A Day Late and A Dollar Short Leaves Students' Academic Grades Short-Changed

If you go to purchase an item and it is no longer on sale, do you find yourself digging deeper in your pocket to pay additional dollars for an item you wanted to purchase when it was on sale? Or do you often turn your pocket inside out (perhaps shaking it a bit), choosing not to purchase the item you thought you could afford when it was on sale? Either way, it feels as though you’ve been short-changed?


Does having to assume a “price increase” decrease the quality of the item you purchased? Does it change the value of the item? What influence does a designer label have on your perceptions and your willingness to throw money around?

What about the flip side of the coin. When we find an item on sale, does the item become a “have to have” indicating it is more valued on sale then when it was regularly priced? How has your perception of the quality of the item changed? Do you often find yourself rationalizing, ‘What a great deal I got!’ or do you often find yourself questioning, ‘What’s wrong with this that it was so cheap?’

Perhaps it was just your lucky day, but this scenario leaves me wondering, ‘What indications does timing have on quality?’ Are students who turn in assignments and get downgraded for late work being short-changed?  What is the definition of quality in education. 

The works of Ken O’Connor, Grant Wiggins, Richard Stiggins, Robert J. Marzano, Carol Ann Tomlinson, and many other widely esteemed educational researchers will tell you students are quite simply being ripped off when they received a diminished or inflated grade based solely on timing. So, if a student turns work in early, do they get extra credit?

I profer this, quality of student work in education equals mastery of content.  Mastery of content facilitates the quality production of knowledge.  Is the quality of student work better because the student turned it in early, or could the quality of the work have been better if the student spent more time on it? When a student turns work in late, is the quality of the work diminished because the student missed a deadline and rushed to get the assignment completed or did the student need extra time to master content in order to produce a quality product?

I’ve had deadlines I met where, in retrospect, I wish I would have missed them, knowing the quality of work would have been better if given an extra day or so. So, who’s really getting short-changed? How are you expending grades to give feedback on quality of work also known as mastery of content? Are your expenditures consistent, or does a “designer label” also known as a family name, influence your perception of what grade a student should receive, regardless of a due date?

Once you have purchased an item, regardless of when, the item is yours to keep. Let’s not short-change our students.

"What's This?" you say.

Did anyone check out my new "design" in the corner of my page?  Ok.  For some of you, you are thinking, 'Duh, it's a barcode.'  Yes, it is a barcode, but do you know what the techie term is for it and do you have any ideas for how these can be used in education?  (Tom, don't answer!)

The techie term for the barcode is a quick response code, often called a QR Code.   These fun "things" can be created with the click of a button ....ok, or a few clicks of a few buttons, BUT will save you many many clicks later. 

How often have you waited 3, 5, even 7 minutes for all of your students to get onto the same webpage?  Do their fingers get clicking all over the place?  Well, what if you gave them a QR Code to scan and they were all instantly on the same webpage?  Wouldn't that save you hundreds of minutes?  So, find a webpage, type it into a QR Code generator such as http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ and create your code!  Print it off, laminate a bunch of these, hand them out to your students, have them scan it into their computer or take a pic of it using a QRC Reader, and voila....you have just saved many many minutes.  QR Codes can also be generated from text, a phone number, or sms.....

What about a webquest?  Have you given your students directions for certain websites to visit throughout a certain time period and as you meander past them, they are minimizing their screens because they have done the "clicky" dance?  Make numerous barcodes and you will not to hear much "clicky, clicky, clicky" at all. 

How about having the students create a webpage and have them add their own QR Code to their webpage?  Add a QR Code to your business card....the possibilities for using these techie barcodes in education are endless (and down right cool, I'm just sayin' ).  How about getting an app on your cell phone for a QRC Reader?  There are tons to choose from and many are free....get using those cells in your classroom for learning experiences! 

Do you have a unit plan you would like to spruce up with something techie, but you just aren't sure how to?  Think about the QR Code and let your imagination run wild....if your imagination runs wild and you need assistance in reigning it in, contact me. 

Differentiation and Classroom Walkthroughs

http://prezi.com/njp1hrl8uwwx/copy-of-differentiation-and-classroom-walkthroughs/

~ Great Quote ~

This has nothing to do with being conservative, liberal, democrat, republican, independent, Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, gay, straight, black, white, brown, male, female, a brain, a jock, an artist, a band geek, popular or not. It's about protecting our children from being beaten, threatened, humiliated and abused by peers. It makes no difference why bullies have decided to brand a particular child as something undesirable, whether it's simply a matter of size, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, economic status, etc. All children deserve to be safe at school and while going to and from school.




Anna Berend, MinnPost.com, 9/20/2010

Mindmeister Example

Blocking social networking tools - AARRGGGHHHH!

What kind of sense does it make to block social networking tools in the work place when they can be used to problem solve, analyze, communicate, etc? Just today, I ran into a facebook block when I tried to share an article I was reading to facebook. I often use facebook to keep a running log of articles to use in my profession and when facebook is blocked, "Houston, we have a problem."




Needless to say, this will definitely be a topic of conversation. What are your thoughts on access to social networking tools in the workplace. Can your employees be trusted...can you be trusted?

Dilbert has a great message to send

Wordle - technology

Wordle - technology

Rise in IQ but Decline in Creativity – Causal Relationships or Curable Renaissance?

I recently read a Newsweek article entitled, “The Creativity Crisis” by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman which stated the average IQ has increased by 10 points each generation, but according to the Torrence Assessment of Creativity, creativity has declined (2010). The Torrence assessment asks one to create new things with everyday items. According to Bronson and Merryman, researchers have blamed tv and video games for the lack of piquant, creative fervor of today’s digital learners which was found in previous generations. Are tvs and video games causing a decline in the production of creative juices?


Bronson and Merryman (2010) also elucidate schools devote less time to creative inquiry, resulting in a cataclysmic dissolution of creativity. Should schools be focusing on teaching the curriculum? Is there enough time in the world of No Child Left Behind and standards based assessments to develop creativity? Either you are creative or you’re not, right? Is there a causal relationship between the schools of today and a decline in the production of creative juices? In the words of Sir Ken Robinson, “Are schools killing creativity?”

Curriculum and Creativity can be taught through instructional strategies which focus on higher level critical thinking skills such as inquiry, analysis, and synthesis, etc. Alfie Kohn reminds us teacher as facilitator means to make easy; teacher as creator means to develop. If educators focus on being creators, rather than facilitators, students naturally engage in creative thought processes which are essential to brain development. Developing creative learners involves engaging the learner in finding, finding, finding, finding…facts, ideas, solutions, plans (Bronson & Merryman, 2010).

