WHAT DOES AN INSTRUCTIONAL SPECIALIST DO?

Published: Sep 17, 2025 - The Instructional Specialist supports school-based teams in implementing effective diverse learner strategies by building strong relationships with school leaders and using data to identify instructional improvement opportunities. This role develops and monitors strategic plans, facilitates collaboration between general and special education teachers, and guides leaders in analyzing student work to inform instructional adjustments. The specialist also contributes to network-wide strategy planning, shares instructional trends, and designs professional development focused on special education and equitable access to rigorous curriculum.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Instructional Specialist

1. Instructional Video Content Specialist Duties

  • Video Editing: Cuts and edits images to remove bad or extraneous footage, to add effects such as graphics or transitions, and to create a professional video product
  • Team Collaboration: Works in collaboration with internal teams and production staff to produce a variety of video products for broadcasting, compression output, webcasting, video streaming, and digital distribution
  • Project Creation: Works with the Education team in the overall editing and creation of ConnectWise University video projects
  • Instructional Support: Supports the instructional design team to create professional video products that are tied to instructional learning objectives
  • Content Management: Manages web-related video content and video delivery platforms for continual improvements
  • Stakeholder Communication: Collaborates with intra-departmental and departmental business owners to ensure efficient and effective use of the ConnectWise University video library
  • Production Planning: Assists with planning assigned studio productions to ensure high quality in all deliverables
  • Asset Management: Provides analytical support for the development and management of all video assets such as University how-to training videos and webinars
  • Post Production: Plans and performs video post-production tasks, which include reviewing footage, making editorial decisions, video transcoding, rough cuts, audio adjustment, color correction, and final editing
  • File Organization: Organizes and stores all production files and assets for future use on a variety of platforms including physical storage and cloud storage

2. EL Instructional and Support Specialist Details

  • Program Review: Conduct a quarterly review of instructional program needs in the BPS Dual Language and SLIFE programs in collaboration with District program leaders
  • Data Integration: Integrate various data sets of student performance measures for language and content
  • School Support: Produce meaningful supports and interventions for identified schools with SLIFE and Dual Language programs that are serving ELs
  • Student Assessment: Use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather data to monitor student mastery of ESL and instructional content
  • Performance Analysis: Assess the comparative performance of subgroups within the classroom across district Dual Language and SLIFE programs
  • Professional Conduct: Model professional behavior that addresses job responsibilities, district policies and procedures, and the expectations of professionals working in a multi-lingual, multi-cultural, and economically diverse community
  • Reflective Practice: Reflect on practice in collaboration with colleagues
  • Growth Monitoring: Monitor personal and professional growth, and pursue professional development
  • Learning Environment: Build and maintain safe, fair, and respectful learning environments that celebrate the diversity of the student population
  • Record Management: Partner with the OELL PD Coordinator to maintain accurate records of all professional development activities

3. Instructional Specialist Responsibilities

  • Program Implementation: Support school-based teams to implement strong Diverse Learner Programming and Strategies
  • Leader Collaboration: Quickly develop strong relationships with school leaders (e.g., Principals, Assistant Principals, Special Education Coordinators, Deans of Instruction, etc.) at school sites to support effective collaboration
  • Instructional Improvement: Use a variety of data points, conversations, and observations to identify opportunities to improve instruction for students with disabilities in schools
  • Strategy Development: Develop and monitor strategy plans, and execute support at a high level
  • Lesson Alignment: Support leaders to ensure that general education teachers co-prepare and co-execute lessons from high-quality, aligned instructional materials with Special Education teachers that provide equitable access to rigorous grade-level materials for all scholars
  • Work Analysis: Facilitate and guide instructional leaders to lead their teachers in analyzing scholar work, with a focus on students with disabilities, from daily lessons and formative assessments to understand scholar learning and strategically adjust teacher coaching and supports
  • Data Analysis: Analyze scholar achievement data (scholar work samples, formative assessments) to deeply understand progress and gaps in scholar learning and use that information to inform strategy plans for the schools they support
  • Collaboration Leadership: Establish and lead collaboration structures within and across schools that bring groups of leaders together for shared learning in the service of scholars
  • Strategy Contribution: Contribute to the Network-Wide Diverse Learner Strategy
  • Practice Trends: Identify and share trends in instructional practice across a portfolio of schools to inform the network-wide Diverse Learner and grade-band professional development opportunities for leaders and teachers
  • Expertise Sharing: Contribute perspective and expertise to strategy planning to inform network-wide school supports
  • PD Facilitation: Design and/or facilitate professional development sessions for a portfolio of schools and/or focused on Special Education

