In this paper on the role of the supervisor in education, the supervisor is delineated as one who facilitates the design and implementation of the curriculum and instruction within an organizational setting. Three models of supervision are reviewed. Nominal supervision is described as existing because those charged with supervision are given only limited time to carry out complex tasks and is justified because it keeps the operation going even though it may not be effective. The outstanding characteristic of prescriptive supervision is seen as replicating the medical relationship of physician and patient--the supervisor possesses expertise and makes diagnoses of the teacher being supervised. The reflective model, however, is one in which the supervision focuses on the broad and complex range of teacher decision making about not only what is taught, but the appropriateness of how, where, when and the why of instruction-learning processes. The purpose of this paper is to review thinking and research about how reflective supervision facilitates the teaching-learning process. Several figures and 19 references are provided. (JD)