Clinical Observation Post-Conference Reflection

 

What strengths and/or improvement areas did you notice about the environment and tone of the post-observation?

The post-conference was held in one of the small conference areas of the school. It is a place where teachers meet often. I do believe that the teacher's classroom would have been a more ideal place to conduct the conference, but due to the schedule, we had to meet during a time when her class was still in the room with another teacher. We sat on the same side of the table so that we were able to communicate easily and not have any barriers between us.
The tone of the conference was fairly relaxed. The teacher and I are comfortable around each other, but I will admit that we were both intimidated by the fact that the conference was being videotaped. The teacher expressed that she was nervous in front of the camera. We were both happy with the outcome of the conference video, but agreed that the conversation would have been more natural if it was not videotaped. I tried to be sure that we were both actively engaged in the conversation. By asking open-ended questions, I allowed for Beth to express her thoughts and ideas. There was a balance in the amount of talking and listening done by each of us.
 
What strengths and/or improvement areas did you notice in the conference about strategies to improve instruction? 

Having taught primary grades for many years, allowed me to have a good understanding of the instructional practices that are developmentally appropriate. I tried to keep the tone of the conversation positive throughout. Even when we were discussing the areas in which improvement is needed. In the pre-observation conference, Beth expressed concern about the timing of her lessons. She feels like she is trying to fit so much into a short period of time. I told her I would focus on that during the observation so that I could help her find ways to be more effective with time management. This led to our discussion in the post conference about transition times. After completing the classroom observation and the analysis of the observation, I was planning to suggest that Beth be involved in some professional development opportunities that would focus on classroom management and work with another teacher as a mentor in order to find transition strategies that will work in her classroom. During our conference, I realized that Beth actually has some ideas about this, but was not successfully implementing them. I changed my mind about my suggestion and decided that all the teachers in the school could benefit from sharing ideas about transitions. This is why I suggested that Beth share her idea at the faculty meeting and then also learn from her colleagues. I feel strongly about the effective use of Interactive Whiteboards in the classroom. As with any technology that is being integrated into classroom instruction, IWB use needs to be used in a way that helps students learn and allows them to interact with content. They are powerful tools for differentiating instruction, but many times they are only used as glorified overhead projectors. I felt confident when discussing this concern with Beth. She understood the concern I had about the time wasted by using the IWB ineffectively. Overall, I think that the conference was very positive. We bounced ideas off each other and I think Beth left feeling good about the successes and understanding what she could do to make improvements in her teaching strategies.

 
In the conference, which behavior did you seem to predominantly use?  Do you think this was an appropriate approach given the developmental level of the teacher?  

Prior to the post-observation conference, I planned to use the collaborative approach with Beth. She is in her third year of teaching first grade, so the curriculum and effective teaching strategies for that level are her focus on a daily basis. I taught primary grades in the past, but it has been a few years since I was in the classroom. Therefore I wanted both of us to contribute equally to the discussion and work together to find ways to improve certain areas. Beth was very open to the ideas that I offered and she was able to self reflect on the lesson in order to identify ways she could have done things differently. Self reflection can be incredibly powerful and sometimes the observer/administrator simply needs to encourage this and allow the teacher time to reflect and then express their thoughts and ideas.

Room Arrangements - Individual Reflection #1

 The layout of a classroom can give you insight into the teachers’ instructional styles and the overall classroom environment. I believe that the physical arrangement is only one aspect of the overall learning space within the classroom. A few years ago, at Educon, I attended a session with David Jakes about learning spaces. He focused not only on the physical space, but also the personal and digital learning spaces. He encouraged us to think outside the box and be creative when considering all aspects of the learning environment.

I spent ten years in a second grade classroom and I experimented with room arrangements all the time. I changed the seating arrangement often just to give the students a break from the same atmosphere. Many times I allowed students to choose their own seats, but I also assigned seats based on students’ instructional needs and strengths. My students did not spend a great deal of time in their seats. They were permitted to work around the room and we were involved in many small group and center activities throughout the day.

As an Integration Instructional Advisor, I had the opportunity to spend time co-teaching in so many elementary classrooms and I worked closely with the teachers. When I take time to reflect on the teachers’ styles and their classroom layout, I see many connections. The teachers who expected “quiet workers” usually had the students in rows, unconnected. The teachers, who expected their students to work together often, usually had the desks placed in groups. The one aspect of room arrangement that I always noticed when I entered rooms was the flow of traffic. I was bothered when I could not easily move about and get to all areas.

Over the past two weeks, I was able to visit many classrooms. I have seen a variety of room arrangements. I would say the majority had student desks in groups, teacher desks in a corner and areas for whole group meetings and small group work. Most of the rooms had an interactive whiteboard and various other white boards/chalkboards. Many of the primary rooms have sections for different center based learning activities.

