This pedagogy–practice article portrays three instructional activities that were implemented with aspiring leaders and refined over four rounds of teaching the course in a northeastern state’s principal preparation program (PPP). After describing each activity, I share lessons learned regarding the pedagogy of principal preparation. I make the case that embedding organizational theory into PPP coursework can play a role in developing the higher order skills of aspiring leaders.
AndersonL. W.KrathwohlD. R.AirasianP. W.CruikshankK. A.MayerR. E.PintrichP. R.. . . WittrockM. C. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. New York, NY: Longman.
2.
BenfordR. D.SnowD. A. (2000). Framing processes and social movements: An overview and assessment. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 611-639.
3.
BlackW.MurtadhaK. (2007). Toward a signature pedagogy in educational leadership preparation and program assessment. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 2, 1-29.
4.
BolmanL. G.DealT. E. (2013). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership (5th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
5.
BrazerS. D. (2016, April11). Sensemaking: Using Weick. AERA, Washington, DC.
6.
BrazerS. D.KruseS. D.ConleyS. (2014). Organizational theory and leadership navigation. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 9, 254-272.
7.
CobbP.McClainK.de Silva LambergT.DeanC. (2003). Situating teachers’ instructional practices in the institutional setting of the school and district. Educational Researcher, 32(6), 13-24.
8.
CoburnC. E. (2001). Collective sensemaking about reading: How teachers mediate reading policy in their professional communities. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23, 145-170.
9.
CoburnC. E. (2006). Framing the problem of reading instruction: Using frame analysis to uncover the microprocesses of policy implementation. American Educational Research Journal, 43, 343-379.
10.
DonaldsonM. L.WoulfinS.LeChasseurK.CobbC. D. (2016). The structure and substance of teachers’ opportunities to learn about teacher evaluation reform: Promise or pitfall for equity?Equity & Excellence in Education, 49(2), 183-201. doi:10.1080/10665684.2016.1144831
11.
GoffmanE. (1974). Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
12.
GrissomJ. A.LoebS. (2011). Triangulating principal effectiveness: How perspectives of parents, teachers, and assistant principals identify the central importance of managerial skills. American Educational Research Journal, 48, 1091-1123.
13.
HallettT. (2010). The myth incarnate: Recoupling processes, turmoil, and inhabited institutions in an urban elementary school. American Sociological Review, 75, 52-74. doi:10.1177/0003122409357044
14.
HochbergE. D.DesimoneL. (2010). Professional development in the accountability context: Building capacity to achieve standards. Educational Psychologist, 45, 89-106. doi:10.1080/00461521003703052
15.
LabareeD. F. (1997). Public goods, private goods: The American struggle over educational goals. American Educational Research Journal, 34, 39-81.
16.
LevineA. (2005). Educating school leaders. New York, NY: Teachers College.
17.
MerriamS. B. (2001). Andragogy and self-directed learning: Pillars of adult learning theory. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2001(89), 3-14.
18.
OpferV. D.PedderD. (2011). Conceptualizing teacher professional learning. Review of Educational Research, 81, 376-407.
19.
RigbyJ. G. (2014). Three logics of instructional leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly, 50, 610-644.
20.
SappingtonN. E.BakerP. J.GardnerD. C.PachaJ. (2010). A signature pedagogy for leadership education: Preparing principals through participatory action research. Planning and Changing, 41, 249-273.
21.
ScottW. R.DavisG. F. (2006). Organizations and organizing: Rational, natural, and open system perspectives. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
22.
Seashore LouisK.LeithwoodK.WahlstromK.AndersonS. (2010). Learning from leadership: Investigating the links to improved student learning. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota.
23.
SpillaneJ. P.ReiserB. J.ReimerT. (2002). Policy implementation and cognition: Reframing and refocusing implementation research. Review of Educational Research, 72, 387-431.
WeickK. E. (1995). Sensemaking in organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
27.
WoulfinS. L. (2015). Catalysts of Change: An examination of coaches’ leadership practices in framing a reading reform. Journal of School Leadership, 25(3), 526-557.
28.
WoulfinS. L. (2016). Duet or Duel?: A portrait of two logics of reading instruction in an urban school district. American Journal of Education, 122, 337-365.
29.
WoulfinS. L.CoburnC. E. (2011). Policy implementation: The pathway from reading policy to classroom practice. In BeanR.DagenA. (Eds.), Best practices of literacy leaders in schools. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
30.
WoulfinS. L.DonaldsonM.GonzalesR. (2016). District leaders’ framing of educator evaluation policy. Educational Administration Quarterly, 52(1), 110-143.
