Section 5: Trends and Issues in Various Settings

1)      I found a youtube video that discusses wireframe prototyping and I found that to be a useful tool for the educational field.  It is a way for the school systems to be connected through the web and using technology as a way to evaluate classroom operations. The wireframe program can allow teachers to create their lesson plans online and easily adjust them as needed. It can allow easy access for administrators to monitor classrooms and the teacher’s progress towards objectives. The program can contain all the things necessary to manage a classroom; attendance, lesson plans, grades, resources, modification plans, etc… It would also allow anyone connected to the classroom access and a way for teachers and administrators to collaborate via the internet!

2)              

I used my husband as a resource for this question! He served two tours in Viet Nam, when electronics was not an option. The types of training they received then were very hands on. They began in a classroom setting learning techniques and reviewing situations. They used notebooks and black boards for making diagrams and taking notes. Once they were in the field they simulated classrooms and referred to their notebooks for training purposes. The higher the rank the more detailed the training became. Everything was divided into individual skills and then it was explained how that tied into everyone’s jobs. The lower the skill level the less detailed the training was and the higher the skill level the more detailed it was. In present day conditions all of the training he received would be done electronically using technology. Therefore, if I was hired as a consultant for today’s military I would refer back how training use to be conducted before there was electronic devices available for assistance. I would suggest the use of notebooks and dry ease boards (small or large) and with all of the information and data that is collected through these trainings I would suggest imputing that into a computer program for future training purposes.

3)      Our school district will be undergoing some changes and we want for you to decide what the best way to facilitate these changes would be. We will be comparing two different methodologies today for you to consider. The first system is:

Step-Up-To-Excellence:

·         The Superintendent, a few teachers that they have chosen, and possibly a few school board members will be deciding whether or not to completely redesign the school district

o   The purpose of this team will be to prepare the system to engage in systemic change

·         This will be called the Pre-Launch Preparation

·         Once a decision has been made to go forward with the change a  new team will be formed

o   Strategic Leadership Team

§  Superintendent

§  Teachers & building administrators (picked by their peers)

·         They will appoint and train a Transformation Coordinator

o   Will provide tactical leadership for the transformation

·         District Engagement Conference

o   Will create new strategic framework for district that will included a new mission, vision, & strategic plan

·         Step 1 on the change:

o   Cluster improvement teams are formed

§  They will improve district’s core & supporting work processes, district’s internal social architecture, & the district’s relationship with its environment

·         Steps 2-4:

o   “create strategic alignment”

§  This will ensure three things:

·         That everyone is working toward the same strategic goals & visions for the district

·         Weaves a web of accountability for everyone

·         Forms a social architecture that allows for team effectiveness without political hassles

·         Step 5:

o   Evaluations are made of cluster performances, schools, & teams which will measure the success of everyone’s efforts to educate children

The second system we will be reviewing today is:

Guidance System for Transforming Education:

This model provides a facilitator with guidance about the process. The district and our community should engage in for a successful change.

This model provides a list of core values about the change process. The chart below is a list of the core values this model supplies:

Caring for children and their future	Respect
Systemic thinking	Responsibility
Evolution of mindsets about education	Readiness
Inclusiveness	Collaboration
Stakeholder empowerment and ownership	Community
Participant commitment	Ideal vision
Co-evolution	Wholeness
Facilitator	Common language
Process orientation	Conversation
Context	Democracy
Time	Culture
space

There are some “discrete events” or activities that must occur in order for the change to be successful and these events are listed in the chart below:

Phase I. Initiate Systemic Change Effort

Phase II. Develop Starter Team

Phase III. Develop District-Wide Framework and Capacity for Change

Phase IV. Create Ideal Designs for a New Educational System

With this particular model there are “continuous events” or activities that need to be addressed continuously during the change process. These events that must be addressed during the change process are listed in the chart below:

Evaluate and improve the change process. Build and maintain political support. Sustain motivation. Develop and sustain appropriate leadership. Build and maintain trust. Evolve mindset and culture. Periodically secure necessary resources. Develop skills in systems thinking. Periodically and appropriately allocate necessary resources. Develop group-process and team-building skills. Build team spirit. Engage in self-disclosure. Engage in reflection. Develop design skills. Communicate with stakeholders (two-way). Build and evolve community. Foster organizational learning. Build an organizational memory.

         Now that you have been presented with the two systems that our district is considering          using in order to facilitate an overall change of the way our school district is operated, we will allow you to vote as to which system we will enact.    

4)      Faculty Development and University comparison:

Section 4: Human Performance Technology

1)      I have chosen to use Gilbert’s Behavior Engineering Model as my non instructional solution to solve the performance problem at my organization. The problem I have selected to have solved is the lack of parental involvement at our Head Start centers due to the lack of encouragement from the teaching staff.

The goal will be to dramatically increase the overall parental involvement at our Head Start centers. Everyone benefits from having parents involved in their child’s education and all parents need to feel welcome and as though they have something of value to contribute. Parents are a great resource for our Head Start classrooms and the teachers need to overcome the notion that having parents volunteering in their classrooms are a hindrance.

2)      I am including a video from youtube about an Electronic Performance Support System that I liked. The System is the “Faronics In-Sight” and it helps with the management of computer labs. I chose this system because I can only imagine how difficult it must be in a computer lab with a group full of students trying to make sure that everyone is on task and to evaluate their performance in the best way possible. I am not able to draw from my classroom experience with this situation, because we do not have computer labs at our Head Start centers. If we did I believe it would be total chaos without some sort of system in place.

My thoughts on why EPSS has not been used more often would be because companies are concerned about the cost and effectiveness of the programs. Just like the book stated many companies still don’t understand all of its capabilities and are shying away from spending dollars on something they don’t fully understand.

