In my current position as Director of Curriculum and Grants, I do not feel that I will ever be a building principal. I do plan on implementing strategies that we have learned in this class in my current position. I feel that the development of a school improvement plan with all of the various aspects will help me when working with the schools in my district. I felt the different peices that are put together to make the entire project successful was very valuable. Data-driven decision making, technology plans, community involvment and the development of a vision for the school is all vital elements of a complete plan.
This course has been great in so far as it taught through readings and practical application the importance of analyzing student performance, continually reflecting on instructional practices, being aware of the school climate, and making quality (data based) decisions.
Collective leadership is an important part of creating an environment in which all of the stakeholders feel important. Through having parents and other community leaders chair committees and by offering leadership roles to teachers the whole idea of collective leadership will be included in my final plan.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Reflection - Adm.and Supervision Class
How has the structure of this course (team discussion, individual assignment) helped you to better understand the concepts presented? Through discussion with team mates, my perceptions of the concepts have been strenghtened. When I get others ideas it helps me to look at things differently. The individual assignments in this course has helped me to put all of aspects of a school improvement plan together and has caused me to look at it as a “whole” and to better see how the individual parts fit together.
How will the structure of this course better prepare you for your administrative roles? This course will help me see all apects of school improvement and will help me recognize all of the parts that are necessary in order to implement a full school improvement plan.
In what areas would you like additional content or support? I feel that the support for this class has been good and the content relevant, I do not feel that I need additional content or support.
What questions or comments do you have about either the content or the structure of this course? I have no questions, but I do feel that the structure of this course is conducive to learning this topic.
How will the structure of this course better prepare you for your administrative roles? This course will help me see all apects of school improvement and will help me recognize all of the parts that are necessary in order to implement a full school improvement plan.
In what areas would you like additional content or support? I feel that the support for this class has been good and the content relevant, I do not feel that I need additional content or support.
What questions or comments do you have about either the content or the structure of this course? I have no questions, but I do feel that the structure of this course is conducive to learning this topic.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Week 7 - Reflection
Describe the steps you would take as a principal to ensure that the curriculum is implemented and assessed at the classroom and school levels so that students learn the intended content.
As a principal, I would take several steps to make sure that curriculum was implemented and assessed at all levels. The first step would be to make sure that teachers have the time to review curriculum, especially when curriculum changes take place. Secondly, I would give them time for collaboration, in order to explore ideas for teaching and to address questions that they might have. As a principal, I would frequently stop in classrooms for observations and would look at lesson plans and pacing charts.
When it comes to assessment I would take time to examine assessment results. For example, on one of our standardized state assessments, each grade level content and expectation is clearly listed with the percentage of students who scored correctly on that particular item. It is easy to see what standards the students are learning, and which ones they are not learning. This is useful information to the teachers, they can see what they have covered and retained and what was not either covered or retained. The teachers seem to enjoy looking at these assessment results. They, of course, realize that one assessment does not completely show what has been learned and taught in the classroom, but it can be a start.
As a principal, I would take several steps to make sure that curriculum was implemented and assessed at all levels. The first step would be to make sure that teachers have the time to review curriculum, especially when curriculum changes take place. Secondly, I would give them time for collaboration, in order to explore ideas for teaching and to address questions that they might have. As a principal, I would frequently stop in classrooms for observations and would look at lesson plans and pacing charts.
When it comes to assessment I would take time to examine assessment results. For example, on one of our standardized state assessments, each grade level content and expectation is clearly listed with the percentage of students who scored correctly on that particular item. It is easy to see what standards the students are learning, and which ones they are not learning. This is useful information to the teachers, they can see what they have covered and retained and what was not either covered or retained. The teachers seem to enjoy looking at these assessment results. They, of course, realize that one assessment does not completely show what has been learned and taught in the classroom, but it can be a start.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Week Five - Reflection
Reflection
As a school administrator and instructional leader, I would like to see various tools and applications written into the curriculum. Such technology as Power Point, Photostory (or another application were pictures and music can be downloaded), Email, Spreadsheets (Excell), a word processing program (Microsoft Word), should be seen in the written, taught, and tested curriculum of a school district in order to prepare students for the future. With technology changing so quickly, I feel that the instructional technology piece would need to be reviewed and updated at least every other year, where as we have a curriculum review cycle that is set up on a 4 year rotation. Our district currently assesses our 8th grade students with a formal assessment and the percentage of students who are “technologically literate” are reported to the state. Our current assessment includes excell, powerpoint, and Microsoft Word, but it does not include any Web 2.0 tools.
