Module 3 Comments and Questions

Everyone,

Excellent analysis of the ISTE-Standards, NBPTS, and WVPTS!  I will be attending the ISTE conference in Atlanta this coming June, and I’m really excited to connect and collaborate with other educators around the world.

Just a reminder from the Course Syllabus:  In this course students will conduct a needs assessment to identify technology needs, assess professional development strategies to select those that will support technology integration in their contexts, examine the affordances and constraints of technology hardware and software to determine cost benefits in order to meet instructional goals or workplace needs, and develop resources to support technology integration (including grant funding).

I used a Google form to create a needs assessment for one particular initiative.   This particular tool made it very easy to share with colleagues and capture an overall picture of our technology needs.  I kept my survey short and to the point with choices. Here is an example of my needs assessment for my colleagues:

Sample Needs Assessment

I did not give the entire needs assessment (from above) to my 5^th grade students; it was modified.

I’m not providing examples to make you feel as if you have to “follow my way”.  I just want you to have an example of a needs assessment administered by a classroom teacher.  A few things to keep in mind: 

•      The needs assessment will not only help you decide on the technology you will integrate; it will serve as a guide to design professional development for your colleagues, and identify what type of grant you would need to meet the technology and professional development initiatives.

Hopefully while planning your technology initiative and grant proposal, you will view this project as an opportunity for authentic implementation in your school or organization.

Marlisa,

  I think your ideas of virtual and self-paced professional development, with some face- to- face meetings is a remarkable plan.  Providing professionals (teachers) with opportunities to learn and share materials in a variety of ways, especially integrating technology as a pathway to learning exudes the concept of teacher leadership and technology integration.  What tool will you choose for a needs assessment survey?   Do you have a group, class, colleagues, etc… that will serve as a group for your needs assessment to help determine your technology initiative and grant proposal?

Adam,

Your connection between ISTE Standard 5 and joining forces to implement a new practice through supported professional development is outstanding. Great idea to group teachers with different abilities and likes/dislikes to maximize support. Ongoing support is vital for success. The differentiated groups highlight collaboration at its best! In terms of your needs assessment, have you given any thought about what  survey tool you will use to help determine your technology initiative and grant proposal?

Michael,

You clearly have a firm understanding of digital etiquette and the importance of modeling ethical responsibilities.  Thank you for using this particular part of the WV Standards - “Teaching Leadership: The Teacher demonstrates leadership by implementing classroom and school initiatives that improve education as well as by making positive changes in policy and practice that affect student learning.”  From this function, it helps to explain to the teacher not only how to make the classroom better, but gives room for the teacher to contribute to the policies that teachers work under.”   Thanks for sharing teaching History with Technology.  I’m going to use the Economics lesson (If you Give a Mouse a Cookie) with one of my early intervention groups!  What tool will you use to collect your needs assessment information?

Walesca,

Great job of concisely capturing the WVPTS. I would thoroughly enjoy being part of your professional development plan, specifically, participating in learning experiences via video conferencing.  What a great plan to move outside of your state and reach out nationally…why reinvent the wheel, when you can almost guarantee someone else is ready to share their professional development experiences.  I also like your choice of using survey monkey to collect and analyze data.  Inviting guest speakers to share ideas during faculty-senate time is a productive use of time.  Do you plan to use survey monkey for your needs assessment?

Module 3

Section 1

The ISTE standards all seek to promote teacher leadership through technology integration, but standards 4 and 5 deal with professional technological leadership most directly. Standard 4 focuses on modeling and promoting digital citizenship and responsibility in that:

Teachers understand local and global societal 

issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital 

culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in 

their professional practices.

Teachers in technology will demonstrate leadership by modeling the use of digital information and technology, providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools, promoting digital etiquette, and developing cultural understanding by engaging with other colleagues and students. 

The ISTE standard 5 focuses on engaging in professional growth and leadership in that:

Teachers continuously improve their professional 

practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit 

leadership in their school and professional 

community by promoting and demonstrating 

the effective use of digital tools and resources.

In this standard, teachers will demonstrate technology through exploring innovative technological applications by participating in learning communities, developing the leadership and technology skills of others, making effective use of current digital tools by evaluating current research, and by making contributions to the renewal of the teaching profession.

The NBPTS standard that can be found most applicable to technology leadership is standard 3-

Teachers are responsible for monitoring and managing student learning.

Standard 3 assesses the teacher's fluency through a range of techniques which include: keeping students motivated, assessing the progress of the class and individual students, and keeping students engaged and focused through a variety of instructional techniques. It also includes the use of multiple methods that assess student growth and understanding.

