Pedagogy and Curriculum
Pedagogy
SAM’s instructional approach values building on experiences and actively integrating program learning into current work. Team members are expected to work both independently and collaboratively to respond to leadership challenges posed by school experiences as well as the curriculum’s assignments and activities. Participating school principals inhabit the roles of participant and facilitator.
The role of the instructor/facilitator is to push individual and collective thinking in the service of school improvement. A range of teaching strategies is employed including:
- direct instruction
- group work
- simulation activities
- role-playing exercises.
Curriculum
The program’s curriculum is customized by New Visions staff, university faculty and participating school administrators to develop a critical mass of change agents in participating schools who share a common language, approach to the work and goal of closing gaps in student achievement.
SAM teams work to:
- Identify critical issues affecting student learning
- Analyze data on the current condition
- Identify leverage points
- Develop strategic interventions
- Implement interventions
- Evaluate their impact
- Manage the outcomes of their work and continue to push toward their goal.
The five core curriculum strands that run throughout the program are:
- Knowledge of instruction and supervision
- Leadership strategies
- Team capacity
- Systems thinking
- Management skills.
The customized curriculum has been mapped to the Baruch College School of Public Affairs NYS–approved curriculum for school building and school district leadership certification.
Participants routinely receive feedback on their performance from instructor/facilitators and peers. They engage in self-assessments and are evaluated according to a set of research-based performance standards and rubrics designed in collaboration with Douglas Reeves at the Center for Performance Assessment.