There are so many wonderful Web 2.0 tools that can be used to differentiate instruction and it would very much depend upon the age, grade and objective of the lesson. There were several excellent suggestion in the Week Five UDL blog, such as LetterPop for newsletters, Photostory for telling stories, ZohoShow for creating posters, Timeliner to help students create and visualize the concept of time, PowerPoint can be used for many different things, Blogger and Google Docs are great tools for collaboration. I also like Starfall and BrainPop for fun tutoring type exercises. Many of the textbooks that we purchase for our district have companion websites that use videos, quizzes, and other fun activities that students seem to enjoy.
As a school administrator and instructional leader, I would like to see various tools and applications written into the curriculum. Such technology as Power Point, Photostory (or another application were pictures and music can be downloaded), Email, Spreadsheets (Excell), a word processing program (Microsoft Word), should be seen in the written, taught, and tested curriculum of a school district in order to prepare students for the future. With technology changing so quickly, I feel that the instructional technology piece would need to be reviewed and updated at least every other year, where as we have a curriculum review cycle that is set up on a 4 year rotation. Our district currently assesses our 8th grade students with a formal assessment and the percentage of students who are “technologically literate” are reported to the state. Our current assessment includes excell, powerpoint, and Microsoft Word, but it does not include any Web 2.0 tools.
There are so many wonderful Web 2.0 tools that can be used to differentiate instruction and it would very much depend upon the age, grade and objective of the lesson. There were several excellent suggestion in the Week Five UDL blog, such as LetterPop for newsletters, Photostory for telling stories, ZohoShow for creating posters, Timeliner to help students create and visualize the concept of time, PowerPoint can be used for many different things, Blogger and Google Docs are great tools for collaboration. I also like Starfall and BrainPop for fun tutoring type exercises. Many of the textbooks that we purchase for our district have companion websites that use videos, quizzes, and other fun activities that students seem to enjoy.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Week Two
What are your philosophical beliefs about the purpose of school, about what subjects should be taught, and about how students learn? How does your work demonstrate your belief?
When thinking about my philosophical beleifs about the purpose of school, I think about the narrative that we read this week entitled "The American Experiment." The basis of the American creed. This narrative states that "the purpose of schooling is to provide students with knowledge so they can participate in the American Experience." I feel that this is an important issue when considering the purpose of school, the idea of teaching the basics (English Language Arts and Math) and teaching skills that will "educate students so that they will be capable of functioning in society, earning and income and becoming tomorrow's leaders and responsible adults, " which is a peice from my districts mission statement. I feel that in many ways, the State Standards and Benchmarks are representative of what students in Michigan should learn in order to be a successful member of society. I like the quote from our reading that states that education can "provide our youth with the knowledge and will to participate in the great experiment; to teach them how to argue, and to help them discover what questions are worth arguing about; and of course, to make sure they know what happens when arguments cease." This would mean that we cannot only teach the basics (English and Math) but that we must also teach Social Studies, Science, Art, Physical Education, etc.) I feel that our district does that, and it is my job to make sure that all of the curriculum is aligned correctly and that the students learn all of these things.
When thinking about my philosophical beleifs about the purpose of school, I think about the narrative that we read this week entitled "The American Experiment." The basis of the American creed. This narrative states that "the purpose of schooling is to provide students with knowledge so they can participate in the American Experience." I feel that this is an important issue when considering the purpose of school, the idea of teaching the basics (English Language Arts and Math) and teaching skills that will "educate students so that they will be capable of functioning in society, earning and income and becoming tomorrow's leaders and responsible adults, " which is a peice from my districts mission statement. I feel that in many ways, the State Standards and Benchmarks are representative of what students in Michigan should learn in order to be a successful member of society. I like the quote from our reading that states that education can "provide our youth with the knowledge and will to participate in the great experiment; to teach them how to argue, and to help them discover what questions are worth arguing about; and of course, to make sure they know what happens when arguments cease." This would mean that we cannot only teach the basics (English and Math) but that we must also teach Social Studies, Science, Art, Physical Education, etc.) I feel that our district does that, and it is my job to make sure that all of the curriculum is aligned correctly and that the students learn all of these things.
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