Final Post Reflection

One understands that effective school leadership requires twenty-one responsibilities, but that the mastery of all twenty-one is beyond the capacity of most people (Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005, p. 99). Pitfalls that one would need to be aware of as a first year principal as mentioned by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty (2005) include developing a strong leadership team, selecting the right work, distributing some responsibilities throughout the leadership team, identifying the order of magnitude implied by the selected work, and matching the management style to the order of magnitude change initiative. Many of the strategies and action steps identified in the action plan would help to support these five steps.

Developing a strong leadership team is the only way to address all twenty-one responsibilities. Nurturing a shared vision and belief system among different groups of individuals is paramount to raising student achievement. “Shared vision is essential to a successful change process and an absolute requisite for any learning organization” (DuFour & Eaker, 2008). The leadership team must actively and collaboratively pursue the implementation of the vision on a daily basis. Distribution of responsibilities through the leadership team allows all stakeholders to have a voice in the school improvement process. Additionally, buy-in by the school community is more likely to occur.

The leadership team must also select the right work that has the greatest chance of raising student achievement. Marzano, Walters, & McNulty (2005) identified thirty-nine action steps at both the school level and the teacher level. These action steps are based on a foundation of gathering school data from a variety of sources such as state assessments, quarterly benchmarks, and student work. Additionally, the inclusion of climate survey data is also critical for gathering feedback from students, teachers, and parents. Bernhardt (2000) notes that implementing an effective data analysis process helps to replace hunches and hypothesis with facts; identify root causes of problems not symptoms; assess needs and target resources to address them; set goals and determine whether they are being accomplished; and focus staff development efforts and track their impact (p. 34).

The Organization and Administration course  has helped to heighten my belief in the inclusion of an honest discussion of integrity, fairness, and ethical behavior in one’s practice. Senge (2007) speaks about a movement within learning organizations where individuals seek the intrinsic benefits of their work. He speaks of the importance of personal mastery in one’s job and the need to continually reflect, clarify and deepen one’s personal vision. More importantly, he asks individuals to question their “mental models” and note the effects it has on their teaching practice. This act of continual personal reflection helps to bring to the surface  internal viewpoints and hold them to rigorous scrutiny. In a time where increased an increasingly diverse population of students continually streams into the public school setting, educators must reflect on their practice to ensure that their actions are based on fairness and integrity for all students.

Individual Reflection: Co-Teaching Model

The co-teaching model that I am most familiar with in my previous high school was the One Teaching, One Drifting approach (Friend & Coach, 2003). The general education teacher normally planned and instructed the lesson, while the special education teacher moved through the class assisting students as needed or addressing behavior problems. This lead support role seemed to develop naturally right at the start of the school year. I saw this happening for several reasons: it was the easiest approach to implement for teachers; general educators and special educators were not given their class assignments until the start of the school year; and general and special educators often were not given the opportunity to plan during the school day. Additionally, this lead support approach did not require teachers to develop a deep, collegial relationship instead allowing them to remain distant.

From the students’ point of view, one teacher was seen as the main teacher. This person was the one that did all of the teaching. This was the course content expert. The special education teacher was seen as an assistant who walked around the classroom and addressed classroom misbehaviors. 

The relationship between these two adults was, at best cordial, but at times shallow or superficial. I’ve observed general educators develop deep resentments towards the special educators. They felt as though they were doing all of the work and that the special educators contributed little to nothing to instruction and planning. The reality in this high school was that there were simply not enough special educators for all of the co-teaching classrooms. 

The special educators were often made to feel like visitors to another person’s space. It was not unusual to walk into a co –teaching classroom and see the special educator with a small cart on wheels or a small area carved out in the back of the room with their instructional materials. The cart lends itself to a brief or temporary condition.

