Clinical Cycle - Post Conference Analysis

Post-observation conference consisted of the principal, teacher, and myself meeting in the principal’s office, sitting at a conference table within the office. The teacher sat in between principal and myself. The conference began with the principal describing the lesson. While describing what she observed, she used a calm voice and made eye contact with the teacher. After the principal provided her feedback, I was able to provide mine.

When I discussed my observations with the teacher, I maintained eye contact and talked with my hands throughout the discussion. The tone of my voice stayed consistent and I thought my enunciation and pronunciation was good. There was one point during the discussion that I stumbled over my words and had to refer back to my notes. Overall, I thought the delivery of what I observed from the lesson was okay. One area in which I need to improve is the seriousness of my delivery. I felt I was too serious and needed to relax a little. Having a serious tone during the delivery could turn teachers away from the observation cycle. I also used a lot of “ums” and hand gestures, which I thought was distracting.

During the conference I was able to specify actions that the teacher did during the lesson that I thought were strong. For example, “encouraging students to ask questions of each other”. I provided several other strengths I observed and two areas in which I though she could improve. I did not use the student’s name when referring to students; I am unfamiliar with her class. We did review student data together and it was evident that all students mastered the lesson’s objective based on the assessment.

When discussing the observation with the teacher I did not refer back to the prior conversations we had regarding her areas of need. I wrote about it in my write up but did not address it when speaking to the teacher. I do think I used an appropriate style of talking with the teacher. After reviewing the tape, I thought I was talking more at her than with her. I also did not ask the teacher any questions. The teacher did not actually say anything during the discussion. She only shook her head in agreement. I did have questions prepared but did not follow through with asking them. This made the conference very one-sided and not a dialogue between the teacher and me.


Overall, I thought the post conference was not successful. I used a direct approach with this teacher and it was not necessary. She is a strong teacher and the approach should have been a collaborative effort of what she believed happened and what I observed. Then together we could decide the best way for her to improve.


I believe I was overcome with nervousness of having the principal in the room and being video taped. I did not refer back to my notes when it was my turn to talk with the teacher. I feel that I needed to make the post-conference more of a dialogue and less of a “presentation”. I also think part of what I did was based on what I know. None of my post-observations from the past have been a dialogue. I cannot wait until I am able to conduct another clinical cycle so I can improve this part of the process.

Room Arrangements

I have always found it interesting to go into another teacher’s room and look at how they have it set up. I often wonder why another teacher has chosen the set up they did. I also found it interesting that there was so much information about how a room set up can affect student learning. For my own room arrangements, I found that I tried to keep certain students separate, certain students close to where I was most of the day, and some students specifically next to each to help them excel. I never really thought that there are actual diagrams and case studies to show what classroom arrangement work for different situations. It makes senses that there is formal research on this topic but it is weird to me at the same time that I always had these conversations, internally, when I rearranged my classroom.

I looked at several elementary classrooms. The first was a kindergarten classroom that had student desks set up in three “u” shaped tables. The teacher used this set up as opposed to tables because she thought students learned better having their own defined areas to sit at. I thought this was a brilliant idea because students are still able to work cooperatively together but have their own “area”.

I then looked at a second grade classroom. The desk arrangements were clustered into 5-6 desks creating a table or pod, which is an arrangement I often used at the beginning of year because I like to encourage cooperative learning. Finally, I looked at a fifth grade classroom. The teacher used student desks to create two large rectangle tables. The teacher chose this arrangement because students are able to work together and she only needs to walk past the front and back of the tables, never go down the rows, to work with students and check their work.

The three rooms I looked at all had some for of table clusters using student desks’ that allows for cooperative learning to take place. However, the kindergarten classroom and the second grade classroom did not have a lot of room in between the desks. This could prove to be problematic if there was a student who needed wheelchair access to all areas of the classroom not just his or her desk. To help accommodate a student in a wheelchair, these teachers may need to have bigger cluster groups so there is more area available through the classroom.

All three classrooms had an area where teachers provided direction instruction and meet with small groups. Kindergarten had a designated carpet area and the other two classrooms had a chalkboard area for direction instruction and a horseshoe table for small group. There were a couple computers in each classroom that students used during “center” time. Each classroom allowed for maximum teacher view from all points of the classroom. There was not anything to obstruct the view in which the teacher could not see the students. These open views would also allow for supervising staff to come in at anytime and have multiple viewpoints to observe what is happening in the classroom.

I never thought about how much a room arrangement could tell someone about the teacher’s instructional strategy. Table groups together means the teacher encourages cooperative learning and desks arranged so all students can view the front chalkboard could mean the teacher is performing a demonstration. I think room arrangements give supervisors a general idea of the teacher and teaching style.

Effective Leadership Final Reflection

The topic of General Leadership from week 1 was the most interesting for me. I enjoyed developing my concept of leadership and identifying leadership qualities. I enjoyed reading about the five practices and ten commitments of leadership established by Kouzes and Posner (2007). I liked reading this because it helped me to visualize an ideal lead in a school and what I hope to become when I am a principal. Before this course I did not think that principals had the power to change because of district restrictions. I now understand from this course that an effective leader understands policies and procedures but overall makes decisions that are for the greater good of the school and more specifically the students.