4. Instructional Support Specialist Job Summary

  • Inventory Management: Receives, inventories, and stores all mathematical supplies and equipment required for the instructional program
  • Instructional Support: Assists faculty and other instructional staff by preparing and presenting complex technical materials designed to enhance students’ learning processes
  • Exercise Planning: Participates in the planning and implementation of exercises and/or experiments
  • Session Coordination: Sets up and conducts complex instructional exercises
  • Activity Implementation: Independently implement and coordinate instructional sessions and activities
  • Assignment Feedback: Provides support and feedback on assignments
  • Workshop Facilitation: Conducts specialized workshops to foster student success and a positive mathematical mindset
  • Material Sourcing: Seeks out sources of demonstration materials and supplies
  • Material Setup: Set up, disassemble, clean or replace instructional materials used in activities and demonstrations such as calculators, protractors, geometric shapes, containers for estimating, scales for measuring weight, laptops with statistical software, 3-D printer, etc.
  • Environment Maintenance: Ensures that assigned learning environments are maintained in a safe, clean and orderly condition
  • Material Monitoring: Monitors the cleaning and organizing of materials
  • Security Oversight: Monitors the security of equipment such as a 3-D printer and laptops with statistical software
  • Vendor Coordination: Coordinates with vendors for repair and maintenance
  • Equipment Safety: Ensures equipment is stored appropriately and safely

5. Instructional Support Specialist Accountabilities

  • Supply Ordering: Orders and purchases supplies and equipment
  • Vendor Negotiation: Contacts and negotiates with vendors to obtain supplies
  • Waste Approval: Obtains immediate supervisor approval and direction before disposing of unrepairable equipment or lab supplies (including hazardous waste disposal for batteries)
  • Fume Exposure: Exposure to fumes from plastic for the 3-D printer and whiteboard pens
  • Exercise Development: Develops, explains and demonstrates specialized and complex learning exercises and instructional materials
  • Student Monitoring: Monitors students in class work procedures
  • Lesson Planning: Consults with faculty to develop lesson plans
  • Record Maintenance: Maintains records of materials ordered, issued, used, and returned, and prepares related reports
  • Inventory Control: Maintains inventories to ensure that adequate quantities are available for timely instructional use
  • Attendance Tracking: Maintains student positive attendance records, ensuring that students sign in/sign out
  • Cost Tracking: Tracks student costs for computer and/or equipment use
  • Account Management: Maintains student laboratory accounts and submits charges
  • Budget Support: Assists in the development of departmental budgets
  • Student Tutoring: Instructs and/or tutors individual students and small groups to reinforce and follow up on classroom learning activities

6. Instructional Support Specialist Functions

  • Student Assistance: Monitors and assists students in drills, practices and study activities as a follow-up to what was presented during regular classes
  • Progress Reporting: Reports student progress toward the accomplishment of learning objectives
  • Tutor Oversight: Oversees student tutors working in the mathematics lab
  • Resource Maintenance: Maintains libraries and/or inventories of instructional resources and materials
  • Loan Tracking: Maintains records of materials loaned to students for home study
  • Workshop Presentation: Organizes and presents workshops related to the development of study skills, academic improvement, and other subjects relevant to learning science
  • Admin Support: Coordinates and performs administrative support duties that may require typing, proofreading, filing, checking and recording information
  • Info Management: Post information to a computerized and/or manual management information storage and retrieval system
  • Report Preparation: Retrieves and compiles information and prepares complex clerical forms, reports and summaries
  • Tech Operation: Operates a variety of computers and/or related equipment in the assigned academic area
  • Tech Assistance: Assists students in utilizing specialized computer technology as part of the learning process

