ERIC Number: EJ1116704
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Oct
Pages: 2
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1784
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Principal Connection/How Principals Spark Engagement
Hoerr, Thomas R.
Educational Leadership, v74 n2 p86-87 Oct 2016
Principals can easily observe when a class is engaged in learning. Engaged students are learning because the content or activity feels "relevant" and "interesting," and they're achieving "success" in whatever they're doing. These three factors of engagement don't happen by chance. It happens when talented teachers help students understand the importance of what they're learning and why it's relevant to them. How can principals assist in this effort? This article identifies two tasks connected to student engagement. First, principals must help their teachers see the value of this engagement, and must give them the autonomy and resources to create it in their classrooms. The second task is to make sure that teachers are also engaged in their learning. The focus on student learning is not enough, also to be considered is whether professional development efforts, teacher evaluations, and goal-setting processes are leading to engaged faculty learning, using the same criteria of relevance, interest, and success. Principals can help teachers to succeed. They do this by differentiating on the basis of teachers' levels of expertise and their interests by their observation and evaluation of teachers and the goals expected of them. If teachers are engaged in their learning, their classrooms will be places where students achieve, push themselves, and experience joyful learning.
Descriptors: Principals, Learner Engagement, Teacher Motivation, Professional Autonomy, Faculty Development, Expertise, Teacher Evaluation, Instructional Leadership, Administrator Role, Teacher Effectiveness, Elementary Secondary Education
ASCD. 1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311-1714. Tel: 800-933-2723; Tel: 703-578-9600; Fax: 703-575-5400; Web site: http://www.ascd.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A