The five practices include modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process, enabling others to act, and encouraging the heart. After reading about the five practices of exemplary leadership, modeling the way and challenging the process both provided me with an “ah ha” moment. I never thought about how much the way I do something shows how I feel, positive or negative, about that something. After reading this chapter, it made it clear to me that I need to practice what I preach. For example, when I was the technology coordinator I would tell teachers one way to clean the computer so that it would be done the proper way, however I would not follow that for my computer. I now understand that people (teachers) follow what I do more than what I say.

Challenging the process stood out to me because during my 6 years working in an elementary school I always saw teachers and the principal doing what was told to them, even if it was not what was best for the students. I also witnesses teachers being forced out of their positions for not doing what was told to them. I guess I just assumed this is the way education is. After readings in week 1 and following weeks, I know that it takes challenging the process in order for change to happen. The school I worked in was struggling to make AYP. I think if the principal would have challenged something, then the school could begin to change.

I found the idea of school reform challenging because as a newly appointed principal in a school that needs reform, I think “How will I know what is the best model or way to help the school?” I think the whole idea of creating change in a school that will affect teachers, students, parents, and the community is a heavy burden for anyone especially a principal. I think it is challenging for a principal because they have all eyes watching, the superintendent from above and the school community from below. When thinking about school reform I think about the first school I taught at. The school was struggling and a first time principal was appointed my first year. Her job was to change the school in order for the school to make AYP. After knowing what I know now from this course and looking back, I can see things she did that were pieces of the puzzle of good leadership but she was missing vital pieces to successfully reform the school. Some items she left out of the puzzle include: creating a shared vision, creating a positive culture, and understanding the diverse population of the school. During my 5 years at the school, with her principal, it was not successful and borderline disaster in many aspects. I feel like once she was appointed principal she forgot the things she learned in her A&S program and I do not want to walk the same path she did.

To avoid the path that my principal walked, I think I have to remember to be an authentic leader. An authentic leader is someone who has integrity and is competent. A leader with integrity will “preach what they believe and practice what they preach” (Evans, 2007, p. 136). A leader who is competent has characteristics that include: “craft knowledge, life experience, native intelligence, common sense, intuition, courage and the capacity to “handle things”” (Evans, 2007, p. 136). I believe that if I remember to have integrity and am able to recall my knowledge gained form this course, future courses, and life experiences, then I will be able to be an effective leader.

I think educational technology issues are always changing and that makes it hard as a leader in a school to implement technology in an efficient way. Two years ago interactive white boards were all the “rage”, but now it is being realized that having a white board in the classroom does not increase test scores. So, now the new trend is 1:1 with tablets. I think it is hard as a leader to know exactly what technology should be used in the classroom to improve student achievement. I think the idea is less about the technology and more about teacher instruction. I believe that good teachers can make any item, material, and/or technology work in their classroom for students. As an educational leader I will support quality teacher instruction that also may or may not utilize technology.

I have found the course extremely challenging because of the quality of information given in the short amount of time. I have learned so much and hope I remember what I have learned when it comes time to application.

Deeply Rooted Culture Needs Change

When thinking about school culture, I think about how students, teachers, parents and administrators talk, act, and react to one another. I do not think my school has a positive school culture nor do I think my administration tries to support a positive school culture.

Victoria Boyd (1992) describes culture “as the existence of an interplay between three factors: the attitudes and beliefs of persons both inside the school and in the external environment, the cultural norms of the school, and the relationships between persons in the school”. In my school, the interplay between teachers is “catty”. It is sad to say that I cannot trust another person in the building. There are many “spies” that will run to the administration if they think they have something to tell. The administration supports this type of behavior because they embrace the “spies” and often point them to various leadership positions.

The cultural “norms” of the school are negative because the leadership is not consistent. The principal has changed 3 times in the past 7 years. Each principal walks into a situation where fights happen daily, test scores are not improving, and parents are not supportive. Parents do not visualize themselves as part of the school but rather as a place to send their children.

To improve the present school culture I think it would take a second-order change. Marzano (2005) describes two types of change, one type of change is called a first order change and that uses what already works to solve a problem. The second type of change is called a second-order change and requires coming up with a new solution to solve the problem, thinking outside the box. It would take a second-order change to change the culture of the school because the negative cultural is deeply rooted into the school.

The negative aspects of the school are part of the teachers, students, and parents “mental maps” of the school. The leadership of the school has to redefine the mental maps of the stakeholders to change the school. Marzano (2005) explains that a leader that tries to present an innovation that would create a second-order change has to be:

1.    Knowledgeable of how the innovation would affect curriculum.

2.    The driving force behind the fight.

3.    Knowledgeable about research and theory regarding the innovation.

4.    Committed to the innovation even if not supported by everyone.

5.    Continually monitoring the innovation.

6.    Flexible

7.    Consistent in all situations regarding the innovation.

These responsibilities that Marzano describes are a way for fostering an innovation that creates change. Coming up with the new innovation is the hard part. Creating a chain of events that will have the desired outcome is challenging but is the test of a strong leader.

