Balanced Leadership:
School Leadership that Works™
Choosing the Right Focus
Option 1: Additional Factors That
Impact Student Achievement
1
Session outcomes
1. Understanding of the relationship between
choosing the right focus and student
achievement.
2. Understanding of research-based school
and classroom practices and student-level
characteristics and how they relate.
3. Increased knowledge about researchbased leadership responsibilities
associated with choosing the right focus.
4. Understanding of the importance of
alignment.
2
Overview
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Welcome back, Community Circle
Parent & Community Involvement
Safe and orderly Environment
Collegiality and Professionalism
Instructional Strategies
Classroom Management
Home Environment
Student Motivation
3
Responsibilities primarily
associated with focus of
change
(p.7)
•
•
•
•
Contingent Rewards
Discipline
Focus
Involvement in Curriculum, Instruction,
Assessment
• Order
• Outreach
• Resources
4
Influences on student learning
(p.8)
LEADERSHIP
Classroom
Student
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum
Challenging Goals and Effective Feedback
Parent and Community Involvement
Safe and Orderly Environment
Collegiality and Professionalism
6.
7.
8.
Instructional Strategies
Classroom Management
Classroom Curriculum Design
9. Home Environment
10. Learned Intelligence/Background Knowledge
11. Motivation
LEADERSHIP
LEADERSHIP
School
LEADERSHIP
5
Research-based school practices
What Works in Schools
(practices)
A New Era of School Reform
(factors)
Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum
• Alignment
• Time
Challenging Goals and
Effective Feedback
• Monitoring
• Pressure to Achieve
Parent and Community
Involvement
• Parent Involvement
Safe and Orderly Environment
• School Climate
Collegiality and Professionalism
• Communication and Decision Making
• Cooperation
(Marzano, 2000a; 2003)
6
School-level practices
(p.18)
AVERAGE
EFFECT SIZE
PERCENTILE
GAIN
Alignment
0.88
31
Time
0.39
15
Monitoring
0.30
12
Pressure to Achieve
0.27
11
Parental Involvement
0.26
10
School Climate
0.22
8
Communication and
Decision Making
0.10
4
Cooperation
0.06
2
SCHOOL FACTORS
(Marzano, 2000a)
7
School-level practices
(p.26)
• Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum
• Challenging Goals and Effective Feedback
• Parent and Community Involvement
• Safe and Orderly Environment
• Collegiality and Professionalism
(Marzano, 2003)
8
Parent and community
involvement
(p.26)
Parental involvement – the extent
to which parents are involved in
and supportive of the culture and
operating procedures of the
school
(Marzano, 2003)
9
Parent and community
involvement
(p.27)
•
•
•
Parents are invited and genuinely
encouraged to become involved in the
school.
Parents are involved as classroom aides,
monitor school activities, and are used as
expert resources in classrooms.
Parents are included in school-level
governance processes and decisions
when appropriate.
10
Family Involvement
Research shows that family
involvement results in:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Higher grades
Better attendance
More positive attitudes toward school
Higher graduation rate
Greater enrollment in college
(Henderson and Berla, 2004)
11
National PTA Standards
1. Meaningful, two-way communication between
home and school
2. Parenting Skills are promoted and supported
3. Parents assist their children in learning
4. Volunteering
5. Parents are involved in school-based decision
making and advocacy
6. Community resources support schools, families
and learning
(Joyce Epstein)
12
School-level practices
(p.27)
AVERAGE
EFFECT SIZE
PERCENTILE
GAIN
Alignment
0.88
31
Time
0.39
15
Monitoring
0.30
12
Pressure to Achieve
0.27
11
Parental Involvement
0.26
10
School Climate
0.22
8
Communication and
Decision Making
0.10
4
Cooperation
0.06
2
SCHOOL FACTORS
(Marzano, 2000a)
13
Parent & Community Involvement
Action Steps
1.
Establish vehicles for communication
between schools and parents and the
