Case Study 3

• ISLLC Standard 3: A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by ensuring management of the organization, operations, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.

   

  Case Study: Advocating Awareness Walks: Building Consensus for Continual Improvement

  Key Knowledge:

  The administrator has knowledge and understanding of :

  . theories and models of organizations and the principles of organizational development

  . operational procedures at the school and district level

  . human resources management and development

  Key Dispositions :

  The administrator believes in, values, and is committed to:

  . making management decisions to enhance learning and teaching

  . taking risks to improve schools

  . trusting people and their judgments

  . accepting responsibility

  . high-quality standards, expectations, and performances

  . involving stakeholders in management processes

  Key Performances :

  The administrator facilitates processes and engages in activities ensuring that:

  . knowledge of learning, teaching, and student development is used to inform management decisions

  . operational procedures are designed and managed to maximize opportunities for successful learning

  . emerging trends are recognized, studied, and applied as appropriate

  . potential problems and opportunities are identified

  . problems are confronted and resolved in a timely manner

  . the school acts entrepreneurially to support continuous improvement

  . stakeholders are involved in decisions affecting schools

  . responsibility is shared to maximize ownership and accountability

  . effective problem-framing and problem solving skills are used

  . effective group-process and consensus building skills are used

  Questions:

  •  How can the school promote continuous improvement and problem solving?

  •  How can the school get the buy in and input of all staff members to identify and solve problems?

   

  Introduction:

  Our school began this year with a new principal; she joined the staff exactly two weeks before the new teachers were to arrive for pre-planning. This left very little time to establish the norms and standards necessary to build consensus from the beginning. The result was a staff that was somewhat disjointed and without focus. When the administration noticed this problem, we addressed it in several ways. First, we revisited the schools mission, vision, and belief statements, using rubrics to measure their effectiveness. We determined that we needed to reevaluate the vision as a whole staff. As a part of this process, we began conducting awareness walks. Through our leadership meetings and professional learning community meetings, we discussed and determined the absolutes for the classroom. What were the things that were non negotiable? We began with those things. All teachers conducted short 5-7 minute anonymous peer observations looking for the things we had decided were non-negotiable. Every classroom was visited once, and we looked at the data together to determine our strengths and our needs. After each walk, we look at the data and problem solve as a group as to how we can improve on our weaknesses and build on our strengths. We plan to continue to conduct awareness walks and study the data. As we make improvements, we will continue to look for other areas where we can improve as a school to increase student achievement and learning.

   

  Analysis:

  This process has created a new standard of teaching and learning at our school. The teachers are much more motivated to perform for their peers than they are for administrators. When teachers know that other teachers will be coming into their classrooms they step up their game. The observation becomes less threatening and more motivating. Teachers also grow from the experience because they have the opportunity to visit classrooms that they might not otherwise see and to get ideas that they can take to their classrooms to improve their teaching. The addition of giving teachers input in deciding what we look for and what and how we improve has improved morale at the school as well. Teachers feel much more empowered. The data from one walk to another shows marked improvement in the areas of focus.

    A sample form and sample data follows:

  Middle School- Awareness Walk
  Classroom	1		2		3		4
  Subject:
  Time In:
  Time Out:									Totals
  	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
  Essential Question Posted
  Standard is Posted
  EQ is tied to GPS or QCC
  Word Wall with CURRENT vocabulary that relates to the CURRENT standard.
  Student Work is posted.
  Standard
  Rubric
  Checklist
  Teacher Commentary
  In team taught classrooms both teachers are actively involved with students.
  Use of manipulatives (hands on learning)
  Distributed Practice
  Distributed Summarizing
  Reflection:
  What are some of the things you noticed that were consistent across the classrooms?
  Positives: Please list anything that you observed that was positive and noteworthy. Be prepared to share some of these ideas with the whole group.
  Reminders:
  Please do not use any teacher names.

   

  	Totals
  	Yes	No
  Essential Question Posted	77	3
  Standard is Posted	59	21
  EQ is tied to GPS or QCC	67	13
  Word Wall with CURRENT vocabulary that relates to the CURRENT standard.	77	3
  Student Work is posted.	71	9
  Standard	12	68
  Rubric	5	75
  Checklist	5	75
  Teacher Commentary	7	73
  In team taught classrooms both teachers are actively involved with students.	8	72
  Use of manipulatives (hands on learning)	13	67
  Distributed Practice	22	58
  Distributed Summarizing	10	70

  Evaluation:

  This case study is still in the developing stage. As more data is collected and compiled, the study will be strengthened.