The WVPTS standards that most adequately apply to technology leadership are 4 and 5.  Standard 4 deals with Professional Responsibilities for Self-Renewal. This incorporates examining personal and professional teaching practices; as well as learning, teaching, and working in a global, digital society. The teacher also places heavy emphasis on collaboration and the self-renewal of the teaching profession to improve teaching practice and learning for students.

Standard 5 of the WVPTS focuses on Professional Responsibilities for the School and Community. This standard revolves around a learner-centered culture and collaboration of colleagues, students, and parents in order to connect school to the community and outside environment. Teacher leadership is demonstrated by upholding the ethical standards of the teaching profession and by implementing classroom and school initiatives that improve overall education and changes that positively affect student learning.

Section 2

Because I am not a certified teacher, I do not have much experience in the area of professional development. However, I have always had curiosity in professional development that focuses on innovative technological tools. 

If I were responsible for designing a program or professional development that would prepare teachers for multiple pathways, I would design a program that included virtual, self-paced professional development courses as well as face-to-face meetings that discussed the online material. I would design something very similar to the Google professional development, that includes becoming a Google-certified teacher. Throughout my undergraduate courses, I learned a significant amount in Instructional Technology. It would be my goal to design a course that resembled that, but allowed for flexibility through a virtual learning environment. The online environment would include engaging multimedia and opportunities for immediate feedback.

Section 3

I am not a certified teacher, nor do I intend to be. However, I will at some point be responsible for implementing and designing technological tools, and I intend to use proven methods for collecting data to determine the technological needs of my group.

First and foremost, I would conduct a "Needs Assessment" to determine what needs to be accomplished. This would include a brief survey that assessed the various needs of my group. Following the assessment, I would gather information regarding the needs of my group and prioritize the needs based on what warrants consideration. 

This would determine my method of implementation for my specific needs.

Module 3

Section One:
The ISTE T standards promote teacher leadership in their first teacher standard, which discusses how we should demonstrate collaboration with our students and other teachers, both face-to-face and by using digital/virtual tools. Modeling, or demonstrating practices, is touched on in the third and fourth standard for teachers and says we must be representatives of new, emerging, and proven teaching and learning techniques. By modeling, we can show our students and fellow faculty members how easy and effective different teaching methods are. To be a teacher leader, responsibility must be taken to adopt and implement new technology, teaching methods, collaboration, and ethical practices within our classes and "across the hall" with other teachers. Volunteering yourself and like-minded teachers to adopt a new practice is a great way to become a teacher leader. If we join forces and work together in implementing a new practice we are able to rely on each other through professional development, as in teacher standard five.

The NBPTS promotes teacher leadership through being an active member in professional development and learning communities. By participating in a professional development team, we can have a part in guiding the professional development exercises to suit the need of our individual classrooms and students. By "owning" the learning experiences, we can tailor fit our new knowledge to our classroom for maximum effectiveness. Self-reflection and monitoring of our own practices and the reactions of our students is a good way to demonstrate leadership. Experience with a new practice and communication are key to leading other teachers, state the collaborative part of Proposition five.

The WVPTS, Standard Five, addresses the need for teachers to participate and work together to model effective teaching strategies. By modeling our good practices, other teachers may see how effective and appropriate the practices may be for their own classroom environment. Not only is the teaching and school community involvement important, but teacher interactions within the community at large is a very effective way to demonstrate and communicate teaching policies to those outside our classroom who do have an effect on our classroom. Communication and implementation with parents and community members helps our in-school initiatives for change more efficient and effective if they are supported and reinforces outside the school walls.

Section Two:
If I was in charge of professional development initiatives, I would first survey all of the teachers in my school on their responsibilities they like and dislike, along with their experiences with effective teaching strategies they have tried before. Once I have a gauge of what the teachers know and are familiar with, I would design professional development exercises that group teachers so that one-half of the group is comprised of teachers who have experience in implementing new strategies with the other half who have either showed an interest in the new strategy of interest or who think they need help in that area. By grouping in this way, half of the teachers can take on a leadership role by modeling the new strategy and helping the inexperienced teachers in the adoption of the strategy.

From the surveys, I could identify those teachers who would like to take on a more administrative role, and I could assign them to researching, implementing, and reporting on a new professional strategy. I would like to see teams of teachers throughout the school implementing different strategies and selecting one administrative-leaning teacher to lead each group. Within this group, I would place two semi-administrative teachers to implement the new practices, but also place them over two other teachers who are wanting only to stay in their classrooms and teach (with little administrative power). This chain of command may help the team complete the professional development without placing a purely teaching oriented faculty member in an administrative position and vice versa.