The upgrade of curriculum for the 21^st century meant that for this high school the general educators needed to become more proficient with instructional strategies that addressed a diverse learning population. While observing an Algebra 1 classroom that contained students that belonged in co-teaching classrooms the veteran teacher shared with me a variety of instructional strategies, flexible groupings, and the addition of a mastery learning model to ensure that all of her students were successful. High School Assessment (HSA) scores supported the work this teacher was doing in spite of the lack of an available special education teacher. 

Where resources are spread thin, I believe that a school principal would serve students well by implementing a co-teaching environment with novice teachers or teachers with little to no experience with differentiation strategies. A team teaching approach (Friend & Coach, 2003) would allow both teachers to share responsibilities for sharing and planning. Teachers work as a team to introduce information, facilitate learning, and address classroom management issues. This approach allows the novice teacher to develop a cadre of instructional tools to address the needs of all learners. The special educator role is respected and appreciated for not only helping students learn, but also providing one-to-one instruction for novice teachers on how to differentiate instruction.

Evaluating a co-teaching classroom requires a supervisor to implement similar strategies utilized when evaluating a general education classroom. As a supervisor, I would expect to see lessons that were student-centered, activities that were creative, encouraged collaboration and communication.  I would also expect to see recognition of diverse learners and learning styles. Since I would be evaluating a team teaching classroom I would also evaluate the roles of the two teachers (Arguelles, Schumm, & Vaughn, 1997). 

I would expect to see evidence of co-planning in the instructional strategies and how the students are assessed (Wilson, 2005). I would also evaluate how the teachers treated each other. Is it a collegial, cooperative, supportive relationship?

References

Arguelles, M., Schumm, J., & Vaughn, S. (1997). The ABCDEs of Co-Teaching. The Council For Exceptional Children: Teaching Exceptional Children, 30(2).

Friend, M., & Cook, L. H. (2003). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Wilson, G. L. (2005). This doesn’t look familiar! Intervention in School and Clinic, 40(5), 271–275.

Individual Reflection: Individualizing the Curriculum

The mastery learning model is the ideal approach to combine with the blended learning model in place at my school, ACCESS Online. Anderson (2009) noted some of the common features he observed when analyzing various mastery learning models: clearly specified learning objectives; short, valid assessments; mastery standards; a sequence of learning units; feedback on student progress; and additional time and help correcting specified student errors to assist students in meeting mastery standards. Furthermore, he states, “Learning-for-mastery students have outperformed students in conventional classrooms on measures of achievement, retention, learning rate, attitudes, and self-esteem (Anderson, 2009).

Math students enrolled in the ACCESS Online for credit recovery complete their lessons through Pearson Education’s NovaNet learning management system. Students logging into the site for the first time, are presented with a norm referenced achievement test, Basic Achievement Skills Inventory (BASI), to complete. The results help provide an evaluation of a student’s mathematics and reading skills for initial placement. Afterwards students are presented with a pretest. The results help to determine a prescribed course of action or a specific series of lessons to complete. Students are tested on learning objectives using formative and summative assessments. Assessment scores of 80% or higher allow the student to move through to the next lesson or unit. Assessment scores less than 80% allow the students to receive targeted, direct instruction in areas of weaknesses. Afterwards, students are allowed to repeat the assessment until a grade of 80% is earned.

Implementation of the NovaNet program began in January. Both face-to-face and online teachers have received ongoing professional development to better support the teaching and learning. Initial support for the program was high, due to the prescriptive nature of the program. However, pressure to push graduating seniors to complete the course by the end of April has brought up concerns regarding maintaining the integrity of the NovaNet program and whether or not students would able to complete all of the prescribed lessons in time. Additionally, teachers are often forced to go outside of NovaNet to locate or create activities that target weak areas in student learning. 

As a school leader, I would first use the research evidence suggested by Anderson (1985) to raise mastery standards from 80% to 85% to improve performance standards. Second, I would give math teachers time to collaborate and discuss corrective instruction that was targeted to the specific needs of the students in the credit recovery program. I would share with teachers that they could assemble already created presentations and web links in a program such as LiveBinder. This would create a single repository of digital corrective tools teachers could use for remediation. A second resource I would recommend would be the county supported Study Island, a web-based program that provides instruction, practice, assessment, and reporting built on state standards. This would also be a readily available tool for teachers to access for student remediation. 

