Diagnostic supervision helps supervisors identify teachers' job-related and personal needs and respond to them within the expectations of the institution. A planning questionnaire is used to guide discussion during a diagnostic conference. (CL)

Traditional supervision paradigms, based on changing teachers' behavior, are ineffective. The Knowledge Work Supervision model helps align supervisory processes with a school system's purposes, goals, and outcomes. A special supervisory paradigm that shifts focus from individual behavior to an organization's work processes and social systems is…

At the heart of the instructional supervisor's role is helping teachers learn and unlearn attitudes, concepts, and skills relevant to their jobs. Among the principles the supervisor must understand to provide this help are those relating to motivation, learning readiness, the learning climate, levels of aspiration, and reinforcement. Diagnostic…

Because knowledge work occurs inside teachers' heads, it cannot be supervised directly. School improvement can become a permanent, ongoing organizational function by replacing traditional instructional supervision with a supervision-for-school-improvement function. The focus then shifts to examining a district's work processes, social…

This article describes a new supervision model conceived to help a school system redesign its anatomy (structures), physiology (flow of information and webs of relationships), and psychology (beliefs and values). The new paradigm (Knowledge Work Supervision) was constructed by reviewing the practices of several interrelated areas: sociotechnical…

Describes a case study of an insurance company manager with a superior track record. Successful management behaviors include helping trainees succeed, relying on loyalty, building trust, manifesting an extroverted personality and good sense of humor, applying business knowledge, creating incentives to sell, and maintaining excellent relationships…

The author cites conditions for error within schools as one major reason for limited effectiveness of instructional supervision. The ongoing diagnostic process of identifying conditions that reduce the effectiveness of supervision is termed organizational learning. The importance of involving the entire school system is emphasized, and the initial…

Conditions in schools that reduce the effectiveness and perceived value of instructional supervision can be diagnosed and corrected through a cyclical process called "organizational learning." Rather than merely responding to symptoms, this method focuses on eliminating or mitigating the underlying causes of "organizational…

This paper summarizes a new paradigm of instructional supervision, which shifts the focus on supervision from an examination of individual behavior to the improvement of work processes and social system components of the school district. The paradigm, called "Knowledge Work Supervision," helps teams of teachers and specially trained supervisors…

This paper summarizes a new paradigm of instructional supervision, which shifts the focus from individual behavior to the improvement of work processes and social system components of the school district. The proposed paradigm, the Knowledge Work Supervision model, is derived from sociotechnical systems design theory and linked to the premise that…

Using the literature and experiences of theorists and practitioners from several interrelated areas (knowledge work, organization learning/development, sociotechnical systems design, and quality improvement), this article proposes a new instructional supervision paradigm called Knowledge Work Supervision aimed at improving school systems'…

The strategy of diagnostic supervision, and the diagnostic conference, are outlined in this paper. Diagnostic supervision involves the supervisor and teachers in a process of recognizing needs, stating problems, and agreeing on objectives for the teachers' instructional improvement. The diagnostic conference, one tool used within the process,…

Instructional supervision, despite the lack of evidence for its value, can potentially help improve instruction and promote educators' professional growth. To realize this potential, schools should analyze their supervisory practice according to these four premises: (1) that each school district and each school has unique organizational…