Educators are often described as superheros; this includes instructional leaders. Here's our superhero-inspired, 3 simple actions that instructional leaders can take in the next month to ensure that teachers and students marvel at their own growth this year. (See what we did there!)
Make Learning that defies “Time”
Educators are busy people. Every teachers’ time comes at a premium. So, learning experiences need to be a balance of bite-sized knowledge paired with action, such that educators can both see immediate impact and improve their craft over time.
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Look for opportunities to right-size learning for the time teachers have. One good example of this is our learning courses; these provide job-embedded microlearning for instructional coaches and leaders with personalized feedback and ways to show impact. Your team can learn in this same way and apply the methodology we use to how you structure your professional learning throughout the year. (What would Dr. Strange have done?)
Learn more about what this can mean for your school or district in this video. Ask us how you can get Learning Courses for your district. |
Make Learning that’s “Sticky”
Chances are, your team just wrapped-up a lot of professional development in the past few weeks. Traditional school calendars often frontload professional learning, giving teachers time to learn and prepare at the beginning of the year. This learning often trails off until the next professional development day – as teachers focus on their students, teaching, building relationship, planning, grading, etc.!
Great instructional leaders often engage their spidey senses and ensure teachers have ongoing opportunities for differentiated support. Staying in sync with your individual teachers’ needs, can help you address their needs proactively.
Here are a few tactics you can try as a Principal or CAO to foster year-round professional learning:
Launch a Learning Zone Across Your School(s):
Designate a corner of the teachers’ lounge or front office as a professional growth hub. Stock it with curated books, strategy cards, and printed protocols aligned to your school or district priorities. As a CAO, consider creating starter kits for schools to personalize and implement with autonomy.
Elevate Shared Idea Boards:
Dedicate a section of a common area or staff newsletter for teachers to jot down ideas, share quick wins, or highlight articles. Make this an ongoing showcase of educator ingenuity, and link it to your broader PD initiatives.
Create a Virtual Collaboration Hub:
Support asynchronous idea exchange through tools like Padlet, Slack, or a shared Google Drive. As a district leader, you can model this by contributing personally and encouraging cross-school dialogue among teacher leaders.
Monthly “Lunch & Learn” Sessions:
Host monthly informal gatherings—led by teachers—where staff share a technique, tech tool, or small shift they’ve piloted. As a Principal, co-facilitate these to signal value. As a CAO, consider spotlighting standout sessions across schools to build a network of inspiration.
Upgrade Your PLC Conversations:
Reframe PLC time with prompts like “How might we...?” or “What small change created unexpected results?” to spark curiosity and divergent thinking. Provide guiding questions and anchor tools that align with your instructional vision.
Make Learning Joyful
Growth is more than just increasing pedagogical expertise and relationship building — it has to have joy. Joy can lift you out of the day-to-day grind, and help us see things differently. We might get this sense seeing ourselves in one of the heros, watching a superhero movie with friends, or awaiting the ending credits and the next preview.
And there’s a reason our superheroes work with sidekicks and teams, and a reason our favorite heroes keep a smile on our faces: we do our best when we collaborate joyfully. Joy can make us more connected, supportive, empathetic. And of course, it’s fun – which engages us and makes us want to return to the joyful learning.
Consider how you can make joy part of your leadership by: