Guide to System Leaders

The System Leaders (shortened as “Leaders”)are the last-but-not-least entities who are responsible for the direction and success of the programs; all other stakeholders including School Boards and the Academic Department take responsibility for reporting to the system leaders.

In the context of Vinschool, “system leaders” refer to the CEO, DCEO, or Director of the education sector – depending on the temporary responsibility division in the system. The duties of the system leaders mainly consist of:

• understanding the design and requirements of the ESL program;
• directing and approving principles of management, ensuring professional focus is always prioritized;
• orienting the road map to upgrade the levels of the ESL implementation team.

Understand the design and requirements of the ESL program In an endeavor to promote a remarkable development of the ESL program at Vinschool, the entire management system must coordinate smoothly throughout the implementation process. Therefore, Leaders must have a firm grasp of the principles, designs, task checklists, and the division of responsibilities. Only with a thorough understanding of this information can leaders design effective top-down management regulations, achieve consistency with subordinates' job requirements, and create favorable conditions for successful implementation. a) Leaders’ Management roles: Be firm with enhancement and upgrade orientation: In order to effectively manage human resources, Leaders need to have a firm grasp of the general direction of the Program targeted at Teachers and School Boards, understand what the ESL Program requires from this team and how these requirements are aligned with Vinschool’s upgrade orientation. Manage the implementation process: School managers will take on most of the responsibilities for managing the implementation process. However, Leaders need to know the milestones of the ESL Program to be able to anticipate the upcoming events  and require the campuses to plan accordingly and systematically. Manage teaching & learning: School managers will take on most of the responsibilities for teaching and learning quality management. However, Leaders need to be aware of the specific requirements for teachers, as well as the Curriculum Framework and the resources available for the teachers. From this understanding, Leaders can determine where to focus. Manage the implementation team (School Boards and Academic Department): Leaders need to understand the scope of responsibilities the program requires from the School Boards and Academic Department. Then, new leaders can ensure that the implementation team optimizes their professional competence without having to bear the burden of off-center tasks. b) Leaders’ Improvement Orientation roles: Evaluate and reflect on the program’s success: Prior to improving the Program, Leaders and Academic Department must evaluate the quality of ESL implementation and reflect on the areas that need improvement most. Since everything always starts with a goal, Leaders will have to understand the role of ESL in Vinschool's enhancement mission. Then, Leaders will evaluate the success of the Program based on those criteria. Optimize Academic Department: The Academic Department takes primary responsibility for reforming and updating the ESL Program. Leaders will have to understand the task checklists of the Academic Department during the year, especially those related to research and program development, in order to set the most effective and realistic reforming goals. Implement program improvement: When improving the program, Leaders should focus on the core elements of the program, identify which aspects need the most attention, and implement the long-term enhancement plan proposed by the curriculum writers. This is to ensure the system gets closer to its end goal without wasting manpower, time, and resources on unplanned things. After each implementation phase, the program must be evaluated and improved in order for Vinschool to get closer to the goal of upgrading its education. However, leaders should also be aware that innovation which is not based on clearly defined goals or which exhibits sudden changes deviating from the theoretical basis can lead to a waste of resources, time, resources, and a decrease in system consistency.

Prioritize professional focuses in management To be able to effectively manage the implementation of a program in a large system like Vinschool, all information, discussions and reports must revolve around some professional focus, to avoid getting preoccupied with obvious operational details or fruitless reviews. Below are the key points that should be clearly stated and explained in the reports or review sessions. The Program Department will be consulted about setting agendas for these sessions. Some areas need to be reported periodically while the others are reported only when there are changes. a) Focuses in reports from School Boards Support for the implementation process

Differentiation at Vinschool Differentiation is one of the most important criteria in classroom observation rubrics at Vinschool. Differentiated factors are required not only in lesson planning but also in real teaching practice. The highest judgment for differentiation is given when “content, teacher delivery, instructions, activities, and assessments are differentiated, as appropriate, for individual learners based on the teacher's prior understanding of their students' abilities” (extracted from Vinschool’s Classroom Observation Rubrics)