Overall, I believe the mastery learning model is the best approach to improving performance standards for students in a blended learning course. Its prescriptive nature helps to ensure credit recovery students are receiving targeted instruction, while meeting state standards. Regular assessment of learning objectives helps to give the student, teachers, and administrators’ confidence that students are mastering the material. Ensuring teachers have access to a wide variety of remediation tools will allow critical corrective instruction that best meets the needs for all learners.

References

Anderson, L.W. (1985). A retrospective and prospective view of Bloom's "Learning for Mastery". In M.C. Wang & H.J. Walberg (Eds). Adapting instruction to individual differences (pp.254-268). Berkeley, CA: McCutchan.

Reflections on Influences of School Curricula

Schools curricula is influenced by the federal, state, and local government; courts; professional organizations; local educational leaders; and classroom teachers. Each of these forces has exerted their unique authority, control, and values on curriculum development.

The federal government has used its dollars to steadily exert its influence and control over the direction of curriculum and education since the 1960’s with the push for bilingual education and education of the handicapped. The next two decades brought in a more conservative approach to federal influence by giving states greater control and flexibility over how it distributed funding. As the country moved into the 21^st century, politicians controlled the give and take of federal dollars with the addition of standards-based teaching and increased accountability through high stakes testing. Today the federal government continues to influence school curricula through the implementation of the Race To The Top (RTTT) competition. States, dealing with ever decreasing budgets and facing the possibilities of deeper cutbacks, my state included, have felt the pressure to participate in the policies dictated by RTTT to ensure existing programs remain in effect and to reduce the possibility of additional teacher layoffs and larger class sizes. I am watching administrators and teachers jump through hoops as they attempt to meet the federal guidelines of this grant. However, it appears that Fullan's description of administrator's "dependency issue" is keeping many of the schools' in my district from truly improving upon the teaching and learning.

The courts role in school curricula has been to ensure the upholding of the rights of citizens as it relates to equity and access. Glatthorn, Boschee, Whitehead (2007) state that in the eyes of the courts, “Education is no longer seen as a privilege, but as a right for all” (p.126). Courts ensure compliance with federal regulations and have the power to withhold dollars or administer fines, if states are not abiding by rulings that have a direct impact on curricula. I see the courts biggest influence in my school district as it relates to special education and the enforcement of the Individual Education Plan or IEP for students.

The role of professional organizations as is relates to curricula is to ensure that the best researched-based practices for teaching and learning are communicated to local, state, and federal agencies. Professional organizations conduct lobbying efforts to influence the direction of curriculum such as with No Child Left Behind. Glatthorn, Boschee, Whitehead (2007) note that “professional organizations also publish curricular guidelines or model scope and sequence charts” (p.123). Finally professional organizations help to influence school curricula by conducting professional development opportunities to address new strategies or ideas.

Local education leaders and teachers play key roles in school curricula. In many school districts, superintendents assign an assistant superintendent with the task of overseeing curriculum development and implementation. This role is complicated by the fact that many assistant superintendents are tasked with a myriad of responsibilities besides school curricula. Additionally, budget cuts often leave many assistant superintendents with limited staffing to effectively implement curriculum changes. As it relates to principals, Glatthorn, Boschee, and Whitehead (2007) note that there seems to be a higher likelihood of elementary principals who “play an active role in curriculum leadership” as opposed to secondary principals who are “more likely to delegate these roles” to other teachers or department heads (p. 127). Teachers more often than not are tasked with the key role of implementing the curriculum. They are faced with both internal and external pressures to improve student achievement. Learning communities can go a long way in helping teachers develop the practices needed to properly implement the curriculum. Support from building administrators can also help ease this process and allow teachers the necessary time and resources to improve the teaching and learning in the classroom.

