As educational leaders with a combined experience of over 70 years, we have championed efforts to support collaboration for teachers while finding ourselves in a siloed and often lonely position of “leader.” And we’re not alone. Through our work across the United States, Canada, and Australia, we have met leaders who share they also feel isolated in their work.

As a result, we developed the concept of Instructional Leadership Collectives. They are guided, facilitated groups of educational leaders—teacher leaders, instructional coaches, middle leaders (Australia), principals, central-office administrators, superintendents—who engage in collaborative inquiry using structured protocols to improve leadership practice and system alignment.

ILCs are specifically designed for education leaders at multiple system levels as well as across districts and even states. We wrote about them here. They enable leaders to learn together around a common theme they want to explore in depth. To guide the process, a facilitator is vital to their success.

ILC facilitators have three key roles. They should:

• Anchor the ILC – keep the work aligned with the problem of practice and theory of action.
• Illuminate the ILC – help track evidence of impact and interpret data to bring clarity and new learning.
• Elevate the ILC – ask questions that raise the level of understanding and transfer this new understanding into the work of each leader as they support better outcomes for students.

Anchoring the ILC
The facilitator supports the ILC in establishing their problem of practice and theory of action. Once created, it is the role of the facilitator to keep the focus of the conversation on the foundation of the mission. Anchor questions keep the collective tightly aligned to the purpose. Here is an example from a district we are working with:
Problem: Students in grades 3–5 are not demonstrating consistent growth in reading comprehension, particularly when asked to analyze texts independently.
Priority: Implement structured literacy routines that include explicit instruction in vocabulary and comprehension strategies, so that students in grades 3–5 can analyze and interpret grade-level texts with confidence.

Under the theory of action:
If we...

• Develop and implement a guaranteed and viable curriculum in core areas,
• Strengthen MTSS systems to provide differentiated supports for all students,
• Accelerate student growth in reading through targeted school improvement plans.
• AND foster a culture of collective ownership, instructional coherence, and belief in every student’s potential,

Then...
Educators will not only have high-quality materials, but they will also engage as a professional learning community that uses those materials with integrity, responsiveness, and shared accountability.

So that...
All students experience rigorous, coherent, and equitable instruction across classrooms, leading to deeper learning and academic growth.

Questions for facilitators to ask

• How does this conversation connect back to our problem of practice?
• In what ways does our current thinking align with or challenge our theory of action?
• What will keeping this focus help us accomplish together?

Illuminating the ILC
The goal of ongoing meetings of the collectives is to monitor the leading (formative) data that each member is gathering as part of their theory of action. As the ILC cycle comes to a close, the lagging (summative) data are gathered, and patterns are unlocked to address the problem of practice.

Here are leading data we’re working with for this collective (fromBernhardt’s demographic, perceptions, student learning, school processes) :
Demographic:
- % of their current curriculum completed and implemented across buildings (disaggregated).
- % of English learners and bilingual students who have access to the translated/adapted curriculum.

Perceptions:
- Teacher-survey data on curriculum usability and alignment; feedback from the professional learning communities and the District Curriculum Coordinating Council .

And here are examples of lagging data we’ve gotten thus far:
Demographic:
- Improved performance across all subgroups (MAP growth, foundational skills, attendance).
- Reduced overrepresentation of subgroups in Tier 2-plus or intervention supports.

Perceptions:
- Climate survey results showing increased trust, collaboration, and collective efficacy among staff.
- Teachers reporting shared ownership for student learning (not just “my kids” or “my room”).

More Demographic data
- Consistent growth across all subgroups in MAP and local assessments.
- Closing gaps in early literacy (e.g., English learners, students with disabilities).

And more Perceptions data
- Student and family feedback indicating feelings of inclusion, challenge, and support.

Facilitator Questions for Collectives

• What evidence are we collecting, and how does it help us understand progress toward our goal?
• Where do we see gaps in our data, and what else might we need to gather?
• What patterns or insights are emerging as we look at the evidence together?

Elevating the ILC
We often begin workshops and keynotes by saying we are learners first. That mindset is what is at the heart of elevating the ILC. We ask questions that we are deeply interested in learning more about.

The questions we use to elevate the ILC’s focus have turned out to be those for which participants go deeper with their thinking based on what was illuminated during the data and evidence conversation. They help all of us within the collective to shift our thinking.

Facilitator Questions for Collectives

• What assumptions might we need to challenge in order to see this issue differently?
• How could this new learning shift our leadership practice back in our own contexts?
• What might contribute to better outcomes for students?

Understanding Impact
Facilitating long-term professional learning for those in leadership positions is not just about helping them understand their impact, it’s also an opportunity for the two of us to understand our impact and help us improve our practice.

At the end of each ILC session, the facilitators we train and meet with monthly are asked the following questions to help us understand how their collective is growing. It also allows us to understand the impact of each collective. Not all collectives grow at the same rate; some hit speed bumps and need our support. These questions not only help shine a light on the positive impact of each facilitator but also help us understand how to support the facilitators that need minor interventions.

Facilitator Self-Reflection Questions

• How is your collective developing as a learning community—in terms of trust, collaboration, and shared ownership of the work?
• What evidence do you see that your group is deepening their collaborative inquiry—clarifying their problem of practice, aligning their theory of action, and using evidence to inform their next steps?
• How are participants applying their learning in their local contexts, and how is that learning feeding back into the collective’s growth and direction?