Boyd, V. (1992). School context: bridge or barrier to change?. (Literature Review). Retrieved from: http://www.sedl.org/change/school/

Marzano, R.J., Waters, T., & McNulty, B.A. (2005) School leadership that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Marzano's 21 Responsibilities of a School Leader Reflection

When completing the individual self-assessment I was in the mind frame of when I was a leader in the building, as a technology teacher. Teachers and administrators came to me for technology assistance. I reflected on how I thought I was a leader. When completing the “Balanced Leadership” profile, I was thinking about how the principal I had operated. I noticed some items were very similar, while others were different.

I think the major differences occurred when I thought about how that principal operated and how I thought I made a change to be better than what I witnessed. For example, flexibility, I scored myself as a 4 and my principal as a 1.50. As a technology leader, I often had to stop what I was doing to help other teachers with their technology. I had to work on demand and make the best of the situation even if it put me out. My principal was, quite obviously, “thrown off” when things changed from the original plan. I witnessed this and saw how other faculty members read her and learned that I needed to be flexible in order for other teachers to feel comfortable coming to me for help. 

There were some examples in which I scored similar to that principal. For example, with visibility, I scored myself as a “3” but when thinking about the principal, it was scored a 2.67. However, when I had interaction with teachers and students it was to provide assistance. When that principal interacted with teachers and students it seemed to be in a more judgmental role than supportive. So while we were scored the same, the purpose was different.

I have only seen one-person function in the role of principal and I know she was not the best example. However, I see it as a learning experience and will use it grow as an administrator. This survey and the reading make me compare how I am as a leader now to how I want to be a leader in the future.

Here are my top areas of strengths and improvements:

I see my biggest area of needing improvement as being an “agent of change”.  I know this is my weakness because I believe things need to be change but I am afraid to “rock the boat” too much in my school district. I have seen other professionals wreak the consequences of trying to fight the system. When I am a principal, I know I will have to be the change agent for my school especially since, according to Marzano (2005) an increase in a principal’s effectiveness in being a change agent correlates .25 with student academic achievement (63). This means that if I can increase my effectiveness as a change it could increase overall student achievement.

References

Marzano, R.J., Waters, T., & McNulty, B.A. (2005) School leadership that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Transformational Leadership Reflection

I would define transformational leadership as a leadership that creates change. Individuals who are part of the transformational leadership are motivated to work toward the goals of the organization and are inspired to take leadership roles and responsibilities which allows the individual to grow and develop on a personal level. When people within an organization grow, develop and change then so can the organization. Kenneth A. Leithwood (2007) describes transformational leadership as a leadership that "emphasis emotions and values and shares in common fundamental aim of fostering capacity development and higher levels of personal commitment to organizational goals" (192). Within a transformational leadership organization, the motivation to work comes from within the individual to want to perform for the organization.

In a learning environment transformational leadership can flourish by the people. When transformational leadership exist within alearning environment the people involved understand that it is not about working to achieve personal goals but to work as whole. Like Richard Cox describes in the Transformational Leadership Report (2007), "this approach to leadership takes us from a constricting model of competition between individuals, teams or nations, to a connection with a whole of a situation, and leadership for the good of all" (p. 19).   The people involved work together to bring out the best in each other and the organization.

Transformational leadership can impact a way an administrator leads a school because they would no longer be running a school in the sense that they make decisions and then make sure they are carried out. Instead they would be providing the environment for stakeholders (teachers, parents, community members, etc.) where they feel respected, trusted, and empowered. The result is an environment where people feel connected and are willing to lead and contribute so the school can achieve vision. I think a principal that is a transformational leader would focus less on "red tape" and would focus more on the people.

I think when integrating technology into instruction, if a principal (who is a transformational leader) provides the nurturing environment and the technology then, teachers will feel empowered to try and learn to use it in the classroom. The hardest thing when having new technology in school is getting teachers to use it. However, if they already feel empowered by the principal to make decisions for the school then they will feel comfortable enough to try new technologies and introduce new technologies to others.

References

Cox, Richard. (2007). The Transformational Leadership Report. Retrieved from: http://www.transformationalleadership.net.

Leithwood, Kenneth A., (2007). Transformation school leadership in a transactional
policy world. (pp. 183-196). In Educational Leadership (pp.183-196). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Orientation Reflection

My expectations for this program are to expand my knowledge of technology in education while learning about becoming an administrator. I also hope to extend my network with other educators that have the same interest in technology as I do. I hope to accomplish this by working hard and with other cohort members, readings, discussions, and reflections.

The steps I will take to ensure that I am successful in this program are to plan a head, make time to complete activities and use the checklist provided with the online community. I will look at the items I need to complete when a session opens and plan my week accordingly. I love the checklist feature - it keeps me updated as to what I need to complete for each session. Finally, I will check into the course at least once a day to check for discussion updates and announcements posted.

I will need additional support with APA style and writing assignments. I know I am not a strong writer especially, when it comes to writing professionally. I think I will be utilizing the resources from this session throughout the program.