Instructional Climate

The instructional climate of a campus is different than the culture. It’s different than the overall school climate. The instructional climate is the feeling of the teaching staff toward the instructional programs. That feeling is affected by school leadership, student success, and collective teacher efficacy.

At a distance without norms

In a building, we can walk through classrooms. In the hallways, we can be visible and hold conversations. At bus duty, we can high five and...

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Summer Slide Starting Early

Several op-ed articles have been published warning of the impact of an early summer slide due to the current educational shutdown. They often posit that a...

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Changing Teachers vs Changing Leaders

If you Google the phrase “changing teachers,” it will return 472,000,000 results. If you Google “changing school leaders,” it will return 658,000,000 results. Most of the...

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Imagine Classrooms That Are Filled With…

Imagine classrooms that are filled with students who: Choose to be in that classroom for a specific purpose. Laugh and cry as their creations inspire, compel,...

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Persist in Doing

Yesterday’s post focused on the permission to struggle, but why is that important to learning? Ralph Waldo Emerson gave an explanation some time ago: “That which...

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Permission to Struggle

For teams, it’s the fringe of conflict where creativity is found. For individuals, it’s in the struggle where learning occurs. However, no one wants to be...

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Questions that Build Instructional Systems

Managing the curriculum and instruction is different than leading curricular development or leading instructional change. Listen to these 18 Questions in 8 Minutes Consider these questions...

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Education, Teachers, Skinner

Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten. – BF Skinner Sometimes it’s a great way to show appreciation to teachers by...

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Engines, Grease, and Climate

Three metaphors: Engine = school culture Grease = school climate Pipes = communication The thing about Porsche and BMW fans…they love their engines. Engines make the...

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Three Factors of Instructional Climate

In yesterday’s post, the instructional climate was compared to the soil of a garden. How do you impact the instructional climate? Focus on three areas: Improving...

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