community.
All communications should be issued in the major
languages of the school’s linguistically diverse
students.
Phone calls, Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences,
Internet
14
Parent & Community Involvement
Action Steps
2.
Establish multiple ways for parents and
community to be involved in the day-today operations of the school.
Classroom aides, hallway monitors, clerical
assistants, guest lecturers
Volunteer programs
15
Parent & Community Involvement
Action Steps
3.
Establish governance vehicles that
allow for the involvement of parents
and community members.
School improvement (leadership) teams, other
structures
16
Table Talk
How are parents involved in your school…
as partners in their own child’s learning?
as volunteers?
in school governance?
Which leadership responsibilities are most
important in managing parent involvement at your
school?
17
School-level practices
(p.28)
• Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum
• Challenging Goals and Effective Feedback
• Parent and Community Involvement
• Safe and Orderly Environment
• Collegiality and Professionalism
(Marzano, 2003)
18
Safe and orderly environment
(p.28)
School climate – the extent to
which a school creates an
atmosphere that students perceive
as orderly and supportive
(Marzano, 2003)
19
Safe and orderly environment
(p.29)
•
Students and teachers know and
understand expected behaviors.
•
Consequences are clear, fair, and
consistently applied.
•
Students are taught self-discipline
and to assume responsibility for the
quality of the learning environment.
20
School-level practices
(p.29)
AVERAGE
EFFECT SIZE
PERCENTILE
GAIN
Alignment
0.88
31
Time
0.39
15
Monitoring
0.30
12
Pressure to Achieve
0.27
11
Parental Involvement
0.26
10
School Climate
0.22
8
Communication and
Decision Making
0.10
4
Cooperation
0.06
2
SCHOOL FACTORS
(Marzano, 2000a)
21
Safe and Orderly Environment
Action Steps
1.
Establish rules and procedures for
behavioral problems that might be
caused by the school’s physical
characteristics or the school’s routines.
Prevention strategies
22
Safe and Orderly Environment
Action Steps
2.
Establish clear school-wide rules and
procedures for general behavior.
Communicate rules and procedures to students in a
highly visible manner.
23
Safe and Orderly Environment
Action Steps
3.
Establish and enforce appropriate
consequences for violations of rules
and procedures.
24
Safe and Orderly Environment
Action Steps
4.
Establish a program that teaches selfdiscipline and responsibility to
students.
25
Safe and Orderly Environment
Action Steps
5.
Establish a system that allows for the
early detection of students who have
high potential for violence and
extreme behaviors.
26
Table Discussion
How are you creating a safe and
orderly environment at your school?
Which leadership responsibilities do
you use?
Consider how you (1) establish schoolwide rules
and procedures, (2) determine and apply
appropriate consequences for violation of rules,
(3) teach students self-discipline, and (4) identify
students at risk for violence or extreme behavior.
27
School-level practices
(p.30)
• Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum
• Challenging Goals and Effective Feedback
• Parent and Community Involvement
• Safe and Orderly Environment
• Collegiality and Professionalism
(Marzano, 2003)
28
Collegiality and professionalism
(p.30)
Communication and decision making – the
extent to which the school leader is an
information provider and facilitates group
decision making
Cooperation – the extent to which staff
members in a school support one another
by sharing resources, ideas, and solutions
to common problems
(Marzano, 2003)
29
Collegiality and professionalism
(p.31)
•
Norms and standards for
professional conduct are formalized
and modeled by teachers and staff.
•
Effort and quality performance are
the basis for recognition.
30
School-level practices
(p.31)
AVERAGE
EFFECT SIZE
PERCENTILE
GAIN
Alignment
0.88
31
Time
0.39
15
Monitoring
0.30
12
Pressure to Achieve
