Now We're Talking! : 21 Days to High-Performance Instructional Leadership

Daily observation of classroom teaching can significantly impact the quality of teaching and learning. Organized into 21 chapters designed to be read over a period of 21 school days, Now We're Talking! presents a results-driven approach that far surpasses traditional walkthrough models of feedback for teachers. School leaders will complete two cycles of teacher evaluations while reading the book and establish the necessary foundation for subsequent visits.

This plan will help you incorporate daily classroom walkthroughs to improve teaching and learning:

• Understand how daily classroom observation can help you make informed decisions that foster rich relationships with teachers, improve professional practices, reduce stress, and increase student learning.
• Discover how to conduct teacher evaluations and classroom walkthroughs to improve teaching and learning, fostering high-performance results and high-quality instructional leadership.
• Make performing teacher observations and giving feedback to teachers a daily practice.
• Learn supervision and instructional leadership skills that establish effective communication in schools.
• Gain time-management tips for streamlining your inboxes, staying organized, and prioritizing work so you have time for daily classroom visits and classroom observation feedback.

Week 1: High-Performance Instructional Leadership Fundamentals
Chapter 1: Understanding Why Instructional Leaders Belong in Classrooms
Chapter 2: Following the High-Performance Instructional Leadership Model
Chapter 3: Acknowledging Related Instructional Leadership, Supervision, and Walkthrough Models
Chapter 4: Conducting Your First Two Cycles of Visits
Chapter 5: Thinking Ahead to Your Third Cycle of Visits

Week 2: High-Performance Habits
Chapter 6: Making Time to Visit Classrooms
Chapter 7: Keeping Your Communication Channels Under Control
Chapter 8: Managing the Work You're Not Doing Yet
Chapter 9: Organizing Your To-Do List
Chapter 10: Maximizing Your Mental Energy With Habits

Week 3: High-Impact Instructional Conversations
Chapter 11: Going Beyond Data Collection and the Feedback Sandwich
Chapter 12: Facilitating Evidence-Based Conversations
Chapter 13: Bringing a Shared Instructional Framework Into the Conversation
Chapter 14: Developing Skills for High-Impact Conversations
Chapter 15: Handling the Toughest Conversations

Week 4: High-Performance Instructional Leadership Enhancement
Chapter 16: Building Your Feedback Repertoire
Chapter 17: Balancing Your Formal Evaluation Responsibilities
Chapter 18: Identifying Improvements From Classroom Visits
Chapter 19: Opening the Door to New Models of Professional Learning
Chapter 20: Choosing an Instructional Focus for an Observation Cycle
Chapter 21: Scaling Classroom Visits Across Your School and District

Justin Baeder is director of The Principal Center, where he helps school and district administrators build capacity for instructional leadership. Driven by the belief that leaders belong in classrooms (where the most important work is being done), he created the 21-Day Instructional Leadership Challenge (instructionalleadershipchallenge.com), which has helped more than 10,000 leaders from 50 countries develop the habit of getting into classrooms and having evidence-based conversations with teachers. His professional interests focus on strategic planning, goal setting, organizational learning, and productivity. Prior to starting The Principal Center, Baeder served as a teacher, head teacher, and principal in Seattle Public Schools, finishing his ten-year career in Seattle as principal of Olympic View Elementary.

He has contributed to The School Administrator (AASA), Principal News Magazine (AWSP), Principal Magazine (NAESP), Principal Navigator Magazine (OAESA), and Education Week. Baeder presents regularly at state and national conferences, including Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, LearningForward, and National Association of Elementary School Principals, and has been an invited keynote speaker at numerous state principals' conferences in California, Pennsylvania, Washington, Texas, Arkansas, Utah, North Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming.