SamTastic Weekly Tip: 9/28/20 - “A title is only a word. It is your actions that matter.”

This week’s tip: “A title is only a word. It is your actions that matter.”

Your actions are what people remember. Being a leader, rather than a manager, requires planning and forethought. It is why the SAM process, the SAM Daily Meeting and your TimeTrack data are so powerful together.

A good SAM asks the leader if the walkthrough, or another of the four kinds of seeing instruction, was completed. The SAM is very good if the next question is about follow-up... even better if the question is:

1. “What did you see in the classroom that impressed you? What did the teacher do that shows improvement?”

2. “Did you see a student who impressed you? What ‘good learning behavior’ did you notice?”

3. “What did you see that tells you what you should do at the next staff meeting? Grade level or department meeting? PLC?”

When a school community sees the person with the title “principal” become actively involved in learning, the principal becomes the leader.. .not just the manager.

Good SAMs always ask one question from the TimeTrack dashboard during the Daily Meeting. Any question can work as it helps the leader think about next steps with each teacher.

SamTastic Weekly Tip: 9/21/20 - You can improve practice in six steps

This week’s tip: You can improve practice in six steps.

Schedule six events over a two week period with one teacher for a positive change of practice.

During your SAM Daily Meeting identify a teacher you would like to spend time with to improve a specific teaching practice. Then strategize on what would help. Think about how the events you schedule need to “connect”. A Walk-through or Observation needs to connect with a Feedback session. A feedback session needs to connect with a seeing instruction event.

But doesn’t a Professional Development session need to connect with the Walk-through and Feedback session, too? How about a Teaching and Modeling session for the teacher followed by Non-Directive Feedback session and then an Observation to see if the teacher is able to use the techniques modeled?

Make sure to schedule a Celebration Feedback session when your principal sees the change of practice you set out to accomplish.

SamTastic Weekly Tip: 9/14/20 - You have to see to understand

This week’s tip: You have to see to understand.

“Seeing” instruction sounds easy. It takes a sincere effort to connect with a teacher for it to be meaningful. SAMs ask their leader what kind of seeing instruction they’d like to schedule:

• Observation

• Walkthrough Work with Students

• Student Supervision

Work with Students, is popular with teachers as the leader works with a student or group while watching a teacher deliver a lesson. This allows a leader to engage with the content, work with a student and see the teacher, teach. Teacher’s like it as they have another adult helping. Kids like it because they get time with the principal. Principals like it because they now have experiences they can use to better understand how to assist the teacher.

A new SAM team in Iowa, Erik Garnass and Kristy Lorber at Bondurant-Farrar High School, decided to do a weekly drawing with the winner getting to “borrow” the principal for a class period. The teachers love it. Everyone wins with this novel take on the third kind of seeing instruction, Work with Students.