Section Three:
In my class, I am working with my biology class to develop a set of pamphlets and posters to raise awareness of the need to reduce, reuse, recycle, and upcycle in our overly plastic and fuel-heavy culture. I will assess how my students gather information digitally (internet), how they organize their information, and how they decide to design and display their products. To identify my students' success and deficiencies, I will identify their need through observation, documenting the individual effectiveness of their navigation and organization, and the influence of their final products on the attitudes of other students who view their work. I will monitor the students throughout the project and take notes on how well my students navigate the internet, find the information they were searching for, design digital products to be displayed digitally, and printed in physical form.

Module 3: Professional Standards and Technology Leadership by Michael Gallimore

Section 1: 

As professional standards are important to understanding the best practices and qualifications for the teaching profession, in what way can they inspire teaching leadership and technology integration?  As this question needs to be answered, there are many resources and standards in place that addresses this issue.

The International Society for Technology in Education, or ISTE, helps to promote the issue of teaching and technology leadership through their ISTE Standards for Teachers.  Although found throughout the Standards for Teachers, specifically the fourth and fifth standards help to directly focus their attention on leadership and technology.  The fourth standard is titled “Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility. This standard explains that teachers should understand global and societal issues, but they should also “promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information.”  For any leader in the digital field, modeling and teaching ethical uses of technology will not only help to show other teachers how to properly use technology, but the ethical uses of technology must be trickled down to the students.  The importance of students learning ethical uses of technology cannot be overstated.  Technology can be an extremely useful tool to assist our classrooms but special attention needs to placed not only on how to use the technology, but what not to do with the technology.  The fifth ISTE Standard for Teachers is “Engage in professional growth and leadership.”  This standard really helps to explain exactly what teachers need to do to become leaders in their field and help spread awareness of best practices in technology.  Section B. of the fifth standard explains: “Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others.”  If taken to heart, this advice could be invaluable in our school systems.  Of all the teaching standards, I think this is the most important for teaching leadership.   

The International Society of Technology in Education does a fantastic job of explaining how teachers can be better leaders of technology.  However, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, or NBPTS, also provides guidelines on teaching leadership.  The NBPTS certificates are based on their Five Core Propositions.    After reading through the propositions, I noticed proposition two and five would be helpful for understanding how to become better teaching leaders.  The last line of proposition two explains, “They (teachers) are able to use diverse instructional strategies to teach for understanding.” This explains the need to go beyond the general teaching tools, but use, perhaps, technology in the classroom to promote a more lively learning environment.  There are thousands of technological tools to assist teachers and diverse ways.  As the proposition describes, knowing these technological tools can be quite helpful and the becoming more familiar with them could make a huge difference in the classroom.  Moreover, if proposition two is mastered, then you can make the transition to the fifth proposition described by the NBPTS.  Proposition 5 is “Teachers are Members of Learning Communities.”  This proposition contains the line “They are leaders and actively know how to seek and build partnership with community groups and businesses.”  Not only understanding the subject is important, but being able to relate with members in the community and teach them and other teachers about the use of technology is a goal of technological leadership. 

Finally, the West Virginia Department of Education has created the WV Professional Teaching Standards.  These standards are in place to help teachers become facilitators of education to fit the needs of the 21st century.  Because they are designed with this in mind, they often focus on the use of technology and teaching leadership.  These standards clearly define the many different expectations of teachers while they are working in WV.  After reading through these standards, the fifth standard, specifically function 5H, really help to explain the responsibility of the teacher in various leadership positions.  5H explains, “Teaching Leadership: The Teacher demonstrates leadership by implementing classroom and school initiatives that improve education as well as by making positive changes in policy and practice that affect student learning.”  From this function, it helps to explain to the teacher not only how to make the classroom better, but gives room for the teacher to contribute to the policies that teachers work under.  

Section 2:

As many different qualifications exist to ensure teachers are equipped with the many different teaching tools and abilities, the designation of a program to help teachers find the pathways to succeed in teaching leadership would also need a set of standards.  If I was going to design a program or professional development program intended to prepare teachers, I would start by defining clear goals and objectives.  However, these would not be open-ended, but exact measurable statistics to help teachers know exactly what they need to do to become better leaders and teachers.  These standards would be multidisciplinary, applicable to any subject, and would do everything possible to remove vague language.  For example: one parameter might be a number of students who have completed class projects of using new and innovative technology to explain the subject matter.  If the teacher has proof and documentation of a certain amount of students who have found new ways of explain their knowledge of the subject matter, that teacher could advance to the next stage of the standards.  