7. CTE Instructional Support Specialist Job Description

  • Teacher Support: Work with teachers, administrators and other CTE staff to determine the need for and purpose of targeted teacher support
  • Record Maintenance: Schedule and maintain accurate records of all activities
  • PD Creation: Create professional development directly aligned to the CPS Framework for Teaching
  • Learner Support: Support Diverse Learners in gaining access and achievement in the CTE coursework by providing research-based support to CTE teachers
  • Relationship Building: Build strong working relationships with the CTE teachers in specific career pathways
  • Needs Assessment: Conduct an instructional needs assessment and provide individualized support for all assigned CTE teachers
  • Data Feedback: Use formal and informal data to identify and provide feedback and support to teachers
  • Staff Collaboration: Establish and maintain positive relationships with members of the school, Network, and District staff
  • PD Delivery: Design and deliver professional development during CTE activities (i.e., CTE Institute, Jumpstart, Symposiums, IAA courses) and national/local conferences for CTE teachers and administrators
  • CTE Liaison: Serve as CTE liaison to school administration and Central and Area Office staff

8. Humanities Instructional Specialist Overview

  • Curriculum Alignment: Serves as a Humanities specialist to assist in the development and implementation of ELA, History and Social Studies instructional plans that align to curriculum, Common Core, school-wide performance goals, and performance expectations
  • Performance Monitoring: Work with the Director of Academics to monitor student and teacher performance at each middle school campus
  • Data Analysis: Analyze and monitor student data, diagnose instructional gaps
  • Strategy Identification: Identify research-based instructional strategies to accelerate student achievement and deliver professional development
  • Job Coaching: Provide job-embedded professional development for teachers through modeling and coaching
  • Teacher Observation: Conduct teacher observations and/or walk-throughs and provide feedback to facilitate teacher growth and reflection
  • Instructional Planning: Foster and monitor effective, purposeful, and meaningful instructional planning and strategies
  • Intervention Planning: Assist with the development, monitoring, and implementation of campus and/or teacher strategic and intervention plans
  • Achievement Promotion: Demonstrates a relentless pursuit to promote excellence in student achievement and conduct
  • High Expectations: Maintains and exemplifies the culture of high expectations and accountability for scholarly and professional conduct
  • Faculty Support: Supports faculty in curriculum development and promotion of effective classroom instruction and management
  • PD Presentation: Develop, prepare, and present professional development related to best practices to promote ELA, History, and Social Studies proficiency

9. Instructional Specialist Details and Accountabilities

  • Material Design: Assists with the design, development, execution, and revision of a variety of training materials
  • SME Collaboration: Works closely with subject matter experts (“SMEs”) and key stakeholders to design and coordinate development and maintenance of instructional content
  • Content Development: Develops instructional material and incorporates strong technical writing standards, learning principles and systematic design approaches
  • Material Editing: Edits materials to ensure that writing is grammatically correct and consistent with good technical writing practices
  • Brand Adherence: Adhere to RaceTrac Learning and Organizational brand standards, and maintain design consistency and quality across all instructional content
  • Catalog Review: Reviews and maintains the current catalog of training materials, identifies gaps, and recommends changes
  • Lifecycle Management: Manage content development life cycle to ensure timely delivery of instructional material
  • Project Support: Aid in the development and adherence to project timelines and scope
  • SME Liaison: Serve as liaison to SMEs throughout the development life cycle
  • Review Coordination: Manage review cycles and coordinate review-related activities with SMEs
  • Deadline Management: Work individually and collaboratively to meet deadlines and expectations for each project

10. Regional ESL Instructional Specialist Tasks

  • Curriculum Support: Assist schools in curriculum implementation and alignment to TEKS/SEs, ELPS/PLDs and academic needs assessments for ESL students (and program evaluations)
  • Teacher Support: Support teachers across multiple disciplines to promote an integrated/cross-curricular design that promotes student language acquisition in all four domain areas
  • Lesson Planning: Participate in campus instructional planning sessions to design and plan instructional lessons that include the accommodations and linguistic needs of English Learners
  • Program Collaboration: Collaborate with ESL Program Managers in the development of professional learning surrounding English Learners and second language acquisition
  • Data Analysis: Assist campuses with data analysis and the development of action plans in response to the data (TELPAS, MAP and STAAR)
  • Teaching Modeling: Model effective teaching within the classroom
  • Co-Teaching: Provide support through co-planning and co-teaching
  • Campus Walks: Participate in campus walks with campus leadership teams, district team members and ESL Program Managers
  • Program Implementation: Assists in planning and implementation of summer language programs
  • Policy Compliance: Ensure compliance with federal, state, local, and district policies, rules and regulations for EL students
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