EDLD+5333+Reflection



EDLD 5333 Reflection By having strong leadership, students are better prepared to achieve (Rooney, 2008, p. 88) A successful leader must understand the circumstances and facts surrounding those they lead, including the environment in which the leadership will take place. Many factors affect the decisions a leader makes, but they must be made with practical knowledge about the implications of their decisions. By analyzing data, one is better apt to make an informed decision. Evaluating benchmark and state mandated test scores allowed trends in the scores to be noted and documented and the effectiveness of the employed techniques could be analyzed. By seeing changes in the individual state standards, the data reflects if the increased attention to those concepts made a difference in the overall student performance. The activities offered in this course were extremely applicable in TF/TL Standards I and II (Williamson & Redish, 2009). Not only was it necessary to understand how to maneuver through the internet to find the data, but it had to be synthesized in order to make informed decisions as to what core area to concentrate on. Once that was established, the task of disseminating that information and understanding to the staff had to be developed. By creating an action plan, it helped me develop as an educator and has guided me to use the data available to me to make strides in my own classroom. As a new teacher, these tasks helped me understand the importance of the accountability standards not only as a technology leader, but also as a leader within the school. I entered teaching in a school that did not meet AYP and was under the two-year observation, so the information contained within this course had multiple connotations to me. By analyzing the data and identifying areas of improvement, a vision for what the professional development day was to accomplish had to be established. By creating the end objective, I was able to build backwards to facilitate meeting the needs of the students on our campus. As Jones and Crochet (2007) allude to, the school vision must be constantly monitored, assessed, and revised as needed. This experienced helped me prepare my internship proposal, as I had to establish a vision for what I sought to do by analyzing the needs of my campus and how my skills and knowledge could help improve it. By assessing our needs, I was able to establish a professional development strategy much like the one created in this assignment. I felt the assignment was beneficial and upon further reflection, I can identify where I was able to become more focused on how to best lead with data supporting all decisions. The discussion boards were helpful in this task as it allowed me to see different points of view in regards to the approach to how best to lead effectively. Through the activities in this course, I have become a much more knowledgeable leader and have begun to employ the data analysis in many aspects of my instructional preparation. Through understanding the quantitative measurements, one can begin to improve the qualitative aspects of education. My own experience in professional development has been enlightened with the knowledge of what it takes to determine the needs to be addressed and how best to accomplish that. I will continue to challenge the status quo through understanding of the obstacles that must be overcome and use the knowledge gained in this course to best determine the course of action. Jones, L. & Crochet, F. (2007). The importance of visions for schools and school improvement. //Connexions.// Retrieved October 3, 2010, from http://cnx.org/content/m15634/1.1/ Rooney, J. (2008). What do we believe? //Educational Leadership, 65(5)//. Williamson, J, & Redish, T. (2007). Building technology facilitators and leaders: A standards-based approach, Learning & Leading with Technology, 35(1), 22-26.