I would like to describe one that stood out to me. It was a second grade classroom and I work with the teacher in our iPad Integration Program. I knew from working with her, that she is an exceptionally good teacher and she uses a variety of effective teaching strategies to meet the needs of the students in her class. As soon as I stepped into her rom, I felt at home. It was such a warm, welcoming atmosphere. She has tables instead of individual desks. There are no nametags because the students can sit anywhere. There is a large rug for gathering as a class. She has her walls filled with useful instructional materials displayed for the students to use. She does not have a “desk.” Instead, she works at a table, which is where she meets with individual students and small groups. There is a comfortable couch and many chairs for the students as well as a reading “hut.” There are collaboration areas set up throughout the room where students can meet and work together. There were large ball lanterns hanging throughout the room and the ceiling lights were not used. I was able to easily move throughout the room. It was evident that the students were incredible comfortable in their classroom. They found places to work and were incredibly productive while I was there. That is the kind of classroom that I would like my own children to have the opportunity to explore and learn in at school.

Observing the classroom environment and room arrangements of the teachers in a school could certainly allow an administrator to gather information about teaching styles and instructional strategies and this can guide them as they plan for future professional development opportunities for their staff. If they find that classrooms are not set up in a way that in conducive for collaboration to occur, they may focus on the importance of collaboration and cooperative learning strategies. If they find that interactive whiteboards are not in a place where students can utilize them during small group and center time, they may focus on effective teaching strategies with a focus on the use of the IWB.

            I look forward to visiting more classrooms and learning more about how learning spaces affect teaching and learning.

Effective Leadership: Final Reflection

What have you learned about effective leadership and how have your ideas evolved?

How have these particular issues and/or ideas affected your ability to become a more effective leader?

I'll admit that before taking this class, I had not thought in great detail or read much about effective leadership. I could only give examples of principals and supervisors who I felt were good leaders. This class forced me to reflect on personal experiences, learn about theories and ideas and evaluate myself as a leader.  

At the start of the course, I would have listed my top five characteristics of an effective leader to be caring, positive, knowledgeable, organized and a good communicator. At this point, they would be charismatic, passionate, understanding/empathetic, positive, and a good communicator. Some have changed and others have stayed the same. I feel as though it is incredibly important for a leader to build strong relationships with others and nurture those relationships.

I was very interested in learning more about servant and authentic leaders and how serving others can be so powerful in leading others. A servant leader is one who leads as the center of the school or organization rather than the top. I think that it is so important for the people you lead to see you as part of the team. Authentic leaders lead with their hearts and minds. They are passionate about the shared vision, purpose, and goals and the genuinely care about the people with whom they work. They desire to serve others and find ways to empower others to become leaders and make a difference. They are not focused on power, money, self-promotion and personal achievements. They are willing to make sacrifices for the good of the organization. I hope that one day when someone is asked to describe me as a leader, they will view me as an authentic, servant leader.

Another thing that stuck with me from this class was about finding balance in life and how leaders must balance all aspects of their lives. This is something that I think is a constant challenge. Our lives are constantly changing and we are constantly adjusting. I think it is important for a leader to model this balance in their lives so that their colleagues and employees can see the importance of balancing their own lives. 

I believe that a leader is someone who doesn’t say, “I told you so” but doesn’t hesitate to say, “I don’t know.” I believe that through conversations with experienced leaders, continued study of leadership theory and self-reflection, my thoughts about the characteristics of an effective leader will continue to grow and develop.

What personal and professional values do you bring to your school's administration that will help you be an effective leader?

I am constantly being described as a “people person.” I value people’s thoughts, ideas, viewpoints, talents and insights. I form trusting relationships with people. I believe that everyone has a story and it is worth sharing. I will not only listen to others because I sincerely want to learn about them, but I will also share my story with them. I am also a positive person. I try to find the good in a situation. I strongly believe in the power of being positive with others. I try to acknowledge when I see people doing a good job at something. 

 
How will issues in educational technology impact your ability as an educational leader in your school and community?

I have built a strong Professional Learning Network filled with quality educators and leaders who I can share with and learn from as I grow into an effective leader. Through posts, blogs and other interactions, I am able to keep up to date with the latest news, studies, trends, and ideas related to technology integration and its impact on education. As an effective leader I will model the use of technology tools for collaboration, organization and creation so that the teachers with whom I work, can learn about best practices related to integrating technology and start implementing it in their classrooms.

 
 

 Reflective Log #2 - Leadership

  

Highlight your top seven strengths and top seven areas of improvement from your self-assessment. How do they correlate with student achievement?

 

Write a summary of your self-assessment, specifically as it relates to the areas of student academic achievement. How do your strengths and improvement areas align with the correlation with student achievement?

As I took the self assessment, I looked at each descriptor and reflected on it individually. When I went back to find my strengths and areas of improvement, I was not surprised to find that many of my strengths had to do with interactions with people. I feel that relationships in the workplace are vitally important to the success of the team as well as the individuals. It makes sense to me that the correlations for these types of descriptors may be somewhat lower than others in relation to student achievement. They don't necessarily impact the learning process, but they certainly impact the attitude of the teachers. I hope that I can continue to build strong, trusting relationships with people as I move into more leadership roles.

When I reviewed my areas that need improvement, I noticed that some of them are areas that I have not had an opportunity to focus on in the positions I have held. for example, monitoring, evaluating, outreach and order are things that I will need to focus on as I work on developing strong leadership skills. I believe that I will have the opportunity to strengthen these as I do my internship work. I also believe that I will be more confident with the areas of intellectual stimulation and focus as I learn more from this coursework and my classmates. I look forward to revisiting this assessment after I spend time in a leadership role to see if my strengths and areas of improvement have changed.