S02E23 - Dr. Zach Groshell and Brendan Lee on Effective School Leadership

Knowledge for Teachers

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Dr. Zach Groshell for the third of their trilogy of conversations together. In their first episode, they unpacked the nuances of teaching effectively. In the second one, they spoke about coaching, culture and change. In today’s podcast, you will hear them discuss the complex world of school leadership! They explore the key elements that contribute to a positive and productive school culture. From going beyond superficial evaluation methods to building a diverse team that leverages everyone's strengths, they cover a range of important topics that will help school leaders create a thriving learning environment for both students and teachers.

Zach’s four points were:

1. Leaders need to start minimizing evaluations and start maximizing teacher performance
2. Leaders should view behavior as a system that involves everyone, including them
3. Leaders don’t have to be the best teachers on earth, but they do have to know something about instruction
4. Leaders should move away from one-off PD as the primary means of teacher training.

Brendan’s 4 points were:

1. Leaders need to have their fingers on the pulse
2. Clear Communication is key
3. Leaders need to build a diverse team
4. Good leaders don't care about who is right or wrong

Resources mentioned:

• Zach’s newly released book: Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit Teaching
• Viviane Robinson - Reduce change to increase improvement
• Daniel Kahnemann - Thinking, Fast and Slow
• Progressively Incorrect S4E10: Nathaniel Swain, Steven Capp, and Katie Roberts-Hull on Harnessing the Science of Learning

You can connect with Zach:

Twitter: @mrzachg

Podcast: Progressively Incorrect

Website: educationrickshaw.com

You can connect with Brendan:

Twitter: @learnwithmrlee

Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

Website: learnwithlee.net

Support the Knowledge for Teachers Podcast:

https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast

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