Scaffolding Scaffolding, a metaphor to describe the process of learning support that enables learners to go beyond what they are initially able to do, can be a key component of successful differentiation. Similar to the scaffolding used in construction to support workers as they work on a specific task, instructional scaffolds are temporary support structures teachers put in place to assist students in accomplishing new tasks and concepts they could not typically achieve on their own. Once students are able to complete or master the task, the scaffolding is gradually removed or fades away—the responsibility of learning shifts from the instructor to the student.It also should be noted that scaffolding is a site for learning opportunities, and is not simply a way of modeling, supporting, or practising interaction. Applying scaffolding means identifying and providing an appropriate level of challenge in classes, which is key to our students achieving learning outcomes and reaching their full potential in our classrooms. Lev Vygotsky's concept of the 'Zone of Proximal Development' (ZPD) can help us understand our role in identifying where our learners' capabilities are now and providing them with the high challenge - high support lessons they need to progress. Just like differentiation, scaffolding is displayed in the classroom observation rubric as an important criterion. It is expected that teachers can “identify the zone of proximal development (ZPD) of each individual/group for effective and diverse scaffolding before, during and after class” (extracted from Vinschool’s Classroom Observation Rubrics). Guidelines for Implementing Scaffolding The following points can be used as guidelines when implementing instructional scaffolding (adapted from Hogan and Pressley, 1997). Select suitable tasks that match curriculum goals, course learning objectives and students’ needs. Allow students to help create instructional goals (this can increase students’ motivation and their commitment to learning). Consider students’ backgrounds and prior knowledge to assess their progress – material that is too easy will quickly bore students and reduce motivation. On the other hand, material that is too difficult can turn off students’ interest levels). Use a variety of supports as students progress through a task (e.g., prompts, questions, hints, stories, models, visual scaffolding “including pointing, representational gestures, diagrams, and other methods of highlighting visual information” (Alibali, M, 2006). Provide encouragement and praise as well as ask questions and have students explain their progress to help them stay focused on the goal. Monitor student progress through feedback (in addition to instructor feedback, have students summarize what they have accomplished so they are aware of their progress and what they have yet to complete). Provide encouragement and praise as well as ask questions... Create a welcoming, safe, and supportive learning environment that encourages students to take risks and try alternatives (everyone should feel comfortable expressing their thoughts without fear of negative responses). Help students become less dependent on instructional support as they work on tasks and encourage them to practice the task in different contexts. (Adapted from Northern Illinois University)

Group work Teachers should employ variety in their classrooms, using a mixture of whole-class instruction, one-to-one work, small group work and peer tutoring. Group work is suggested by many as a good way to differentiate as learners working in groups are able to create knowledge with their peers, help each other to learn, use discussion and apportion tasks based on the relative strengths of the group. A balance needs to be met between the use of group work and teacher instruction. As John Hattie (2008) argues, direct instruction done properly has a greater impact on learning than group work done incorrectly or inappropriately.

Group work Teachers should employ variety in their classrooms, using a mixture of whole-class instruction, one-to-one work, small group work and peer tutoring. Group work is suggested by many as a good way to differentiate as learners working in groups are able to create knowledge with their peers, help each other to learn, use discussion and apportion tasks based on the relative strengths of the group. A balance needs to be met between the use of group work and teacher instruction. As John Hattie (2008) argues, direct instruction done properly has a greater impact on learning than group work done incorrectly or inappropriately.

Group work Teachers should employ variety in their classrooms, using a mixture of whole-class instruction, one-to-one work, small group work and peer tutoring. Group work is suggested by many as a good way to differentiate as learners working in groups are able to create knowledge with their peers, help each other to learn, use discussion and apportion tasks based on the relative strengths of the group. A balance needs to be met between the use of group work and teacher instruction. As John Hattie (2008) argues, direct instruction done properly has a greater impact on learning than group work done incorrectly or inappropriately.