6 steps to learning leadership

June 2010

A generation of principals has heard the mantra that they should be instructional leaders, but rarely have they been encouraged to be learning leaders. While an instructional leader pays attention to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of instruction, a learning leader focuses on what is learned and how it is learned. These roles are not mutually exclusive, and they both have value. However, given the dearth of attention to learning leadership in the principalship, I’d like to focus on how that role relates to teacher learning. Savvy principals support teacher learning by attending to six areas: expectations, demonstrations, hospitality, possibility, inquiry, and the whole learner, and they can practice strategies in all six areas. Expectations Early in my years as a principal, I looked upon