CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, BAKERSFIELD
School of Education
Advanced Studies Department
EDAD 681
Instructional Leadership
Dr. Louis Wildman e-mail: lwildman@csub.edu
661-654-3047 (o)
661-588-8865 (h)
PREREQUISITE:
Successful completion of the Preliminary Administrative Services credential in educational administration.
ASSUMPTIONS:
1. Principals have an obligation to become intellectual and instructional leaders, in addition to being financial, facility, and personnel managers.
2. We learn by developing and using ideas and concepts, not merely by memorizing a series of facts.
THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION THEME
Excellence—Integrity--Caring
CANDIDATE DISPOSITIONS
Candidates preparing to work in schools as teachers or other professional school personnel know and demonstrate the content, pedagogical, and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to help all students learn.
Professional Collaboration
Candidates will participate in action-oriented collaboration that will enable them to learn from others and provide leadership in partnerships with all stakeholders.
Reflective Practitioner
Candidates are reflective, life long learners who apply problem solving and critical thinking strategies and the respectful appreciation of differing points of view.
Ethical Professional
Candidates’ actions are based on accepted professional standards of conduct and reflect insight and awareness with respect to diverse perspectives, opinions, obligations and ethical responsibilities of the profession.
Student/Client Centered
Candidates, throughout their programs, will prioritize the needs of the students/clients they serve by maintaining trusting relationships built upon caring, nurturing (respective) and meaningful interactions.
Professional Leader
Candidates, throughout their programs, will be strong, determined, professional leaders with a clear instructional focus using effective communication skills and a willingness to take risks to ensure the advancement, safety, and welfare of all students in our communities.
Professional Competence
Candidates will maintain high programmatic outcomes that reflect research-based practices, principles of learning differentiation, and standards based instruction.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Elements of instructional leadership, particularly those at the district-wide level, will be emphasized. The means by which state priorities, such as new curriculum standards or changing college and university entrance requirements, are implemented will be discussed, along with their implications for school/district policy decisions.
INTRODUCTION:
Our mutual task in this seminar is to examine and apply a range of approaches to instructional leadership. Though it is part of the Professional Credential program, the course is designed to promote continuing study of instructional leadership, apart from formal requirements. Instructional leadership is the very heart of what educational administrators should do. Hence these pursuits should continue long after this school term has ended. If you are an educational administrator, instructional leadership should be your life-long task.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. Candidates will understand strategies to achieve system-wide goals and objectives. (Theme #3) (CPSEL 2)
2. Candidates will understand human relations elements and group dynamics in marshalling district-wide human resources to address district goals and objectives. (Theme #2) (CPSEL 4)
3. Candidates will understand strategies to enable them to use current learning and instructional research.(Theme #3)(CPSEL 3)
4. Candidates will understand instructional processes to enable them to understand significant educational trends and issues--as opposed to fads--as they are and as they emerge in the future. (Theme #3)(CPSEL 6)
5. Candidates will understand instructional processes to evaluate student achievement. (Theme #2)(CPSEL 3)
6. Candidates will understand current and emerging needs of society for the improvement of school curriculum and practices, and identify important emerging curriculum programs and practices. (Theme #3)(CPSEL 2)
7. Candidates will learn strategies to meet diverse pupil needs. (Theme #2) (CPSEL 4)
8. Candidates will understand computer technology as it applies to instruction. (Theme #3)(CPSEL 2)
9. Candidates will be able to identify and develop strategies to address low pupil learning outcomes. (Theme #1)(CPSEL 1)
10. Candidates will be able to identify and exploit strategies that address high pupil learning outcomes. (Theme #1)(CPSEL 1)
11. Candidates will understand important models to evaluate program and curriculum effectiveness. (Theme #2)(CPSEL 5)
12. Candidates will become familiar with the National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators (CPSEL 3)
The Relation of the Course Objectives to CTC Competencies and School of Education Themes:
The School of Education at California State University, Bakersfield has identified the following four themes which permeate all courses and other learning experiences within programs:
Graduates of the CSUB School of Education Programs will be caring, reflective, decision-making professionals who:
Theme 1: exhibit student and client-centered behaviors;
Theme 2: demonstrate sensitivity and effectiveness with students and clients from diverse backgrounds;
Theme 3: effectively apply and evaluate current research, pedagogy, and technology; and
Theme 4: share a commitment to continuous personal and professional growth.
The above objectives are cross-referenced to these themes.
How this course deals with educational equity and cultural diversity:
This course begins with a discussion of the importance of the model which instructional leaders set. We believe that it is important that this model include a belief in educational equity and the value of cultural diversity.
The practical implications of these values are stressed, particularly in sections of the course on effective leadership traits, ethical problems, student discipline strategies, and dropout prevention strategies.
Criticism Of This Course:
Over the years, some participants have felt that this course was too theoretical and not practical enough. While sometimes when a course attempts to address immediate problems it becomes less, rather than more practical (since current problems rapidly change and administrators in differing settings face differing problems), nevertheless, I am sensitive to this criticism. Currently the course addresses practical problems, such as: difficulties involved in applying the concept of total quality management; parent involvement strategies; student discipline strategies; administrator/ school board relations; dropout prevention strategies; and teacher and administrator empowerment. Further, the contributions which practicing administrators make to the course usually involve descriptions of implementations of ideas discussed. However, if you have in mind other practical problems which you would like this course to address, please let me know. I welcome your help in improving this seminar.
Supplemental Reading:
Kozol, Jonathan, The Shame of the Nation. New York: Crown Publishing, 2005.
REFERENCES:
Barth, Roland, Improving Schools From Within. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Publishers, 1991.
Bass, Bernard M., Stogdill's Handbook of Leadership: A Survey Of Theory and Research. New York: The Free Press, 1981.
Bellah, Robert N.; Madsen, Richard; Sullivan, William M.; Swidler, Ann; and Tipton, Steven, Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985.
Benson, Lee; Harkavy, Ira; and Puckett, John, Dewey's Dream. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2007.
Bogue, E. Grady, The Enemies of Leadership. Bloomington, Indiana: Phi Delta Kappa, 1985.
REFERENCES (Continued)
Boyan, Norman J., Handbook of Research on Educational Administration. New York: Longman, 1988.
Brouillette, Liane, A Geology of School Reform. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996.
Burns, James MacGregor, Leadership. New York: Harper & Row, 1978.
Childress, Stacy et al., Managing School Districts. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Education Press, 2007.
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Clifford, Geraldine and Guthrie, James, Ed School. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Coleman, James, et. al., Public vs. Private High Schools: The Impact of Communities. New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1987.
Conley, David, Lessons From Laboratories In School Restructuring And Site-Based Decision-Making. Eugene: Oregon School Study Council, March 1991.
Conley, David, Restructuring Schools: Educators Adapt to a Changing World. Eugene: ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, February 1991.
Commission on Public School Administration and Leadership, Return to Greatness: Strategies for Powerful Improvements in Our Schools. Sacramento, California: Association of California School Administrators, October 1988.
Cookson, Peter and Persell, Caroline, Preparing For Power: America's Elite Boarding Schools. New York: Basic Books, 1985.
Cotter, Maury and Seymour, Daniel, Kidgets and Other Insightful Stories About Quality Education. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: ASQC Quality Press, 1993.
Dertouzos, Michael, et.al., Made in America. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press, 1989.