Educators must rejuvenate the creative minds of learners. Integrating research based instructional strategies such as cooperative learning, comparing/contrasting, classifying, creating metaphors/analogies, drawing, creating mental images, using graphic organizers, generating hypotheses and testing them, using questioning techniques, as well as using technology to engage the learner in these instructional strategies is sure to be a curable renaissance for the creative clutch of digital learners.

Bronson, P. and Merryman, A. (2010). The creativity crisis. Newsweek, July 19, p.44-50.

Alfie Kohn and Teacher as Facilitator?

Teacher as Facilitator? from Gary Stager on Vimeo.

Alfie Kohn and Assessment

Assessment from Gary Stager on Vimeo.

Organizational Change Powerpoint

Org Change Power Point

A Peacock in the Land of Penguins

Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution!

New blog url

In order to be somewhat consistent, I have changed the url for my blog...now you can reach me or follow me at http://www.jenganske.blogspot.com/ instead of all that other educational consulting and professional development "stuff" in the url, which is just a lot to type out! 

NETS aligned resources...some are Free!

Free doesn't always mean great, but the following are resources available to assist in meeting the NETS standards.The following have the ISTE seal of alignment:

Thinkfinity.com free thinkfinity training through the community! Free

Http://digitalcitizenshiped.com. Topics education-free curriculum resources for digital citizenship creative content. There are four units with real life backgrounds, fictionalized case studies, lesson plans, complimentary and standalone web content. Http://my bytes.com compliments the website where students create! Free

PBS offers professional development courses to certify teachers on the NETS. Nre teacher line courses coming include global climate change education for middle school, dynamic media and digital storytelling, library of congress. Not free.

Learning.com easy tech curriculum, e rate reporting feature, Internet safety, financial literacy, collaboration, etc. Not free.

Emints national center-teacher professional development -resource center.

Adobe visual design curriculum, digital design, digital video-free curriculum and build upon each other. Of course you have to have the software. Http://edexchange.adobe.com was just launched!

I have to share my favorite is the topics education resources...check them out!

It's Delightful, It's Delicious, It's De-Lovely!

Today I heard Gail Lovely speak about technology tools for early literacy and needless to say, her presentation was delightful, delicious, Gaillovely! 

The internet can be quite overwhelming and doing a simple google search for "technology resources for early literacy" can bring you hundreds of thousands of hits.  Let's be honest, no one has time for that even in a 24/7 world.  So, suppose you are very good at boolean searches or you know how to narrow google searches by using symbols?  Now, search for "technology + early literacy" and "internet + reading"...do my results change?  Not so much. 

Who has time to PEEK at thousands of websites? Peak no more!  Take time to PERUSE Gail Lovely's website and you will want to dig deep into it!  Not only does she give fantastic links to technology enriched websites, projects based learning websites, and websites tailored for the elementary teacher; but she also gives links to basic tutorials for using technology devices and softwares to develop the skills of educators working with digital learners.

Thanks Gail!  Your resources are "delighful, delicious, and de-lovely"...for the rest of you, don't forget to visit Gail Lovely's website at http://www.gaillovely.com/  ENJOY!

Education apps

Audio boo-record an audio file and post it to the audio.fm website free

Abc animals flashcards and letters

Dragon dictation - speech to text

Stanza- online book reader w over 50000 free books

Roller coaster physics-measures and charts g forces and then you can email the information to yourself.

Ireward - track behaviors

Apps -Leslie Fisher

Lesliefisher.com

There are 250000apps in the store and 12000 are for the iPad.

Appshopper to keep up with new apps.

Appoliscious.com users can create a profile and share apps.

Evernote.com free note taking app., also has text recognition.

Soundpaper (iPad) can type notes and can record, take notes and listen to the teacher.

Rememberthemilk.com rtm app for to do lists

Ustream record video, broadcast live,free

Smugmug photo sharing with location tag

Gowalla-geocaching meets location services

Babelshot take a photo of the item and it will translate the language

Jibbigo translates English to Spanish -speech translator

Proloquo2go board maker

Star walk -hold it up and it shows you where you are and what planets are above you, etc.

10leadership components-Chris o'neil

If you have a chance to see this guy, you need to!

Top 10 components to leadership in technology-traction to move forward!

1. Equity of access-we can solve the equity issue in between 8-3:30. Every kid needs the access, not just the students who receive it as a reward. Unacceptable.

2. Understanding and using data- What are our trends? Offer the professional development based on data to make connections to the information and to take ownership in the data. Need to dig into data so we don't make decisions based on superficial data.

3. Effective professional development- plan, but individualize by school, grade level team, or individual teacher.

4. Walk the walk, talk the talk- model, coach,we must be able to do what we expect of others. If we believe in initiatives enough to have expectations for others, then it must be important enough for you to know how to do it too.

5. Vision: collaborative and authentic- what are our priorities? Can use wordle to develop the vision priorities.

6. Reward growth- generate small wins.

7. Genuine reflection - most critical piece of professional development. What is applicable and do-able?

8. Student driven technology -tap our students' talents. Give students techie responsibilities.

9. Pln-personal learning network- Twitter, blogging, etc. Use tweet deck or hoot suite to filter your tweets.

10. Leverage your rockstar teachers, observations, peer mentoring, etc.

Chris.wikispaces.com

Kindergarteners and technology?

I recently read an article about how much technology young children should be exposed to...which prompted me to recall the debate between should children watch tv or not...which led me back to the "way back machine" where I recalled the printing press was once banned...where would education be without the printing press...could oral education have survived?  ...I have come to the realization that technology has become an every day occurence in the lives of children.  Technology facilitates play, learning, and communication for youngsters.  Do your children ask "What does this do?" as you turn the page of a traditional book?  No.  Do your children ask "What does this do?" when they click the mouse or touch an app on the mobile devices?  Yes.  Does this prompt them to wonder what else the technology does?  Yes!  Are they motivated to continue to click and explore?  YES!  What do all of these things have in common?  Higher level critical thinking skills such as comparing and contrasting, analyzing, inferencing, and problem solving.

Let's face it; however, the knowledge gained from exposure to technology to engage the learner in higher level critical thinking skills is dependent upon frequency.  As educators and parents understand more about how young children use computers and technology, as well as how these devices enhance knowledge development, they will be better able to assess how how and when technology should be used with young children.  

