Purposeful Observation for Leadership. Jared R. Lancer, Ed.D.

Leadership challenge

There are school leaders grappling with requiring teacher conformity to a contemporary best practice teaching mathematics over evidence of higher achievement outcomes using a traditional approach focused on procedural knowledge. This type of focus raises several questions regarding the role of observation as a tool for purposeful leadership.?

History shows that the conception of leadership employed has the power to transform an organization. History also shows that changes in leadership can explain how a high performing organization for 20 years or more can revert back to its struggling past.

So, what type of change in leadership is needed to transform organizations and to maintain consistency and continuity through leadership successions and transitions into the future? How might leaders see and act differently? What is the role of observation and how can observation be used as a tool to create the type of change needed to move organizations forward?

To answer these questions requires an understanding of the traditional conception of leadership, which is absorbed within a culture of individualism and competition. Challenges are stumbled upon, focusing on detailed parts reflecting issues appearing to be unrelated and disconnected. Solutions proposed are narrowly defined and reflect surface level understandings. The traditional conception focuses on isolated concerns without recognition of how a range of seemingly separate problems are interrelated and converge to represent a more complex understanding. Thus, in traditional conceptions of leadership, the understanding of the problem is limited, making viable solutions beyond reach.

Leadership change

Given the significance of leadership, what type of change is needed to transform thinking and discourse to preserve and advance the overall impact of an organization in the community? The following provides three areas of focus for considering purposeful observation for leadership in (1) vision and purpose, (2) the curriculum and continuity, and (3) learner-centered policies and procedures.

Vision and purpose

Leadership to facilitate continuous progressive change requires a clear vision and purpose for schools and learning to improve conditions in the local community and world. A vision and purpose articulates particular patterns of reasoning, commitments and skills to be fostered in and among the learners in becoming particular kinds of people living in the community. A powerful vision further articulates an image of learning and explains how learning occurs and the role that learners play in the learning process.

With a clearly articulated vision and purpose for schools and learning, focused observation becomes clearer as leadership looks to identify representative examples of the vision and purpose. Purposeful observation seeks evidence of what is working and not working that is representative of this vision and purpose and also to identify representative examples of larger system level challenges.?Purposeful observation can determine the extent to which learning will develop the citizenry necessary for meaningful participation in a democratic society as a core function of public education.

What role do learners play in the learning process and how does this comport with the organizational vision and purpose for learning and image of learners? What is it that learners are trying to figure out and to what end??How are learners processing the learning? What meaning do students impose on the learning and what purpose do learners find in it??How do learners apply learning and knowledge in the community and for what particular purposes? To what degree is the learning developing depth of knowledge and an informed perspective among learners? To what degree are learners engaged in inquiry, research and investigation to define and solve real problems impacting the community and world? How might one describe the dialogue that takes place among learners? How does this dialogue compare with the vision and purpose for schools and the image of learners in the learning process?

Documentation of evidence and the identification of patterns through this type of observation over time reflects a portrait of what is working and not working for students. The documentation reveals patterns in terms of practice that aligns with the organizational vision and purpose. Most importantly, purposeful observation develops an understanding of the deeper structure of the organization of schools and patterns of behavior. Purposeful observation equips leaders with a more sophisticated and holistic understanding of the organizational system and supporting processes.?This understanding provides a pathway for posing thoughtful questions and facilitating dialogue to promote continuous improvement.??

Curriculum and continuity

In schools, it may appear through observation that some teaching and classrooms appear orderly with higher levels of student engagement while others appear to be more didactic with less student engagement. And there are examples of schools where leaders may believe based upon observation that every classroom appears highly engaging for students, yet the majority of learners are not meeting grade level expectations in reading. How can this be the case?

This is an interesting way of thinking about leadership and the role of observation. Contrast this practice with a system leader who possesses a depth of understanding of the curriculum and specific learning experiences that will foster particular student competencies and skills towards graduation. This system leader spends time organizing systems and structures with purposeful workgroups that are developing greater curriculum coherence and continuity with goals for identifying improvements and adjustments. Major learning outcomes achieved through these core learning experiences will equip students with essential skills and competencies along a progression according to articulated plans towards graduation. This system leader has created a structure for articulating curriculum continuity and maintains a complete understanding of the student outcomes data of each school across a network over the last twenty years.

Thus, observation guided by a clear vision and purpose for the schools and students and learning, focuses attention on the continuity and deeper structure operating within schools. If the schools are to improve conditions in the community, what is it about the qualities of the learning experiences and progression over time for students that will make this so? To what extent do curriculum learning experiences engage learners in applying disciplinary concepts and processes in the community to address real challenges? And so, how learning may appear at any particular moment in time becomes less relevant. More importantly, it is coming to see what the actual plans are for the curriculum and how those plans are enacted in ways that foster particular habits of mind among the learners.

Thus, purposeful observation for leadership can result in developing greater curriculum coherence and continuity in the schools. Purposeful observation and documentation, in conjunction with supporting structures for engaging in inquiry and dialogue with teams, can lead to identifying major challenges and adjustments in the planned and enacted curriculum. Leadership can foster this type of continuity aligned with the organizational vision and purpose for the schools. Leadership can in turn articulate the agency’s major learning outcomes, major learning experiences and what will count as evidence for students in each grade level and for every course in the schools. System and school leadership can use observation to continuously improve this articulation and representation for greater impact and effectiveness. Purposeful observation promotes this type of coherence and continuity of the curriculum to accomplish the major goals and vision for students and to achieve the intended impact in the local community.

Learner-centered policies and procedures

Purposeful observation requires leaders to focus careful attention to students – the way they walk, the ways students interact among each other and the relationships they have with their teachers. Close observation of students and their responses and body language provides clues into how they are processing information and their perspectives as well as level of comfort in the learning environment.

This lens into understanding dynamic student interaction and response patterns through careful observation provides opportunities to determine the extent to which the vision and purpose and organizational core values guide all relationships. This type of focus for observation can result in identifying – through the lens of the students – the adjustments needed to better realize the vision and purpose and achieve the intended impact for the long-term benefit of students and the community.

Purposeful observation may further take notice for example of the presence and operationalization of procedures for documenting learner responses to teaching practice. Purposeful observation may take notice of the presence, structure and process used in schools to discuss what is working and not working for students based upon the evidence obtained from documentation. Finally, purposeful observation may take notice of whether there is a way of keeping track of struggling students in classrooms or if there are routines employed for developing and using a depth of knowledge of learners in teaching practice.

Conclusion

In conclusion, traditional conceptions of leadership do not optimize student success and promote discontinuity and organizational instability. The foregoing outlines priorities for purposeful observation for leadership focused on (1) vision and purpose, (2) curriculum and continuity and (3) student-centered policies and procedures. As a result, leaders are better positioned to strategically move organizations forward with greater consistency and continuity to achieve the intended outcomes and impact for students and the community into the future.?

Jared R. Lancer ? Copyright 2022