REFLECTION
(IUSSchool of Education Dispositions)
The practicum experience is the culminating event of the Educational Leadership Program. It has been necessary for me to utilize all of the skills obtained during my past years of teaching and in my administrative classes at Indiana University Southeast. The experience and expertise I have gained under the tutelage of my professors and mentors has been priceless.
Disposition 1—Candidate respects the legal and ethical norms and values of education.
During practicum I practiced respect of the legal and ethical norms and values of education in my administration of Scantron Testing. Scantron is a computer-based testing system. At my school I monitored and administrated this test to each of our students while protecting the confidentiality of each student’s scores. Additionally, upon evaluation of student performance, I coordinated interventions to appropriate students through programs I coordinated throughout the semester. There exist such a large quantity of such legal and ethical norms and values that I will need considerable more time and effort to become familiar with all of them.
Disposition 2—Candidate effectively interacts and collaborates with others and fosters similar behaviors among students.
Through many different projects I effectively interacted and collaborated with others and fostered a similar behavior among students. These qualities were most evident in my design, implementation, and monitoring of focus groups at my school. Focus Groups are CarrollCounty’s version of a professional community. This program was designed through collaboration with my mentor. Some of the components have been the study of Howard Gardener’s Multiple Intelligences, the Rigor and Relevance frame work, review of the Kentucky Performance Reports, and many other topics. After designing a year long plan for these meetings, I have researched, organized, and carried out the facilitation of each meeting on a regular basis. I greatly enjoy focus times and regularly witness the integration of many instructional techniques discussed during our meetings in to general practice of many teachers. I am comfortable with and get personal satisfaction from these practices. However, my knowledge of reading interventions is limited. Being a math/science person, I will need to work hard to become familiar with an array of reading and writing programs.
Disposition 3—Candidate is committed to diversity through equitable treatment and respect for all individuals.
Throughout my practicum experience I have been committed to diversity through equitable treatment and respect for all individuals. After using a standardized test to discover students who have not been taught to read at a sufficient level, I analyzed their current performance level and designed a reading intervention which would improve their reading level. Additionally, I monitored these interventions to assure effectiveness. When appropriate, interventions were changed to better serve these individual students. In another portion of my practicum experience I analyzed my schools most recent state test scores for performance gaps. After identifying major gender, social economical, and students with disabilities gaps, I presented my findings to the faculty and suggested some specific strategies to address each of these. Although I am quite skilled at data analysis, I have had little experience with true diversity. The schools I have worked in have been demographically uniform in reference to race. When confronted with a truly culturally diverse student body, I will have to relay on training rather than experience.
Disposition 4—Candidate respects the legal and ethical norms and values of education.
I continue to exhibit personal management behaviors valued by the professional education community. One of my more recent projects, a teacher instructional resource webpage, I began during my practicum experience. Many teachers find it difficult to locate meaningful resources on the Internet. Some struggle due to the complexity of our state web-site, while others lack the skill or patience to use an internet search engine. In light of these problems, I organized a website for my teachers with all the most important resources marked for them. Some of the pages linked on this site include the Core Content, sample test items, lesson plan data bases, and many other useful resources. This site has proven to be a valuable tool for all the professionals in my building, either saving precious time in locating needing information or enabling those who would otherwise not have access to such information.
Disposition 5—Candidate is committed to inquiry and application of the knowledge base of education.
I am committed to inquiry and application of the knowledge base of education. I have been a presenter at three of the Kentucky Student Summits for High School Reform throughout the state. At these summits I presented two new initiatives which are part of the state’s Vanguard Project to pilot new programs in high schools. The two programs I presented are May Term and Senior Projects. In addition to presenting at these conferences, I was accompanied by three of the teachers in my building and eighteen of our students. This committee convenes regularly to discuss the successes and challenges of our school. They will be an essential agent of change within our high school as we reform our high school over the next several years. Students are continually changing and thus should the educational system. There is no limit to the number of programs which are beneficial to schools. It will be important for me to continue to update my knowledge of new and developing programs. The sheer size and complexities of the Internet is threatening to many educators even as its use becomes a standard method for the dissemination of information. I am quite skilled at the current software uses of many technological tools. This is however one of the most dynamic fields and will require life long learning skills in order to maximize the potential use of technology.