How often do your youngsters use technology to make sense of their worlds? 

iSTE conference in Denver,CO 2010

I will be blogging and tweeting copiously during this awesome event coming up! Are you as excited as I am?

Purpose of Education and its Leaders - jenganske

    

    The purpose of education is to provide education for students based on their needs and future aspirations. The two main purposes of education are to equip students for the future by teaching them how to think, understand, integrate, and prove knowledge; as well as to create a learning community within the schools and community that adjusts dependent on dynamic conditions. It is the mission of the educational community to help students realize their potential.

    The education community includes "parents,…members of the business community, religious leaders, political leaders, and taxpayers in general" (Schlechty, 2001, p.105), as well as students, teachers, and administrators. It is the responsibility of the education community to work together to consider the needs of the primary customers, students, when establishing an educational foundation for our students (Schlechty, 2001). The purpose is of education is to create "organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together" (Senge, P.M. "Give Me a Lever Long Enough…and Single-Handed I can Move the World" 1990). It is within this type of educational environment where educators become dedicated to providing all students the most effective educational learning environment possible. It is within this type of educational environment where we hope to set our students' aspirations free.

    Students need to be an integral part of the learning community because the results of what students learn, need to learn, and have an interest in learning are influenced by their "lifeworlds" (Sergiovanni & Starratt, 2007, p. 56). Therefore, educators must make connections between what is learned in the classroom and the student's lifeworld. The learning "students are encouraged to undertake" must "have meaning and significance in the present lives of students and [be] are related to consequences to which students attach importance" (Schlechty, 2001, p.127). More specifically, today's students are different than students from just ten years ago. Today's students have grown up with access to technology that was not invented when many of today's educators were growing up. As a result, students need constant stimulation and expect to be connected to others through technology 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As a result, the world is getting smaller and educators must respond to the different needs of today's students. "It is through working on the tasks given to students and designing them in ways that increase the likelihood that students will become engaged in them that teachers have the possibility of improving student performance" (Schlechty, 2001, p.106).

    Educators must guide students to become productive members of society and be able to interact with other members within the global society. Educators are responsible for not only knowing what their students should know and be able to do, but also are responsible for providing a curriculum that addresses student needs and involves students in the selection of authentic learning activities in order to increase "student ownership of the quality of the results and that foster both individual and collective success" (Schlechty, 2001, p.127). In addition, students must be involved in the assessment of their own progress (Schlechty, 2001). Education no longer simply refers to the academic skills of reading, writing, calculation, speaking, and listening, but also such skills as problem solving, conflict resolution, cultural competence, communication skills, and technology skills. Educators serve the needs of students at all ability levels and learning styles. Students are successful when they participate in learning environments that are "culturally responsive" (Delpit, L. in Canestrari, A.S., & Marlowe, B.A., 2004, p. 35) and provide for student directed learning, as well as participate in environments that provide novel and varied (Schlechty, 2001, p.123) learning experiences.

    Educators must be well versed in how students learn, how students are motivated, and how to enhance instruction based on these needs and motivational preferences. In addition, in order to ascertain students are achieving at high levels, educators must also be experts at assessing student progress. The goal of assessment is to provide distinctive experiences of learning succeeded by meaningful feedback for improvement. Feedback must include a plan for improvement. Assessment of student learning is developmental in nature because the goal of assessment is to gain knowledge. It is developmental when you work toward a specific target. Assessment may be summative or formative in nature. Assessment needs to be a collaborative effort between the teacher and the learner so that both participants are aware of the goals for learning. The effort is collaborative when the teacher and student or student and student engage in meaningful communication about learning. Teachers use assessment as a means to determine what has been learned and what needs to be learned in the future. Students need to be involved both as assessors of their own learning and as resources for providing feedback to other students. Providing effective feedback can be a means to motivating students.

If educators come to the profession of educating without this knowledge base or with a lack of understanding and experience, it is the duty of educational leaders to provide for continuous improvement of educators in order to meet the needs of students.

    Preferred pedagogy places the student at the center of the learning community. Students must be part of the process of educational planning, active learning, and "are encouraged to assess their own work in terms of the standards set" (Schlechty, 2001, p.115). Pedagogy must be tied to real life situations that students are exposed to in order for learning to be meaningful. With students at the center of the learning community they must be taught how to reflect and communicate knowledge. Preferred pedagogy encourages higher order thinking, engages students in big ideas and complex understandings. Collaboration toward common goals effectuates learning. The process of developing purposeful curriculum takes pedagogy into consideration.

    The content of the school curriculum must take into account the purpose of education. The purpose of education includes preparing students for the future, as well as developing their skills within a learning community. The content of the school curriculum should follow the content standards for each course. However, the learners (teachers, students, and parents) in the school community should have a voice and "considerable choice of what they will do in order to learn what it is intended that they learn" (Schlechty, 2001, p.125). The content of the school curriculum must include a foundation built on a "curriculum of community" (Sergiovanni & Starratt, 2007, p. 57). A "curriculum of community" is "a community that intentionally and explicitly attends to the building up of knowledge, skills, and disposition which constitute the work of becoming and sustaining a community" (Sergiovanni & Starratt, 2007, p. 57). Students should be taught how to learn, to grow, and to develop based on virtues and values, in accordance with individual learning styles. As students and society changes, so shall the purpose of education.

    Encouraging communication, establishing collaboration, and building relationships are all integral parts to community involvement of schools. Schools must encourage open and supportive communication with students, parents, and members of the community in order to build trust and develop relationships. In addition, schools must employ teachers as leaders within the organization.     

    Successful leaders communicate a vision, mission, goals, and expectations in order to facilitate teaching and learning. In addition, successful leaders facilitate the growth and development of teachers to cultivate future leaders. Successful leaders act with integrity in every aspect of their lives. They focus on creating a vision and creating a trusting, morally connected and collaborative culture in order to accomplish clear, attainable, and sustainable goals. Educational leaders set high expectations for students, staff, and themselves. Successful leaders focus on student success, address obstacles to learning, and focus on supporting best practice pedagogy. These leaders create professional development opportunities for staff that focus on teaching and learning. Successful leaders exude energy and are able to juggle the managerial demands of the job, in addition to the instructional leadership demands.

    The main goal of successful leaders is to "help increase the opportunities and the capacity of schools to contribute more effectively to students' academic success" (Sergiovanni & Starratt, 2007, p. 7). The goal is to continuously monitor and evaluate teaching and learning in order to make continuous improvements. In addition, educational leaders must create and support an environment that changes based on student needs.

