Supervision in Accordance with Metaphor Puzzle Pieces and Existentialism

The purpose of education is to ultimately empower teachers to develop a sense of autonomy within their classroom, therefore, enabling them to make their own decisions. Teachers will be able to determine their own goals and plan of action upon collaboration with their supervisors. Teachers and other facilitators of education should undoubtedly control the learning environment. It is therefore imperative for teachers to keep student learning at their focal point and make informed decisions accordingly.

A school establishes a curriculum based on a desired program of study. “The importance of Teaching: The Schools White Paper 2010,” is a curriculum reform that grants schools in England “increased autonomy in curriculum development and implementation” (Jones et al., 2012, p. 265). Curriculum development as measured through the facilitation of experience gained through planned activities ensure the provision of a quality education. The content of the school’s curriculum includes the courses taught within a given learning environment, such as Arts Education. Health, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. Hence, a given classroom is only assigned a part of the school curriculum, such as an open-court curriculum, that is developmentally appropriate for certain grade levels. Curriculum-based content in conjunction with curriculum processes and approaches provides a platform for comprehensive and systematic learning (Freidus, 2002, p. 65).

Effective teaching is comprised of several important factors. Since community relationships are essential, the “school must involve the society to participate and support the educational process, while an effective teacher should align his/her teaching service with society's needs (Al Barwani, 2012, p. 23). Effective teaching is measured following teaching strategies within a good school. A good school is based on the premise of an effective learning community with an effective educational program that entails supervision focused on improved facilitation and collaboration as a mechanism to ensure learning among all students (Johnson et al., 2000, p. 339). As a result, understanding and designing instruction based on goals promotes critical thinking and improves a students’ ability to make well-informed, rational decisions.

As an effective leader, the delineation of a supervisory platform by a set of goals and actions provides a basis for educational beliefs. Supervision entails the provision of beliefs, responsibilities, and values that play a quintessential role in the success of an educational supervisor. Although supervision generally involves evaluating the effectiveness of a teacher’s role, an effective supervisor seeks to foster relationships with teachers. Once relationships are cultivated, teachers will become their experts in their instructional design process thereby enabling examination, determination, and assessment of their needs as educators (Kus & Tasdemir, 2011, p. 172). When “supervisors gradually increase teacher choice and control over instructional improvement; teachers will become more reflective and committed to improvement” (Glickman, 2009, p. 89). Teachers that have more autonomy and control over the decisions made within their classroom utilize a collaborative approach to develop a relationship with other teachers and their educational supervisor. Hence, the goals and actions as a supervisor are comprised of preparation through coaching and facilitation. Coaching is a proactive approach initiated through effective supervision within the classroom as certain recommendations are developed in accordance with an individual teachers’ previously determined needs as measured by the teacher themselves (Kus & Tasdemir, 2011, p. 172). This is crucial in both the personal and professional growth of teachers.

Due to the task of operating an educational organization including the school and the various classrooms throughout, teachers, educators, and other staff members recognize that the supervisory platform focuses on building and maintaining positive and healthy relationships with teachers. Student learning is most successful when professional development is directly linked to the needs of students and applied by supervision, which creates a platform for improvement and collaboration. Under a good education system of supervision, teachers promote collaboration with other teachers thereby creating a supportive relationship centered on student achievement through proactive student learning. The development and maintenance of collegial relationships among staff members in addition to building supportive relationships with students, parents, and families help to motivate students to do their best in school (Freidus, 2002, p. 65). The relationships established within the school setting creates a paradigm shift of a school culture in which teachers and staff members are professionally supported by their supervisor while working collaboratively to improve student learning, performance, and achievement.

A successful teacher possesses several attributes and characteristics including trustworthiness, active listening, and being an effective communicator. Moreover, a successful teachers’ willingness to collaborate with other teachers and the educational supervisor allows teachers to understand the significance of being focused on professional growth and development as well as improved performance (Freidus, 2002, p. 65). Teachers should assess student learning through performance measurements accomplished by assignments, quizzes, tests, and other projects. Such assessments can be collective, formal, informal, or occur on an individual basis.

Existentialism as a platform should use supervision to facilitate teacher exploration. As teachers begin to explore the realm of learning in the classroom, teachers begin to partake in an autonomous decision-making process that encourages them to become active learners. The principal should develop, implement, supervise, and assess the school’s education program, which includes content located in the school’s curriculum to ensure student learning. The principal has the task of supervising teachers, paraprofessionals, administration, and other staff.

Due to the meticulous task of supervising the school’s faculty, a successful supervisor must possess knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values. A successful supervisor would be quite knowledgeable about their own educational beliefs and philosophy, the school’s education program, technical and interpersonal skills, the instructional practices necessary to ensure student learning and the underlying principle associated with change (Freidus, 2002, p. 65). Technical skills such as instructional observation will grant teachers the wherewithal to explore teaching while maintaining a sense of autonomy in the decision-making process (Freidus, 2002, p. 65). Interpersonal skills are qualities that are deemed necessary to communicate effectively, engage in conflict management using problem-solving strategies, and help motivate students, parents, and other teachers.

The most important needs of a teacher are to realize their full teaching potential and integrate that philosophy within their classroom. Teachers, therefore, need to be able to develop an autonomous mindset as they interact with the school’s environment in a dire effort to facilitate exploration. This defines reality in which teachers engage in self-discover thereby enhancing student learning. Positive relationships are fostered between supervisors and teachers through collaboration and facilitation. From an existentialist perspective, a positive relationship focuses on creativity, awareness of their role as a teacher or supervisor, and self-exploration to produce the results initially anticipated. Instructional supervision can entail a formal form of supervision based on classroom observation and evaluation. Performance-based indicators, questionnaires, educational assessments, and analysis ultimately leads to quality improvement in both teaching and student learning (Freidus, 2002, p. 65). The current practice of instructional supervision should remain focused on the individual as a source of reality, autonomy, and exploration to engage in self-discovery.

References

Al Barwani, T. A., Ismail, H. A., & Wajeha, T. A. (2012). An effective teaching model for public school teachers in the sultanate of Oman. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, 5(1), 23-46. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ 17537981211225844

Freidus, Helen. (2002). Teacher education faculty as supervisor/advisors/facilitators: Playing multiple roles in the construction of field work experiences. Teacher Education Quarterly, 29(2), 65. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/222893514? accountid=32521

Glickman, C. (2009). The basic guide to supervision and instructional leadership. (2nd ed., p. 89). Boston: Pearson.

Johnson, J., Livingston, M., Schwartz, R. A., & Slate, J. R. (2000). What makes a good elementary school? A critical examination. Journal of Educational Research, 93(6), 339.

Jones, M., Murphy, J., & Stanley, G. (2012). Implementing the opening minds curriculum in a secondary school in England: An alternative to the one-size-fits-all national curriculum. Curriculum Journal, 23(3), 265-282.

Kus, Z., & Tasdemir, A. (2011). The content analysis of the news in the national papers concerning the renewed primary curriculum. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 11(1), 170-177.