How do curriculum definitions, curricular history, and theoretical approaches and policy progress relate to major societal forces such as technology and the world at large?

Curriculum definitions, curricular history, theoretical approaches and policy progress all relate to major societal forces such as technology and the world at large because educators are continually encouraged to expand their level of knowledge, to challenge existing thinking, and to collaboratively work with groups of learners to seek news ways to improve upon teaching and learning. Educators understand that curriculum is under constant change due to cyclical questioning of existing ideas and beliefs on a global level. Finally, educators work to ensure that what they teach contributes to the growth of the whole child and that their students grow to become productive, contributing members to a global society.

As Fullan (1997) suggests, school leaders must listen and learn from others that may disagree with their ideas. From conflicts and disagreements often come more creative approaches to handling more complex issues. His idea of school leaders understanding the importance of “reculturing” is critical in bringing about and sustaining a positive, collaborative support network needed when curriculum implementation goes wrong. Fullan’s recommendation that school leaders understand how their tone sets the stage for how others may react in the face of difficulties can help send out a hopeful message to staff and help them understand the larger goal of raising student achievement.

Individual Reflection: Post Observation

The post observation took place in the morning before classes began. I met Ms. Hanible in her classroom where we sat directly across from each other in student desks. In retrospect, sitting side by side would have made for a more collegial feel. I wanted to create an atmosphere of collaboration. I also wanted Ms. Hanible to feel relaxed and comfortable enough to have a dialogue about the observation. I felt the best way to do that was to open the conversation with the positive comments her students made about her teaching. I believed opening the post observation with positive feedback and injecting laughter right at the beginning helped to relax Ms. Hanible’s body posture and allowed her to be more receptive. Additionally, I wanted her to see the impact of her teaching on learning outcomes. I maintained appropriate eye contact throughout the observation smiling and nodding my head in agreement and using phrases such “Okay” and “Right.” After reviewing the videotape, I realized that I use “umm” far too often as filler before moving on to the next question or topic. I kept my voice tone light and easy going, injecting laughter, when appropriate. 

During the preconference, Ms. Hanible indicated that her instructional transitions were problematic. She wanted me to observe how she moved from one activity to another and asked if I could provide strategies to help her better meet the learning needs of her students. Smith (1985) noted that the key to successful transitions was for teachers to use a variety of structured approaches. Additionally, the use of effective transitions in the classroom helps teachers minimize disruptions, maximize instructional time, and maintain optimal learning conditions (Arlin, 1979; Cangelosi, 2000; Sainato, 1990; Smith, Polloway, Patton, & Dowdy, 2001; Vartuli & Phelps, 1980). I recommended four strategies for Ms. Hanible to put into place with her classes. 

The first strategy I suggested was based on establishing routines and procedures. For example, class began at 9:30 a.m., however, due to late buses, Ms. Hanible did not start the lesson until 9:45 a.m. This was a daily occurrence. During this 15-minute time span, students were sitting in their seats with nothing to do. A few of the students picked up a textbook before sitting in their seats. Additionally, a student, absent the day before, requested materials needed to complete a missed homework assignment. I recommended that Ms. Hanible establish routines and procedures to streamline her morning activities. I suggested that she record the homework on an erasable monthly calendar and place any needed worksheets in a bin. Students could go to the homework calendar and record the information in their agenda book and retrieve any necessary handouts. This would allow students to take ownership of their learning and behave more independently while she focused on daily administrative duties. I also recommended that she create an extra credit assignment that students could complete independently at the computers during the 15-minute time span. This would allow them to focus on enrichment activities to deepen their understanding of world cultures while also giving them an opportunity to improve their grades.

As I watched Ms. Hanible move through her lessons, I was often unsure of when one activity ended and another began. Arlin (1979) notes that transitions are times where teachers direct students to end one activity and to begin another. As a result, the second strategy I suggested was for Ms. Hanible to use the foreign language department’s established lesson plan format. Utilizing this format would allow Ms. Hanible to take advantage of the clear beginnings and endings of one task or activity. Additionally, transition times where imbedded into the lesson planner, which she could adjust accordingly. I shared with her that the more structured lesson plan might also address the disorganization issues she mentioned during the preconference.