References

Delpit, L. & Perry, T. (1998). What should teachers do? Ebonics and culturally responsive

    instruction. In A.S. Canestrari & B.A. Marlowe (Eds.), Educational foundations: An

    Anthology of critical readings (35-43)). CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

 

Schlechty, P.C. (2001). Shaking up the schoolhouse: How to support and sustain educational

     innovation. CA: Jossey-Bass.

 

Sergiovanni, T., & Starratt, R. (2007). Supervision: A redefinition (8th Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

 

 

 

 

The Educational Leader’s Role in Student Engagement: Technology Revolution - jenganske

 

The Educational Leader's Role in Student Engagement: Technology Revolution

May 16, 2010

 

    The school administrator's role in student engagement must undergo drastic reform based on the technology revolution. The learning organization, defined as "an organization that learns on its own, quite apart from the many individual learnings that will also take place within it"(Kline, P. & Saunders, B., 1998, p15). The technology revolution will affect how the learning organization learns and has the ability to unleash student engagement as educators have never seen before. The school administrator's role in student engagement is to prepare students to be 21st Century Learners. "If educators cannot successfully integrate new technologies into what it means to be a school, then the long identification of schooling with education, developed over the past 150 years, will dissolve into a world where the students with the means and ability will pursue their learning outside of the public school" (Richardson, W., 2010, p60 quoting Richard Halverson and Allan Collins' Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology, 2009). As a result, educators must provide a technology rich learning environment for students.

Technology Rich Environment

    A technology rich learning environment is the vision for today's students. This type of classroom, according to Manzo, is one "that offers a flexible and dynamic working environment with a range of computer based and face to face learning options customized for each student" (Manzo, K.K., 2010, p.16). Arguably, the computer based learning is actually learning that occurs with the use of any technology device including cell phones, smart phones, mp3 players, ipods, ipads, etc. The purpose of this technology immersed classroom is to remain student centered, thus increasing student ownership, motivation, and engagement. Technology rich learning environments are necessary to engage the minds of 21^st century learners. These learners can develop 21^st century skills "in the context of rich, authentic academic learning opportunities that closely mirror the work done by professionals" (Coughlin, E., 2010, p.51). Technology rich environments expose students to learning resources they did not have access to years or even minutes ago. Technology rich learning environments allow for continuous learning, rather than learning which only occurs within the frameworks of a school building and an 8am to 3pm daily schedule. In the wake of a technology revolution, students should not stop learning because they are not in the school building or because it is not "normal business hours." Today's students want to be exposed to new knowledge at all times.

The Minds of 21^st Century Learners

    Traditionally, it was thought that the brain was not able to change unless it was deteriorating (Tapscott, D., 2009). However, researchers now know this is simply not true. The brain changes and develops throughout one's life. In addition, researchers have discovered it does not take long to change the brain or to retrain the brain (Tapscott, D., 2009). Tapscott defines 21^st century learners as "screenagers" who are the first generation of learners to grow up using computers and interacting with the images on a computer screen or other technology device. As a result of this environment, it has been discovered that the brain is adaptable and malleable as brains reorganize based on input of experiences as well as the duration of the experiences (Tapscott, D., 2009). In essence, Tapscott (2009) maintains the brain's malleability equates to changing memory capacity and re-growing neurons in the brain. Therefore, intelligence is not fixed. Tapscott (2009) describes the work of Norman Droige, a Canadian researcher, who maintains "neuroplasticity" is the restructuring, rearranging, reconnecting, and pruning of neurons based on input of stimuli and duration of stimuli.

    In the eyes of educators, this knowledge means the brain is able to create new thinking patterns. In addition, this information provides evidence for the fact that students who are engaged in activities relying on digital technologies have brains that are wired differently than the traditional learners teachers have taught for many years. As a result, teachers need to step back and develop new ways for students to become engaged in learning in the classroom. It is the educational leader's responsibility to hold teachers accountable for meeting the needs of our newly wired digital learners.

21^st Century Learners are Digital Learners

    The term 21^st century learner is interchangeable with digital learner. Twenty-first century learners are learners who are self-directed and inquiry and passion based (Richardson, W., 2010, p60). Twenty-first century skills include skills such as "critical thinking, innovative thinking, and self-directed behavior" (Coughlin, E., 2010, p51). These learners expect to access knowledge anytime and anyplace, as well as to learn for themselves. Digital learners want to have access to "We All Learn" opportunities (Bonk, C.J., 2010, p62). Bonk (2010) uses We All Learn as a mnemonic device. This acronym stands for having access to "Web-searching in the world of e-books, E-learning and blended learning, Availability of open source and free software, Leveraged resources and open courseware, Learning object repositories and portals, Learner participation in open information communities, Electronic collaboration, Alternate reality learning, Real-time mobility and portability, and Networks of personalized learning" (Bonk, C.J., 2010, p62).

    There is a disconnect between what digital learners prefer and what educators prefer based on how teachers were taught to teach. Teachers were taught to teach based on how they remember their own teachers teaching including lectures and assigned readings. However, due to the neuroplasticity of brains, as well as student engagement in technology, educators must first understand the differences between digital learner preference and their own preferences and then must begin to make changes to their practices or students will seek learning from other opportunities.

    Jukes (2008) summarizes the work of Steven Johnson, Marc Prensky, Daniel Pink, and others by defining digital learning preferences and educator preferences. Digital learners prefer to "receive info[rmation] quickly from multiple multimedia sources" whereas educators prefer "slow and controlled release of info[rmation] from limited sources" (p2). Digital learners prefer to multitask by having exposure to internet, instant messaging, texting, and visual stimuli where as teachers prefer to process by single tasking (Jukes, 2008). Digital learners "process pictures, sounds, color, and video before text" whereas teachers traditionally "provide text before pictures, sounds, and video" (Jukes, 2008, p2). Digital learners prefer to "network simultaneously with many others" while teachers expect "students to work independently before they network and interact" with others (Jukes, 2008, p2). Digital learners prefer to "learn just in time" whereas teachers prefer to teach "just in case" (Jukes, 2008, p2). Digital learners need "instant gratification and immediate rewards" as well as crave "learning that is relevant, active, instantly useful and fun" whereas teachers provide feedback on their own time and "feel compelled to teach to the curriculum guide and tests" (Jukes, 2008, p2). Clearly, there is a disconnect between learner preferences and educator preferences.