0.27
11
Parental Involvement
0.26
10
School Climate
0.22
8
Communication and
Decision Making
0.10
4
Cooperation
0.06
2
SCHOOL FACTORS
(Marzano, 2000a)
31
Professionalism & Internal
Accountability
• “Schools do not ‘succeed’ in responding to
external cues or pressures unless they
have their own internal system for reaching
agreement evident in organization and
pedagogy…they have a strong internal
focus on issues of instruction, student
learning and expectations for teacher and
student performance.”
-- Richard Elmore (2004)
32
Internal Accountability
• “…there is a high degree of alignment among
individual teachers about what they can do and
about their responsibility for the improvement of
student learning. Such schools also have shared
expectations among teachers, administrators and
students about what constitutes good work and a
set of processes for observing whether these
expectations are being met.” (Richard Elmore,
2004)
Expectations, individual responsibility to act, and
accountability are aligned and collectively held
and reinforced= internal accountability.
33
School Climate Audit
34
Classroom-level practices
(p.42)
• Instructional Strategies
• Classroom Management
• Classroom Curriculum Design
(Marzano, 2003)
35
Nine categories of
instructional strategies
(p.43)
Effect
Size
Percentile
Gain
Identifying similarities and differences
1.61
45
Summarizing and note taking
1.00
34
Reinforcing effort and providing recognition
0.80
29
Homework and practice
0.77
28
Nonlinguistic representations
0.75
27
Cooperative learning
0.73
27
Setting goals and providing feedback
0.61
23
Generating and testing hypotheses
0.61
23
Activating prior knowledge
0.59
22
Category
(Marzano, 2000a)
36
Research-based
instructional strategies
(p.43)
• Research-based instructional
strategies, classroom management, and
curriculum design is the primary focus
of school improvement.
• Ongoing professional development
enhances teachers’ use of researchbased instructional strategies,
curriculum design, and classroom
management practices.
37
Modified jigsaw
(p.44)
In teams of three:
1. Become an expert on three instructional
categories.
2. Share the key ideas for the assigned
instructional categories.
3. Illustrate effective uses of the key ideas
with classroom examples.
38
Small-group debrief
(p.59)
1.
How would you help teachers gain
expertise in these instructional
categories?
2.
How would you monitor these
instructional categories?
39
What is classroom curriculum
design?
• Classroom curriculum design is….
• The sequencing and pacing of
content along with the experiences
students have with content.
• Under the purview of the classroom
teacher.
• Based on a guaranteed and viable
curriculum.
40
Curriculum Sequence Guide
Grade Level:
Subject/Course:
Standard
Benchmarks
Declarative
Procedural
9 weeks
Time Frame
Instructional Practices/Strategies
Required
Setting Objectives
Providing Feedback
Reinforcing Effort
Key Vocabulary
Terms/Phrases
9 weeks
9 weeks
Recommended Research-Based Strategy
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
9 weeks
Other Strategies
Comparison
Classification
Summarizing
Note taking
Graphic organizers
Questions
Cues
Advance organizers
Decision-making
Problem solving
Assessment Methods
□
□
□
□
True/False
Multiple Choice
Essay
Performance
□ Constructed Response
□ Personal Communication
□ Teacher Observation
□ Oral Reports
□ Student Self-Assessment
Resources
41
Instructional Sequence Framework
Determining a
focus for
learning
Activating
background
knowledge
Learning new content
Extending and
refining
knowledge
Classroom
Curriculum
Design
Learning is enhanced
when a teacher
identifies types of
knowledge that are
the focus for the
lesson or unit
Learning requires
engagement in tasks
that are structured or
are sufficiently similar
to allow for effective
transfer of knowledge
Learning requires multiple
exposures to and complex
interactions with
knowledge
Learning requires
complex interactions
with knowledge
Classroom
Instruction
that Works


