First Full Clinical Cycle

At the beginning of this course I was dreading the full clinical cycle because I thought the pre- and post-observation conferences would be uncomfortable. Now that the course is culminating, I have a great appreciation for these conferences and welcome the opportunity to experience them again.  I do believe that the teacher I selected greatly impacted my experience, and I would not have had the same experience if I had chosen another teacher.  After the post-observation conference, the teacher and I walked out of the classroom with excitement and awe as we expressed our appreciation for each other and our accomplishments together.  We really enjoyed the clinical cycle because we got to talk openly about meaningful instruction and assessment.  It doesn’t get better than that!

I am naturally reflective, but I do not like watching myself on video.  I always learn a lot when I watch myself, but I feel very uncomfortable during the process.  Just like I used to do with parent conferences, I chose to sit next to Yvonne instead of across from her.  Tables and space can often serve as barriers, so I eliminated them. While I felt very relaxed during this process, my body language appeared to be anxious as I sat forward in my chair.  At one point during the conference, I sat back in the chair to ponder a thought, and that is when I realized the power of a relaxed body language.  No matter what I am feeling inside, I must be aware of how I am presenting myself to others.  As for my strengths, I make eye contact and nod my head often in conversation to acknowledge that I am following along.

One of the areas in which I need to improve revolves around data gathering.  I struggle with focusing on a particular aspect of the classroom when so much is happening at once.  As a result, I end up overlooking important details.  An easy to use data-collecting instrument might help me improve in this area; however, I have not found this instrument yet.  I tried to create one of my own, but it was extremely hard for me to figure out a way to quantify the information that the teacher wanted to gather.   I am now more aware of the importance of identifying measurable objectives during the pre-observation conference.  I shared my reflection with Yvonne so that she would be more comfortable sharing her lesson reflections as well.  We both felt comfortable thinking critically about the lesson and brainstorming methods of improvement.

I firmly believe that this conference was 100% collaborative.  Both the teacher and I have similar levels of experience and as a result, respect each other’s opinions.  We took turns discussing the successful portions of the lesson as well as the problem areas.  I came prepared with ideas to discuss in case we had a mental block, but in our exchange of possible solutions, we covered all of the ideas that I had brainstormed beforehand.  I look forward to our next meeting when we start to implement some of our new ideas!

Room Arrangement Observations

I observed classroom seating arrangements in two elementary buildings and was pleasantly surprised to see how many classrooms had desks arranged in groups. Many of these groups had names that the students agreed upon together. I believe that groups enable collaborative learning opportunities; however, I was not able to observe long enough in the classrooms to see collaborative learning taking place. Now that I know that seating arrangements should match the lesson purpose, I will look for evidence of collaborative work in classrooms with groups of desks (The IRIS Center for Training Enhancements, n.d.).


I noticed that classrooms with desks in rows appeared to be less spacious than rooms with desks in groups. Although I know it was a visual trick, it seemed as if the teacher would have a difficult time circulating among all of her students in the room with long rows. Classrooms with groups of desks seem to be more open and inviting with wider walkways. These wider walkways are suitable for students with special needs. I wonder how many teachers have student desks assembled in groups as a result of space instead of instructional purpose.


Based on the two schools I observed, first grade had the most diversity in their room arrangements. I noticed rows, groups, and two horseshoe shapes. Some of these classrooms did not have teacher desks. I feel that this is a result of the age level. It is difficult to hold the attention of a six/seven year old, so the classroom needs to allow for constant movement (centers, read aloud, etc). When I taught transitional first grade, I got rid of my teacher desk because I never sat at it and I needed the room for my students. Second, third, and fourth grades seemed to consist of mostly groups except for rows in one class within each grade level. Majority of the special education classrooms had rows with space between each desk. I see how this arrangement would minimize distractions and allow for support personnel to assist a student. In addition to their personal desks, the special education classrooms had various areas of the room dedicated to direct instruction, groupwork, SMARTBoard interactivity and computer activities. These areas allow for the teacher to group students by the level of support they need to succeed in the subject area.


The prime difference I noticed in the various classrooms was the arrangement of the SMARTBoard and projector. Since our boards and projectors are not mounted, each teacher has the equipment arranged in a different manner. Some SMARTBoards are on an angle so that all members of the class can see the board from their desks. Others are setup so that the group needs to be sitting directly in front of the board to see. I believe that the desk arrangements in rooms with SMARTBoards are setup in a specific manner as a result of the amount of space taken up by the equipment. When I provide professional development opportunities, I need to differentiate my methods because not all classrooms have SMARTBoards, and those that do might not have it in a place that is conducive for a large group of children. Since the boards are not mounted, ‘orienting’ is a constant issue. This results in teachers using the board as more of a projection screen than an interactive tool.


