Administration+Specialization+Courses

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      =01.755 Administrative Leadership in Educational Institutions = Regular Session 2010/2011 Term 1 Dr. Tom Skinner This was my first course taken with Dr. Tom Skinner, and right off the bat, I had mixed feelings. The course was offered via conference call, and with only four or five of us enrolled in the course, it looked like there would be intense discussion, with many questions coming my way. There's was no hiding during these calls! Dr. Skinner's calm, experienced delivery quickly put me at ease, and I thoroughly enjoyed all the great discussions. It was good for me to be forced to participate, because at the time, I did not have any administration experience, and thought I would be a little out of my element. I really got to appreciate Dr. Skinner's style of delivery for discussions - he would preface his questions by saying, "Ok Noelle, this one is coming to you." It totally put you on the spot, but forced you to really pay attention to what people were saying. This was great for my learning, because I sometimes found it easy to lose attention when only connected over the phone. I think I really benefited from having such a small number of students enrolled in this section, because it allowed us to really dive into some of the articles and discuss them, instead of just skimming over them for the sake of time. Every time I hear the word Kumbaya, it reminds me of this class, as Dr. Skinner would in later classes refer back to this one as his "Kumbaya class" :). I also really liked his outline of activities; he would always give us a "Question of the week" to think of, along with an outline of the next class. I feel as though I really got to know Dr. Skinner, and he really got to know me. As for content, I found myself very connected to thinking and talking about leadership. I also enjoyed the reflective nature of the assignments - they weren't as research-based as I was used to. By the time this class was over, I had even more confidence in myself as a leader.

Below, I have attached links to my assignments for this course, along with a brief reflection piece for some.

Course Outline

Vision Statement My vision statement centers around the idea of holding high expectations for our students. Looking back at my thoughts, many of my ideas still hold true. What I've learned a lot about since taking this class is Differentiated Instruction. I think DI helps teachers treat students fairly, but not necessarily equally, which helps create and maintain high standards for each individual student.

 Article Reviews Becoming a Community of Leaders <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">New Sources of Leadership Authority

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Leadership Critique <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I found my leadership critique tough to write. I hadn't had any administration experience yet, and to be honest, found it difficult to think of a situation where my personal leadership was required and did not evolve successfully. I hate saying that out loud because of how it sounds. Since taking this course, I had the opportunity to experience life as a vice-principal for one and a half school years. Thinking back to this time, there are a few little situations that I could now critique!!

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Leadership Critique Revision <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I found it extremely difficult to choose a piece of work to revise. I chose this one, because since writing it, I have a completely different perspective on leadership. I have had some administration experience, and looking back, it was the toughest, most hectic couple of years ever. I chose an experience that happened soon after I started, and it gave me a run for my money.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Leadership Action Plan <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">When reflecting back on this assignment, I see how great it was that I was still teaching at Creighton Community School while writing this paper. I needed to interview a couple of colleagues to get their perspective on my leadership style, and after working at CCS for 8 years, I had built great relationships with my staff. It would be very tough to do this right now, after being a teacher at Esterhazy High School for only one year. I feel that I am on the way to building relationships with my colleagues, and have taken some time to build relationships and trust with my colleagues. Much of what I wrote about my leadership style holds true today. I mentioned that I was improving at handling conflict, and I think I continue to do so today. I definitely believe that age and experience has helped me do this!

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">My Leadership Philosophical Statement <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This assignment gave me the opportunity to tie everything that we learned and discussed throughout class together. Later on in the school year, I interviewed for a vice-principal term position, that later led to a permanent position, and I talked about many of the philosophies and beliefs that I outlined in this paper. In a way, I feel that this class really helped me prepare for my interview, and eventually my job. It forced me to evaluate my own personality and beliefs, and to be aware of others and to learn from them.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Below are links to annotated bibliographies for articles/chapters that I found particularly interesting and helpful from this class: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">(click here for a link to all four citations and summaries)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Principals as Managers and Leaders: A Qualitative Study of the Perspectives of Selected Elementary School Principals. Journal article by D. S. T. Cascadden
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Can Leadership be Taught? A chapter in the book //Work, Education, and Leadership: Essays in the Philosophy of Education// by V. A. Howard and I. Scheffler
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Your Leadership Becomes You! A chapter in the book //Caring Enough to Lead: Schools and the Sacred Trust// by L. O. Pellicer
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Becoming a Community of Leaders. A chapter in the book //Building Community in Schools// by T. Sergiovanni