    It is the educational leader's responsibility to ascertain that educators begin to teach to the digital learner preferences because not doing so will produced disengaged students; thus limiting student achievement. In addition, educational leaders must find a way to move educators forward in using technology to enhance instruction because technology is not going away. "Our kids are going to choose technology whether we prepare them for it or not. Wouldn't they be better served if we provided them with the skills and literacies they need to succeed?" (Richardson, W., 2010, p60). More importantly, educators need to provide students a voice in deciding which skills are necessary for individual needs.

    Twenty-first century learners want their voices to be heard in the decision making arena. It is important to consider student perspectives when making decisions about technology integration into schools. According to Ash and Davis (2010), students do not want to "power down" in classes, but would like to use their technology devices in class. In addition, Ash and Davis quoted the Speak Up national survey which concluded "mobile learning devices-such as Ipods, smartphones, cellphones, and laptop computers-can increase student engagement" (2010, p30). However, there is a rising concern about equal access to such devices for all students. Often times, this concern is referred to as the digital divide.

Digital Divide

    According to Don Knezek, Chief Executive Officer of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), the digital divide can be defined as "the gap between people with and without effective access to digital technology" (Dessoff, A., 2010, p37). Often times the digital divide is defined by community members and parents as the socio economic divide because some families are not able to provide technology devices for students. However, it is important to emphasize the digital divide focuses on access to technology devices, rather than physically owning technology devices. Don Knezek has also extended the knowledge and possession of digital access to include the impact on education and learning. Knezek defines the impact as the "learning divide" where lack of access to digital technologies will have an impact on learning and earning potential for students (Dessoff, A., 2010, p37). The learning divide can be avoided by making sure students are engaged in learning where maximum achievement is gained.

Student Engagement and Increased Student Achievement

    The correlation between student engagement and increased student achievement is quite clear. If students are more engaged in their learning, they will increase their knowledge. According to Schlechty (2002), schools need "teachers who know how to create a matter of routine practice, school work that engages students" (pxxiv). Williamson and Blackburn (2010), claim students are more engaged in learning if they can see value in what they do, if they experience success, if lessons are linked to their own lives, and if expectations are high and manageable (p66). In addition to seeing value and connections to real life, students want to participate in flexible learning environments. For example, the Texas Virtual School Network was created to provided such learning environments where students can access online learning. The administrators found their graduation rates increased due to having a flexible learning environment for students (Smith, B., 2010, p72). Student engagement also is increased due to personalization. Personalization is defined as "students designing their own curriculums, which usually emphasize real world learning" and as "teachers [who] become advisors who guide students in educating themselves" (Wolk, R., 2010, p18). Essentially, personalization equates to a flexible learning environment. Student engagement can also be defined as "activities [which] introduce children to experiences that spark their interest and expand their goals for what they hope to accomplish in school and beyond" (Neuman, S.B., 2010, p35). Student engagement equates to more time on task for students, which in turn, increases student achievement.

21st Century Learning as a Cultural Paradigm Shift

    President Obama recently stated that the reauthorization of the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) will include "ensuring all students graduate from high school prepared for college and a career in the 21st century" (Dessoff, A., 2010, p37). Because students ages 8 to 18 spend an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes using entertainment media including television, mp3 players, computers, video games, and ipods, educational leaders must begin to take this knowledge into consideration when developing school systems to meet the needs of today's learners (Dessoff, A., 2010).

    President Obama also began a program called Educate to Innovate in November of 2009. This initiative focuses on improving student achievement through the use of technology in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) (Dessoff, A., 2010, p38). The use of technology in this initiative includes gaming, social networks, and other mobile technology devices. In addition, the federal government is funding the National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies (Dessoff, A., 2010, p38). As a result, educators will be directly responsible for ascertaining all students are prepared to use technology in the real world. However, not all educators are "game" for incorporating technology into the curriculum.

    According to Alan Dessoff, "Teachers teach the way they were taught themselves, and the biggest problem I have seen in classrooms is that while teachers know how to use a computer, they still don't know how to integrate that computer into their teaching" (2010, p38). In addition, teachers who are in the work force today came out of universities with tenured professors who teach instructional methods from when they themselves were taught including lectures and assigned readings (Dessoff, A., 2010). According to Dessoff, the most difficult task is to change teachers' mindsets about how technology can be used to enhance instruction and prepare students for "an ever-increasing technological and global society through an anytime, anywhere learning environment" (2010, p38). In order to begin to address a cultural paradigm shift, the present status of technology integration must be analyzed in order to make determinations regarding next steps.

Teacher Technology Survey

    According to a survey called "Teacher Technology Survey" administered by Jennifer Ganske, Director of Instruction for the Campbellsport School District, in Campbellsport, Wisconsin, there are many teachers who do not believe technology is essential for student engagement. In the survey developed by Bruckenheimer through the University of Toledo, 118 teachers in grades kindergarten through twelfth grade were given a voluntary survey through the use of Survey Monkey. Likert scaled questions revolved around the topics of current practices, training needed on technology, self rated levels of technology proficiency, evaluation of staff development around technology, demographic information, technologies used in the classroom to enhance instruction, and technologies used to enhance student achievement.

Current Practices

    Approximately 56 percent of staff completed the "Teacher Technology Survey." Questions under current practices included such questions as "I can find my way around computers (using menus, windows, the mouse, and basic functions) with confidence)," "I can design student learning activities that will integrate new technologies into the daily life of my classroom," "I can identify the connection between information literacy (making sense of information) and my curriculum goals," and "I can develop an expanded bank of strategies to promote student learning with different technologies, including problem-based learning." According to the self-reporting on these questions, just over half of the staff are able to use computers, to connect information literacy to curriculum goals, and to design student learning activities using new technologies in the classroom. However, 60 percent of the respondents were not confident in their own abilities to demonstrate how to use networks for problem solving, research, communication, persuasion, presentations, and decision making. This number is concerning due to the fact these are the exact skills we expect students to leave our school buildings with and enter post secondary education or work. It is difficult to expect our students to have such 21st century learning skills if our teachers are not confident of their own skills within these areas.