Although this seems harsh, I often find many teaching standards to be so vague that they are little more than words on a page.  The program would be flexible, with a board of peers examining their work.  As each new standard can get them to the next step, it would also give examples of how they could meet the new standard.  Overall, this program would strive to be understandable with clear objectives, and help explain what the teacher could do to achieve the next goal. 

Section 3:

For my class, I will create a plan of the different types of technology I hope my students will learn to use.  As I ask them to use technology to show their understanding of the material, I will create a rubric with a section that specially grades their use of the technology.  However, their ability to use the technology will be graded, but I will use it as my personal grade and that portion will not effect their overall grade.  For example: I will compile the grades in the class and based upon their grades in the uses of technology, I will know how much I need to adjust the instruction of the technology being used.  If the class has a 90% proficiency of the tools, I will know I’ve done a good job teaching how to use the technology, but still need to do a little better.  If the students get a 60% proficiency, I will know I need to do a much better job of teaching how to use the tools.  With the use of a rubric to grade myself, I will learn what I need to do better to help the class explain the subject while using new technology.  This rubric will also teach me which students need extra help in the future and where their knowledge needs to be improved. 

One resource I would encourage any other social studies or history teachers would be The Center for teaching History with Technology. This site provides many resources, like lesson plans presentation and media examples, discussions and writings, and features a tab with new resources and tools for teachers to use.  This is a very cool website and I encourage all to seek out information like this.

http://thwt.org/

Thanks,

Michael Gallimore 

Module 3 WMarrero

·       Where do the ISTE, NBPTS, and WVPTS "speak" to or promote teacher leadership, particularly leadership for technology integration?

ISTE- International Society for Technology in Education ISTE has specific standards for evaluating administrators and leaders to support and implement technology. ISTE.NETS advancing digital age leadership has five areas in technology standards;

1. Visionary Leadership

2. Digital Age Learning Culture

3. Excellence in Professional Practice

4. Systemic Improvement

5. Digital Citizenship.

These standards are to help promote policies that support excellence in teaching and leading. It is important for teachers to promote responsibility and engage in growth and leadership

NBPTS- National Board for Professional Teaching Standards promotes advance student learning and achievement by establishing the Five Core Propositions. These definitive standards and systems are for certifying accomplished educators, providing programs and advocating policies that support excellence in teaching, leading and engaging National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) leaders in that process.  http://www.nbpts.org/mission-history

 The Board understands the need to be a strong educational system. Teachers should be leaders within the classroom and school so that students can learn from them.  National Board Leaders also feel it is important to work with all school personnel in order to achieve a positive learning environment.

WVPTS- WV Professional Teaching Standards emphasize the importance that leaders should always look for ways to improve their skills.  This can happen by the process of self-reflection or looking at the community as a whole to see what actions should be taken to improve.

Standard 4 - The teacher engages in professional learning to critically examine his/her professional practice and to engage in a continuous cycle of self-improvement focused on changing how to learn, teach and work in a global and digital society.

Standard 5 – The teacher demonstrates leadership by implementing classroom and school initiatives that improve education as well as by making positive changes in policy and practice that affect student learning. http://wvde.state.wv.us/teachwv/wvde1890master.pdf#page=10

    If you were designing a program or professional development intended to prepare teacher leaders to take advantage of these multiple pathways, what would it look like? What learning experiences would you include?

My professional development program would begin with first researching what my current school system has in place for professional development.  I would then set up a committee with experienced teachers in each pathway Leadership, administrative and classroom teaching for 21^st Century. I would ask each of them to share their ideas on what has worked for them and what hasn’t. This committee would also look to other states to see what they are doing to plan, engage and mobilize in the three pathways. The learning experiences would include networking via video conferences, Skype or just google video to provide hands on experience on each pathway. Training in new classroom technology tools for the classroom, how to transition from the classroom to administrative duties, and quarterly faculty senate meetings that would include guest speakers on how to collaborate spending  time in a classroom and part of the time on additional administrative and professional responsibilities.

·        Share at least one strategy you will use/are using to assess the technology needs of your context (how will you document needs, what kind of data will you use, etc.).