Dewey, John, My Pedagogic Creed, 1897. Source: Ulich, Robert, Three Thousand Years of Educational Wisdom. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1982.
Duke, Daniel et al., Educational Leadership. Albany: State University of New York, 2003.
English, Fenwick, Educational Administration: The Human Science. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1992.
Faux, Jeff, Economic Competitiveness and the Human-Capital Investment Gap. Washington, D.C.: Investment 21, 1992.
REFERENCES (Continued)
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Fetterman, David and Wandersman, Abraham, Empowerment Evaluation Principles in Practice. New York: Guilford Press, 2005.
Fiske, Alan Page, Structures of Social Life. New York: The Free Press, 1991.
Friedman, Myles and Fisher, Steven, Handbook on Effective Instructional Strategies. Columbia, S.C.: The Institute for Evidence-Based Decision-Making in Education, Inc., 1998.
Friedman, Thomas, The World Is Flat. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005.
Fuller, Bruce, Standardized Childhood. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2007.
Gardner, Howard, Leading Minds. New York: Harper Collins, 1995.
Gardner, John, Leadership Papers, 1-4. Washington, D.C.: Independent Sector, 1986.
Gardner, John, On Leadership. New York: The Free Press, 1990.
Garvin, David, Managing Quality. New York: The Free Press, 1988.
Gathercoal, Forrest, Judicious Discipline (Third Edition). San Francisco: Caddo Gap Press, 1993.
Gladwell, Malcolm, Outliers. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2008.
Glasser, William, The Quality School. New York: Harper & Row, 1990.
Golde, Chris and Walker, George (Eds.), Envisioning the Future of Doctoral Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006.
Goodlad, John, Teachers For Our Nation's Schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 1990.
Goodlad, John and Keating, Pamela (Eds.), Access to Knowledge. New York: The College Board, 1990.
Goodlad, John; Soder, Roger; and Sirotnik, Kenneth (Eds.), The Moral Dimensions of Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 1990.
Goldsworthy, Adrian, Caesar. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006.
Gorton, Richard and Snowden, Petra, School Leadership and Administration (Fourth Edition). Madison, Wisconsin: Brown and Benchmark, 1993.
Gross, Nathan and Wildman, Louis, "Morality and Teaching," in College Student Journal, Nov.-Dec. 1975, p. 378-384.
Harmon-Jones, Eddie and Mills, Judson, Cognitive Dissonance. l Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 1999.
Hanson, E. Mark, Educational Administration and Organizational Behavior. Needham Heights, Mass.: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
Heifetz, Ronald A., Leadership Without Easy Answers. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994.
REFERENCES (Continued)
Hertzberg, F., The Motivation to Work. New York: Wiley, 1959.
Hessel, Karen and Holloway, John, Case Studies in School Leadership. Princeton: Educational Testing Service, 2003.
Higgins, James and Vincze, Julian, Strategic Management (fourth edition). Chicago: The Dryden Press, 1989.
Holmes, Mark; Leithwood, Kenneth; and Musella, Donald (Eds.), Educational Policy for Effective Schools. New York: Teachers College Press, 1989.
Houston, W. Robert (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Teacher Education. New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1990.
Hoy, Wayne and Miskel, Cecil, Educational Administration. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2005.
Iacocca, Lee, Iacocca, An Autobiography. Toronto: Bantam Books, 1984.
Johnston, Joseph, et. al., Educating Managers: Executive Effectiveness Through Liberal Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1986.
Johnston, William and Packer, Arnold, Workforce 2000. Indianapolis: Hudson Institute, 1987.
Kaner Sam, Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision Making. Gabriola Island, B.C.: New Society Publishers, 1996.
Kowalski, Theodore, The School Superintendent: Theory, Practice, and Cases (Second Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2006.
Kohlberg, Lawrence, et. al., Moral Stages: A Current Formulation and Response to Critics. Basel: S. Karger, 1983.
Kotter, J.P., The Leadership Factor. N.Y.: Free Press, 1988.
Kozol, Jonathan, Savage Inequalities. New York: Crown Publishers, 1991.
Kozol, Jonathan, The Shame of the Nation. New York: Crown Publishers, 2005.
Leithwood, Kenneth (Ed.), Effective School District Leadership. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995.
Leithwood, Kenneth; Begley, Paul and Cousins, J. Bradley, Developing Expert Leadership For Future Schools. London: The Falmer Press, 1992.
Leithwood, Kenneth and Steinbach, Rosanne, Expert Problem Solving: Evidence from School and District Leaders. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995.
Lewis, Anne, Leadership Styles. Arlington, Virginia: American Association of School Administrators, 1993.
REFERENCES (Continued)
Lewis, Anne, Restructuring America's Schools. Arlington, Virginia: American Association of School Administrators, 1989.
Machiavelli, The Prince.
Marzano, Robert; Water, Timothy; and McNulty, Brian, School Leadership That Works. Alexandria, Virginia: AASA, 2005.
Maslow, Abraham, Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper-Row, 1954.
McGregor, D.M., The Human Side of the Enterprise. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1960.
McNamara, Robert S., Argument Without End. New York: Public Affairs, 1999.
Monk, David, Educational Finance: An Economic Approach. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., 1990.
Montefiore, Simon Sebag, Stalin. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.
Newmann, Fred; Secada, Walter; and Wehlage, Gary, A Guide to Authentic Instruction and Assessment: Vision, Standards and Scoring. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Center for Education Research, 1995.
Newmann, Fred and Wehlage, Gary, Successful School Restructuring. University of Wisconsin-Madison: Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools, 1995.
Oakes, Jeannie, Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985.
Patterson, Jerry, The Anguish of Leadership. Arlington, VA: AASA, 2000.
Peters, Tom, Liberation Management. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1992.
Peters, Tom, Thriving on Chaos. New York: Knopf, 1987.
Pinker, Steven, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature. New York: Viking, 2002.
Popper, Samuel, Pathways to the Humanities in Educational Administration. Tempe, Arizona: University Council for Educational Administration, 1987.
Rasell, M. Edith and Appelbaum, Eileen, Investment in Learning: An Assessment of the Economic Return. Washington, D.C.: Investment 21, 1992.
REFERENCES (Continued)
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Schmoker, Mike, Results. Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD, 1996.
Schunk, Dale, Learning Theories. Columbus: Pearson, 2008.
Senge, Peter, The Fifth Discipline. New York: Doubleday, 1990.
Sergiovanni, Thomas, Moral Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1992.
Sharp, William; Walter, James and Sharp, Helen, Case Studies for School Leaders. Lancaster, Penn.: Technomic Publishers, 1998.
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Shultz, George P., Turmoil and Triumpth. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1993.
Smith, Stuart and Piele, Philip, School Leadership (2nd Edition). Eugene: ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, 1989.
Snyder, Karolyn, Managing Productive Schools. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988.
Sophocles, The Antigone.
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Teddlie, Charles and Stringfield, Sam, Schools Make A Difference. New York: Teachers College, 1993.
REFERENCES (Continued)
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Wiles, Jon and Bondi, Joseph, Curriculum Development. Columbus: Pearson, 2007.
Wolk, Ronald et al., From Risk To Renewal: Charting A Course For Reform. Washington, D.C.: Editorial Projects in Education, 1993.
Zaleznik, A., "Managers/Leaders: Are They Different?" Harvard Business Review, May/June, 1973, p. 86-108.
Zaleznik, A., The Managerial Mystique: Restoring Leadership in Business. New York: Harper & Row, Inc., 1989.
