CEDU 527 - Week 4

Another week of class using GoTo Meeting. Nice.

Sites we were to review:

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)- This is a site that I have never checked out before. It was interesting that there is so much information out there avaiable to the public on our schools. Number of staff numbers broken down into categories, student/teacher ratio, number of students with IEPs, and the number of students who are eligible for free/reduced lunches was all information I could easily access.

Wisconsin Information Network for Successful Schools (WINSS) - WINSS is a site I have seen before, both in and outside of this grad program, but it was interesting to take another look at it with fresh eyes. It actually tries to do more than just provide the numbers; it shares resources on how to build more successful schools.

Asking the Right Questions from the MCREL Tookit - Too much information! This is a great website but I didn't know where to stop reading...link after link...some with 66 page documents attached. Regardless, I think there was some good information and it will be a good site to reference in the future, so here it is: www.mcrel.org/tookit/res/change.asp
Just a couple of the highlights, AHA moments, I would like to mention:
+ When Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb, he made it look like a gaslight to increase the likelihood of its adoption. He understood that human perception can be the biggest hurdle to implementing change.
+ Change pattern: status quo, awareness, exploration, transitioning, adoption, and dominance.
+ Before making changes, be sure to identify how it will effect other parts of the system.
+ There is the expectation, especially of principals, that they belong in the trenches with teachers. But what is needed is a balance between being on the balcony and being on the field.
+ The view from the balcony helps administrators to keep the domains (technical, personal, and organizational) of the school balanced so greater success can be achieved.

How To Thrive As a Teacher Leader - Chapter 5:
Statements to note -
+ Everyone loves positive feedback; be sure praise is related to performance
+ Support your teachers even when it is unrelated to instruction (ie Hawaiian shirt day)
+ Encourage collaboration
+ Srengthen Morale: recognize individuals, offer an extra planning period, relieve your teachers, gift the in-box, meet out, sponsor a pot-luck, bring food, host a holiday party, cancel a meeting, start a team newsletter, volunteer to photocopy, reward with gift certificates, provide extra supplies, design team shirts, make it up to your teachers (if one year their schedule is especially tough - acknowledge it and try to lighten the load), throw a year-end party.