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Final Grade: A+ =<span style="color: #0eacdf; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">01.752 Introduction to Educational Administration = <span style="color: #0eacdf; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">Fall 2010 <span style="color: #0eacdf; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">Dr. Jacqueline Kirk <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">Looking back at the fall of 2010, I now realize just how busy I was! I enrolled in both 01.755 and 01.752, and they were both my first experience with taking courses via teleconferencing. I had two evenings booked for classes, a six year old and a four year old (hockey, skating lessons, piano, etc.), a husband that worked shift work, and a full-time teaching job. Busy! But, when you're in the middle of it, you just do it without stopping to realize just how much you are doing. What was great about this term, was that I really enjoyed the classes I was taking. I enjoy reading about concepts where the author uses metaphors and analogies to help explain and compare the concept. This is what drew me to Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading. I looked forward to the discussions about the text, although I felt that I held my input back a little because I was more focused on finishing class on time. I remember wishing that we had a similar number of students as in the other class I was taking at the same time, 01.755, because then we could have a more intimate discussion, yet I knew that four or five students in one section was not realistic to expect. On the other hand, I believe that I can learn a great deal by being an active listener during a discussion. It was great to hear from educators who had a wide variety of roles and perspectives. I also connected to Dr. Kirk's personality. She brought a great deal of experience to class in a practical, relatable way, I was put at ease right from the start. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">I appreciated the outline that Dr. Kirk gave us for class, and looked forward to reading about the various topics. I also like to learn new technological tools that I could possibly apply to my own teaching, such as Ning. Being a teacher in a northern community, which is also a one-school division, it is great to find new ways to network with other educators. There are so many ways to do this that it can become overwhelming, so I appreciate when a situation is set up for me to do this, otherwise I may never find the time to do it. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Below, I have attached links to my assignments for this course, along with a brief reflection piece for some.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Course Outline

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Briefing Paper: A Framework to Help School Administrators Facilitate Effective Implementation of ICT <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The previous school year to taking this class, I was given the opportunity to help teachers implement technology into their classroom, which was the inspiration for this topic. I also felt that, at the time, my principal was not doing such a great job in this area. After doing research on this topic, I understood more clearly the importance of a principal being an instructional leader. I believed that our principal did not do this enough, and when it came to technology, I did not believe that she possessed the skill-set to do so. I see now how important it is to be a life-long learner, yet where do you find the time to do so for everything? Looking back, especially after now having some administration experience, I see that she was just too darn busy. What a juggling act! I see more and more that I really want to be an instructional leader, but I'm not sure that I want to be bogged down with the managing an administrator needs to do.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Research Paper: A Principal's Role in the Use of ICT <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This paper builds on the same topic as the previous paper. It touches on the many different roles a principal needs to play when using ICT: a visionary, a change agent, a role model, a supporter, a resource provider, and a life-long learner. With all these hats to wear, the roles should come together to empower teachers. When I think of the pressures put on a school administrator, it really floors me. I think I have what it takes to wear all these hats, yet combine that with everything - how can one person do it all? And more importantly, do I really want to move into a role where I have to? After having some experience as a vice-principal, I now understand the juggling act a lot better. I loved working with teachers and students, allowing me to be an instructional leader, but I'm not sure whether all the other managing is something that I am interested in handling on a day-to-day basis. I would love to do more research on how many good teacher leaders there are out in the field who are not pursuing administration, and why this is.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Final Exam Paper <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">We were given the choice between doing a portfolio of reflections from throughout the course, or doing a final exam in the form of an in-class essay where we would need to respond to a scenario using material from class. My initial thought was to do the portfolio, but my procrastinating ways caused me to choose the second option. I wish that I had a copy of my feedback received from Dr. Kirk on my final exam paper. I remember getting great feedback, which made me pretty proud, since we were on a tight timeline to write it. I enjoy assignments that give me the opportunity to reflect back on what is happening at the time in my current position and situation at school. One of my Achilles heel's is high expectations, and with that comes being too critical. This paper allowed me to compare and analyze leadership styles between the case study and my own and others' experiences. This reflective process helped me really take a look at my own beliefs about leadership, and what kind of leader I wanted to be.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Below is a link to an annotated bibliography for a book that I found particularly interesting and helpful from this class:

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Final Grade: A =<span style="color: #c80637; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">01.758 School Administration and the Law = <span style="color: #c80637; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">Regular Session 2010/2011 Term 2 <span style="color: #c80637; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">Dr. Tom Skinner <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">When signing up for this course, a fond memory from grade nine resurfaced. It was during a social studies class that we got to do a mock trial, for something to do with Galileo. I got to be the prosecutor, and I remember winning the case by a landslide. I don't really remember any details about the court, but I definitely remember the pride inside me, thinking that this is definitely something I am good at. The idea of entering law school was always in the back of my head, but obviously not strong enough to pursue it. I was looking forward to the content of this class, as well as another class with Dr. Skinner. But, as soon as class started, I was a little worried about the heavy amount of content and reading. After just taking two classes that were not as researched based, I definitely had to switch gears.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading. Book by R. A. Heifetz and M. Linsky

