**2.1. Instructional supervision**

Instructional supervision is a type of educational supervision. In Taiwan, we recently piloted the principal's classroom walkthrough (CWT) and classroom lesson observation to test the possibilities of the principal's instructional supervision. CWT and classroom observation are important for curriculum development and instructional supervision. CWT and classroom lesson observation enable quick and systematic collection of information to demonstrate the principal's emphases on curriculum and teaching. The benefits in CWT and classroom observation are: (1) administrators become more familiar with the school's curriculum and teachers' instructional practices; (2) administrators can examine the climate of a school; (3) a team atmosphere develops as teachers and administrators examine instruction and student motivation and achievement; (4) administrators establish themselves as campus leaders and instructional mentors, influencing teaching, learning, and ongoing school renewal; and (5) students see that both administrators and teachers value and observe instruction and learning [6].

Principals, as instructional leaders, are primarily responsible for promoting effective teaching implementation [2]. Effective principals continually engage teachers in instructional dialog and reflective practices to ensure that they are thoroughly equipped to improve student performance. Effective principals are aware of the varied instructional strategies that directly or

The relationship between a principal's instructional supervision and a teacher's professional development is of interest to the study of teachers' professional development. Research indicates that principals not only play administrative roles but also instruct teachers. In particular, principals inspire teachers to overcome challenges and changes in education. Principals who are school leaders should consider the influence of teachers' instructional behaviors while emphasizing their own roles in instructional supervision. To positively affect teachers' quality, principals must engage teachers in ways that support improved practice and seek to

In the knowledge-society era, knowledge management (KM) has become a primary strategy for improving a school's competitiveness and a reference for teachers' professional knowledge [4, 5]. If teachers can get useful feedback from principals' supervision of their instruction, they can implement KM behaviors into their professional development. Effective organization, storage, sharing, and leveraging of knowledge can propel teachers to become more adaptive, innovative, and intelligent. Research has shown that the sharing of knowledge among teachers can predict teachers' professional development. Principal instructional supervision can directly influence teachers' professional development; knowledge sharing can mediate this effect and indirectly improve teachers' professional development. In other words, if teachers can share their knowledge with other teachers, they can improve their professional development through the process. If teachers properly apply KM and the principal's opinions to their

teaching, they can improve their self-understanding and professional abilities [6].

This chapter discusses the principal's use of instructional supervision to improve teachers' professional development. In the process, the author questions whether teachers' KM behaviors facilitate teacher development. Therefore, the author collects related literature and find the connections among these variables. Next, the conceptual framework for studying the effects was drawn to confirm the connections among these variables. Finally, four steps for principal to improve teachers' professional development were concluded. The author believes the readers can know the relationships among them, and teachers' professional development can be improved through principal's instructional supervision and teachers' KM behaviors.

Instructional supervision is a type of educational supervision. In Taiwan, we recently piloted the principal's classroom walkthrough (CWT) and classroom lesson observation to test the possibilities of the principal's instructional supervision. CWT and classroom observation are

indirectly improve teachers' professional development [3].

52 Contemporary Pedagogies in Teacher Education and Development

empower teachers as creative and innovative [4].

**2. Literature review**

**2.1. Instructional supervision**

These concepts differ from the concept of circumambulating the hall in that the principal or director enters the classroom unannounced to observe teachers' instruction. Each observation is aimed at monitoring a teacher's classroom management and does not exceed 10 min. Although some have argued that CWT is just brief, but frequent, classroom visits, CWT is informal observations that allow principals to gather, analyze, or confirm the teaching messages from many teachers in a short period [7].

Principals' instructional supervision focuses primarily on helping teachers reflect on their actions and promoting school improvement through professional development [8]. Instructional supervision is based on school-based supervision from relevant staff (principals, administrators, teachers, and inspectors) in schools to provide supervision, support, and continuity assessment for teachers' professional development and improvement of the teaching process. Instructional supervision enhances teachers' professional knowledge and promotes the effectiveness of teaching activities [9]. The aims of instructional supervision are as follows: (1) to provide objective feedback to teachers; (2) to diagnose and solve teaching problems; (3) to help teachers develop their strategies and skills; (4) to evaluate teachers for promotions or appointments; and (5) to help teachers maintain a positive attitude [10].

This chapter discusses Glickman, Gordon, and Ross-Gordon's (2001) framework of instructional supervision. They concluded principals' five supervisory tasks are as follows: direct assistance, group development, professional development, curriculum development, and action research. They viewed instructional supervision as enabling teachers to improve students' instruction and improve relationships, meeting both organizational and personal needs. Their findings are comprehensive with respect to the specific instructional tasks that integrate teachers' needs and school goals [11].

Direct assistance is the provision of personal, ongoing contact with an individual teacher to observe and assist in classroom instruction [12]. It is designed to help teachers improve instruction through CWT, classroom lesson observations, and reflective dialog; moreover, it has been shown to be crucial to the development of both teachers and schools [4, 6]. Through formal and informal interaction, principals attempt to improve teachers' instructional practices. The purpose of the process is to help teachers reflect on their instruction for self-improvement [6].

Group development is the gathering of teachers to make decisions on mutual instructional issues. The principal has a decisive influence on the practice of school curriculum and is the leader in instruction. If the principal promotes a positive attitude in teachers, instructional supervision is more effective. If the principal wants teachers to participate in instructional supervision, they must enable the teachers to have a positive outlook on instructional supervision. The principal should create teaching groups, and let teachers learn together [4, 12]. The purpose of group development, as a dimension of instructional supervision, is to support teachers working cooperatively, rather than alone or competitively [13]. Among other things, group work is designed to develop communication, decision-making, and problem-solving abilities. Recently, teachers' roles have been defined as collegial, collaborative, and oriented toward professional community [12].