I am currently working on an action research project in another class that is titled Technology in the classroom. My research question is what type or type of technology tools work best for the 11th & 12th grade newspaper class. The need is- what type of technology tools are being used to write and research in a newspaper class. I will document the finding by using a pretest and post test created in survey monkey, I am also observing the class for two weeks, and I will be conducting interviews. I will design five simple questions for the pretest to see what students feel about the technology they are using in their class. Then after two weeks I will give them a post test to see if they still feel the same or if they feel better about their technology tools. Who know s maybe I can introduce them to something new. This will all be documented as part of the data collected. I am actually really excited about this project because it will give me a chance to experience being in the classroom for two full weeks.

How to Jumpstart Tech Use in Low-Income Schools

How to Jumpstart Tech Use in Low-Income Schools

“Every child deserves an amazing education no matter who they are, no matter where they come from,” said Duerr, who was recently named National Digital Principal. She’s been working hard to bring new devices and related pedagogy around technology use to teachers. “If you don’t have relationships you can have every bit of tech in the world and it won’t matter,” Duerr said.

Duerr worked alongside her teachers to create a shared vision of using technology to enhance classroom instruction, provide learning opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise be available to students and to deepen student-teacher relationships. “They had to have ownership of that learning and they had to share with each other,” Duerr said. “Sometimes as educators we aren’t the best sharers.”
Katrina Schwartz | February 10, 2014 

Additional Module 2 Comments...

Marlisa : “She took on a democratic leadership style-allowing us (the students) to participate and give feedback.” 

Mary Jo:  The outcome of a leadership style that allows students to participate and take charge of their own learning (with support) is a great example of why students need professional development too.  If you haven’t read the link I posted on this blog, please take the time to read, “Don’t forget Professional Development for Students”.

Marlisa: “Improving upon these qualities will enhance my level of trustworthiness with colleagues as well. I will strive to be the person that people look up to and professionally admire. “

Mary Jo:  Many of us continue to strive to grow professionally, and the striving part can be what others actually use to determine trustworthiness.  In my opinion, some teachers feel they must do something elaborate to be recognized as a leader, therefore they don’t consider themselves leaders.  Competency, consistency and a positive attitude carries a lot of weight.

Michael: “Finally, this teacher was not only constantly working on improving his student's craft, but he was also dedicated in improving the arts of all areas of Southern West Virginia. “

Mary Jo:  This is a great example of how professional development/growth must occur in the classroom and outside of the classroom environment(community).  Also, when a teacher has a vision for students to be part of a better environment, then persistence is a major factor to success.

Michael:  “I believe that being a role model starts with the individual example and explaining to others how hard they should work should start with myself.”

Mary Jo:  Admirable and realistic.  When leadership is shared it becomes more of an ongoing process throughout the workplace, instead of one person being viewed as “the leader”. 

Module 2 Assessing Leadership

As I reflect on leaders that I have worked with or observed, I think back to my anatomy and physiology teacher during high school. She had the opportunity to implement technological change, and was a leader to other teachers and students while doing so.

When I attended high school, I was the class that was on the cusp of "digital homework." In most of my classes, we were still doing schoolwork solely with paper and pencil. However, my anatomy teacher had the opportunity to integrate technology use into our everyday homework assignments. She took on a democratic leadership style-allowing us (the students) to participate and give feedback.

Our teacher allowed time for us to become adjusted to the new computerized homework assignments. There was even before/after school time and class time to work on the homework assignments. (It was very accommodating for those of us that were still coping with a dial-up internet connection!)

I believe that some of the reasons why her leadership efforts were successful were due to her value of human resources (i.e., the students and our individual needs), and the shared vision. As students, we had a desire to learn the material well and grasp concepts, and our teacher shared the same wishes.

_________________________________________________________________________


I scored a 65 on the first leadership assessment. This was in the bottom area of the "excellent" leader score. I was honestly surprised that I scored so high-I didn't think my score would be so good. I feel that I am lacking in the leadership skills department. The lack of confidence most likely stems from being young, I believe.

Here are my personal characteristics-

Successful leaders tend to have certain traits. Two keys areas of personal growth and development are fundamental to leadership success: self-confidence, and a positive attitude.

Self-confident people are usually inspiring, and people like to be around individuals who believe in themselves and in what they're doing. Likewise, if you're a positive and optimistic person who tries to make the best of any situation, you'll find it much easier to motivate people to do their best.

 I think that this assessment really hit the nail on the head. I would definitely consider my two weaknesses to be maintaining a positive attitude and healthy self-confidence. It's funny, because these two attributes actually seem to go hand in hand. Improving upon these characteristics would immensely help my leadership abilities.