I feel that use of EPSS will gradually increase over the next few years and eventually all companies will be utilizing some sort of an EPSS. Technology is such a huge part of our everyday lives and in order for companies to keep up it will be necessary for them to have some sort of an EPSS in place to adequately run their organization. Just about everything we do today is electronic and eventually it will be the only way!

3)      A real problem in my line of work is helping my teachers fully understand how to be successful using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS).  This tool is an observational tool that I use to assess classrooms interactions. The tool is a way to help teachers boost student learning if they utilize the information gathered during the observations correctly.

The tool organizes teacher-student interactions into three domains:

Emotional Support

Classroom Organization

Instructional Support

These domains are then broken down into dimensions and one of the dimensions that the teachers are consistently deficient in is the area of Language Modeling. This dimension should demonstrate the teachers’ ability to scaffold the children’s language skill through modeling.

The graph below is a way that I would use the Knowledge Management approach to help the teachers achieve success in this dimension:

Blended Learning Approach

For additional information on this type of classroom observation tool you can visit the following website: http://www.teachstone.org/

This tool is not used as a form of evaluation but as an observation tool that can enhance classroom interactions between the teachers and the students.

4)      Informal Learning:

I would have to say that my job as an Education Specialist for Head Start has been an informal learning experience for me. We are a very small organization and have never had an Education Specialist prior to me that had any early childhood experience or background. Therefore, I did not have anyone that I could learn from using Tacit knowledge. What I have learned has been on my own. I have been able to call on our T/TA (Training / Technical Assistant) person for help when needed. I have attended as much training as possible to help me in my role. I also draw from my experience as a classroom teacher in order to better help my teachers achieve goals that I set for them. There was no instructor! It has been difficult without anyone to guide me along the way, but I have a strong support system with the other administrators within our organizations and if they don’t know the answer to my questions they know how to help me find it.

 

Section 3: Week 4!

1)      The two models of evaluation that I have chosen to summarize are:

a.      Tyler’s Objective Model

( http://www.coedu.usf.edu/agents/dlewis/publications/tyler.htm )

b.      Eisner’s Educational Connoisseurship model

( http://ged550.wikispaces.com/Eisner's+Educational+Connoisseurship+Model )

TYLER’S OBJECTIVE MODEL	EISNER’S EDUCATIONAL CONNOISSEURSHIP MODEL
Establish broad goals or objectives	Holistic approach to analysis- guides the researchers from the formation of data collection instruments to the final write-up
Classify the goals or objectives	Interpretation of data and multiple perspectives in the evaluative tasks –How is the data collected? What data is collected?
Define objectives in behavioral terms
Find situations in which achievement if objectives can be shown
Develop or select measurement techniques
Collect performance data
Compare performance data with behaviorally stated objectives

a.      Tyler’s objective model –

·         States that discrepancies in performance would lead to modification, and the cycle begins again (Worthen and Sanders, 1987)

·         Considers education as “an active process”

·         This model considers the active efforts of the learner himself

·         This model will help to determine the educational effectiveness of learning experiences

b.      Eisner’s Educational Connoisseurship model

·         This model asks the question – What is it that we want the students to learn

·         The assessment portion was designed to determine the students’ ability to “think critically, solve problems, make decisions and communicate their ideas to others

·         Includes five dimensions of schooling that educational connoisseurs need to consider:

o   Intentional (deals with goals or aims that are formulated for the classroom)

o   Structural

o   Curricular

o   Pedagogical

o   Evaluative

·         States that the student assessment is the focus

·         A major con of this model is that it assumes the evaluators are experts

I would use these evaluations models by:

·         First establishing a particular goal or objective for a child based on their developmental age and needs

·         I would access a child’s prior knowledge of the information being presented through small group instruction

·         I would then create an activity that would have the child perform a particular task and through my observations I would be able to determine if the child is able to master the task or goal I had set

·         If the child is successful I would plan for another activity that would take the child to their next level of development and if the child is unsuccessful in the task I would work with the child to help them achieve the goal I had set for them

An example of this would be:

·         Have a four year old child count objects up to or beyond the number 10

·         I would sit at a table with the child and ask them to count objects for me

·         I would place at least ten objects out for the child to count and observe whether or not they were able to accomplish the goal

·         If the child is able to successful count to ten then I would add objects to see how many more they could count successfully and if the child was not successful I would decrease the number of objects until the child was successful and gradually add to the number of objects until they could count ten items successfully (not necessarily in the same day, but over the span of several days – so that the child does not become frustrated)

2)       The innovation that I chose is “Touch”. Below is a video that discusses “Touch” technology.

              

     I chose this innovation for several reasons. I think that it has made technology very user friendly. I know personally that I have benefitted from the touch aspect of technology. I am a very hands on learner and this gives me a sense of connection when I am able to just touch a screen and things happen. It is very captivating!!!! I think this technology would be a great asset in a PreK classroom. I can see where they children would really become involved with the lessons being taught if they can actually touch an object on a screen and moves. I think this type of technology is much easier to manipulate then a mouse and keyboard are for everyone, especially little hands!

3)      How would I educate teachers on using technology in their classrooms using the Situational Leadership model?

The first thing I would do is to focus my attention on a particular educational activity I wanted my teachers to incorporate in their PreK classrooms using technology.

I have chosen Virtual Field trips for this activity. Our organization is not able to take our children on field trips due to funding and the lack of transportation. I believe it is crucial to take children to places that they might not have an opportunity to visit on their own. I think that field trips serve an educational purpose and should be done whenever possible. Therefore, since we are not able to provide our students with this opportunity the next best thing would be to take them somewhere virtually!

ACTIVITY: VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS

 Situational Leadership Model