TOPIC OUTLINE:
The Instructional Leader As Model
The Integrative Model
Economic Theories Impacting Education
"Effective Leadership" Traits
Foundations of Leadership
Ethical Problems
Student Discipline Strategies
Instructional Leadership in Small Communities
Dropout Prevention Strategies
Teacher and Administrator Empowerment
CLASS ACTIVITIES AND REQUIREMENTS:
This seminar uses a variety of educational tools and techniques to link theory and practice. These include role-playing, simulation, small group interaction, lectures, group readings, discussion and presentation. Throughout the course, participants are expected to take active roles in discussion and debate, lead parts of the seminar, and exchange ideas and information.
A number of years ago, seminar participants responded to the recommendations of the October 1988 Commission on Public School Administration and Leadership report, Return to Greatness: Strategies for Powerful Improvements in Our Schools. Individual participants selected portions of the report for analysis and comment, and the collection of responses by seminar participants was made available to current and former students within the educational administration program at California State University--Bakersfield, as well as to interested members of the educational community at large, such as members of the Commission.
Since then, seminar participants responded to Abraham Zaleznik's book, The Managerial Mystique: Restoring Leadership in Business, and examined whether his analyses, criticisms, and proposals apply to educational administration. Similarly, seminar participants have responded to John Gardner's book, On Leadership. His book, On Leadership, is a synthesis of both theory and John Gardner's own life of exemplary leadership experience.
A few years ago seminar participants undertook a joint study of instructional leaders--those with and without the doctorate. Although school districts often prefer to hire administrators with a doctorate--and certainly many administrators want a doctorate--previously there was very little direct evidence that possessing a doctorate increased educational productivity or improved instructional leadership.
Seminar participants found that there was indeed a difference. Those possessing the doctorate, in comparison with administrators in similar positions without the doctorate, see the larger picture, not only in a philosophic sense, but socially, culturally, and economically. We found that non-doctorate administrators typically emphasize that they are "doers," having achieved their positions through building extensive interpersonal professional relationships, working up within the system, taking a managerial perspective (often facilitating the work of others, but also setting a "hard worker" example), and following "concrete" learning and leadership styles. In contrast, administrators possessing the doctorate take a more theoretical perspective. Their perspective seems broader in terms of the larger frames of reference they utilize. They often see themselves as evaluators and problem solvers, focused upon a vision of their school or school district.
More recently, seminar participants investigated ways to improve the quality of student achievement. By exploring "quality" we hoped to foster high-level cognitive learning--learning with deep understanding at an internationally competitive level. Our central concern was: "How can educators make quality their most important product?" borrowing upon themes from General Electric and Ford advertisements, but more generally relating back to long held "quality education" themes of the finest schools.
Also, each seminar participant was asked to identify and pursue "a way" to stress quality within the administrative setting within which he or she is presently working. During the course of the term, each seminar participant was asked to invite one seminar participant to the former participant's setting to seek ideas, suggestions and technical advice. Finally each member wrote an article, describing his or her experience. Articles were to include a review of the appropriate literature, a description of the strategy employed, an explanation of the evaluation procedure and the results, and an analysis of the project with recommendations for other educators.
Unfortunately what we learned from this assignment was that there were not many high quality projects underway. We had hoped to find projects such as the following which truly stressed quality:
1. Schools providing opportunities for team teaching with members of the business community, social agencies, or higher education faculty;
2. Schools with an exchange program (student exchange, faculty exchange, pen pal exchange, joint project work, etc.) with a school in another country recognized as having a higher level of student achievement;
3. Schools utilizing "outside" evaluators to judge the quality of student work;
4. Schools providing more opportunities for interaction and collaboration with parents.
5. Schools developing the emerging "teacher researcher" role, which Gerald Bracey ("Teachers as Researchers," Phi Delta Kappan, 72, 5(January 1991), p. 404-407) describes as follows:
Best defined as systematic intentional inquiry (all three words are important). Teacher research to improve practice usually begins with the perception of a gap between the current state of affairs and a more desirable state.
In its simplest form, teacher research requires no more than that the teacher collect information for use with a particular class--with no thought given to future classes or to generalizing the data collected. At the other extreme, the research resembles the formal studies found in professional journals. In between fall a variety of techniques, such as the keeping of logs, the sharing of essays and observations, observing and being observed by other teachers, and being videotaped . . .
Ann Lieberman and Lynne Miller ("Teacher Development in Professional Practice Schools," Teachers College Record, Fall 1990) argue that teachers must also be learners and that this requires teachers to engage in the sustained inquiry of researchers. They enumerate five elements deemed essential to supporting such inquiry: (1) norms of colleagueship, openness and trust; (2) opportunities and time for disciplined inquiry; (3) teacher learning of content in context; (4) reconstruction of leadership roles; and (5) networks, collaborations and coalitions.
The teacher-researcher role is essentially a way of systematizing constant improvement in the products and services we offer students.
Since we couldn't find many projects which emphasize quality, the assignment was changed to look at "barriers to quality." Picking any facet of school operations, we examined the factors that were preventing us from "doing things right." Are we constrained by public expectations? Are teachers unable to require world class standards because too many students would flunk? Have administrators become so dependent upon public support that they are unable to insist upon high quality? If so, is democratic governance inconsistent with quality? Has education become too "customer-driven"? Or, how can the public be educated to insist upon quality? Do students, teachers and administrators know what the world class standards are that they should be attaining? Are we lacking the resources that are necessary? Does the public value education enough to care about attaining high quality? It was felt that identifying the "barriers to quality" would help school administrators more clearly plan quality improvement strategies, and help school boards and the public generally understand what changes need be made to dramatically improve the quality of schooling.
Also in a previous year we tried to construct a "Guide to Quality (K-12) Educational Programs in Kern County." Where are the best quality programs? We attempted to find them, and each seminar participant was responsible for describing two such programs, after we surveyed Kern County superintendents and other administrators.
In identifying and describing the highest quality educational programs in Kern County, we asked questions about those programs that allowed us to determine whether we would consider the program of "high quality." Here are some questions that we chose to ask:
1. Does this program highly please students? Is it a quality program in terms of the content being taught? Is it a quality program, based upon the choice of students or faculty participants? In other words, in what sense is this a quality program?
2. Does the program have a clear mission or vision?
3. Is there an objective standard (or standards) used to continuously assess and improve the quality of the program? Are the participants continuously improving the program?
4. How do we know this is a high quality program? How do the participants know?
5. Is the leadership coming from a strong, effective leader, or is there a sharing of power and ownership? What is the nature of the instructional leadership for this program?
6. How is teamwork encouraged? What strategies are used to make systems and processes work better?
7. Is the scientific method used to make decisions, or are decisions made on the basis of personal preferences? Is the program research based?
8. To what degree is variation tolerated and understood?
9. How is pride in workmanship promoted?
10. Is the program conducted in a quality environment?
As you can see, over the past several years the projects have alternated between those promoting quality and those identifying quality. For example, one recent project examined data local schools keep and analyze for the purpose of identifying quality and improving their performance. Another project attempted to promote quality by having participants engage in instructional leadership through systematic curriculum development. Each participant was asked to:
1. Select a key objective that students have difficulty mastering, making the selection based upon consultation with teachers, for example as part of the teacher evaluation process. Obtain copies of actual class work, along with an actual class matrix, showing how well the students are learning this key objective.