On the second leadership assessment, my lowest score belonged to Creating Clarity: Visioning and Mobilizing. This honestly didn't surprise me, because it involved communicating and collaborating. As you already know, this happens to be one of my weaknesses. It most likely stems from low self-confidence and less than a positive attitude. 

My goal if to be a leader of great self-confidence with a positive outlook. Improving upon these qualities will enhance my level of trustworthiness with colleagues as well. I will strive to be the person that people look up to and professionally admire. 

Module 2: Excellent Leaders and Self-Improvement

In any location, teaching is one of the most difficult careers.  There are many factors that make teaching difficult beyond conveying the subject matter, and teaching in Southern West Virginia is an area where teaching can have many challenges that go beyond the general instruction.  Poverty, a lack of higher institutions, few local public resources, and an extremely sparsely populated location merely seem as a tip of the iceberg of challenges to teaching in the coalfields. 

However, the best leader I have observed is a teacher that worked in these settings.  This educational leader, while working in one of the most impoverished areas in America, helped to establish his high school as a competitor not only in the state of West Virginia but also on a national front, as his high school theatre group placed in the South Eastern Regional Theatre Conference, the first time a school from West Virginia placed in almost 30 years.  

How was this accomplished? How did a school from Southern West Virginia, with no major metropolitan area within 200 miles, with a mountain of forces working against it, seem to be so successful?  This feat was due to the educational leadership this teacher sought everyday he walked into the classroom. This teacher constantly worked to improve the arts in Southern West Virginia.  

To analyze his leadership style, the first aspect might be his standards.  This teacher placed extremely high standards on his students but also on himself.  In the theatre, the standards he set for his students would mirror that of a professional theatre.  The time spent learning the basic conventions of theatre, the historical and literary importance of the script, the ability to perform, and the quality of work produced were all very high.  He understood his students to not only be just kids, but highly intelligent, highly capable beings to do wonderful things in the world and in the world of the play. 

Another aspect of his leadership style was the level of importance he placed on individual work ethics and self-improvement.  This teacher was able to translate his work ethic and how each person in the theatre was an integral piece of the puzzle.  As each person was important to the theatre troupe, he taught us a high level responsibility, not only to ourselves, but to the group at large.  Becoming a cohesive team, all working together to create the best environment possible, was something this leader instilled in his students.  

Finally, this teacher was not only constantly working on improving his student's craft, but he was also dedicated in improving the arts of all areas of Southern West Virginia.  Many local schools did not have the quality of performance space that our high school has.  And because of this, there were many times other theatre troupes would come to our theatre and perform their play in a space that was comparable to the space where they would be competing.  On his own time and often with schools that would he be competing against him, he offered his theatre and his advice on how he thought their play could be improved. I've come to know many teachers and many students from other schools because they often traveled to our theatre to practice. This showed his students not only his professional reputation, but an ethical choice to help other schools and improve art in the area.

In conclusion, it came to no surprise when this teacher won Art Educator of the Year. He provided a wonderful example of being an excellent teacher and an excellent educational leader.  

Key Points From Assessment 1

To be successful in your career, regardless of your title or position, focus on developing your leadership skills.

Effective leaders can add value simply by being present on teams. They are inspirational and motivating. They know the right things to say to people to help them understand what's needed, and they can convince people to support a cause.

When you have talented and effective leaders in your organization, you're well on your way to success. Develop these leadership skills in yourself and in your team members – and you'll see the performance and productivity of your entire team improve.

From Assessment 1, my lowest score was in the Providing a Compelling Vision of the Future.  This is definitely an area that I need to improve.  I have not had much experience in designing clear goals to help my future of leadership and I know this is something I need to work on.  Having clearly defined goals are important and further training on how to create a vision for the future will be very beneficial. This can be in formal and informal ways, and I am looking forward to learning about new types of educational technology skills to help career building and goal driven motivation.  

In the second assessment, my lowest score was in the Self Reflection. I've always had a very hard time understanding my strengths and weaknesses.  Understanding and conveying what my strengths are have been tough, but having this self assessment is a good place to start.  I am typically my worst critic and I need to learn to improve my self esteem and self outlook. 

I want to be a leader in which my work ethic speaks for itself. I believe that being a role model starts with the individual example and explaining to others how hard they should work should start with myself.  I hope to be encouraging and inspiring, and be the best at explaining what needs to be done and how it can be accomplished efficiently.  Explaining what needs to be done and providing the resources to help others achieve their goals is very satisfying and something I hope I can do in the future.  

