consisting mostly of ozone gas, that filters out most of the ultraviolet in the sun's radiation. Recently there has been scientific evidence that we have been releasing gases that damage this layer. Our country and others have reacted by invoking legislation that should eliminate these contaminants from the atmosphere.   What does the Ozone Layer do? * Ozone absorbs 99% of the harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Without the Ozone Layer * Most of the harmful UV radiation will penetrate the atmosphere. The Ozone Layer The ozone layer is a layer in Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone (O3). This layer absorbs 97-99% of the sun's high frequency ultraviolet light, which is potentially damaging to life on earth. Over 90% of ozone in earth's atmosphere is present here "Relatively high" means a few parts per million—much higher than the concentrations in the lower atmosphere but still small compared to the main components of the atmosphere. It is mainly located in the lower portion...

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...BINDURA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE EDUCATION FACULTY OF COMMERCE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS COURSE OUTLINE FOR ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES1 – EC101 Lecturers : A.Chingarande (0776326638), F. Tafirei (0772757491) & M. Mzumara (0712737723) Emails : achingarande@buse.ac.zw, ftafirei@buse.ac.zw & mmzumara@buse.ac.zw Consulting Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays 0900 Hrs – 1100Hrs or by appointment Venue : Office No H8 (Clinic Office) Main Campus Course Aims:   Provide a basis of factual knowledge of economics; Encourage the student to develop:  a facility for self-expression, not only in writing but also in using additional aids, such as statistics and diagrams, where appropriate;  the habit of using works of reference as sources of data specific to economics;  the habit of reading critically to gain information about the changing economy we live in; and  an appreciation of the methods of study used by the economist, and of the most effective ways economic data may be analysed, correlated, discussed and presented. Course Objectives:      Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the specified content; Interpret economic information presented in verbal, numerical or graphical form; Explain and analyse economic issues and arguments, using relevant economic concepts, theories and information; Evaluate economic information, arguments, proposals and policies, taking into consideration relevant information and theory, and distinguishing facts from hypothetical statements and value...

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