A third strategy I recommended would help Ms. Hanible guide her students through transitions successfully. I suggested that she model the student transition expectations. As with teaching students any new skill or behavior, teachers need to model the appropriate way for students to make a transition between activities (Olson & Platt, 2000; Rosenkoetter & Fowler, 1986; Smith et al., 2001) and then have students practice it (Olson & Platt, 2000; Reis, 1988; Smith et al., 2001), giving them feedback as they do so. I shared a five-step process for guiding students through the transition process: 1. provide a rationale; 2. explain the expected behavior; 3. model the expected behavior; 4. practice the expected behavior; and 5. monitor and provide feedback.

My final strategy for Ms. Hanible was to provide positive incentives to encourage students to execute transitions successfully. Since all of her students were assigned to her school due to behavior problems, I felt that gathering student input for rewards and consequences would help to motivate students. Kaser (2007) notes that for students with learning or behavior problems, these measures help support appropriate classroom behaviors by setting clear expectations, limiting opportunities for disruptive behaviors, and limiting the sources of frustration that can sometimes lead to inappropriate or unacceptable behavior.

Based on Jung’s four styles of teaching as mentioned in Pajak, Chapter Three, I believe Ms. Hanible’s teaching style is caring. This is evidenced by student feedback along with my observation of her class. Jung states that caring teachers have a sensing/feeling preference. During the pre-observation, Ms. Hanible shared her feelings and concerns about whether all of her students really were able to capture the material learned by the end of the class period. I could tell that this bothered her, but she wasn’t able to articulate a better strategy for reaching all of her students. Pajak (2003) points out that caring teachers are bothered by lack of harmony and balance. Ms. Hanible expressed frustration with her disorganization and its impact on her effectiveness as a teacher. As a result, when I provided feedback I made sure my tone was informative, friendly, and cordial. The suggestions I provided would not only target her issues with transitions, but also address her disorganization.

Ms. Hanible was asked to reflect on her teaching practices during the observation and to share evidence of times that she felt she met success. I wanted to understand her perceptions of how successful she was with the transitions during her lesson. She stated that she felt the lesson was moderately successful. “A few students were confused as to where we were or what page we were on. They were just not with it. Judging from the next day’s assessment, some of the students captured the information, but it was a mixed bag. I never feel like all of them get it by the end of a class period.” She was then asked if she had a chance to teach the lesson again to the same group of students, what would she do differently in terms of transitions. Ms. Hanible stated, “This doesn’t happen often, but not very many students showed up that day. We got through the lesson a lot faster than I had intended. I thought I would do the PowerPoint a lot longer. I ended up having 20 minutes left in class. I need to prepare for those times when I have just a few kids or a full class.” The normal class is 15 students, but only 8 students were in class.

Ms. Hanible functioned at a moderate developmental level and was able to articulate her weak areas, such as transitions and disorganization. I felt that she was open and honest about addressing the needs of her students and genuinely wanted suggestions for improving the teaching and learning. I chose to use a collaborative, encouraging behavior approach throughout the conference because it allowed me to hear Ms. Hanible’s perceptions of the observation while also letting me share my own ideas on how to make improvements. Glickman, Gordon, Ross-Gordon (2010) state that the result is a frank exchange of ideas where both participants know that they will have to agree on any course of action. Glickman, Gordon, Ross-Gordon (2010) further state that the supervisor should begin by encouraging the teacher to offer her own thoughts about the problem and suggestions for action. I was able to do this by using Charlotte Danielson’s Post Observation Conference Agenda and Meeting Notes to gather teacher feedback on the success of the lesson and suggested strategies for improvement. Overall, I felt that the use of a more collaborative behavior approach during the post observation helped to empower the teacher and placed us both on an equal plane forging a partnership towards improving the teaching and learning in her classroom.