Updates

• I've posted grades for Blog Posting 1 in Blackboard. Please inform me if you are unable to view your grade. 
• Reminder:  TaskStream Access Code for this course:    T7NA7R

         

Module 2 Comments

Walesca: “I build trust by living by what I say I am going to do and by being accountable for my actions whether right or wrong. I need to improve on trusting others, I know that if I expect people to trust me then I must learn to trust others more.”

Mary Jo:  I couldn’t agree more with your statements.  Since I have relocated to a new state, county, and school district, I’ve had to prove to my administrative team and colleagues that I can be trusted and accountable.  At times it can be frustrating, but I’ve found perseverance and hard-work will be noticed and valued.   I have to conscientiously take a step back at times, and delegate to others and trust it will be taken care of because my personality lends itself to being “in-control”. 

Walesca:  “A good leader in my opinion is a person who is full of positive energy, integrity, motivates,…”

Mary Jo:  I gravitate towards leaders and people in general with a positive outlook and the ability to motivate and inspire. I appreciate a leader/administrator that recognizes your strengths and has a true understanding of how to develop teacher leaders.  Sometimes, the structure of a school setting hinders the development and sustainability of teacher leaders.

Diana:   “I’m direct and to the point and expect everyone to work as hard as I do and I‘m not good with people that don’t follow the rules.”

Mary Jo:   I consider myself a rule follower too, and often would like everyone to be transparent, and on the “same page”.  I had an administrator that said, “Work smarter, not harder”, and I realize he meant find the best way to do something without wasting time, but I’m unable to consistently accomplish this feat.  Educators work hard and struggle with so many demands, thus the need for effective leadership and meaningful professional development.

Diana:  “He worked with them and because he was so positive and had such high expectations, they started to produce at a higher rate.”

Mary Jo:  I believe when a leader/administrator makes the time to be visible and engages with team members, it not only shows support, but helps a team member feel valuable.  Personally, when I feel valued, my output is much higher. Too, I’m sure your leader presented the actions he desired in his team members.

Adam:  “ My principal is always open for teachers to ask him questions, provide his insight into a problem, and also asks us for suggestions and makes us feel a part of the bigger picture in the school. He leads by example, mentorship, and companionship.”

Mary Jo:  Your principal seems to be establishing a democratic environment between administrators and teachers  - sharing in the decision- making process which promotes positive relationships within the school environment. 

Adam:  “His style is very much “team-player” and “companion,” than it is “sage-on-the-stage” and overbearing. “

Mary Jo: I’m elated that you have the opportunity to work with the principal you have described! 

Working for an administrator that is a “sage-on-the-stage” is not only disheartening it creates a negative, isolated atmosphere. For example, when teachers are not acknowledged for their expertise or their ability to share ideas, then isolation may occur and the wonderful, meaningful ideas never get shared. 

Interesting Article: Don't Forget Professional Development for Students

Student Professional Development

Leadership Module 2 -Walesca Marrero

Leadership Skills Assessment   (Leadership Assessment #1)

I scored a 67 an Excellent. Personally there is always room for improvement. A good leader in my opinion is a person who is full of positive energy, integrity, motivates, and believes that a person has the opportunity for growth if they choose to, it the unconditional. I have tried to surround myself with people like that often after all we can do bad all by ourselves. One of my favorite quotes is from Albert Einstein that said “Action is Eloquence “and we all know all about Einstein.

My all-time favorite leader is Abraham Lincoln he reminds me that just because we are different we are still human beings. His leadership was one with compassion and hope. In my job I have to work with low income families and sometimes it’s not easy, but I try to do the best I can to help them and provide them a network 

of support with everything from medical, educational and training for entering the workforce.

Developing Leadership Skills Self-Assessment (Leadership Assessment #2)

Assessing the Environment scored 59

My strengths in this area is being able to network with community partners  such as DHHR, BOE, WV NCCA, WV Extensions Services and our faith based community to develop ideas that will help assess community problems then come up with a plan to meet the community needs. This is what I do for my line of work. My area of improvements would have to be getting better at working with the local government and civic groups.

Creating Clarity: Visioning and Mobilizing scored 71

My strength as a collaborative leader is being able to bring people together to come up with a solution. Improvement in creating clarity I do this by being very active in my community.

Building Trust Scored 61

I build trust by living by what I say I am going to do and by being accountable for my actions whether right or wrong. I need to improve on trusting others, I know that if I expect people to trust me then I must learn to trust others more.

Sharing Power and Influence Scored 66

My strength in sharing power and influences is I am not afraid to say you did a great job, thank you for helping me get the job done. Sharing power is not a big deal for me if my team does a good job then it reflects back to me. Improvements would be maybe to get some training on how to get better at it.