Disposition 6—Candidate exhibits enthusiasm and respect for education as a practice and a profession.
I continue to exhibits enthusiasm and respect for education as a practice and a profession. In November I presented three instructional presentations at the Kentucky Science Teachers Conference in Lexington. The sessionsForensic Science, A CSI Simulation, and Forensics Labswere attended by over one hundred and fifty teachers and administrators from around the state. In attendance was a teacher from my school who will teach forensic science under my direction during the coming school year. In December I presented a combination of these three presentations called Forensics for High School at the National Science Teachers Conference in Nashville,Tennessee to more than one hundred and twenty science teachers from around the country. For each of these presentations I prepared websites which provide continued access to relevant resources for attendants. Each of these sessions, and subsequent websites, were extremely successful and has spawned continuing collaboration by e-mail with multiple professionals in related areas. Although I am comfortable presenting many different topics and providing professional development, there are many topics of which I have less than satisfactory expertise. I must endeavor to become familiar with strategies which more easily loan themselves to language, social studies, and the arts.
Disposition 7—Candidate is committed to database decision-making and fair practices.
I remain committed to database decision-making and fair practices. As mentioned previously, I have made extensive use of Scantron results to identify the need for interventions in math and reading. Additionally, I am currently implementing a process for surveying many different stakeholders’ opinions and views in order to aid in the development and adjustment of our Consolidated School Improvement Plan and many other programs. The first survey, recently completed and administered, is a teacher evaluation survey to be completed by students. I am in the process of constructing a parent survey to be conducted at sports events and by parents who come to pick up their students at school. I have plans for an end of year survey to be completed by the faculty in reference to school leadership and many other aspects. These surveys have and will be developed in part by the group which they are surveying and research. Additionally, I am utilizing an internet based survey program, Survey Gold, which digitally collects and analyzes the results. The use of data to help analyze and direct education will always be a valuable tool in education. What I have discovered is the difficulties of collecting and utilizing the results in a timely manner. No doubt technology is the key to making such tools more efficient. As I use more and more data as a leader I will have to remain informed as to the most recent advances in technology.
Disposition 8— Candidate is committed to continuous self-evaluation and personal improvement.
I am committed to continuous self-evaluation and personal improvement. I am currently part of the administrative team at my school. Each year I complete a self improvement plan collaborated and monitored by myself and my supervisor. Currently I am working toward improving the technical knowledge of my faculty and increasing my use of data for the purpose of targeted interventions. As mentioned previously, I and the faculty are designing an administrative survey teachers will complete on the perception of our leadership performances. This survey will be analyzed and the results internalized for potential improvements in my leadership. Additionally, I maintain an open dialogue with those individuals I lead. I hold individual and small group meetings with the soul purpose of soliciting input from my faculty. These meetings continue to aid me in being a productive leader and greatly boost the overall moral within the school. Although these methods of self evaluation are well intentioned, it is likely they are tainted in part by pressures anexhibit some degree of bias. I am not aware of quantitative data which may be taken to assess leadership skills. In the future I will examine alternatives to self evaluation that may prove more insightful.
I have grown tremendously during my educational leadership coursework. The class discussions and assignments have driven me in directions I would not have moved on my own. Although some projects were simulations, many were real projects which enabled me to better understand and lead in my school. Additionally many exercises increased my awareness of happenings and decisions made in my own school and district. While in this program, I have made career changes up the leadership latter. I am currently a curriculum director at a high school. This position as well as my education at Indiana University Southeast has given me the confidence and drive to pursue the positions of Highly Skilled Educator and Principal. I have always had a strong drive to educate children; I know have a desire to lead a group of educators and enable them to do the same.
1