Jenn David-Lang, Editor at The Main Idea, shared this quote from my book:
It’s important that school leaders read and engage in professional literature.
Leaders who know literacy:
are more confident when discussing literacy topics with faculty,
make better decisions around curriculum and assessment, and
can better discern different levels of instructional quality.
Few would disagree with this position. Yet I have heard “I don’t have time to read articles” often enough from colleagues that I wanted to share my approach.
The process is nothing fancy; any leader can make it a habit with a little bit of prep.
But first, let’s clarify a misconception.
Information and knowledge are not the same thing.
To become more knowledgeable in literacy instruction, some leaders assume they can do this naturally as part of their daily work.
Here are three examples:
Using one data set to make decisions about which students receive more support.
Relying on social media posts and online interactions as primary sources.
Assuming a curriculum program supports “best practices” during an acquisition process because the publisher says so.
All of this information coming at us is rarely accompanied with a process for understanding it in a deeper way.
I have fallen into this mindtrap myself. I didn’t ask for different data when questions came up about placing a student in intervention. Someone posts their thinking on Twitter, I like it, but I failed to read the linked article.
How knowledge is developed is timeless: Through deep reading, thinking, discussion, writing, and sharing.
Here’s how I build knowledge to stay current about literacy instruction.
Step #1: Select a text to read with intention.
Becoming more knowledgeable starts with having access to credible resources.
I subscribe to the following journals:
Educational Leadership (ASCD)
English Journal (NCTE)
Language Arts (NCTE)
The Reading Teacher (ILA)
They are peer reviewed which helps ensure accuracy and avoid bias. The organizations that publish these journals have their reputation at stake.
Important: You don’t have to read every article of an issue.
To begin, subscribe to one of these journals. Read the table of contents of the most recent issue and preview some of the articles. What sparks your interest, or aligns with your current literacy initiative? When you find one, make or print a copy of it. And start small - this can be your article for the week.
To create intention, consider writing questions at the top of the article to guide your thinking.
Takeaway: Keep it simple to create a habit - one credible article once a week
Step #2: Schedule professional reading in your calendar.
If becoming a more knowledgeable leader is a goal, it has to be prioritized.
That means it deserves a space on your calendar, just as much as “help out at _th grade recess” or “administration meeting”.
For me, I set a recurring daily event called “Focus Time” in my digital calendar.
I don’t always take advantage of that time. Sometimes I am called away for another important task. But I know my odds are higher to read professionally when I create redundancies and schedule it.
If you are not finding a way to make this work, put the article in your notebook when you visit classrooms during instructional walks.
You should eventually find some downtime to read quietly.
And if all else fails…
Takeaway: Prioritize reading through scheduling and preparing for it.
Step #3: Share your learning with others.
I used to feel self-conscious about taking time to read at school.
I was afraid that I would be perceived as not working, and instead should be “in the trenches” as much as possible with students and teachers.
But I realized that if I never take a step back and learn from others beyond our school walls, my perspective will be limited.
To ensure faculty see the benefit of you reading professionally, write a short summary of the article and share it out.
Use the margins and white space to document your thinking: questions, comments, responses to the author.
Highlight quotes that stood out to you as key points.
Organize these notes into a written summary and share it in your next faculty newsletter.
You become more knowledgeable not just through reading and responding.
The process of writing provides structure for your ideas.
Writing for an audience creates more clarity because you have readers in mind.
Publishing your writing for faculty offers an invitation to discuss these ideas.
By distilling these ideas down to an accessible summary, you are giving your faculty a gift of both information and time. You are building a collective knowledge base.
Takeaway: The entire literacy experience - reading, thinking, writing, speaking, listening, sharing - all work together to build knowledge.
As always, thanks for reading.
Let me know on Twitter @ReadbyExample what you found most helpful this week!
See you next Friday,
Matt
Related Resources
The quote Jenn posted in the beginning tweet can be found on page 105, Chapter 5 in Leading Like a C.O.A.C.H.: 5 Strategies for Supporting Teaching and Learning (Corwin, 2022). Her website, The Main Idea, offers book summaries around instructional leadership topics. It’s an excellent resource; check it out here.
Every month, I facilitate a professional discussion around a text relevant to literacy and leadership. This month’s discussion is free for all readers. See below. Starting in February, paid subscribers will be able to engage in this work. Subscribe today to join this community. (Click here to see upcoming texts and here for details about what’s included in the membership.)