School leaders and teachers are bombarded each year with professional development opportunities that boast new techniques. Oftentimes programs are implemented one year, only to be replaced the following year with professional development techniques that promise to be newer and more improved. Those in charge of delivering professional development think, “Well, that didn’t work, so what can we do that will?” Those on the receiving end of the PD sessions think: “Here we go again, just another bandwagon! We’ll just ride this out like we’ve done every other short-term initiative.”
Not surprisingly, professional development begins to fade as a priority when it changes so drastically from year to year and doesn’t take on a lasting effect, according to Dr. Carol Maher, an assistant professor of professional practice for MU’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis.
“Main Event Management Corporation developed the system with 151 management models,” says Dr. Jay Scribner, professor and department chair of MU’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. “They function as guides to thought and action, and apply to both organizational leaders and staff members.” “The models translate concepts into practical, operational tools,” says Maher. “They create a filing system that allows school leaders to quickly retrieve knowledge and communicate ideas by referencing shared images and words so that they can better understand one another.”
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Based on the principles of Patrick Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, this leadership training will give your building the foundation needed to create a dynamic group of leaders that can help take your school to the next level.
To begin improving your team and to better understand the level of dysfunction you are facing, ask yourself these simple questions:
Do team members openly and readily disclose their opinions?
Are team meetings compelling and productive?
Does the team come to decisions quickly and avoid getting bogged down by consensus?
Do team members confront one another about their shortcomings?
Do team members sacrifice their own interests for the good of the team?
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The Leader in Me, developed by The Franklin Covey Company, is a process that helps develop the essential life skills and leadership skills students need in order to thrive in the 21st century. A Leader in Me school creates a common, practical vision for the school; learns the principles of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and teaches these to students; establishes systems of support and implementation structures; and works together to transform the culture of the school into a leadership culture.
This leadership process is incorporated into K-12 schools by integrating a school’s core curriculum and everyday language. It becomes not “one more thing” that teachers and administrators have to do, but rather a ubiquitous way of instilling leadership qualities into every student in the building. The Leader in Me process helps to create a common language within a school, by building on proven principle-based leadership skills found in Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s best-selling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:
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Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe’s Understanding by Design is a framework for designing curriculum, assessments, and instruction. Understanding by Design explores questions like: What is teaching for understanding? How can you unpack content standards to identify the important big ideas that you want students to understand? How do you know that students truly understand and can apply their understanding in a meaningful way? How can you design courses and units to emphasize understanding rather than coverage? What instructional practices are both engaging and effective for developing student understanding?
Participants will learn how to utilize “backward design” when planning curriculum. In backward design, the teacher starts with classroom outcomes and then plans the curriculum, choosing activities and materials that help determine student ability and foster student learning.
In addition, participants will explore six facets of understanding that clarify the teacher’s expectations for instructional units. These facets guide instructional choices and assessment creation for each unit.
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The Hook Center for Educational Leadership and District Renewal is committed to supporting school districts as they work to build effective school systems. We provide this assistance in many ways, including workshops and seminars, connecting educational research to the problems of practice in public schools, an annual conference on sustaining school improvement efforts, and direct consultation and training in school districts.
Professional development consultation and training is available to schools and school districts throughout the year and may take a variety of forms.
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