Generative Learning Communities: Preparing Leaders for Authentic Practice 81
reflective forays can surface insincere orientations to leadership and practice that may assist
some who do not intend to become school leaders to pursue their graduate studies elsewhere
(Muth & Browne-Ferrigno, 2004).
Third, Be Explicit about Expectations
Developing new perspectives, grounded in prior leadership experiences, means that
preparers of principals and other educational leaders need to be explicit about what graduates
need to know and be able to do—and how to get there (Muth, 2000; Muth et al., 2001). While
program accrediting agencies supply important guidance about what graduates need to know
and be able to do, they provide little clarification about how best to accomplish this,
particularly in ways that ensure learning transfer and use. Thus, those with responsibility for
oversight of preparation programs need to determine on which of the panoply of guidelines
they want to focus—the most critical elements of being a successful school leader—and
organize program-wide experiences to address these concerns. This requires fundamental
agreements among program leaders, developers, and implementers about what counts and
what does not as well as clarification of students’ responsibilities for their own learning
(Muth, 2000, 2002) and their roles in generative learning communities.
Fourth, Develop Methodologies
Once such agreements are manifest, leadership development within discrete classrooms
becomes a three-step process, shared equally by instructors and students: (a) determining,
within given frameworks, what needs to be learned (cf. Van Meter & Murphy, 1997); (b)
clarifying the multiple ways in which it can be learned, given multiple learning styles and
situations, including classroom settings and field practice, and the rubrics to be used to assess
accomplishments (Bellamy et al., 2007); and (c) determining what processes are to be used
(Muth, 2002). Problem-based learning (Barrows, 1985, 1986; Bridges, 1992; Duffy &
Cunningham, 1996), for example, linked explicitly to real problems of practice and action-
research projects (Stringer et al., 1997) conducted in authentic settings (Muth, 1999), places
the locus of control for leadership development with the adult learners. Further, having such
learning experiences clearly connected to outcomes that directly benefit schools (Martin et al.,
1998) adds significantly to the depth and breadth of knowledge and skills gained and the
likelihood that such knowledge and skills will be usable in actual practice.
EXPLICIT LEARNING GOALS AND ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING OUTCOMES
Key to the success of this design for effective practice-oriented, classroom-based,
generative learning communities is the development of explicit learning goals and ongoing
assessments of learning outcomes. These are important when encountered during preparation
but perhaps more importantly particularly those presented when a graduate becomes a
practicing administrator (Browne-Ferrigno & Muth, 2004; Darling-Hammond, LaPointe,
Meyerson, Orr, & Cohen, 2007; Knapp et al., 2006; Portin et al., 2003).. If learning goals are
clear from the outset, and learning is monitored and assessed as students progress, then the
framework for later assessments is stronger as well. Knowing what works—and what sticks
over time—and why is essential to improving learning outcomes for students in elementary
and secondary schools. Developing generative learning communities that greatly enhance