Professional Development Models & Strategies Related to Student Work & Voices

So, for the last 2 weeks I have spent time completing formative evaluations and walkthroughs. This week we will discuss and share in class ideas, strategies, suggestions to those we've observed. Based on one of my observations, I am to suggest or recommend professional development opportunities that the teacher should engage in to benefit student learning? I need to think about whether the teacher needs one-to-one support or will the teacher improve by collaborating with others? Below I have listed 7 professional development opportunities that can benefit teachers:

• Listening to Student Voices
• Critical Friends
• Lesson Study
• LASW (Looking at Student Work)
• Classroom Visits
• Coaching & Mentoring
• Book Study

Individual Reflection: Room Arrangements

Art Classroom

I visited four classrooms inside of the 9^th grade annex building of a large high school in my district. I began the tour by visiting an art teacher’s classroom, a cheerful, inviting space. The sun filled room had a large window that filled the entire back half of the class. The view of the school’s courtyard made for an intriguing viewpoint for completing sketches. Vibrant green plants sat atop the shelves along the windowsills at the far end of the room. Below the plants were small bins filled with art materials and supplies. More colorful supplies filled small plastic baskets against the far wall. Four tall bookcases filled with art books, magazines, colorful plastic bins, and student artwork lined the opposite end of the window wall. The vertical alignment of the bookshelves allowed light to be filtered through the room keeping sunlight from overpowering the space. Both a demonstration table and a clean up station occupied the middle of the room. The students sat on stools at art tables arranged in small groupings near the chalkboard located on the wall directly opposite the windows. The teacher’s desk, a large rectangular shaped art table aligned the wall closest to the entryway. This gave her a clear line of sight of the students, demonstration table, chalkboard, and art supplies. Clustering the art tables closest to the chalkboard allowed the teacher to focus instruction and minimize distracting eyes, something I would imagine would be quite challenging in the space. Art materials were easily accessible to all students and neatly arranged to ensure quick and easy clean up.  The tables were clustered in a manner that made it easy for students and teacher to move around the space. The current room arrangement allowed the teacher to conduct a lesson that required the students to work in groups. The clustered tables and large aisles could certainly accommodate a student with special needs. Additionally, a smaller desk next to the teacher’s would easily meet the needs of students who were more easily distracted by other students or students who enjoyed helping the teacher. Technology use was centered on hardware that allowed the teacher to project images, presentations, and slideshows. A single desktop computer sat on the teacher’s desk, but was utilized by various students for independent work.

Math Classroom

The art teacher’s use of clustering or grouping students mirrored two other rooms I visited, a math and an English classroom. In both rooms students were involved in group work which necessitated the clustering of desks. The desks in the math class faced each other to help stimulate discussion. Both teachers stated that they rearranged the desks in rows when students were required to complete independent work or if direct instruction was needed. Additionally, the math teacher had a bank of computers aligning the outside walls of her classroom. In addition to the computers, she also had an LCD projector, SMARTboard, and a video visualizer. This technology-rich room was a direct result of this teacher participating in professional development workshops geared towards teachers desiring to integrate technology into their lessons. Though both teachers had large classes it was clear that maximizing access was important. The physical space in both rooms allowed students and teachers to move through aisles fairly easily. Materials were placed on small tables near the students’ desks. This helped to minimize traffic in the class. Both the math and English teacher, like the art teacher, arranged their desks in a location that allowed constant lines of sight to students. Additionally, both rooms had displays of student work on the bulletin board.

All three teachers are great models for their colleagues who desire to see how effective room arrangement affects instruction. As a supervisor it is critical to complete walk throughs of a building to gain a better understanding of how various room arrangements affect instruction. Observations could include "look fors" to help teacher and supervisor identify best strategies for effective room management. Additionally, appropriate professional development could be planned for teachers bases on these observations to enhance teaching and learning for all.