Understanding Thyself as Educator and Overseer of Instruction
Effective instructional supervision begins with knowing yourself as an effective educator. Most effective supervisors once held the role of educators and commonly abide by their successes and beliefs from when they were in the classroom. They often carry their educational theories and philosophies with them into their supervisory roles.
However, as an educational supervisor, you must be confident with best practices and procedures to provide a platform where teaching effectiveness can be assessed, supported, and escalated to the next level. Effective instructional supervision stems from a supervisor who is confident with their instructional practices and has past successes as an educator. Being able to provide successful feedback and guidance to educators, which is based on successful past and/or current practices and grounded in theoretical research, is an essential component for effective supervision.
Effective educational leaders continue to improve instruction and seek to gain an understanding of how your thinking, beliefs about education, and effectiveness as an educator can have a direct impact on the effectiveness among those supervised. The supervisory beliefs must be interrelated and connected to your educational philosophy, which supports effective instruction.
As depicted by Glickman, Gordon, and Ross-Gordon (2017), knowing yourself as a supervisor is necessary to consider alternative educational practices and procedures. As an educational leader, moving from one level to the next requires self-reflection and an understanding of your abilities as a leader.
In your past experiences as an educator, was the feedback provided by a particular supervisor beneficial to you? Was the supervisor respected as an effective educator, and was the guidance provided practical? Positive experiences from a supervisor are long-lasting, whereas everyone supervised has unique needs and preferences. However, often, educators have experienced some form of supervision which may have been negative, unhelpful, or not practical. As educators may have different skills, instructional talents, or deficiencies, the level of instructional supervision varies. In other words, what works for one educator may differ greatly from what will be effective for others.
One of the deceptively simple steps in preparing to supervise education professionals is to gain a professional perspective on your own experiences as a supervisee. If the supervisor can reflect upon their experiences as a teacher and associates the experiences as being positive, they may understand all teachers may have the same needs and preferences. This will allow for supervision to be a simple and beneficial practice. However, educators may not always welcome the critique from a supervisor due to past negative experience(s) with a different supervisor.
Be sure to review this week’s resources carefully. You are expected to apply the information from these resources when you prepare your assignments. As you read the required chapters in your text, reflect on the following:
Which supervisory behaviors best align with a positive experience you have had working with a supervisor? Which behavior(s) aligns best with your current or anticipated supervisory capacity? Assess your personal educational philosophy and supervisory beliefs with assessment instruments provided by the textbook authors in Chapter 6 (Glickman, Gordon, & Ross-Gordon, 2017).
Reference
Glickman, C. D., Gordon, S. P., & Ross-Gordon, J. M. (2017). SuperVision and instructional leadership: A developmental approach (10th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.Understanding Thyself as Educator and Overseer of Instruction
Effective instructional supervision begins with knowing yourself as an effective educator. Most effective supervisors once held the role of educators and commonly abide by their successes and beliefs from when they were in the classroom. They often carry their educational theories and philosophies with them into their supervisory roles.
However, as an educational supervisor, you must be confident with best practices and procedures to provide a platform where teaching effectiveness can be assessed, supported, and escalated to the next level. Effective instructional supervision stems from a supervisor who is confident with their instructional practices and has past successes as an educator. Being able to provide successful feedback and guidance to educators, which is based on successful past and/or current practices and grounded in theoretical research, is an essential component for effective supervision.
Effective educational leaders continue to improve instruction and seek to gain an understanding of how your thinking, beliefs about education, and effectiveness as an educator can have a direct impact on the effectiveness among those supervised. The supervisory beliefs must be interrelated and connected to your educational philosophy, which supports effective instruction.
As depicted by Glickman, Gordon, and Ross-Gordon (2017), knowing yourself as a supervisor is necessary to consider alternative educational practices and procedures. As an educational leader, moving from one level to the next requires self-reflection and an understanding of your abilities as a leader.
In your past experiences as an educator, was the feedback provided by a particular supervisor beneficial to you? Was the supervisor respected as an effective educator, and was the guidance provided practical? Positive experiences from a supervisor are long-lasting, whereas everyone supervised has unique needs and preferences. However, often, educators have experienced some form of supervision which may have been negative, unhelpful, or not practical. As educators may have different skills, instructional talents, or deficiencies, the level of instructional supervision varies. In other words, what works for one educator may differ greatly from what will be effective for others.
One of the deceptively simple steps in preparing to supervise education professionals is to gain a professional perspective on your own experiences as a supervisee. If the supervisor can reflect upon their experiences as a teacher and associates the experiences as being positive, they may understand all teachers may have the same needs and preferences. This will allow for supervision to be a simple and beneficial practice. However, educators may not always welcome the critique from a supervisor due to past negative experience(s) with a different supervisor.
Be sure to review this week’s resources carefully. You are expected to apply the information from these resources when you prepare your assignments. As you read the required chapters in your text, reflect on the following:
Which supervisory behaviors best align with a positive experience you have had working with a supervisor? Which behavior(s) aligns best with your current or anticipated supervisory capacity? Assess your personal educational philosophy and supervisory beliefs with assessment instruments provided by the textbook authors in Chapter 6 (Glickman, Gordon, & Ross-Gordon, 2017).