I have doubts whether room arrangements have a direct influence on supervision and/or staff development. I view the room arrangement category as one that fits under the umbrella of general classroom management. Just as one wouldn’t evaluate a piece of technology sitting unused in a room, I don’t think it’s appropriate to judge a room just by its arrangement. I do believe that there is a direct correlation between room arrangement and room management.




Resource:
The IRIS Center for Training Enhancements. (n.d.). Effective Room Arrangement. Retrieved on October 2, 2011, from http://olms.cte.jhu.edu/olms2/data/ck/sites/192/files/CaseStudy_EffectiveRoomArrangement.pdf

Effective Leadership Final Reflection

When I joined the technology portion of the Strategic Planning Committee a couple years ago, I had no idea that the district had a mission or vision.  Throughout the planning process, I learned how all district goals must align with its vision; however, I still strive to discover how that vision is incorporated in our daily actions.  According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, “A vision represents clearly articulated statements of goals, principles, and expectations for the entire learning community.”  In my district, each building has its own goals.  It varies whether or not the goals are clearly established within each building.  At our “Welcome Back” in-service yesterday, I was listening intently for a mention of the district vision.  The Superintendent told a story about his childhood to encourage teachers to make a difference in the lives of our students, but he made no mention of our shared district goals.  “Making a difference in the lives of children” seems overused and cliché these days.  What does that look like?  How do we make a difference?  As stated by Dufour, Dufour and Eaker, “The words of a mission statement are not worth the paper they are written on unless people begin to do differently” (2008).  I see the phrase “Learn, Lead, Succeed – Together” on each page of our website as well as in the signature of each administrator.  I rarely hear the phrase stated verbally.

This brings up an important point about the word “together.”  Together implies collaboration.  The fifth discipline of a successful learning organization is systems thinking (Senge, 2007).  This type of approach motivates and challenges staff to integrate the disciplines and form a shared vision.  In my district, it seems as if each building focuses on its own well-being.  At the elementary level, teachers are primarily concerned about the students in their grade level within their building.  Six years ago, the district eliminated grade-level coordinator extra-duty contracts in an effort to form multi-grade curricular committees.  This change has drastically affected the collaboration and communication across buildings.  In The Jossey-Bass Reader on Educational Leadership, I learned that collaborative skills do not come naturally; they need to be taught, learned, nurtured and supported (Fullan, 2007).  In my role as Technology Integrator, I assemble a grade-level distribution list at the beginning of each year so teachers have a quick, easy way to email the entire grade level.   I have also been encouraging teachers to add to the technology integration wiki so it can serve as a storage place for resources. 

This course has garnered my interest in the importance of clearly communicating goals and objectives and supporting a shared vision for the purpose of our work (Dufour, Dufour, & Eaker, 2008).  When meeting with teachers or principals, I aim to clarify our goals at the beginning so we both stay on track.  When I conducted an in-service training a few days ago, I made sure to state the goals of the meeting beforehand so teachers had an understanding of why they were there.  As a person who travels to more than half of the buildings in the district, I see the ‘big picture’ and can encourage others to try to acknowledge it.

During the first four years of my teaching career, I was fortunate to be part of positive school environment with supportive principals.  Both of the principals I had were well-liked by staff members, parents and students.  Week six of this course made me realize the critical role that school climate and an administrator’s style play in developing school culture.  As a person who is responsible for technology training in the district, I am constantly teaching new tools and new ways of doing things.  I agree with Waugh and Punch’s remark in School Context: Bridge or Barrier to Change, saying that “facilitating change in people's values, attitudes, and behavior is ‘grossly underplayed and often ignored’” (n.d.).  Teachers like stability and routines.  When they believe that what they are doing is benefiting their children, they do not see value in learning something new – especially if they are not given a good reason why they should invest in the change.  A commitment to change can only be initiated and sustained if there is a shared understanding of the current reality (Farmer & Gabriel, 2009).