Learning is enhanced when a teacher identifies the
specific types of knowledge that are the focus of the
lesson or unit
Learning requires engagement in tasks that are
structures or are sufficiently similar to allow for
effective transfer of knowledge
Learning requires multiple exposures to knowledge
Declarative
Procedural

Non-linguistic

Homework &
representations
practice
o Graphic organizers 
Model steps &
o Mnemonics
provide written
o Physical &
steps
pictographic

Think aloud
representations

Mental

Cues, questions, &
rehearsal
advance organizers

Graphic

SQ3R
organizer

Advanced organizer

Feedback

Summarizing

Massed &

Note-taking
distributed

Three minute pause
practice

Reciprocal teaching

Chart
accuracy &

KWL
speed

Vocabulary

Similarities &
Differences
Summarizing &
note-taking
Homework &
practice
Questions

Analyzing errors
Analyzing
perspectives
Constructing support
Induction &
Deduction
Classification
Comparison
Analogies



Dimensions
of Learning




Setting
objectives
Feedback
Effort
Recognition
Types of
knowledge:
-declarative
-procedural

Attitudes and
perceptions
Cues,
questions&
advance
organizers

Cooperative
learning

Non-linguistic
representations

Vocabulary
Attitudes and
perceptions










Using
knowledge
meaningfully






Generating &
testing
hypotheses
Summarizing
Recognition
Decision making
Investigation
Experimental
inquiry
Problem solving
Invention
System Analysis
Attitudes and
perceptions
42
Classroom curriculum design
(p.60)
Learning is enhanced when teachers identify
important declarative and procedural
knowledge.
Learning requires tasks that are structured for
effective transfer of knowledge.
Learning requires multiple exposure to and
complex interactions with knowledge tasks that
are structured for effective transfer of
knowledge.
(Marzano, 2003)
43
Classroom Management
“Classroom Management is the
confluence of teacher actions in 4
distinct areas: (1) establishing and
enforcing rules and procedures, (2)
carrying out disciplinary actions, (3)
maintaining effective teacher and
student relationships, and (4)
maintaining an appropriate mental set
for management.” (Marzano, 2003)
44
Effects of Disciplinary Techniques
on Classroom Behavior
Technique
Average Effect Size
Number of Effect
Sizes
Percent Decrease in
Disruptive Behavior
Reinforcement
0.86
101
31
Punishment
0.78
40
25
No immediate
consequence
0.64
70
24
Punishment
and
Reinforcement
0.97
12
33
Source: Stage, S.A. & Quiroz, D.R. (1997). A meta-analysis of interventions to
decrease disruptive classroom behavior in public education settings.
School Psychology Review, 26 (3) 333-368.
45
Teacher-Student Relationships
“ Briefly, teachers should be effective instructors
and lecturers, as well as friendly, helpful and
congenial. They should be able to empathize with
students, understand their world, and listen to
them. Good teachers are not uncertain, undecided,
or confusing in the way they communicate with
students. They are not grouchy, gloomy,
dissatisfied, aggressive, sarcastic, or quicktempered. They should be able to set standards
and maintain control while still allowing students
responsibility and freedom to learn.” (Wubbels,
Brekelmans, van Tartwijk, & Admiral, 1999)
46
Appropriate Mental Set
The appropriate mental set for a classroom
teacher has two essential and distinguishing
features:
(1) Withitness (the disposition of the
teacher to quickly and accurately identify problem
behavior and act on it)
(2) Emotional Objectivity (implements
and enforces rules and procedures, executes
disciplinary actions and cultivates effective
relationships with students without becoming
upset if students violate classroom rules and
procedures.)
47
Classroom Management
Action Steps
1. Have teachers articulate and enforce a
comprehensive set of classroom rules and
procedures.
2. Have teachers use specific strategies that
reinforce appropriate behavior and recognize and
provide consequences for inappropriate behavior.
3. Institute a schoolwide approach to discipline.
4. Help teachers develop a balance of moderate
dominance and moderate cooperation in their
dealings with students.
48
Classroom Management
Action Steps, cont.
5. Provide teachers with an awareness of the needs
of different types of students and ways of
alleviating those needs. (Five different types of
students: Passive, Aggressive, Attention
Problems, Perfectionist, Socially rejected)
6. Have teachers employ specific strategies to
maintain or heighten their awareness regarding
