-
Period: to
Peronal Learning Journey--Masters of Educational Leadership and Management
While working as Special Education Coordinator, I encountered a teacher who challenged my approach to education -
Encountering Conflict
Working as Special Education Coordinator, I encountered a teacher that truly challenged my philosophy of Education. My difficulty with this particular individual stemmed from 1. a lack of understanding about collaboration, 2. a poor understanding of effective communication methods, and 3. an extreme discomfort with conflict and challenge. -
Making the Decision
Having been emmersed in conflict with opposing educational philsophies, I realized that I needed to engage in professional development designed to help me meet this "white water" in a confident and resourceful way. I discovered the MAELM program at RRU and liked the cohort model and the emphasis on collaboration--since this was the major difficulty I was having in my role. -
501: Leadership for Learning
This course 1. defined leadership and its interplay with learning, 2. examined leadership and learning's relationship to change and change management, 3. analyzed the role that effective school leadership plays in enhancing student achievement and capacity building, and 4. looked at the leader’s responsibilities in change management and leadership. -
510: Research for School Improvement
This course introduced us to the importance of research and research methods relevant to both academia as well as to school improvement. In addition, it assisted in highlighting the importance of research in educational decision making particularly as it applies to leadership and the leadership role. -
Residency Begins
Here, we learned to work with each other, creaing bonds that would grow throughout the next two years. -
525: Developing Leadership Capacity through Reflective Practice
As a cohort, we delved into both the skills and knowledge needed in effective leaders. In addition, we turned our focus inward, reflecting upon our own growth as learners, educators, current leaders, and future leaders. "To successfully navigate the permanent white water of today's work world, managerial learning [...]must become a day-to-day integrated discipline practiced on the job--a journey of exploration that corrects its course as it proceeds" (Vaill, 1996). -
530: Planning for School Improvement
Continuing from the 510 course, 530 focuses on data-based decision making as it applies to school improvement and the development of a school improvement plan. "Today's effective educational leaders use data extensively to guide them in decision making, setting and prioritizing goals, plan interventions, and evaluate progress" (Goldring & Berends, 2009). -
540: Building and Managing the School Community
As our learning extended out in concentric circles from the central concepts of leadership and learning, we began to understand leadership from the perspective of multliple stakeholders. This course introduced us to methods of incorporating relevant voices into the decision making process. Working with parents, students, families, and communities to improve student achievement is essential in leadership practice. -
525: Revisited
Knowing ourselves as learners and educators will help us devise more effective methods of leadership. Through this learning I realize that critical self-reflection is a means of riding the permanent white water of life, understanding your niche within the system, and altering that system to foster learning. -
550: Communication for Learning
Moving beyond the who and what, we delved into the realm of how. We learned not only to communicate as individuals with other individuals and with systems, we learned to create structural processes that lend themselves to effective communication thereby creating collaborative cultures. "Cultures are communicative creations [...] cutlures do not exist serperately from people communicating with one another" (Kowalski, Petersen, & Fusarelli, 2007). -
560: Leading in the Technology Mediated Environment
But how can these concepts of leadership apply to the technology mediated environment? This was the question of inquiry in 560. We recognized the trend toward technology in education and seek to discuss and negotiate leadership in this new and potential mindfield. Our discovery? Good teaching and good leadership transcend environmental boundaries. -
525: Revisited
Learning as a way of being, how can this apply to our roles as educators? We recognize that educators are learners simultaneously. Seeing learning taking place in any an every role we assume helps us develop a growth mindset. -
570: Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment
We revisited curriculum, instruction, and assessment from the perspective of leaders. We delved into the interconnected nature of these essential elements in education. -
580: Supervision for Learning
Broadening our understanding of supervision, this course allowed us to reconceptualize the standard teacher evaluations, helping us to see that supervision can be embedded in all aspects of the leadership & learning process. -
525: Revisited
We developed our own survey against which to assess our own leadership practices. This allowed us to understand where we could improve as professionals and as leaders. -
610: Leading and Sustaining the Collaborative Inquiry Process
Here we engaged in the inquiry process, applying the concepts learned into a Major Research Paper. -
525: Revisted
Our Portfolios: Putting It All Together
