Role of Administrators

“Our current crisis demonstrates that the nation’s outdated approach to teaching and learning in K-12 education is no longer the right tool for the task of ensuring each child graduates and has the requisite skills for lifelong learning, critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity,”

~Susan Patrick, Aurora Institute president and CEO

As we return back to school, it is evident that we must shift our mindset. Student learning gaps will be evident at the start of school and how they enter classrooms will be different than prior years.

Following tried and true educational principles will be essential: increased colleague collaboration, identifying learning gaps (best practice always grounded in assessment) at beginning of year, but also at beginning of new unit, developing plan for virtual classrooms, identifying steps to address acceleration, remediation, social and emotional needs, etc.

The Principal as Leader

  • Communicate expectations for staff:

    • keep expectations high, but realistic

    • rethink starting points for each grade level/course

    • identify and communicate teaching principles for online learning, see Chickering and Gamson's "seven core principles" below

    • provide Professional Development

  • Provide guidance on specific classroom setup

    • Provide clear examples of good classroom organization

    • View classroom from a parent and student perspective

    • Consider teaming staff members to coteach: those with strong tech skills with those with strong face to face skills

  • Identify specific online tools for teachers to use for consistency

  • Provide specific guidance as to curriculum expectations

    • Unified assessments to identify learning gaps/deficits

    • Identify pacing for standards completion

      • opportunities for compacting, enrichment, acceleration, remediation, personalized learning

    • Determine what is best done in person via what is best done at home

  • Set expectations for student and teacher engagement

    • What will this look like?

      • video of teacher teaching x days/week, Discussion boards, informal assessments, etc.

  • Have access to each online classroom

    • Be visible in classroom

  • Provide appropriate professional development on online student engagement, active learning techniques, giving prompt feedback, etc.

Teaching Principles for Online Learning

1. Encourage student-faculty contact.

2. Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students.

3. Use active learning techniques.

4. Give prompt feedback.

5. Emphasize time-on-task.

6. Communicate high expectations.

7. Respect diverse talents and ways of learning.


The Principal as Supervisor

  • Ensure compliance of expectations set

  • Evaluate online course design

  • Observe online teaching

  • Evaluate online teaching

    • see evaluation tools below as option

  • Monitor student achievement

Synch-Online-CET-Course-Design-Syllabus-Review-Checklist.docx
CET-Sync-Online-Teaching-Observation-Checklist-.docx

Chickering and Gamson's "seven core principles" for good teaching

The Principal as Communicator

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place,”

~George Bernard Shaw

  • Routinely communicate with staff expectations, goals, process, procedures

  • Schedule routine grade level/team meetings:

    • effectiveness of digital platform

    • review parent survey data, implement changes as needed

    • review assessment data, should inform future teaching (and style of online instruction)

    • curriculum audits to include pacing

  • Routinely communicate with families.

    • Consider:

      • Virtual meetings with parents

      • Virual trainings for parents: step by step of digital tools, online environment, what to expect from teachers, what we expect from students, online grading

      • Parent surveys to gather input, feedback and needs

Resources


EL_Special_Report_April_15_2020.pdf
iNCL_NationalPrimerv22010-web1.pdf
national-standards-for-quality-online-teaching-v2.pdf
iNACOL_promising-practices-in-online-learning-management-and-operations.pdf
iNACOL_Quality_Metrics.pdf

Research/Articles

Taylor, A. H. (2010). A peer review guide for online courses at Penn State. http://facdev.e-education.psu.edu/sites/default/files/PeerReview_OnlineCourses_PSU_Guide_Form_28Sept2010.pdf.

Tobin, T. J. (2004). Best practices for administrative evaluation of online faculty. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration 7(2). https://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/summer72/tobin72.html.

Tobin, T.J. The eLearning Leader's Toolkit for Evaluating Online Teaching. http://mathcs.duq.edu/~tobin/cv/20171101%20AECT%20Spring%20Book%20Chapter%20Tobin.pdf

Betts, K. (2013). Lost in translation: Importance of effective communication in online education. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration 16(2). https://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/summer122/betts122.html.

Tobin, T. J. Don’t Tell the Faculty: Administrators’ Secrets to Evaluating Online Teaching. https://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall183/tobin183.html

Jenkins, Adam (2015) A Roadmap for Evaluating Online Teaching. https://dl.acm.org/doi/fullHtml/10.1145/2816811.2815650

Tobin, T.J. (March 2020). Now is Not the Time to Assess Online Learning. http://mathcs.duq.edu/~tobin/cv/20200326.Chronicle.Now.Is.Not.The.Time.pdf