the actions of students in their classes
(“withitness”).
7. Have teachers employ specific strategies that help
them maintain a healthy emotional objectivity with
their students.
49
Table Talk
Consider the elements of a purposeful
community: outcomes that matter to all,
agreed upon processes, use of all assets
and collective efficacy, and how they might
be used to enhance teachers’ classroom
management skills in your building.
Identify key leadership responsibilities you
would use to improve teachers’ classroom
management skills.
50
Student-level characteristics
(p.61)
• Home Environment
• Learned Intelligence and Background
Knowledge
• Student Motivation
(Marzano, 2003)
51
Factors Associated with SES
Factor
Correlation
PAV
Income
.315
9.92%
Education
Occupation
Home atmosphere
52
Factors Associated with SES
Factor
Correlation
PAV
Income
.315
9.92%
Education
.185
3.24%
Occupation
Home atmosphere
53
Factors Associated with SES
Factor
Correlation
PAV
Income
.315
9.92%
Education
.185
3.24%
Occupation
.201
4.04%
Home atmosphere
54
Factors Associated with SES
Factor
Correlation
PAV
Income
.315
9.92%
Education
.185
3.24%
Occupation
.201
4.04%
Home atmosphere
.577
33.29%
55
Home Environment
A school cannot change the income, education, or
occupation of adults in the home, but it can have a
potential impact on the atmosphere in the home.
“The average correlation between home
environment and student achievement is 0.33,
indicating that the home environment accounts for
10.89 percent of the variance in student
achievement.” (Fan and Chen, 2001)
56
Home Environment
Three elements of home environment:
(1) communication about school, (average
correlation between this element and academic
achievement = 0.17)
(2) supervision, (average correlation with
academic achievement= 0.13), and
(3) parental expectations and parenting
styles (average correlation with academic
achievement = 0.39)
57
Home Environment
Action Step
1. Provide training and support to parents to
enhance their communication with their children
about school, their supervision of their children
(homework), and their ability to communicate
expectations to their children within the context of
an effective parenting style.
58
Learned intelligence and
background knowledge
(p.61)
Crystallized intelligence – learned
knowledge about the world
Background knowledge – prior
knowledge about a specific domain
Learned intelligence can be enhanced
through vocabulary instruction.
(Marzano, 2003)
59
Three actions for learned
intelligence and background
knowledge
(p.62)
1.
Increase the number and quality of life
experiences students have.
2.
Emphasize vocabulary through wide
reading.
3.
Provide direct vocabulary instruction
in specific content areas.
(Marzano, 2003)
60
Vocabulary link
(p.63)
Discipline
Contingent
Reward
Outreach
61
Student Motivation
• “ We have forgotten many important truths
about human motivation. Study after study
confirms that people are motivated by work
that provides growth, recognition,
meaning, and good relationships…we want
to learn…And, we need to be involved in
decisions that affect us.”
Margaret Wheatley, p. 151
Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time
62
Student Motivation
Drive Theory: Success oriented vs. Failureavoidant
Attribution Theory: How students perceive the
causes of their prior successes and failures is a
better determinant of motivation and persistence
(ability, effort, luck, task difficulty)
Self-worth Theory: Based on the premise that the
search for self-acceptance is one of the highest
human priorities.
Emotions: Play a prominent role in motivation
Self-system: Houses deeply seated needs and
aspirations (Maslow’s hierarchy-Basic Needs, Personal
Safety, Social needs, Esteem/Self-respect, Self actualization)
63
Student Motivation
Action Steps
1. Provide students with feedback on their
knowledge gain (individual progress as opposed
to competitive standing).
2. Provide students with tasks and activities that are
inherently engaging (tap into their passions).
3. Provide opportunities for students to construct
and work on long term projects of their own
design.
4. Teach students about the dynamics of motivation
and how those dynamics affect them.
64
Guided reflection
(p.65)
In your Participant’s Manual:
1.
Think about what you learned about
school-, classroom-, and studentlevel influences on achievement.
2.
Using McREL’s knowledge taxonomy,
describe how what you learned will
add to your knowledge base.
65