My question is – When the culture in a school is not positive, and there is no mutual trust between the building principal and her teachers, how do you inspire school improvement?   According to Goodlad as cited by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, “a bond of trust and mutual support between principal and teachers appears to be basic to school improvement” (“School context: Bridge or barrier to change”, n.d.)  Kent Peterson says that a school with a toxic culture that does not value professional learning hinders success (2002).  In my district, we have had two consecutive contract negotiations that led in a settlement one-day before striking.  The negotiations drew a lot of media attention and have increased the bitter feelings between teachers and administrators.  The union leaders have contributed to the feelings of animosity.  Since arriving in the district seven years ago, I feel that it’s been bred in me not to trust administrators.  When teachers are continuously fed this kind of toxic information, how can one make any progress as an administrator? 

When I travel from building to building, I do my best to exhibit a positive attitude and mention my working relationships with the administrators.  I am debating starting a blog this year that focuses on the accomplishments of teachers in the district so we have a place to share positive news.  I know that the teachers feel unsupported and overwhelmed in their positions, so I created a wiki last year to serve as a central storage spot for district resources.  This wiki has been overwhelmingly popular and teachers constantly express their thanks!  I believe that technology has the power to enable teachers to be more productive and effective in the classroom, and that is why I challenge myself to integrate technology into my modeling practices.

Resources:

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. (2008). Revisiting professional learning communities at work: New insights for improving schools. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.

         
Farmer, P.C. & Gabriel, J.G.  (2009).  How to help your school thrive without breaking the bank.  Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

         
Fullan, M. (2007).  Understanding Change. In The Jossey-Bass Reader on Educational Leadership (pp. 169-181). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

School context: Bridge or barrier to change. (n.d.)  In Southwest Educational Development  Laboratory.  Retrieved from http://www.sedl.org/change/school/leadership.html#culture


Senge, P.M. (2007). Give me a lever long enough…and single-handed I can move the world.  In The Jossey-Bass Reader on Educational Leadership (pp. 3-15). San Francisco, CA:  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Culture and Change

Diversity has been a big initiative ever since I joined the district in 2005.  I distinctly remember sitting in an in-service on Rosh Hashanah during my first year of teaching.  As we were listening to a speech on diversity, someone stood up and said, “I find it hard to believe that you’re trying to teach us about diversity on the holiest day of the Jewish year.”  Since then, we have had off for Rosh Hashanah.  During another in-service, we participated in a large group activity where we had to stand in certain parts of the room depending on how we answered the facilitator’s question.  Some questions focused on our upbringing, race, and the wealth of our families.  Diversity awareness continues to be a focus in our district and is part of our mission statement.  According to Richards, Brown and Forde (2006),  “It is crucial that teachers explore their personal histories and experiences, as well as the history and current experiences of their students and families.”  

When teachers eliminate biases and have knowledge about their students’ backgrounds, they can better respond to their students’ needs.  Our district elementary schools have a number of programs in place so that all students feel included.  Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtII) is our newest academic initiative to ensure we are meeting the needs of all learners.  Team data meetings take place each quarter to look at data from multiple perspectives and ensure that students are in the most appropriate tier for learning.  The school counselors push into the classrooms for a series of lessons in each grade level.  In third grade, students experience a lesson on discrimination where they are treated a certain way according to the color bandana they are given.  School counselors have the flexibility to work with groups of students depending on the need that is expressed by the classroom teacher.  At my former building, I felt very supported by my principal, the school counselor, and all of the other support specialists.  “If the teacher-principal relationship can be characterized as helpful, supportive, and trusting, so too will relationships between teachers, students, and parents” (School context: Bridge or barrier to change, n.d.).

This year, RtII will be implemented in grades three and four across the district.  Kindergarten, first and second grade implemented RtII last year.  When I overhear conversations about RtII, I usually hear negative comments.  Even after a year of implementation, teachers see it more of a hassle than a help.  They view it as a program that interferes with scheduling and reduces the amount of time they have for language arts instruction.  According to Marzano (2005), culture is the number one item that is negatively affected by second-order change.  It also does not help that contract negotiations were going on for the first half of the school year.  If I could redo the RtII introduction process, I would start out by evaluating student data and showing the teachers how RtII can help meet the needs of all their students.  Monitoring and evaluating ranks number one on Marzano’s list for first-order change and number five on the list for second-order change (2005).  Being able to demonstrate knowledge of curriculum, instruction and assessment, number one on Marzano’s list for second-order change, would give support to the teachers.  Many teachers feel that this initiative was brought to our district without regard to the programs we already had in place.  In order to move forward and build positivity around this initiative, we need to continue to monitor and evaluate the student data.  If last year’s data shows improvements, that needs to be communicated to staff members to show how their efforts are making a difference.  If the data shows no progression, staff members should be involved in deciding the next steps.  As stated by Huberman and Miles, “Those involved in school improvement efforts must believe that the needs being addressed are important and that they are meeting those needs (School context: Bridge or barrier to change, n.d.).