    Teachers were also given the opportunity to make comments at the end of each question set. One of the open responses stated, "I need the time to learn and explore technology and programs to create learner based activities." Another response stated, "Sometimes it's not a question of CAN I do these things. What about the questions about can education be effective with a more limited use of technology? There's a blatant assumption that he/she who uses technology the most is the best teacher. It's a laughable assumption. I hear it from students ALL THE TIME. They're pretty honest about what goes on when they get on the computers. They know more about what makes a teacher good than we do!" Unfortunately, this last statement reiterates the fact that not all teachers agree incorporating technology into the curriculum is necessary or effective. However, the administration needs to be concerned about this teacher's ability to be an effective teacher because clearly the teacher is not concerned with meeting students' needs based on student learning styles and interests, thus depleting student engagement and possibilities for increasing student achievement. Although some teachers do not believe in the move toward technology development, many teachers understand the need for professional development surrounding technology for their own amelioration.

Training

    According to the survey questions revolving around the need for training, teachers indicated a need to have more training on the use of SMART boards to enhance instruction, website development, the use of social networking sites for the classroom, creating webquests, using cell-phones in the classroom, and podcasting. During informal conversations with staff, some staff have difficulty using email, spreadsheets, word processing, and presentation software.     These deficiencies have been recognized by the administrators in this school district who realize there are efficiency problems when staff are not well versed in the basic uses of technology. In addition, the administrators have recently incorporated the National Education Technology Standards (NETS) for Teachers into the supervision and evaluation tool. As a result, administrators are beginning to hold teachers accountable for their own technology skills as it is recognized that is teachers do not have basic technology skills they will not be able to teach their students about advanced used of technology or incorporate technology into the curriculum. As a result, students would not be developing their 21^st century learning skills.

Self Rated Technology Proficiency

    The survey also asked teachers to rate their own perceived levels of technology proficiency including not proficient, slightly proficient, average/moderate proficiency, above average proficiency, and highly skilled/proficient. Teachers were not given definitions of these proficiency indicators. Approximately 70 percent of teachers rated themselves as not being proficient in creating spreadsheets or databases. Approximately 80 percent of staff reported they were unable to login to a network to subscribe to a listserv or to design a simple research internet activity using Boolean logic. Approximately three-fourths of the staff reported they were proficient in using word processing software and approximately two-thirds reported they were able to use email to send and reply to messages. However, according to the Help Desk Tickets for Technology used in the district, approximately one half of all help desk tickets require assistance attaching and opening documents in email. These results are disturbing because the 21^st century learning skills will require students to use technology for research, as well as use technology to analyze and synthesize information gathered through the internet. As a result, administrators will need to provide additional professional development for teachers in order to make teachers competent educators. In addition, the use of a supervision and evaluation tool which monitors teacher technology skills will begin to hold teachers accountable for developing technology skills to meet student needs.

Staff Development

    Teachers were asked to indicate their evaluation of staff development opportunities as they relate to computers and technology in the classroom using strongly disagree, disagree, not sure/don't know, agree, and strongly agree indicators. Questions asked covered information regarding teachers' willingness to attend courses for technology integration and willingness to enroll in courses if the district did or did not pay for the courses. Over half of the respondents agreed they would like to take courses which teach technology integration and almost 50 percent of the staff would enroll in courses if the district paid for it. However, this statistic means that 50 percent of staff are not willing to enroll in technology courses if the district does not pay for the course. Unfortunately, this is a disservice to students because districts are simply not able to pay for every course teachers would be willing to engage in. As federal and state funding decreases, the opportunity to pay for professional staff development does not take precedence over curriculum and programs.

    As a result of decreased federal and state funding, teachers are expected to use a trial and error approach to determine if technology is a useful tool to enhance instruction in the classroom. Not all teachers are willing to participate in trial and error efforts, as they believe these efforts are time-consuming with no evidence of success. In addition, lack of funding correlates to teachers needing to dig into research to learn about the applications of technology and integration into the curriculum. However, according to the survey, 54 percent of teachers do not believe such methods have increased their knowledge of use on computers. This information could indicate teachers have done research and have found the information to be useless; however, it could also indicate they have not done the research, but do not believe it would be a useful method. This information does not indicate teachers are not willing to use the computers to enhance their practice.

    Teachers use computers to enhance their practice, but are using technology in what is thought of as a traditional means of using technology. The traditional use of using technology is using technology for email and internet access. Teachers indicated websites on the internet have helped construct lesson plans for integrating the computer into classroom practice and websites have also helped design teaching strategies. This question set also allowed teachers to add free form comments regarding staff development. The comments indicated a need for time in order to effectively incorporate technology into the curriculum. One respondent stated, "Any training we receive on ANYTHING is promptly lost if there is no time to implement into regular practice. Too many initiatives can be a detriment to all of them."

    Teachers often believe new initiatives are in addition to what is already being done. However, administrators need to communicate new initiatives should be instead of what is already being done. New initiatives usually mean we are changing to work with best practice. It does not mean add technology to each lesson. Teachers must be willing to take time to substitute a lesson that incorporates technology for one that does not in order to implement into regular practice. Unfortunately, in this district, teachers who are not given time within the structure of a day running from 8am until 4pm to research ways to integrate technology or develop new lessons plans, simply believe because they were not given the time, they will not do it. As a result, students are not engaged and may not be prepared for our quickly changing, technologically advanced society.

Demographics

    The survey included questions regarding basic demographic information where respondents were able to choose either yes or no to the statements. Statements included whether or not respondents had computers at home and computers with internet at home. Six percent of the respondents did not have a computer at home that is used for personal email, for internet, or for other activities. Other questions asked the respondents to provide information about having a computer at home used for school related email or school related internet. Approximately 87 percent of the respondents indicated they do have a computer at home that is used for work related activities. The survey asked staff if they lacked confidence in using computers and 16 percent of them responded yes, indicating they lack confidence in using computers. Thirty percent of the respondents stated they did not understand the process of using technology and cannot think of specific tasks in which it can be educationally useful.

    The teachers were able to add free form comments relating to these questions. One of the respondents commented, "It would be nice to have a laptop to do school related tasks on at home." Another respondent claimed, "I feel that I have a pretty decent grasp of what applications work well to enhance my content area, but am not convinced that they are essential, necessary, and/or worth the expense when dealing with this subject area…Technology becomes in some cases a tool to help with management, but in many cases it is unmanageable, time-consuming, and a time-wasting obstruction." This is evidence of teachers not having the knowledge of how technology can enhance instruction and is also evidence teachers do not value technology, perhaps because of a lack of exposure to it, as indicated in the amount of teachers who do not even own a home computer.

Technologies used to enhance instruction

    Teachers were asked to list current technologies they use in the classroom to enhance instruction. Teachers listed such things as Microsoft office, LCD projectors, teacher websites, Safari Montage, SMART boards, internet, wireless mouse/keyboard, calculators, tapes, youtube, surveying tools, SMART response systems, excel, web-quests, email, MyCaert, video editing, digital cameras, robotic vehicles, CNC mill, screen printing, alpha smarts, DVDs, CDs, Ipod Touch, Webpath Express, Ultimate Writing, and microscopes.

