Reflections+on+Assignments+in+EDLD+5333

When it comes to value, principals hold a high degree of how far the initiative for technology embedded instruction goes. It the principal as the “change agent” spearheads decision making that is collaborative and data driven. (Fullan, 2002, p.16) Through this course, Leadership for Accountability, I’ve learned just how important the instructional leader is. I enjoyed every bit of analyzing our school’s performance on the state’s AEIS report. Because I was a part of our CIT team for the past two years, understanding how everything came together was a cinch. The knowledge gained through this assignment revealed in greater depth our need to develop a school improvement plan that addresses our greatest weakness, math. I already understood math was a weakness from the time I got to our campus and often dreamt of ways I knew the students could best be reached. My idea was to meet them at their level and accelerate it through hands-on learning to make the abstract concrete and use a much technology as possible. I understood this need being an elementary teacher in my previous years. My relationship with the old and new knowledge made devising a plan for improvement easy. Once again, the hands-on nature of having to work with data propel with to completing the assignment with ease. Data has always been the driving force behind my instructional goals. (Heritage & Chen, 2005, p.709) My goal was to initiate a collaborative plan with teachers who find implementing technology fairly easy. (William, 2007, p.39) I was eager to launch this when my plan ran counter with a curriculum just put in place by our administration team. As I tried to promote my plan, I ran into an attitude that said our model is enough. I found myself retreating. That proved to me that I’m willing to cooperate as a learner and be patient with the thoughts, plans, and ideas of others. This kind of collaboration is certainly needed to move agendas forward in future situations. What I find most challenging is finding the right approach to cause others to “buy in” to the initiative. Since people’s views are generally static, that will be a challenging feat.

Fullan, M. (2002). The change leader. //Educational Leadership//, 59(*), 16-20

Heritage, M. & Chen, M. H. (2005). Why data skills matter in school improvement. //Phi Delta// //Kappan,// 86(9), 707-710

William, D. (2007-2008). Changing classroom practice. //Educational Leadership//, 65(4), 36-41