I credit my development as a teacher leader to my tutelage under Mrs. Marva Outerbridge in my first three years of teaching. She personified my definition of an effective instructional leader through consistent demonstration of expectation, classroom instruction modelling, a strong knowledge of best practices and a persona that drew respect from those under her charge.

From the first day I entered Prospect Primary as a volunteer Reading assistant, Mrs. Outerbridge treated me as a valuable member of staff. She encouraged dialogue about developing success in students and always maintained an "open door policy". Mrs. Outerbridge's 'walkabouts' demonstrated an understanding of one of an administrator's most important roles — to know what is happening in the building.

Mrs. Outerbridge 'invited' herself into the classroom regularly, and often unannounced. Regardless of the content being presented, she was able to provide delivery and management techniques which stretched student thinking and deepened student understanding. A simple 'May I?' was all that was needed for Mrs. Outerbridge to provide, in a seized teachable moment, a teacher with immediate and practical professional development.

Using the informed approach to instructional supervision will need to begin with establishing a relationship with each teacher. Initial individual meetings should inform teachers of the expectations of the supervisory process. These meetings will provide an opportunity for discussion about content, classroom management and instructional beliefs and concerns.

Consistent communication between supervisors (principals, deputy principals, team leaders and department heads) will assist in maintaining a collaborative atmosphere within a school community. Regularly scheduled contact with teachers enables 'both parties' to check with each other with regards to fulfilling, or not fulfilling, the expectations set out in the initial meeting.

The supervision will provide all stakeholders in the Bermuda Public Education system a clear avenue for monitoring and improving the instructional quality within our classrooms. According to Gluckman et al (1998) supervision "is the function in schools that draws together the discrete elements of instructional effectiveness into whole school action."

Thompson and Andrews (2008) suggest that the conference component of supervision will "provide opportunities to talk about the patterns… and acknowledge the successes — and the food for thought — that those patterns represent."

Craig Jerald (2003) states "…we must define good teaching by results… When the goal is student learning seeming to be a good teacher and actually being a good teacher can be very different."

Without supervision we cannot determine the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the classroom teacher. Consequently, we cannot determine that each student is receiving the best instruction to promote student success. With the advances in our world, we cannot afford to not take seriously the impact our instructional practices, classroom management and knowledge of content have on student learning.

I challenge us all, therefore, to be 'super' in our vision and make the change.