Technologies used to motivate student learning

    Teachers were asked to list current technologies they use in the classroom to motivate student learning. Teachers listed such things as computers, laptops, SMART boards, Tablet PCs, internet, LCD projectors, Safari Montage, online textbooks, internet activities, Geometers Sketchpad, tapes, calculators, online tests, laser printer, digitizing board, digital cameras, projectors, CNC mill, small gas engines, screen printing, synthesizers, audio mixing board, robotic vehicles, document cameras, video making, and CDs/DVDs. In addition to surveying the teachers about technology integration, students in this same district were also surveyed.

Student Technology Survey

    According to a survey called "Student Technology Survey" administered by Jennifer Ganske, Director of Instruction for the Campbellsport School District, in Campbellsport, Wisconsin, there are many students who would like to see more technology used in the classrooms. Students in grades seven through twelve were surveyed. Thirty percent of students voluntarily completed the survey. In the survey developed by the Learning and Performance Support Laboratory at the University of Georgia, Likert scaled questions revolved around the topics of rating how useful educational technologies have been in class, the role of educational technology in learning experiences, self perceived comfort levels of using different technologies, and student ownership of technology devices.

Usefulness of Educational Technologies in Classes

    Approximately 28 percent of students reported web based discussion threads, chat tools, instant messaging tools, and student response systems (in class voting systems, polling, or clickers) have never been used in their classes. Most students reported email, web based discussion tools, instant messaging tools, student response systems, electronic presentations, online self tests, visualization tools, digital audio files, digital video files, and online instructor's notes are very useful educational technologies that have been used in the classroom. Students were able to add free form comments to this question set. One student commented, "I'm not comfortable with certain blockings on the computer because they might actually be blocking useful information." Another student stated, "photoshop, inventor, and autodesk awesome."

Role of Educational Technology in Learning Experiences

    Students were asked to rate the role of educational technology in their learning experiences. Fifty-eight percent of students agreed that educational technology has been easy to learn and 45 percent strongly agreed they prefer to use computers to make schoolwork easier to do. In addition, approximately 43 percent of student respondents strongly agreed using computers makes schoolwork more fun/interesting. Thirteen percent of students disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement "I want to learn more about educational technology" leading to the conclusion most students would like to learn more about educational technology. Over half of the students who participated in the survey agreed or strongly agreed with the statements "Educational technology has helped me to interact with my teachers (chats, blogs, email, etc.)," "Educational technology has resulted in prompt feedback from my teachers," "Educational technology has helped me to ask for clarification when information did not make sense to me," "Educational technology has made it easier to work with other students," "The educational technology I have used in my classes will be useful in my future career," "Educational technology has made it easier for me to see how the ideas I learn in class apply to real life," "Educational technology has helped me to complete assignments on time," "I am more engaged in classes that use educational technology," "Educational technology has made me feel like I have control over my learning experiences." "Because of educational technology the teaching in my classes was more student centered," and "Because of educational technology my teachers demanded higher quality work from students." These are important inidicators because these directly relate to the characteristics of digital learners who want access to information now, rather than later.

Self Perceived Comfort levels of Using Different Technologies

    Students were asked to report their comfort levels with using different technologies using indicators of never used/don't know, very uncomfortable, uncomfortable, comfortable, and very comfortable. Less than five percent of students claimed they were very uncomfortable using online libraries, web-based discussion threads, instant messaging tools, chat tools, online quizzes, desktop publishing programs, presentation programs, multi-media editors, word processing programs, spreadsheet applications, pictures and graphs, and email applications.

Student Ownership of Technology Devices

    Students were asked to report on which devices they own and which they would like to own. Over half of the respondents were not interested in owning a personal digital assistant (PDA). Approximately 61 percent of student would like to own a smart phone that has a data plan or internet access. Eighty-six percent of students own a cell phone and an Ipod or mp3 player. Approximately 56 percent of students surveyed would like to own a laptop and approximately 40 percent of students already own a laptop. Approximately 35 percent of students own a netbook and 6 percent would like to own a netbook. Seventy-one percent of students own a desktop computer and 17 percent would like to own a desktop computer.

Conclusions

    The results of the teacher and student surveys clearly indicate students are more accepting of the use of technology to engage them in their learning. Teachers, on the other hand, are behind students in their technological skills, as well as their skills in envisioning the needs of the future. Clearly, technology will continue to infiltrate society; therefore, technology needs to infiltrate education in order to prepare students to live and work in such a society. Educational leaders must begin to look at how the limited amounts of funding they receive are spent in a manner to address the technology needs of all students. In addition, educational leaders must hold teachers accountable for their own skills because without these skills, teachers are unable to effective engage students in learning. It is important to make sure technology is actually used to enhance instruction and increase achievement, rather than as a traditional means to record information. Technology devices must be used to gauge critical thinking skills, problem solve, and analyze information. In addition, technology is the new tool for effective communication where knowledge is learned across a global society which is decreasing in size due to technology.

    Halverson and Collins "suggest that despite the growth of access to technology in classrooms over the last 10 years, schools rarely allow technology's transformative potential out of the box" and often focus on "risks rather than rewards…using it in ways that leave fundamental curriculum and pedagogy unchanged" (Richardson, W., 2010, p60). If educational leaders do not begin to take an active role in changing curriculum and pedagogy to meet the needs of 21^st century digital learners, students will not be engaged in learning; therefore, not maximize the potential for student achievement.

 

 

 

 

References

Ash, K & Davis, M.R. 2010. What do they think: Students sound off on how schools can use

    technology more effectively to improve learning. Education Week Digital Directions,

    Winter 2010, 28-31.

 

Bonk, C.J. (2010. For openers how technology is changing school. Educational Leadership, 67

    (7), 60-65.

 

Coughlin, E. (2010). High schools at crossroads. Educational Leadership, 67 (7), 48-53.

 

Dessoff, A. (2010). Reaching digital natives on their terms. District Administration, April

    2010, 36-38,40,42.

 

Kamenetz, A. (2010). A Is for App: How smartphones, handheld computers sparked an

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Jukes, I. (2008). Closing the digital divide: The Seven education and educators need to do.

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Kline, P. & Saunders, B. (1998). Ten steps to a learning organization. UT: Great River Books.