2. Write the objective as a Mager type behavioral objective and prepare an evaluation instrument to determine if the objective has been attained.
3. Analyze the objective using Gagne's cognitive map concept.
4. Identify media (e.g. software or videos) that would help students learn this key objective.
5. Design a diagnostic test to determine if a given student has mastered the objective, and, if not, what prerequisite understanding is lacking.
6. Also assemble and/or design alternative curricula to teach the prerequisite knowledge utilizing the feedback model concept.
7. Field test your diagnostic test, alternative curricula and evaluation instrument. Then, revise your diagnostic test, alternative curricula and evaluation instrument, based upon your field test.
Possible Winter Term Assignments
Use the following web site to find out about your school, and learn about instructional leadership from the perspective of the California Business for Education Excellence: www.jftk-ca.org
Oral report due Session #2.
The following web site, titled "The School System Improvement Resource Guide" provides school districts in the State of Washington with a model planning process for systemic change that aligns district practices and individual school improvement plans. How would you utilize that resource guide in your school district? Web site: http://www.k12.wa.us/SchoolImprovement/SSIRG.aspx
Oral report due Session #4.
During the Winter term we could study Jonathan Kozol's book, The Shame of the Nation. He says "a state of nearly absolute apartheid now prevails in thousands of our schools." To what extent is this true in Kern County? He says "a protomilitary form of discipline has now emerged, modeled on stick-and-carrot methods of behavioral control traditionally used in prisons." To what extent is this true in Kern County schools? He says that liberal education in our inner-city schools has been increasingly replaced by culturally barren and robotic methods of instruction that would be rejected out of hand by schools that serve the mainstream of society." To what extent is this true in Kern County schools?
Each seminar participant could write a reflective paper, based upon Kozol's analysis. These reflective papers may be written as a book review, or as a comparative analysis comparing a specific Kern County school with material presented in the book. A draft version would be due Session #6, and the final version will be due at the time of the final examination.
Your fourth assignment would involve closely examining several student records. Students who drop out frequently show a pattern of falling increasingly further behind in their school work and a pattern of decreasing attendance, until they eventually drop out. Your assignment is to analyze several (two or more) student records of drop outs, and compare those student records with students who stayed in school. The comparison should cite the students' attendance record and other comparisons which can be made, based upon the students' records. In writing your analysis, maintain student confidentiality by referring to the students as Student A, Student B, etc. This assignment would be due Session #9.
Your final assignment would be to formulate and present an "Instructional Leadership" plan for yourself within your current professional role. This plan should apply ideas and concepts discussed within this course to your unique circumstances. This assignment would be due when you turn in your final. Here are some suggested questions you may choose to address. These are just suggestions.
1. What principles or approaches have you learned?
2. What new information did you acquire that changed your approach to instructional leadership?
3. Is it possible for you to construct an outline, model, or generalization about your instructional leadership style?
4. What questions have been raised through this course that suggest the need for further study? Have you thought about a study plan?
5. What have you learned about leadership, meeting management, written communication, problem solving, and the work of the instructional leader that might be of use to you in the future?
COURSE STANDARDS:
This graduate course is part of a larger effort to improve the practice of educational administrators. Since this is a professional course, standards consistent with professional practice (e.g. with regard to attendance, spelling and grammar in written assignments, and preparation of readings) are assumed.
REQUIRED FORMAT FOR ALL WRITTEN WORK:
All papers must be typed. Use a single-space format with one blank line between paragraphs, as in this syllabus. Footnotes may be included in the body of the text, placed at the bottom of the page, or listed at the end of the document, in accordance with your preference. The form of the bibliographic citations should be consistent with that used in this syllabus. There is no need to use plastic binders or purchased covers for papers. Place your name, last name first, in the upper right hand corner; place the name of the course on the next line; and the date on the third line. Skip a line and then center the title of your paper. If the paper is more than one page long, staple the pages together in the upper left hand corner. In completing examinations, repeat the question, skip a line, and then provide your answer.
Grading Standards for Writing Assignments
|
Category |
Thesis |
Organization |
Development |
Mechanics |
|
Excellent Addresses the assignment thoughtfully and analytically, setting a challenging task. |
___ Displays awareness of audience.
____ Displays sense of purpose in communicating to an audience.
___ Establishes a clearly focused controlling idea.
|
___ Demonstrates coherent and rhetorically sophisticated organization
____ makes effective connections between ideas. |
___ Provides clear generalizations with specific detail, compelling support and cogent analysis.
____ Cites relevant sources and evaluates their validity, effectively integrating them into text when appropriate. |
___ Displays superior, consistent control of syntax, sentence variety, word choice, and conventions of standard English. |
|
Strong Addresses the assignment clearly and analytically, setting a meaningful task. |
___ Addresses audience needs and expectations.
____ Establishes a clearly focused controlling idea. |
___ Demonstrates clear and coherent organization.
|
___ Provides clear generalizations and effective support and analysis.
____ Cites relevant sources, effectively integrating them into text when appropriate. |
___ Displays consistent control of syntax, sentence variety, word choice, and conventions of Standard English. |
|
Adequate Addresses the assignment with some analysis. |
___ Addresses most audience needs and expectations.
____ Establishes a controlling idea. |
___ Demonstrates adequate organization. |
___ Provides support for and some analysis of generalizations.
____ Cites appropriate sources, adequately integrating them into text. |
___ Displays adequate control of syntax, sentence variety, word choice, and conventions of Standard English.
____ Errors do not slow the reader, impede understanding, or seriously undermine the authority of the writer. |
|
Seriously Flawed Addresses the assignment inadequately. |
___ Shows insufficient audience awareness.
____ Strays from the controlling idea or the idea is unclear. |
___ Displays formulaic, random or confusing organization.
|
___ Lacks generalizations, or provides generalizations with inadequate support or analysis.
____ Fails to cite sources or cites and/or integrates them inappropriately. |
___ Shows deficient control of syntax, word choice, and conventions of Standard English
____ Errors impede understanding. |
|
Fundamentally Deficient Fails to address the assignment. |
__ Demonstrates a lack of audience awareness.
____ Lacks a controlling idea. |
___ Lacks organization or organizes illogically. |
___ Displays inability to generalize, analyze or support ideas.
____ Fails to use outside sources or misuses the texts of others. |
___ Shows inadequate control of syntax, word choice, and conventions of Standard English. |
METHOD OF EVALUATION:
Seminar participants will be evaluated on the following:
A Note to clarify the grading procedure: An "A" grade requires one to positively distinguish themselves in some way (either through class assignments or class discussion), above and beyond the regular assignments. A "B" grade requires regular participation in class discussion, and the completion of all assignments on time and at a professionally acceptable level. If you have any question about how well you are doing throughout the class, or wish to complete an extra assignment to improve your grade, do not hesitate to ask.
DAILY OUTLINE:
Session #1: The Instructional Leader As Model (As principals, we are most frequently involved in mundane activities such as stopping nosebleeds, disciplining students, and dealing with irate and often irrational parents. To what extent are we intellectual and instructional leaders?)
Welcome
Pre-Course Evaluation
Introduction of Instructor
Discussion of the Course
The concept of a liberally educated adult.
What quality of life are principals and other administrators leading?
Are instructional leaders modeling the habits of liberally educated adults?
Does that life involve physically healthy habits?
Does it involve continuing education?
Does it involve the fine arts?