References:

Brown, A.F., Forde, T.B., Richards, H.V. (2006). Addressing Diversity in Schools: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy.   National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems. Retrieved from http://www.nccrest.org/Briefs/Diversity_Brief.pdf

Marzano, R. J., Waters, T., & McNulty, B. A. (2005).  School Leadership That Works: From Research to Results.  Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision andCurriculum Development.

School context: Bridge or barrier to change. (n.d.)  In Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.  Retrieved from http://www.sedl.org/change/school/leadership.html#culture

Marzano's 21 Responsibilities of a School Leader and Student Achievement

Last year, my school district implemented Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtII) in kindergarten through second grade.  This year, RtII will be implemented in grades three and four.  I chose this as my improvement initiative in order to evaluate the steps that have been taken to prepare staff for this change.  McREL rates this change as a “second-order change” because it involves new knowledge and a major shift from current practices.

McREL identifies seven leadership responsibilities that should be emphasized during a second-order change.  The three responsibilities of the inventory in which I scored highly are also three of the highest on my self-assessment: ideals/beliefs, change agent and optimizer.  While these responsibilities are all important to academic achievement, they do not rank as high as some other categories.  I suppose these categories are a bit more abstract, as they are not as visual as concrete data (monitoring/evaluating) and events that would involve all stakeholders (outreach).  Knowledge of curriculum, instruction and assessment is not only crucial to second-order change, but it has a .25 correlation with student achievement (Marzano, 2005, p. 63).  I ranked myself with a 3 on the self-assessment and scored a 3.5 on the inventory.  I do not underestimate the value of curriculum, instruction and assessment, I am just aware that it is a weakness of mine.  I plan to work closely with the new Coordinator of Curriculum and Instruction this year so I can gain skills in this area.  Part of the problem at the elementary level is that we refer to our programs as the curriculum.  The district is currently in the process of writing curriculum since we do not formally have one. 

I find the negative associations of the McREL inventory interesting, for I have never thought about the leadership responsibilities that may be pushed aside during a time of significant change.  I rated 3.17 for “culture” in the inventory and rated myself a 5 on the self-assessment.  It is possible that the state of my school district influenced my rating on the inventory, for I was thinking about our current conditions.  I am a firm believer in cooperation and teamwork.  I setup a teacher resource wiki last year to try to encourage teachers to share their work since we do not have shared drives on our network.  I continue to advocate for a shared space (either in the cloud or on the network) for people to share resources.  This year, I will attempt to use Edmodo (an educational social network) in one building to enhance communication and collaboration.  During a time of change and uncertainty, I feel that it’s important to remind everyone that we are all in the same boat working toward the same goal.  As a principal, I would try to give staff time to plan together and possibly observe in other classrooms if it was requested.  With a .25 correlation to student achievement, culture has a profound impact on the way teachers interact with their colleagues and their students (Marzano, 2005, p. 63).   I imagine that if a positive culture is modeled in the school, a teacher might strive to implement some similar strategies in her classroom.

        

With the highest correlation to student achievement, situational awareness ranked 4.20 on my McREL inventory and a 3 on my self-assessment.  I view it as a high need and am aware that I need work in that area.  As a principal, it is important that I develop an informal system of gathering information (Murphy, 2007, p. 55).  By touching base with my staff members on a daily basis and developing open, honest relationships with them, I would hope to be informed about events that may impact the school.  My former principal worked closely with his secretary, the school counselor and the school nurse.  All of them worked closely with the staff and served as great resources whenever a problem arose.  I would often seek help from one of them before seeking help from the principal.  I believe this is an effective system that models the sharing of and optimization of leadership responsibilities in a school.

