The School Leaders' Guide to Strategic Observations and Conversations for IU 10 and 11

Presenter:  Sherri Connell, Ed.D.

Every school leader is told to be an “instructional leader,” but few are told exactly what that looks like day to day. Research is clear that the principal is the second most important factor in student achievement, after teaching itself, yet many hard-working leaders pour energy into visible, satisfying tasks that never change what happens inside classrooms. This workshop introduces the Visibility Framework and its Four Pillars: Visible Models that define what great teaching looks like, Principles that focus a school on a narrow set of plainspoken commitments, Active Data gathered through strategic observations, and Conversations that deliver feedback teachers can actually use. Through hands-on activities, participants will build the systems and habits that bridge the knowing-doing gap and structure continuous instructional improvement in every classroom. 

Key Takeaways:

• Principals influence student achievement most powerfully through instructional leadership and collective efficacy, but only certain uses of a leader's time and energy change classroom practice.
• Visible Models, such as implementation continuums, give teachers a clear, shared picture of what great teaching looks like, replacing vague expectations with concrete mental models.
• Effective schools operate from a narrow set of validated, plainspoken instructional Principles that align the school's three systems and tell everyone what to do, not just what to value.
• Active Data, collected through Look-Fors and Ask-Abouts during structured walkthroughs, reveals whether instructional expectations are actually showing up in classrooms.
• Feedback fails when it triggers the receiver; matching evaluation, appreciation, and coaching feedback to the right moment, and organizing the work into short cycles, turns observations into continuous improvement.

Full-Day Schedule:

• 8:00-8:50: The Visibility Framework
• 8:50-9:35: Visible Models
• 10 Minute Break
• 9:45-11:15: Principles and Active Data
• Lunch Break
• 12:00-1:30: Active Data Conversations
• 1:40-3:00: Conversations and Structuring Continuous Improvement 1
• 3:00 to 3:10: Workshop Close

Workshop Essential Question: How do you strategically use observations and conversations to improve teaching and learning in every classroom?

Learning Goals

You Will Be Able To...

• Evaluate where your time and energy go using the Visibility Framework and its Four Pillars.
• Apply implementation continuums to build a shared picture of what great teaching looks like.
• Develop a narrow set of validated, plainspoken Principles aligned to your school's three systems.
• Distinguish passive data from active data and recognize the true cost of skipping active data.
• Design Look-Fors and Ask-Abouts to gather actionable evidence during walkthroughs.
• Select and conduct the right type of feedback conversation—evaluation, appreciation, or coaching.
• Avoid the three triggers and common practices, like the feedback sandwich, that cause feedback to fail.
• Structure a 4-week short cycle that bridges the knowing-doing gap and scales what works.

You Will Know...

• The Visibility Framework and its Four Pillars
• The research on principal impact and collective efficacy
• Implementation Continuums and the Lesson Architecture
• The three systems of a school and where Principles come from
• The difference between passive data and active data
• Look-Fors, Ask-Abouts, and two walkthrough models
• The three feedback triggers and three types of feedback
• The eight steps of a short cycle for continuous improvement