Are principals able to model the habits of reflective practitioners? (See: Schon, Donald, Educating The Reflective Practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 1987)
Small group work: Describe the daily habits of an ideal instructional leader.
Designing your personally relevant instructional leadership plan, incorporating the concepts of "quality control" (using data from your school's Report Card) and "organizational learning." What will this plan do for you? What will it do for your school? What role do reading and writing play in your life now? (See: "Melba Smothers" by Cheryl Willoughby, "Pam Turner" by Ruthann Butscher, and "Dan Plunkett" by Barbara Green) How can you become a more reflective practitioner? (See: "Quality Control Needed" and "Organizational Learning")
Some Fundamental Notions:
A basic antinomy in social-psychology applied to education. (See: Examples of the Basic Antinomy)
Maintenance v. Openness to Change
Behavioral v. Cognitive Psychology
Coverage v. Meaningful Learning
The difference between "training" and "education." (See the quotation by Albert Einstein)
The concept of a learning community.
The concept of a feedback learning model.
Practice applying the feedback learning model.
Self-Assessment
Parent Involvement
Teacher Expectations
Five Major Types of Parent Involvement
Profiles of Excellence
Assignment: Read My Pedagogic Creed, by John Dewey, and orally report on: www.jftk-ca.org
Session #2: The Integrative Model of Education
Review of the Integrative Model of Education
What Difference Does Philosophy Make?
A Synopsis of "Schools of Philosophy"
The Integrative Model
Practice applying this model to John Dewey's My Pedagogic Creed.
Exercises: Applying the Integrative Model to Concepts of "Quality" and the Three Reform Waves.
Assignment: Read "An Interview With Arnold Relman," "Why the Environment Isn't a Market," a piece on "Deregulation and Children's Television," and Creating an 'Entrepreneurial' School System, by Marc Tucker. Prepare to participate in a debate between those that favor applying the market model to education and those who favor applying a human resource model. (If possible, read Chubb and Moe's book, Politics, Markets, and America's Schools, along with my book review in response to their "full-blown choice" proposal.)
Session #3: Economic Theories Impacting Education
A Debate: Should education be part of the economic or political sector?
Stagnation Theory
Supply-Side Theory
Discussion: The interrelatedness of economics and education
Assignment: Report on "The School Improvement Resource Guide" which can be found at: http://www.k12.wa.us/SchoolImprovement/SSIRG.aspx
Session #4: "Effective Leadership"--Simplistic Solutions with Political Implications
Roland Barth, Improving Schools From Within--A Non-simplistic alternative
Hallinger, Philip and McCary, C.E., Using a Problem-Based Approach for Instructional Leadership Development
Roger Smith on Peters and Waterman.
Characteristics of Effective Schools
AASA, NASSP, Nevada, Houston, Mintzberg, The National Center For School Leadership, Cunningham, CTC, Stover, Pearce, CSU Presidential Assessment, Bennis and Nanus, Illinois Administrators' Academy, and Gardner "effectiveness" lists
How comparable are these lists?
Research on the NASSP model
Florida Principal Competencies
Self-Assessment
Kent State University "Quality of Instruction" Profile
Checking on the quality of instruction and instructional leadership
Louisiana Principal Leadership Characteristics
Checking Your Perception With Teachers' Perceptions
Research Findings:
1. Do effective schools have strong instructional leaders in California?
2. Do different kinds of schools require different kinds of leaders?
3. Is there a causal or merely a correlational relationship between certain "effectiveness" principal behaviors and student achievement?
4. How can a superintendent determine whether student achievement in a specific school is within acceptable levels?
5. How would one formulate an improvement strategy based upon the effective schools approach?
Assignment: Read Jonathan Kozol's book, The Shame of the Nation.
Assignment (Recommended): Read John Gardner's On Leadership.
Session #5: Foundations of Leadership--Review
Definitions of Leadership
Management vs. Leadership
Theoretical and Historical Foundations of Leadership
Classical organizational thought -- Frederick Taylor
Human Relations Approach -- Elton Mayo
Behavioral Science Approach -- Chester Bernard
Internal and External Data Checklists
Historical Approach -- James MacGregor Burns
Developmental Stages and Situational Leadership -- Torbert
Application: Leadership For Attaining The National Goals
Bolman and Deal's Organization Frames
What do we know about grades?
Session #6: Ethics and Instructional Leadership
Morality and Social Norms -- Review
Stages of Moral Development -- Review
Sample Case Study--Choosing Teachers
Case Study #1--Equal Opportunity
Case Study #2--Tracking
Case Study #3--The Pressures of Standardized Testing
Case Study #4--The Letter
Case Study #5--Educational Auditors
Assignment: Read "Assertive Discipline: A Critical Review and Analysis," and an excerpt from Glasser, The Quality School
Session #7: Student Discipline--A Repertoire of Strategies
Christian Fundamentalism
Existentialism
Positive Reinforcement
Cognitive Field Theory
Specific Prescriptions:
Exhortation
Threats
Punishment
Rewards
Laissez-Faire
Reasoning
Democratic Decision Making
"Knowledge bringeth wisdom"
"Do it for me"
Ridicule
Teach by Example
"There's a proper way to do everything"
A Chart To Guide Action
The Pupil Control Ideology Studies
Assertive Discipline vs. Control Theory: A Debate
Case: "Is it time to give up on Dennis?"
Discussion: "The Democratic Action Plan"
Assignment: Read the following articles:
J. Richard Nokes, "The Little School: The Best School"
Barbara Bartocci, "The Little School That Would Not Quit"
Cole, Bob, "Teaching in a Time Machine: The 'Make-Do' Mentality in Small-Town Schools," Phi Delta Kappan, October 1988, p. 139-144.
(Note: I strongly support the ideals of small schools. Unfortunately, many small schools have lost sight of those ideals. Nokes and Bartocci support the ideals of small schools; Cole talks about what is too often reality.)
Session #8: Instructional Leadership in Small Communities
A Note On The Personal Instructional Leadership Plan Assignment/Participant Presentations
The advantages and disadvantages of small schools
* Do people lose their individuality in big institutions?
* In a little while the content of lectures is forgotten. What remains is the student's recollection of the manner in which he or she was taught.
* How can we develop learning communities? Is it through the involvement of students and teachers in common pursuits--the reading of a play, the discussion of a controversial topic, the competition of a volleyball game?
A Summary of the Gump and Barker Research on School Size
Does the quality of a school matter?
Research on class size
Problem/Promise: Small School Communication Networks
Diagnosing School Communication Networks
Communication Principles of Educational Administration For A School District Management Team
Evaluation of School Board Operating Procedures
Survey of National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators
Discussion: Can schools become community service centers?
Assignment: Complete the analysis of the student dropout records.
Session #9: Dropout Prevention--A Repertoire of Strategies
Overview and Statistics
A General Theory
Sequential Steps Toward Dropping Out
Approaches to Dropout Prevention
Chapter 1
Twelve Together: Detroit, Michigan
Adopt-a-student: Atlanta, Georgia
Removing Barriers to Staying in School:
Migrant Exchange Program: Texas and Washington
Day-Care: Detroit, Michigan
Job Readiness: Chicago, Illinois
Rich's Academy: Atlanta, Georgia
Site-based programs: New York City
Team Approach: Los Angeles
Priority Hiring: Boston, Massachusetts
Mandatory Tutorials: Houston, Texas
Reading Recovery: University of Illinois
Reducing Welfare Benefits: Wisconsin
Accelerate: Stanford University
Revoking the driver's license of dropouts: West Virginia
Hispanic Policy Development Project: California
Characteristics of High Schools With High Hispanic Populations With Low Dropout Rates
Computer-assisted instruction:
Calvert County, Maryland
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Stopping the skipping: Portland, Oregon
Long-term small-group plan: Cologne, Germany
Project 2000: Bakersfield, California
Assignment: Complete your instructional leadership plan.
