One of the essential lessons that the current generation has learned from the older

generation’s mistakes is that formal education is the key to a successful future. The young
generation living in this world is faced with a tremendous amount of pressure that leads
directly back into the classrooms. The children of today need to be more prepared to face
a world that becomes progressively more challenging every day. Without the appropriate
leaders, role models, and optimistic adults in the school, our future leaders will be
unprepared to face a changing world.
The School Community
A school community is best represented by a strong bond between all of the staff
members. For each student to be completely successful there needs to be a clinical approach
to supervision. According to Morris Cogan’s clinical approach model (as noted in Sullivan
& Glanz, 2005) short term and long term goals need to be in place and all of the members
of the school must be fully aware of what that goal is and how they can help each child
accomplish the goals. Each school must work together, without any hierarchy of positions,
in order for the school environment to be successful. Each member of the building should
have a sense of importance to ultimately improving their skills and the skills of all the
students in the building. Edward Pajak (2000) views clinical supervision “as a vehicle for
developing professional responsible teachers who are capable of analyzing their own
performance, who are open to change and assistance from others, and who are above all,
self directing” (Sullivan & Glance p. 118).
The supervisor in the school is the direct individual who will promote the climate
of the building as one that enhances learning. Goldhammer, Anderson, and Krajewski
(1993) summarize that the clinical model “requires a high degree of mutual trust and
assumes a professional working relationship between teacher(s) and supervisor(s).”
Democratic principles are used to allow teachers to feel self-directed, responsible, and
competent for the children in their classroom. Influenced largely by Dewey’s (1929)
theories of democratic and scientific thinking, these democratic principles are used by the
supervisor to promote a feeling of openness for useful feedback relating to professional
and personal instances. This sense of openness gives all the members of the school,
including the students and parents, a feeling of safety and comfort in the building.
Bureaucratic conceptions of supervision do not apply in an effective school community
because the teachers and staff get a feeling of uselessness, which directly affects the way
they teach.
The supervisor spends approximately twelve fifteen minute sessions in each
classroom per year in order to get a sense of the classroom throughout the entire year rather
than for a one time formal observation. The classrooms have clear overarching objectives
and the teachers are engaging all of the learners into the lesson. Overarching objectives
give students big picture outcomes which shape core practices and increase student
achievement (Saphier and Gower, p. 551). The students in the classroom are visibly able
to interact positively with their teacher and the students never feel rejected by their limited
skills or incorrect answers. There are many different ways to teach children and the
supervisor does not believe that his way is correct. The supervisor is open minded and
willing to learn from the other teachers and provide detailed feedback to each teacher
throughout the school year. Prompt, simple, and useful feedback is given to all of the
teachers so that if a teacher is abruptly struggling, a solution can be put into place and limits
the amount of ineffective instruction that is affecting the students in the classroom. Saphier
and Gower (1997) confirm that good teachers do not succeed alone; instead they solicit
help and lots of feedback on their work. Supervisors are important bridges to providing this
needed feedback to their staff.
It is important for the supervisor to align planning periods with each grade level
and/or subject teachers. Planning with their peers, the teachers are able to compare results
and/or frustrations with one another, which can improve student outcomes and effective
teaching strategies. These planning periods are also used to incorporate the concept of unit
plans into each classroom. The importance of unit plans are that each classroom has a clear
vision and can incorporate all of the learning styles into their classroom. Technology is
used to prepare the students for a technologically diverse future and the teachers in the
classrooms are proficient with using the technology that surrounds them. Staff
development sessions are available for all teachers who find it difficult to incorporate
technology lessons into their classrooms.
Teacher Observations
Teachers work extremely hard each day to create lessons that are valuable to
improve student outcomes. Supervisors should be seen in the classrooms daily. It is quite
impossible for the supervisor to observe a lesson daily, but a simple morning gesture to
each class is important to the overall structure of the building. The purpose of observing
the classrooms is not necessarily to observe the teacher, but to also get to know the students
in the building and how they are learning each day.
There are numerous ways that the supervisor observes the teachers and the lessons
they teach. Formal observations should be varied and include the ability to assess the
teachers’ awareness of the diversity and learning styles in the classroom. Madeline
Hunter’s lesson plan model clearly incorporates the necessary steps to exceed student
performance. With the help of this model, the supervisor can offer teaching strategies that
could improve the quality of instruction in the classroom. This model is applicable to all
classrooms because diverse learners exist in any environment where people learn. The
overall meaning behind observing a teacher lesson is to offer a mirror of what is happening
in the lesson. With this mirror comes a stimulus for change. By providing teachers with
useful feedback, the supervisor is engaging the teacher in reflective thinking and discussion
based on what areas of teaching can be improved or continued.
Aligning each classroom lesson to the core content standards is vital for ensuring
that each classroom is promoting the “standards of excellence” needed for engaging all
students. According to the New Jersey Department of Education, these standards describe
what students should know after completing their high school education. In order to
successfully offer the students in the building a thorough and effective educational
experience, each lesson design must align to the core content standards. Consistent with
the overall observations of the building, it is the responsibility of the supervisor to observe
the incorporation of the standards into every classroom. Weekly observance of each
teacher’s plan book will assist the recall of how the teacher’s are incorporating the
standards into each subject matter.
 Effective feedback techniques are the key ingredients in assisting individuals to
maintain strengths or make appropriate changes in a lesson. Using Glickman’s
development model (2004) as an approach to providing feedback to the different levels of
feedback, educators can prove successful in maintaining a trustworthy relationship with
the staff. According to Glickman, the approach used by the supervisor depends on the
specific level of development of the teacher. These approaches are altered to help manage
the amount of control there is when providing feedback to a teacher. According to research
completed by Glickman, the teacher’s level of development, expertise, and commitment
and the nature of the situation determines the choice of approach.
Concluding Statement
As a supervisor, I will lead by example. What I cannot ask of myself, I cannot ask
from any staff member. I will be just and reasonable in the suggestions and criticisms that
I make. The success of the school is not on my shoulders as the supervisor, it is on all of
the staff members in the building because everyone has an obligation to strive for effective
teaching. The ultimate goal in education is to have all students succeed. As the supervisor,
this is also my ultimate goal.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Textbooks and Other Resources
Dewey, J. (1929). The sources of a science of education. Mew York: Liveright.
Glickman, C.D., Gordon, S.P., & Ross-Gordon, J. (2004). Supervision of instruction: A
development approach (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Goldhammer, R., Anderson, R.H., & Krajewski, R.J. (1993). Clinical Supervision: Special
methods for the supervision of teachers (3rd ed.). Fort Worth, TX:Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich.
Lieberman, A. (1995). Practices that support teacher development. Phi Delta Kappan,76,
591-596.
National Educator Association: Technology in Schools.
http://www.nea.org/technology/index.html
Pajak, E. (2000). Approaches to clinical supervision: Alternatives for improving
instruction (2nd ed.). Norwood, MA: Christopher Gordon.
Saphier, J., and Gower, R. (1997). The skillful teacher: Building your teaching skills (5th
ed.). Acton, MA: Research for Better Teaching, Inc.
Sullivan, S., and Glanz, J. (2005). Supervision That Improves Teaching (2nd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.