 

Manzo, K.K. (2010). The personal approach: Digital tools for defining and targeting students'

    strengths and weaknesses could help build a kind of individualized education plan for

    every student. Education Week Digital Directions, Winter 2010, 16-17, 19-20.

 

Neuman, S.B. (2010). Empowered-After School. Educational Leadership, 67 (7), 30-36.

 

Richardson, W. (2010). A new era of learning: Thinking differently about education and

    technology. District Administration, April 2010, 60.

 

Schlechty, P.C. (2001). Shaking up the schoolhouse: How to support and sustain educational

     innovation. CA: Jossey-Bass.

 

Schlechty, P.C. (2002). Working on the work. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

 

Smith, B. (2010). The Texas Virtual School Network. Principal Leadership,

    April 2010, 72-74.

 

Tapscott, D. (2009). Grown up digital: How the net generation is changing your world. New

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Williamson, R. & Blackburn, B.R. (2010). Supporting Student Learning. Principal Leadership,

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Wolk, R. (2010). Education: The case for making it personal. Educational Leadership, 67 (7), 16-21.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Risk taking, Collaboration, and Strengthening Others-jenganske

    In order to lead change and be an effective instructional leader, leaders must focus on risk taking, collaboration, and ways to strengthen others (Kouzes & Posner, 2007). Often these three foci are intertwined. According to Kouzes and Posner (2007), risk taking combines the ability to "generate small wins" and to "learn from experience" (p191). When leading change, educational leaders need to generate small wins in order to build trust and confidence. When leaders start with change initiatives that seem big, it is important to break the larger whole into smaller, more manageable pieces. Starting small deters feelings of becoming overwhelmed and feeling stressed out. In addition, Kouzes and Posner (2007) maintain starting small often takes the fear out of change. In addition to breaking large tasks into manageable small tasks where successes can be built up to create momentum, educational leaders and change agents must "learn from experience" (Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p199).

    Kouzes & Posner (2007) maintain there is "a lot of trial and error involved in testing new concepts, new methods, and new practices (p199). It is important to recognize new initiatives and recognize that trekking over new environments often involves errors and getting lost. However, more importantly, leaders must learn from these mistakes and have conversations about "what we can and cannot do" (Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p199). "Learning happens when people feel comfortable in talking about both success and failures" (Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p200). This learning opportunity occurs through conversation regarding what went right and what went wrong. Creating time for conversations within the workday builds a climate which values learning.

    Kouzes and Posner (2007) focus on two types of dialogue necessary when taking risks and meeting challenges. Dialogue is active reflection. These reflections must focus on the strengths of the process and outcomes, what was learned from the process, what mistakes were made, and what changes need to be made in order to be more successful in the future (Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p213). In addition, dialogue should occur prior to change in order to anticipate problems and be proactive, rather than reactive (Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p213). An important piece to anticipating problems is to identify who or what creates resilience. In doing so, one can learn from the past in order to form a more educated perspective on the change initiative, to prepare more effectively, and to invite support from others (Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p215). Generating big wins requires leaders to start small and to build collaborative work environments.

    Douglas Reeves (2009) refers to "generating small wins" as "getting short-term wins to sustain long-term change" (p94). Reeves (2009) refers to risk taking as the ability to "emphasize effectiveness, not popularity" (p92) when looking at change initiatives. In essence, Reeves explains risk taking involves answering the questions "How do we make perfect decisions" or "How do we choose the wiser mistake to make" (2009, p146). It is important to "enact change that is not perfectively effective" (Reeves, 2009, p147) in order to learn from mistakes. Reeves identifies the mistakes to be learned from as "action or inaction, evidence or speculation, criticism from cynics or criticism from a future generation" (2009, p146). Most importantly, risk taking must include collaboration and communication in order build a team who is willing to take small steps toward large change.

    "Effective leaders allocate faculty time to collaboration" (Reeves, 2009, p64). Reeves (2009) defines collaboration as incorporating both congeniality and collegiality in order to examine student needs (p64). Kouzes and Posner (2007) describe a collaborative environment as one where the employees are given the tools to be successful, the trust to complete work, and the confidence to ask questions (p222). In essence, collaborative work time opens up the channels to discuss risk taking and work together to do so. Collaborative work environments recognize the strengths of individuals and emphasize those strengths to share with others. In addition, collaborative work environments set goals, define needs, and build teams "around common purpose and mutual respect" (Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p223). Investing in an environment which values shared decision making, dialogue, and shared leadership reaps relationship building based on trust. "Where there is growing trust, the quality of discourse increases, again helping stimulate greater engagement and real collaboration" (Wagner, Kegan, Lahey, Lemons, Garnier, Helsing, Howell, Rasmussen, 2006, p150).

    There are advantages to building a climate of trust when undergoing change. One of the advantages is "people who are trusting are more likely to be happy and psychologically adjusted than those who view the world with suspicion and disrespect" (Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p225 quoting Posner & Harder). In addition, when trust is present, goals are clearer and the team tends to investigate more alternatives or action plans to engage in. However, in order "to be effective, professional collaboration requires time, practice, and accountability" (Reeves, 2009, p46). According to Fullan and Hargreaves (1996), "As teachers face up to rising and widening expectations in their work and to the increasing overload of innovations and reforms, it is important that they work and plan more with their colleagues, sharing and developing their expertise together, instead of trying to cope with the demands alone" (p4-5). Often, change brings about new initiatives where teachers feel overwhelmed. However, involving teachers in the change process as well as creating time for collaboration will help to deal with the changes. In addition, Fullan and Hargreaves (1996) suggest "it is important to utilize our existing expertise and learn from each other more effectively;" (p11) therefore, "to fight for access to each other's ideas" (p11).

    Kouzes and Posner (2007) refer to the same idea of learning from each other when they describe strengthening others. During times of change, strengthening others includes sharing information and resources, asking questions, listening, and interacting with one another (Kouzes & Posner, 2007). In addition, strengthening others includes educating one another, as everyone has different strengths to bring to education. Effective leaders are able to strengthen others, take risks, and collaborate in order to make necessary changes in education. Often times, these three things work simultaneously.

 

References

Kouzes, J.M. & Posner, B.Z. (2007). The Leadership challenge. San Francisco, CA: Jossey

    Bass.

 

Fullan, M. & Hargreave, A. (1996). What's worth fighting for in your school. New York, NY:

    Teachers College.

 

Reeves, D. (2009). Leading change in your school: How to conquer myths, build commitment,

    and get results. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.