Session #10: Teacher and Administrator Empowerment (Who should provide instructional leadership? Some say that if teachers are truly professionals, they should be making what have traditionally been administrative decisions. Others say that when everyone is responsible, in reality no one is responsible.)
Presentation of Instructional Leadership Plans
Should reform proceed from a top-down or a bottom-up approach?
Empowerment:
Rochester, New York
Supt. Gene Geisert
Lee Shulman
Final Examination
Prerequisite Ideas and Concepts:
1. The concept of a liberally educated adult
2. The difference between "training" and "education"
3. The concept of a learning community
4. The concept of a feedback learning model
5. Knowledge of the four elementary forms of human relations
6. Acquaintance with the ideas of major historic and contemporary educational leaders
7. An understanding of basic educational statistics, such as the concepts of standard deviation and correlation
21 Major Ideas and Concepts
To Be Taught In The Instructional Leadership Course
1. The concepts of "evaluation based leadership" and "organizational learning"
2. Applying a basic antinomy in social-psychology to education
3. Examining educational ideas through use of an integrative model in education
4. Changing demographic conditions in California
5. Instructional goals for California public education
6. Changes in the American economy impacting public education
7. Educational problems must be solved at the level at which they exist.
8. Characteristics of future work and the future workplace
9. Purported characteristics of effective corporations and effective schools
10. Problems with the "effectiveness" approach to leadership
11. Torbert's developmental stage theory
12. Transactional vs. transforming leadership
13. Conflict resolution strategies
14. Differing administrative roles in small communities
15. Strengths and weaknesses of small schools
16. Alternative approaches to student discipline
17. Dropout prevention strategies
18. The value of the liberal arts for administrators
19. The role of schools of education
20. Alternative site-based management models
21. Principles of quality control
--------------------
The single most important thing that a superintendent, principal, or teacher can do is to show that learning and knowledge and understanding are important to them. If they can do that, they have crossed the most important river. And if they do not have the time to do that, they are destined to fail in the area of genuine understanding, no matter how clever they are and how good they are with budgets. If they do not communicate that learning and understanding are central, they cannot possibly be effective.
Howard Gardner, Professor
Harvard Graduate School of Education
The School Administrator, Jan. 1994, p. 27-28
Goals and Objectives by Session
Session #1: The Instructional Leader As Model
1. Goal: Participants will reflect upon the model they set as learners.
2. Objective: Participants will be able to analyze, evaluate and design applications of the total quality management and organizational learning concepts.
3. Goal: Participants will become acquainted with several parent involvement strategies.
Session #2: The Integrative Model of Education
1. Objective: Participants will be able to utilize the integrative model to analyze educational practices.
Session #3: Economic Theories Impacting Education
1. Objective: The future of public education hinges upon whether education should be part of the economic or political sector. Participants will know both sides of this argument.
Session #4: Theories of "Effectiveness"
1. Objective: Participants will know the major "effectiveness" theories of leadership and organizations.
2. Objective: Participants will be able to evaluate theories of "effectiveness."
Session #5: Foundations of Leadership
1. Goal: Participants will become acquainted with numerous definitions of leadership.
2. Objective: Participants will be able to cite examples showing that great leaders have not shared a common set of characteristics.
3. Objective: Participants will be able to use internal and external data checklists as tools for carrying out Roland Barth's concept of improving schools from within.
Session #6: Ethics and Instructional Leadership
1. Goal: Participants will be able to apply national association codes and statements of ethics, as well as social-convention concepts and moral development stage theory, in recommending solutions to ethical dilemmas.
Session #7: Student discipline
1. Objective: Participants will be able to outline and critique assertive discipline and Glasser's control theory.
2. Objective: Using the Pupil Control Ideology Questionnaire research, participants will be able to show how an individual's pupil control ideology is related to their student disciplinary beliefs and practices.
Session #8: Instructional Leadership in Small Communities
1. Objective: Participants will know the argument for and against small schools.
2. Objective: Participants will become familiar with the National Educaitonal Technology Standards for Administrators
Session #9: Dropout Prevention--A Repertoire of Strategies
1. Objective: Participants will know several approaches to dropout prevention.
2. Goal: Participants will become more keenly aware of those students who, through an increasing record of absence and undisciplined behavior, will likely drop out. And through this awareness it is hoped that participants will plan more appropriate instructional opportunities for these students, thus reversing trends that predict who will drop out.
Session #10: Teacher and Administrator Empowerment
1. Objective: Participants will know the arguments favoring top-down and bottom-up decision making.
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In Evaluating Every Idea Being Promoted As A Solution To The Problems Of Public Schools, We Should Ask The Following Questions:
1. Will this reform prepare all Americans to become responsible citizens or just some?
2. Will it improve or exacerbate social ills?
3. Will it promote cultural unity in our society or sharpen divisions?
4. Will it help all people become economically self-sufficient or will it leave some citizens out?
5. Will it contribute to the happiness and enrich the lives of many or just a few?
6. Will it lessen inequities in education or aggravate them?
7. Will it ensure a basic level of quality among all schools or aid only some schools?
Writing Assignments For Use With Class
1. Make a list of conditions, events, actions, etc. which characterize leadership for school improvement for you. Choose one item from your list. Write on why that one item charactizes leadership for school improvement for you. Share with a neighbor. Report highlights.
2. Write a response to our reading. Form in groups of three. Share what you wrote. Listeners indicate what they especially liked, as well as one question.
3. What are the major features or characteristics of communication networks where you work? Share with a neighbor. Report highlights.
4. Values are sources of energy that drive behavior. What values drive communication behavior in your organization? Share. Report. What values do you believe should drive communication behavior in your organization?
5. What makes communication in organizations difficult? When is communication in organizations easy?
6. What keeps communication in your organization from being as healthy as you'd like it to be?
7. Make a list: features, conditions, ideas, relationships, behaviors, actions, etc. which characterize organizational culture for you. Choose one entry from your list. Write _____ on why that entry characterizes organizational culture for you.
8. What are the major features or characteristics of organizational culture where you work? Share with a neighbor. Report highlights (differences).
9. What makes change in organizations difficult? When is change in organizations easy? What insights?
10. In-basket: Describe a situation/problem--essential elements. Conclude with a question. Members of group ask clarifying questions. Individual re-states the question. Brainstorm alternatives.
11. Report. What was meaningful for you? Share. Report. How do you feel? If I had my way with respect to ________. That is what I would like to happen.
12. List: Up to three insights for you relating to this unit. Share with a neighbor. Report highlights.
13. Make a list of key things you learned. Share. Report.
14. Write: Most compelling ideas, perspectives, attitudes, techniques. etc. Share. Compile master list. What didn't you hear that you expected to hear? Share. Report.
15. Make a list of essential ideas relating to this Unit. Select one of these ideas. Describe how that idea can be helpful to educational leaders. Share with a neighbor. Report highlights.
16. Write: Two questions relating to this unit. Share with a neighbor. What are some questions in common?
17. Write: A question you have about a principle or explanation relating to this topic. Share with a neighbor. What are some questions in common?