21 Responsibilities of the School Leader Self-Assessment

McREL Report - 21 Leadership Responsibilities

McREL Report - 7-4-3 Analysis 

Resources:

Marzano, R. J., Waters, T., & McNulty, B. A. (2005).School Leadership That Works: From Research to Results.Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Murphy, J.T. (2007).  The Unheroic Side of Leadership. In The Jossey-Bass Reader on Educational Leadership (pp. 51-62).  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Transformational Leadership Reflection

Transformational leadership is based on strong moral values and purpose.  A transformational leader sets goals while looking at the global picture instead of just focusing on the facts.  This type of leader encourages collaboration and a mutual trust with followers, as opposed to a transactional leader whose actions may lead to competition among individuals.  In educational environments, transformational leaders demonstrate a genuine care for students, families, and staff members.  They appear to be self-less, as they are more concerned with developing others’ potential than developing themselves. 

If I were a student in a class with a transformative leader, I would learn the value of working in teams.  Project-based learning with a focus on higher-order thinking skills would be more common than drill and skill.  In this class, I would consider my teacher as a “guide on the side” instead of a “sage on stage.”  I would feel enabled to express my opinions after developing a mutual trust with my teacher and peers.  I would be expected to apply my knowledge to solve meaningful, relevant problems.  Failure would not be an option in a classroom with a transformative leader, for if I decided not to complete assignments, my teacher would strive to find the root of the problem instead of giving me a low letter grade.

A school administrator with the mindset of a transformational leader must have more of an ‘influence’ on a school than an ‘impact.’  The administrator should lead by modeling and making his values known.  When I hear the word ‘impact,’ I think of force.  Teachers in this school should be intrinsically motivated to improve their teaching strategies because they understand the overarching purpose of their role in the school.  Morale in this school would be high because teachers would feel supported and nurtured. 

I see a correlation between transformational leadership and stewardship.  In both styles, the leader does not want to be a dictator, but a facilitator.  The leader makes a continued effort to share responsibilities with teachers and parents.  The leader does not accept the existing structure if it is ineffective; he makes decisions based on emotion and values.  Just like stewardship, a transformational leader gives power to the people instead of powering over them (Sergiovanni 2007).

When school administrators encourage staff members to integrate technology into the curriculum, they must communicate WHY – why they are integrating technology and why it’s important.  If administrators do not have a personal passion for technology, they need to communicate how passionate the children are for technology. They might choose to show one of the “Did You Know” YouTube videos or have a discussion based on an article such as “Turning on the Lights” by Marc Prensky.  Administrators need to create an environment that encourages risk-taking so teachers are not afraid to fail.  They also need to model the use of technology so it shows their own risk-taking and partnering with the staff to learn something new.  A transactional approach would not be helpful for technology integration because teachers would see the idea as “one more thing to do” versus another way to liven up the curriculum and engage students.

This year, I am forming goals with the building principals before school begins.  We are forming goals based on the needs of the students and I am going to assist with the technology component.  I am hoping to introduce a new tool to the principals each time they meet so that they can model the use of this tool with their staff members.  The tools that I introduce will support differentiated instruction and guided reading which are their two main focus points this year.  I am hoping that by forming a vision based off of passion and purpose, I will transcend the minds of the principals and consequently, the influence the minds of the teachers (“The Transformational Leadership Report,” 2007).

Sergiovanni, Thomas (2007).  Leadership as Stewardship.  San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass.

“The Transformational Leadership Report” (2007).

 

First Two Weeks

The past two weeks have been exhilarating.  When I try to explain this program to others, I become giddy and excitable.  I'm sure these people think something is wrong with me when I rave about the ELC and the assignments I've been asked to complete.  I am enjoying the various ways we are learning about and connecting with each other - discussion threads, group forums, video presentations, etc.  Everyone brings such a unique perspective to this cohort, and I feel special to be a part of it.  I expect this program to be rigorous, demanding, supportive and encouraging – all at the same time.   I hope it doesn’t take me too long to develop efficient work strategies.

I'm still learning how to navigate the ELC.  I'm having trouble being productive while navigating through the discussion threads, but I think I just need more practice.  Hopefully one day, I will be able to hit 'reply' to a post and see the original post in the same window.  For now, I will continue to copy and paste posts so I don't lose track of who I am responding to.  I am enjoying the ‘to-do’ checklist in the ELC that keeps track of my assignments.  I need to get into a routine of entering all of the to-dos in my weekly calendar as well.

I'm glad that feedback on the ELC is welcome and encouraged.  I'm not used to working with people who want feedback in order to better meet my needs.  Everyone from JHU has been very friendly, helpful and responsive.  I know I made the right choice to get involved in this program.  ISTE is quickly approaching and I can't wait to meet my classmates in person.