Developing People Scored 65

I have recently in the last six year gotten better at this because my job requires me to train our AmeriCorps VISTAS. I train my people and give them plenty of room to grow and share their ideas and talents I don’t proclaim to know it all I think if your give people you train the right tools then you let them exercise what they are learning then that is a good thing. I need 

Module 2

I’ve truly been very lucky with the bosses I’ve had in the past.  I’ve only ever had one that wasn’t a good leader.  The one boss that impressed me the most was definitely a visionary.  He came into the place that I worked and turned it around.  The place was borderline corrupt and the decent people that were working there were absolutely miserable.  When he first came, we thought he would clean house and all those crappy people would get canned.  It wasn’t that they didn’t know their jobs; it was that they just didn’t do them.  Instead of firing them, he got to know them and in doing so he let them know that he was on to their shenanigans.  He worked with them and because he was so positive and had such high expectations, they started to produce at a higher rate.  It was really almost unbelievable, the turnaround in that particular workplace.

Module 2

My highest scores were motivating people to deliver the vision, being a good role model and managing performance effectively. My lowest score was providing support and stimulation.  All of my scores were very close except for the support and stimulation.  I know that is something that I need to work on because it’s a personality quirk of mine.  It’s probably not so much the support; I think I’m pretty good at that.  As for providing stimulation, I feel if it’s your job that should be stimulation enough.  That probably defines my leadership style.  I’m direct and to the point and expect everyone to work as hard as I do and I‘m not good with people that don’t follow the rules.  I would like to be more of a visionary leader but I don’t think that’s really who I am.  In completing these leadership assessments I did realize that maybe I could stand to work on some things.  I probably should be more open to other person’s ideas and ways of doing things.  I’ve been doing my job for so long that I don’t usually ask for input, I just do it.

Module 2 - Assessing Leadership

One of the most effective leaders I have worked with is my current principal. He is always stopping in to talk with the students and teachers and monitor their progress, discipline, and create a relationship with the students. While his ever-presence was a bit unnerving at first (I was worried that I would mess up in front of him) I have grown to understand that his job as a leader of the school is to maintain consistency in education and keep disciplinary issues at a minimum. By letting the students know he is present within the classroom along with being present during class changed in the halls is important as a disciplinary problem deterrent. I have learned to use proximity effectively without seeming overbearing next to a student. He promotes the use of technology through correspondence, e-mailing us links to new digital tools and resources, and uses his cell phone and iPad openly demonstrating the importance and accessibility of digital resources. My principal is always open for teachers to ask him questions, provide his insight into a problem, and also asks us for suggestions and makes us feel a part of the bigger picture in the school. He leads by example, mentorship, and companionship. I see him moving towards a more connected and speak-easy school where every teacher’s opinion and teaching abilities are shared and enhanced through collaboration. His style is very much “team-player” and “companion,” than it is “sage-on-the-stage” and overbearing. My principal can be described as being mostly in the consideration dimension of leadership, because of his concern for the well-being of teacher and students while actively participating in their education and safety.

Leadership Assessment 1:

                I scored a 63. I feel that one of my leadership skills is my ability to understand and connect with other people. I consider this a leadership skill, because leaders should be able to connect with other at a level that the follower can understand that the leader cares for and is interested in the well-being of the follower.

Leadership Assessment 2:

                Assessing the Environment: 39, Opportunities for Growth. It seems that I do not act accordingly to the situation and environment when problem solving and working within a group.

                Creating Clarity: Visioning and Mobilization: 46, Opportunities for Growth. I seem to be only sufficient in understanding the outcome and moving toward an end.

                Building Trust: 58, Stronger Score. I have interpersonal skills that I can use to gain followers and work well with others.

                Sharing Power and Influence: 47, Stronger Score. I show myself as a leader, but I could work on the influence I place over others.

                Developing People: 39, Opportunities for Growth. I seem to lack the ability to bring the best out of others, expecially in a leadership role. I want to work on this skill so that I can create a stronger group and influence others to dig deeper and perform at their best.

                Self Reflecting: 64, Excellent Score. I can reflect on my actions and their results efficiently. I am able to look deep into my own actions and see the flaws that can result in failures and less-than-acceptable results. Also, I can identify my own strengths and promote those within a leadership role, hopefully assigning my weaker abilities to others who can perform better than I.

I want to be the type of leader who leads through assigning roles to others and building a strong team by allowing each person’s strengths to show. I want to be one who can identify those strengths and use them to the best of my ability to propel the group forward.