18. Select what you believe to be a significant principle or explanation relating to tonight's session from class discussion and relevant chapter(s) in the text. Write a question about that principle or explanation that you believe a person knowledgeable about this subject ought to be able to answer. In groups: Take one minute each. Read your question to the group and comment on why you believe the question is about a significant principle or explanation relating to this segment of the course.
19. Write a question about a significant idea relating to this unit that you believe a person knowledgeable about this subject should be able to answer. In groups of three: Read your question to the group and share your answer to the question. Turn your question in to the instructor.
20. What's your reaction? Like to share? What did you like about what we did? Make a list: Ways you can use the ideas relating to this unit. Share.
Pre-Course Assessment
The purpose of this pre-course assessment is to help me learn about the background knowledge of those taking this course. Do not sign your name. Succinctly answer the questions you can; skip the rest. Add any general information about your background, interests, or professional career goals that you feel would be helpful.
1. List five contemporary nationally known instructional leaders, mentioning their respective major accomplishments.
2. Briefly criticize the effective schools research.
3. The National Association of Secondary School Principals sponsors a number of school administrator assessment centers. What are some of the problems with this approach, when used (as in South Carolina) for administrator selection purposes?
4. What is the difference between "transformational" and "transactional" leadership?
5. What are some of the site-based instructional leadership models?
Make-up Assignment on Organizational Learning
[Based upon Senge, Peter and Lannon, Colleen, "Managerial Microworlds," in Technology Review. Cambridge: M.I.T., July 1990, p. 63-68.]
Organizational learning is the degree to which people in organizations learn to think systemically--to see interactions among strategic issues rather than looking only at isolated events.
The rate at which organizations learn may soon become their only sustainable competitive advantage.
At M.I.T., Professor Seymour Papert (the inventor of the Logo programming language) is finding that managers can learn to think systemically if they can uncover the subtle interactions that thwart their efforts. This can be done by creating "microworlds" to describe an interactive environment that simulates a real-world situation. Managers can use microworlds to expose assumptions underlying their business strategies.
An Insurance Microworld
Three years ago at Hanover Insurance, a highly successful, medium-sized property and liability insurance company, the vice-president for claims and two other senior claims managers initiated a microworld experiment. Like all its competitors, Hanover has been caught in a spiral of escalating settlement costs and premiums. Most insurance companies blame outside factors--lawyers, crooked body shops, and a "litigious society"--for this problem. After all, between 1979 and 1985 the number of product liability cases industrywide increased 150 percent. But the Hanover managers felt that internal practices were contributing to settlements that seemed to be significantly higher than what was fair.
Most experienced claims managers admit that the quality of their profession--which requires careful investigation, effective negotiation, and considerate and friendly service--is mediocre at best. What was once a true profession, where people developed expertise over many years, has become a halfway house for recent college graduates on their way up. Perhaps, the Hanover managers reasoned, deteriorating standards of quality were contribution to the increasing cost of settling claims.
But the managers had no direct way to test their intuition, because quality is difficult to measure. A claims department's effectiveness is calculated according to simple quantitative measures such as labor expenses and the number of claims settled each month. Therefore, the managers decided to examine the dynamics of hiring and training adjusters and to explore how those factors affect settlement costs and the quality of the adjusting process.
Working closely together over several months, the Hanover team and a faculty team from M.I.T. began building a microworld by identifying both hard and soft variables vital to the claims-adjusting process. These consist of the numbers of claims pending and settled, the number and experience level of adjusters (known as adjuster capacity), the time required to investigate a claim, the money paid per claim, and investigation and negotiation quality standards. The group then established the relationships among these key variables. For example, as the experience of adjusters increases, the time needed to investigate a claim decreases. They incorporated these relationships into a model and continued to refine the model as their understanding of the interactions among the different parts of the system grew.
Eventually, the model began to show how the firm could appear to have adequate adjuster capacity and yet actually suffer chronic undercapacity. Imagine that an adjuster receives a call concerning damage to a claimant's car. Because of a large backlog of cases, the adjuster takes no action for weeks. Then, to speed up matters, the adjuster assesses the damage over the telephone, solely on the testimony of the claimant, witnesses, and body shops. After asking the claimant what he or she thinks the damage is worth, the adjuster mails off a check for that amount. Although this response lets the adjuster settle a large number of cases, the absence of careful investigation and negotiation also often results in overpayment.
The team developing the microworld concluded that well-established practices throughout the insurance industry have led to massive underinvestment both in the number of adjusters and in their salaries and experience levels--thus increasing costs. Managers haven't seen the problem because adjusters keep hitting "production" targets in the number of claims settled. But as the quality of settlements has eroded, a vicious spiral has started: rising settlement costs have led to more attention to controlling expenses, which has led to further underinvestment in adjusters and further quality deterioration. By following commonly practiced policies, managers have unwittingly created their own worst nightmare.
Similarly, there is considerable evidence to suggest that as the costs of educating current students have risen, greater attempts have been made to reduce the number of teachers and administrators. Fewer staff has resulted in a reduction in the quality of education, in turn leading toward greater social costs even beyond the educational system.
In the insurance business, once the participants began to understand that settlement size goes up because of time pressures and eroding quality standards, they started to engage in lively discussions about their myopia over monthly production targets. Much like someone confronting a gyroscope for the first time, they learned that reactions to pushes and pulls in the dynamic system of insurance adjusting are not obvious.
After examining a number of organizations from this perspective, the M.I.T. has identified a number of generic structures which they call "system archetypes."
When administrators recognize that their organization is caught in one or more of these patterns, they can start to understand why previous experiences have been so frustrating. All too often, well-intentioned policies in complex systems produce a positive outcome initially, but later trigger a problem that may be more costly than the original gains.
The most frequently found "system archetypes" include:
Limits to growth, which operates whenever something--sales, employee morale, or acceptance of a new idea--grows for a while, then stops.
Shifting the burden, which occurs whenever remedies appear to improve a problem in the short term but actually shift attention away from fundamental corrections. Examples include trying to boost lagging profits by cutting costs rather than making product innovations; relying on a consultant to solve personnel problems instead of having managers develop their interpersonal skills; or, as in the case of the insurance adjusters, working faster instead of honing skills and hiring more adjusters to investigate and negotiate fair settlements.
Eroding goals, which is a special version of shifting the burden. In this case, managers lower standards to deflect attention from fundamental and perhaps difficult corrective actions. A service manager, for instance, might decide that satisfying customers is an unrealistic goal and instead opt for minimizing the formal complaints reported to the head office.
Tragedy of the commons--borrowing biologist Garrett Hardin's phrase--which occurs when local decision makers, acting in their own best interests, take actions that eventually undermine a common resource needed to support everyone's interests. Corporate examples abound. To decrease costs, a division may cut corners and provide poor customer service, thereby damaging the firm's reputation. Or a manager may disregard employees' interests, sowing the seeds for antagonistic union-management situations that penalize everyone.
With the help of microworlds, organizations are discovering a new set of tools for gaining control of their destinies. In education, we can utilize the data now available through school report cards to start analyzing educational microworlds.
Based upon your day-to-day knowledge of your school, the data developed for your school's report card, and the concepts presented above, describe an educational microworld that you would like to see examined specific to your school site. Suggest ways that an administrative team could proceed.