The instructional-supervision process should include preobservation and postobservation discussions between the supervisor and the supervisee. These can promote teamwork and relationships among staff and management and create an environment of mutual trust, thereby facilitating a frank exchange of ideas between different teaching groups. Such a relationship can provide a relaxed and supportive environment where teachers have freedom of expression to psychologically prepare their students for the presence of a third party (super-

Facilitation of Teachers' Professional Development through Principals' Instructional Supervision…

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.77978

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The key factor to instructional supervision is principal's role. First of all, the author should let teachers understand what is instructional supervision and its relevant meanings. Secondly, principal should establish a friendly working environment and let teachers hold positive and positive attitude to instructional supervision. Finally, set the instructional supervision schedule into school calendar. By doing so, teachers can feel principal's attention. With the purpose of professional development of teachers, even through peer supervision, teachers can be given the responsibility to reduce their stress so as to enable teachers to conduct profes-

KM is a predominant knowledge-based approach in Taiwanese education and considers scientific knowledge as intellectual wealth. Therefore, knowledge accumulation through memorization of theory and facts for reproduction is essential for Taiwanese students. Pedagogical studies emphasize knowledge absorption. KM was introduced in the 1990s after the development of the knowledge economy. It refers to a multidisciplinary approach of achieving a school's objectives through the effective use of knowledge. Researchers have recognized the

The Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) was founded in 2003 in the United States. The ISKME conducts applied research to more effectively understand how educational institutions can create environments and infrastructures that maximize knowledge across all levels of an organization. The ISKME assists schools in improving their use of information technology and in otherwise identifying, distilling, and harnessing information. The ISKME also advises institutional leaders and educational organizations on the development of strategic initiatives, policies, and practices (ISKME-Knowledge Management

The majority of studies have shown that knowledge can be classified as either tacit or explicit [5]. Tacit knowledge is experience-based knowledge specific to an individual, whereas explicit knowledge is precise, formally articulated, and documented. In organizations, knowledge is often embedded in repositories, documents, routines, operational processes, practices, and norms. The practices of KM are particularly promising and appropriate for elementary schools. The democratization of data and the sharing of information induce people at every level to contribute, participate, interact, grow, and learn while mastering higher-order skill sets. KM can help benchmark progress and constantly improve educational quality. Therefore,

sional discussions and enhance teachers' teaching effectiveness.

visor) in their class.

**2.2. Knowledge management**

value of KM in education [5].

Web-sites, http://www.iskme.org/).

KM can benefit schools and teachers.

Professional development includes the learning opportunities for faculty provided or supported by school members. Professional development is the continuous education of educators to improve the quality of education in a school. Professional development concerns these issues: (1) controversies associated with preservice preparation and the political dynamics of teachers' nascent careers; (2) problems with contrived forms of collegiality, in contrast to effective mentoring and peer coaching in the context of shifting power relationships between principals and teachers; (3) political strategies principals use to empower teachers; and (4) the use of teacher influence to comply with and resist the imposition of administrators' dictates [11, 12].

Curriculum development is the revision and modification of the content, plans, and materials of classroom instruction. Curriculum development is the collective selection by educators of curriculum purpose, content, organization, and format that are appropriate to students' needs. It is supportive of teachers' choices, which improves commitment to curriculum implementation [11]. Principals in Taiwan assist teachers through workshops with curricula to develop instructional competence [4].

Action research is the systematic study of classroom and school activity with the aim of improving teachers' learning. Action research is school/class or individual level instructional improvement whereby educators conduct studies of the results of their activities [11].

Instructional supervision, as a teaching and learning improvement strategy, should be a continuous assessment tool that allows teachers to continually expand their capacity to learn and to help others. A more effective method to promote learning is to help those who work with students to become more knowledgeable, skillful, resourceful, flexible, creative, and sensitive to the needs of students [11]. As stakeholders in curriculum implementation, teachers should be at the forefront in the instructional-supervision planning process from the outset. If teachers view supervision as something done to them and for them but not with them, its potential to improve schools cannot be fully realized. Research also emphasizes the need for teachers to play an active role in instructional supervision. When teachers perceive purpose, control, and personal responsibility, they function more as originators rather than as executors [8]. Instructional supervision should allow competent teachers to explore new methods of improving their professional development and the apprehension of their classes [14].

Supervisors are not the sole contributors to the improvement of education. The principal, for example, is not more expert in teaching methodologies than teachers who know the abilities and inabilities of their own classes and students. Teachers should not be required simply to defer to the supervisor regarding the instructional-supervision process [6].

The instructional-supervision process should include preobservation and postobservation discussions between the supervisor and the supervisee. These can promote teamwork and relationships among staff and management and create an environment of mutual trust, thereby facilitating a frank exchange of ideas between different teaching groups. Such a relationship can provide a relaxed and supportive environment where teachers have freedom of expression to psychologically prepare their students for the presence of a third party (supervisor) in their class.

The key factor to instructional supervision is principal's role. First of all, the author should let teachers understand what is instructional supervision and its relevant meanings. Secondly, principal should establish a friendly working environment and let teachers hold positive and positive attitude to instructional supervision. Finally, set the instructional supervision schedule into school calendar. By doing so, teachers can feel principal's attention. With the purpose of professional development of teachers, even through peer supervision, teachers can be given the responsibility to reduce their stress so as to enable teachers to conduct professional discussions and enhance teachers' teaching effectiveness.
