If I were in a leadership role, I would try to be an agent of change by first forming a committee to outline goals and plans. Perhaps bringing parents and community members onto the committee would be advantageous. (Probably not at first…that could open a huge can of worms.) I think it would be important to work slowly. Change can not happen overnight, and I wouldn’t want my staff to become overwhelmed, especially staff members that are not as technological literate. That is why it would be very important to have a plan and set small goals. I would do my best to keep technology up to date. Also, I would search for resources/professional development for the staff. (Professional development that would move the students towards gaining the 21st Century Skills, not development that shows teachers how to perform a search.) Finally, I would do my best to model appropriate uses of technology: emailing communications, making use of presentation software for staff meetings, and modeling lessons myself.
Excellent points. I am a second year elementary technology teacher in the Springfield School District. This year, the administrators, one principal and two assistant principals are all new administrators in my school. All three are from the district; the principal is experienced, while the two assistant principals are new to their positions this year. If I were to classify their leadership style, I would say that their leadership approach falls into the Relationship Leadership category. Their leadership stresses the need and importance for educators to continuously learn to successfully promote learning in the classroom. Their actions show that Professional Development is critical to create successful teachers.
Our administration also employs strategic planning techniques in their roles. Our school utilizes a Strategic Improvement Plan (SIP). The SIP’s purpose is to identify areas where we need improvement in the present, but also looks at how to improve our academics into the future.
I do believe that their strategy should better employ technology as a tool to enhance the teaching and learning process of our students. As an agent of change I would increase the amount of technology into the daily routines of administrators, teachers, and students. As an administrator, I would model the use of technology in the day-to-day operations of our school. For example, correspondence to the teachers would go out in the form of an email rather than as a memo in the teachers’ mailboxes. Students would be encouraged to better utilize technology in their daily learning routine, rather than on a scheduled weekly basis. Computers, software, and the Internet would be just as available to students, as textbooks and paper are to them.
I believe with these changes students would be better prepared and have a greater success rate in their education and later in life when they enter the workforce.
Myself as an agent of change… For my duty, instead of hall duty, time out, or (eeww) lunch duty, I have Tech duty. This time allows me to help maintain what I can in the building as for hardware. It also allows me to meet with teachers to discuss ways to incorporate technology into their classroom. I intend to continue this as I continue to learn about new things for the classroom. I have good relational skills that I use with my peers. As I look to the future, I don’t think I will ever be an administrator. The field does not interest me as I enjoy so much of the classroom experience. But I hope to use the skills I have to help others feel more comfortable within the classroom with technology. Work with what I can to help as much as I can… (Does that sound too ambitiuos?)
Although this seems very basic I'd like to think that if I were a leader trying to initiate change, I would first start by clearly identifying the problem that needed to be addressed with the change. From there I'd like to work collaboratively with some sort of committee or study group as Devon mentioned above to gain staff support and to give staff members an opportunity for input. As a committee I would hope to develop some benchmark goals and dates as a means of measurement and accountability.
We had an experience in my district where a new spelling program was put into place right after a language arts consultant returned from some workshop and declared this program the new sliced bread of spelling. The program has not been well received by the teachers who have to implement it on a daily basis and we are all left wondering, "What was the problem with the spelling program we had in the first place?" In addition, no staff support was ever gained, it was one person's initiative that was sold to the administrator's and then shoved down the faculty's throats. It hasn't gone over well and many classroom teachers "secretly" resort to the old program.
I feel strongly that agents of change need to have their own hand in the ring so to speak in order to sell people on a new initiative. Often times leaders become very far removed from the classroom and they lose sight of the challenges that teacher's face and how changes will impact the teacher and the classroom.
How I would work to be an agent of change in my environment…. I believe that I am already doing this in my daily teaching schedule. In the position I am in (instructional technology teacher), I believe that I have to be an agent for change. Things are constantly changing in education in terms of technology. Technology is an amazing tool that can be used in everyday teaching. I make it very clear to staff in my building that they may come to me if they have a question or need help on working with something relating to technology in their curriculum. The staff in my building know that I am willing and eager to help them integrate technology into their classroom and daily lives.
Overall, I don’t think leadership skills come easy for everyone. For some it comes naturally, while others have to work at it. Reading the article by Dr. Valdez makes one more aware of what types of leaders are out there.
If I were the Chief Information Officer on campus I would concentrate on relationship building with the various user group on campus. I would work to establish a campus wide IT vision and incorporate that vision into multi-year strategic plan. I think building relationships through communication, collaboration and action with the clients you serve is a very undervalued goal. Technology is always changing and evolving but a trusting relationship with your clients should be a constant. Dealing with change, especially with technology changes, can be difficult but when people have a voice and are informed of the changes and are supported through the change the results can be remarkable.
If I were in a leadership role in the school that I worked at I would try to invoke change starting with the teachers role inside and outside the classroom. Change is not accepted well in the school environment if you come up with it yourself (as the leader) and tell everyone below you "how to change." To work in a school setting the change has to be agreed upon by the majority. I think part of the "late day" that occurs every week should have some time set aside to openly talk about how the school environment is going to change for the better.
Ideas must be heard openly and voted on to be a true democratic environment. Like we spoke about in class, most principals are managers… to be a leader and agent of change, a principal must have an open door policy and be open to new suggestions and critisism. An intra-network should be set up in the school between teachers and administrators, in the form of a blog or wiki so that change can be discussed and invoked. A true agent of change will make sure to hear and discuss ways to better the educational environment.
You need the teachers to agree to the change and truly believe in it because these are the one's in the classrooms everyday that can really change the school environment. True support of the staff is the key to change in a traditional school setting or nothing will be agreed on.
If I were in a leadership role of any kind in terms of my position, I would have to place trust in students to perform accurate teacher surveys. All too often I see faculty abusing A/V equipment in the rooms. Most common-core classes seem to be diluted by this technology, the professors seem to forget that technology is an aid. I don't see the the use of technology in the classroom to be a problem for the students but rather the faculty. The head of Academic Affairs, along with department chairs, should come up with a strategy to make sure this misuse stops. Also, all faculty MUST have a backup plan to the curriculum they are covering that day, no more "I was depending on this to teach my class today" business.
