Reflection on Week 2

In completing my week 2 assignment, I decided to create a mentor plan for new teachers to our campus. We have a serious need for this type of thing on our campus for a long time. Our campus has lost at least 5 new teachers in the last 8 years, and I think this is primarily because of a lack of support. Granted, each of these people was assigned a mentor, but several of these folks did not feel that they were in need of any kind of assistance. It is rather difficult to help people who do not feel that they need it! The readings for week 2 also showed us at least 9 different "hats" that an administrator has to wear. You don't really stop very often and look at all that is entailed in being an administrator until you have it spelled out for you--this is sometime rather daunting!

Action Research Plan Outline (week 3)

In order to complete my research project, I created the following outline:
Goals:
Upon completion of the research project, I will have a mentoring plan created that can be used by my district for new teachers to help them be more successful and to help them better acclimate to their new district.
Activities:
In order to achieve this goal, I will read various articles relating to the topic. I will also visit the websites of other districts to examine and compare their mentoring plans.
Resources and Tools:
The only real resource I will need to achieve this goal is a computer with internet access. Most schools have all of their policies online, and most magazines and other types of professional publications are also online.
Timeline:
I hope to have the initial plan available for the start of school in August, 2010.
Person Responsible:
I am the person responsible for doing the research and initial compilation of data. I will take it to my campus principal for initial approval. He will then present it to the superintendent for final approval before it can be implemented.
Monitoring of Achievement:
The effectiveness of the plan will be monitored on a monthly basis by myself and the campus principal. This will be done by monthly meetings held in order to determine which of the new teachers needs are being met and what new concerns have developed and how best to solve them.
Assessment:
At the end of the year, a survey will be completed by both the new teacher and their mentor to determine how effective they thought that the overall program was. Included in this survey will be any suggestions that the participants might have as to what other material needs to be included, better ways to address the material, and any other suggestions they might have to make the program more effective.

How Can Leaders Use Blogs?

In today's educational settings, how can educators use blogs? One good way to use a blog would be to create an online professional learning community. The leader could select a book or article, etc. for the staff to read and then they could participate in blog discussions about the book. This would be easier than setting aside meeting time to discuss the material, but would serve the same purpose as a bookclub. It could also be a different method to get information out to the staff and perhaps to the rest of the community. I'm still a little old school about this kind of communication, but I see that it could have definite possibilites.

Active Research

So far, this class has taught what they mean by active research. This term refers to the principal/teacher taking a reflective look at their own leadership style and deciding what is working well and what needs to be improved. By looking at yourself honestly, you can gain valuable insight into your leadership. The principal then starts the research plan by "wondering" or posing questions about their own practice, gathering data from campus reports, etc., analyzing this data along with information gained from reading relevant literature, making changes in practice based on the findings and insights gained, and then sharing these findings with others. Action research is a very powerful form of professional development and probably the best form because it begins with the concerns of the principal herself rather than what someone from the outside sees as important. Then the principal is personally involved in the process at all stages which will make it very real and personal and much more likely to be put into practice later.