TLED 8401: Instructional Coaching, Mentoring, and Leading Professional Development for Post-Master’s Teacher Leaders

3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: Admission to the EdD or Certification Graduate Certificate in Teacher Leadership.
This course critically analyzes K-12 education policy at the national, state, and local levels. Topics include issues related to American education’s historical, political, cultural, and social contexts. Students examine institutions and processes of public policymaking. The course aims to help leaders think critically about education policy, theory, and praxis and its influences on their students as learners.

Course Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

Describe and analyze the workplace environment in which they are situated. Specific examples are provided regarding how the faculty and staff are recognized for high performance and how their work-life balance, well-being, and professional health are managed.
Review and evaluate a comprehensive process for instructional improvement including personnel development. The plan should include specific examples from practice demonstrating how professional and adult learning are leveraged to develop faculty/staff to improve instructional capacity and student outcomes.
Describe and analyze strategies for evaluating and motivating personnel for continuous improvement. Specific examples from practice are used to demonstrate how actionable feedback based on research-anchored evaluation systems is utilized.
Describe how school culture and professional learning systems foster supportive workplace conditions for professional development and collaborative learning to improve practice and student learning. Specific examples for practice support the description.
Analyze continuous improvement efforts that promote the core values of the school and mutual commitment and accountability for student success and evaluates use of situational strategies for improvement - including guiding teachers in the design and implementation of quality instruction and technology integration. Specific examples from practice are included as illustrations and suggestions for improvement are shared.
Apply the knowledge and skills of effective mentoring and coaching to provide support for teacher learning and practice.
Design, facilitate, and implement professional development aligned to state and national professional learning standards.
Guide teachers in the selection of appropriate assessment instruments and practical assessment strategies to improve instruction and monitor student learning.
Facilitate the use of technology and research to assist teachers in using a variety of data to assess student progress and make instructional decisions. Included in this is the identification of resources and appropriate support services for specific student needs.
Facilitate the use of multiple sources of evidence to monitor and evaluate teachers and learning.