Knowledge Base
Educational Leadership (processes and skills)
A. Visionary leadership (positives and negatives)
B. Transforming vs. Transactional leadership
C. Research on school effects
James Coleman, Equality of Educational Opportunity
Christopher Jencks, Inequality
James Coleman and Thomas Hoffer, Public and Private High Schools
John Chubb and Terry Moe, Politics, Markets, and America's School
D. Analysis of the "effective schools/principals" literature
E. Situational leadership
F. Dissatisfaction theory
G. Motivation theories
Plato, Socrates' Apology
Sophocles, The Antigone
Machiavelli, The Prince
Bennis and Nanus, Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge
James MacGregor Burns, Leadership
John Gardner, On Leadership
David Halberstam, The Best and the Brightest
Douglas McGregor, The Human Side of Enterprise (Theory X and Theory Y)
Richard Neustadt and Ernest May, Thinking in Time: The Uses of History For Decision Makers
Thomas Peters and Robert Waterman, In Search of Excellence
WWW Educational Sites
American Association of School Administrators (AASA) - http://www.aasa.org
AskERIC Virtual Library - http://ericir.syr.edu
California Business for Education Excellence -
http://www.jftk-ca.org
Global Schoolhouse - http://www.gsh.org
GrantsWeb - http://infoserv.rttonet.psu.edu/gweb.htm
Indiana High Education Telecommunications System - http://www.ind.net80/
Internet Public Library - http://ipl.sils.umich.edu/
Legislative Information, service of the U.S. Congress - http://thomas.loc.gov/
Library of Congress - http://www.loc.gov
Massachusetts Education Online Technology Planning Support Web Site - http://www.celtedge.celt.org/
Michigan Dept. of Education - http://www.mde.state.mi.us/reports/
National Council of Bilingual Education - http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu
Ohio Board of Regents - http://www.bor.ohio.gov
On-Line Books Page - http://www.cs.cmu.edu/Web/books.html
U.S. Department of Education - http://www.ed.gov/
U.S. Dept. of Education's Grant Announcements - http://www.ed.gov/money.html
University of Vermont - http://www.uvm.edu/
The School System Improvement Resource Guide -
http://www.k12.wa.us/SchoolImprovement/SSIRG.aspx
Web66 (wired schools) - http://web66.coled.umn.edu/
Whitehouse - http://www.whitehouse.gov/
ACCOMMODATIONS FOR DISABILITIES
Bakersfield, Santa Clarita, or Hanford Participants—To request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) as soon as possible. Their office is located in SA 140, and they may be reached at 661-654-3360 (voice), or 661-654-6288 (TDD). If you have an accommodations letter from the SSD Office documenting that you have a disability, please present the letter to me during my office hours as soon as possible so we can discuss the specific accommodations that you might need in this class.
Antelope Valley Participants—To request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) as soon as possible. Their office is located in Bldg. 200, and they may be reached at 661-952-5061 (voice) or 661-952-5120 (tdd). If you have an accommodation letter from the SSD Office documenting that you have a disability, please present the letter to me during my office hours so we can discuss the specific accommodations that you might need in this class.
Rights and Responsibilities of Students
Academic Integrity
The principles of truth and integrity are recognized as fundamental to a community of teachers and scholars. The University expects that both faculty and students will honor these principles and in so doing will protect the integrity of all academic work and student grades. Students are expected to do all work assigned to them without unauthorized assistance and without giving unauthorized assistance. Faculty have the responsibility of exercising care in the planning and supervision of academic work so that honest effort will be encouraged and positively reinforced.
There are certain forms of conduct that violate the university's policy of academic integrity. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY (CHEATING) is a broad category of actions that involve fraud and deception to improve a grade or obtain course credit. Academic dishonesty (cheating) is not limited to examination situations alone, but arises whenever students attempt to gain an unearned academic advantage. PLAGIARISM is a specific form of academic dishonesty (cheating) which consists of the misuse of published or unpublished works of another by claiming them as one's own. Plagiarism may consist of handing in someone else's work as one's own, copying or purchasing a pre-written composition and claiming it as one's own, using paragraphs, sentences, phrases, words or ideas written by another without giving appropriate citation, or using data and/or statistics compiled by another without giving appropriate citation. Another example of academic dishonesty (cheating) is the SUBMISSION OF THE SAME, OR ESSENTIALLY THE SAME, PAPER or other assignment for credit in two different courses without receiving prior approval from the instructors of the affected courses.
When a faculty member discovers a violation of the university's policy of academic integrity, the faculty member is required to notify the CSUB Dean of Student Life and CSUB Student Conduct Coordinator and the student(s) involved. A course grade of 'F' may be assigned or another grade penalty may be applied at the discretion of the courses instructor. Additional academic sanctions are determined by the student conduct coordinator. Academic sanctions may include disciplinary probation, suspension, permanent expulsion from the university or from the California State University system, administrative hold on the release of records, and withholding a degree. Disciplinary probation shall be noted on the student's formal academic record only for the duration of the probationary period. Disciplinary suspension and expulsion are a part of the student's permanent record.
The student may pursue a formal hearing or make a settlement agreement with the student conduct coordinator. CSUB Dean of Student Life and CSUB Student Conduct Coordinator shall conduct an investigation, confer with the faculty member, students and any witnesses identified, and review all evidence. The student is entitled to a formal hearing scheduled by the CSUB Dean of Student Life and CSUB Student Conduct Coordinator, in which the evidence of the alleged violation shall be presented before an impartial Hearing Officer (appointed by the President) and the student shall be present to provide an explanation or defense. The Hearing Officer shall submit a written report to the President containing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations. Alternatively, a settlement agreement may be made with the CSUB Dean of Student Life and CSUB Student Conduct Coordinator. The settlement agreement will specify the academic sanctions, the length and terms of disciplinary probation or suspension, and the conditions the student is expected to meet in order to remain in good standing (e.g., training or regular meetings with the CSUB Dean of Student Life and CSUB Student Conduct Coordinator). All sanctions are reported to the instructor reporting the incident, the student's Chair, and the student's Dean.
Any repeated violation of academic integrity shall result in more serious academic sanctions. Normally, this will include suspension or expulsion from the university with a note on the student's permanent record.
Academic Freedom
Freedom to pursue truth and to achieve personal and intellectual development is essential to CSUB's community of scholars. The University is firmly committed to such freedom for both students and faculty. Academic freedom is the University's guarantee of freedom of expression by all students and faculty under the First Amendment.
For the achievement of academic freedom, a necessary condition for such pursuit is an acceptance of the spirit of inquiry and appreciation for diverse ideas, viewpoints, cultures, and life-styles. Acceptance must be demonstrated not only in the classroom but in all other areas of the campus. The achievement of academic freedom, however, must occur within a respect for law and the protection of the opinions and dignity of others.
Civility and Respectful Conduct
The classroom is essential for the achievement of academic freedom, the pursuit of truth, and the development of students. Because of its importance, students are expected to exhibit respect for the views of others, the professionalism of the instructor, and the goals of academic freedom whenever they are in the classroom.
Faculty are obligated to recognize and respect student diversity, ideas, perceptions, and opinions. At the same time, faculty have a fundamental responsibility to maintain the integrity of the learning environment. When confronted by unreasonable disruption in the classroom, faculty are expected to initiate actions to correct such conditions. Such actions may result in disciplinary action ranging from removal from the classroom to formal disciplinary sanctions, including probation, suspension, or expulsion.