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Because of the heavy amount of content, I found that the classes, which I was connected to through teleconferencing, were very rushed. I found some of the discussions to be very jargony, and I'm glad that Dr. Skinner had us keep a document entitled "Terms of Reference", which we added terms to each week. I was also very surprised at the number of Canadian law cases that were discussed. My eyes were also opened to the vast spectrum of laws and statutes that were applicable to the education field, and I naively didn't realize just how many cases were brought up against teachers in Canada. To be quite honest, the topics and discussion made me feel very vulnerable as a teacher. I do remember some of the same discussions happening during my undergraduate administration class, but it just didn't seem as real at the time because I hadn't even been in the classroom on my own yet. This is definitely a course that every single teacher and administrator out there could benefit from. I remember later on, after completing this class, being in a couple of administrative situations where I really needed to know my laws and the rights of teachers and students. I am really glad I had a principal with me who did, and thinking, "How am supposed to know some of these things until they happen to me?" I sure learned a lot on the spot while being an administrator, and I feel that this class helped open my eyes to just how much there is to learn.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Below, I have attached links to my assignments for this course, along with a brief reflection piece for some.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Course Outline

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Case Study: Eggertson vs. Alberta Teachers' Association <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I found this case study very difficult to do, mostly because the legal case was difficult to decipher. The case was about a teacher who criticized her child's teacher's professional competence and reputation. Being a mother and teacher myself, I was able to relate to her position. At times, the line between teacher and parent roles can be very blurry. I have come to accept that my teacher hat always has to be on. There are times when I need to be an advocate for my child, but I must always adhere to our Professional Code of Conduct.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Statute Overview: The Employment Standards Code <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Of all the statutes to be commented on, even Dr. Skinner admitted that this one was the dryest and most straight-forward. I did realize though, that as an administrator, you work with various employees who are all covered under The Employment Standards Code, and it was interesting at least to view the standards code from different perspectives other than teachers.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Major Paper: The Legal Implications of Teachers' Ethical Code of Professionalism <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I have always enjoyed reading about and discussing morals and ethics. Where do these come from? Who is to say what is right and what is wrong, especially if no laws have been broken? This interest led me to researching and writing about teachers' ethical code of professionalism. If I were to write about this topic again, I would definitely focus more on social media. I have experienced situations where teachers, students, and parents have been involved bad decisions on Facebook, and would like to look more into the legal implications of it. Cases that at one time may have been considered private activity, have been increasingly made public thanks to the Internet. It is also interesting to me how the notion of morality has evolved over the years, and will continue to do so.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Final Grade: A+

=<span style="color: #07d788; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">01.757 Supervisory Policy and Practice = <span style="color: #07d788; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">Spring 2012 <span style="color: #07d788; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">Dr. Tom Skinner <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Throughout the last five years of taking graduate courses, I've been able to keep most of my assignments and notes somewhat organized. Unfortunately for this course, I have looked high and low and cannot for the life of me find a digital copy of my assignments. I have all my notes and paper copies of many articles, but without the assignments, I am having a hard time even remembering exactly what I wrote about for each assignment. After looking through the class schedule of topics and my notes, much of the discussions came back to me. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">By the time I enrolled in this class, I had a year of administration experience under my belt, so I feel like the timing was perfect. We were going through a lot of change at our school at the time, especially with assessment, and simultaneously I was learning about exercising power, authority, and influence, as well as dealing with conflict. It was also the first time I really deeply thought about the difference between supervision and evaluation, and whose responsibility each of them are. I discovered that I really love to supervise and "coach", as opposed to evaluate. I think my age might have something to do with that though, and I don't think that I would have any issues evaluating a teacher with less experience than myself. Although, I do remember learning that experienced does not mean expert. With that said, I still find it easier to guide and coach someone older and more experienced than myself, than it is to evaluate them and tell them that what they are doing is wrong. I really loved that my class discussions were helping me in my position at school, and my position at school helped me in my course. This was the first time the two jived so well.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">A few comments I wrote down in my notes that stand out to me are, "use conflict as a positive catalyst; good leaders can utilize and cultivate conflict successfully (usually with an agenda), if handled effectively, it can lead to a lot of good things." Conflict is tough. From feedback that I've gotten, I think that I have great communication skills that help me in tough situations. One lesson that I have really learned, and I try to constantly remind myself of it, is that you cannot control the way other people act, only the way you react to them. Other areas of discussion that I really enjoyed learning about and discussing with others, is the career stages and life stages of teachers, teacher growth vs. stagnation, and supervising entry level teachers. It really made me take a look at where I am at in my career and life, and how it's changed over my first ten years of teaching. I also really took a look at where others on my staff were at, and how I need to react differently to different people. I can see myself choosing to research this topic in the future if the opportunity comes up.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Since leaving Creighton Community School, I've done a lot of reflecting on my vice-principal position there. I feel as though, in a way, I gave up too soon. The school was going through a lot of change - new staff, new director, lots of push from the Ministry, and a principal who I didn't feel was on top of her game. I felt pretty secluded in our Northern one-school division, without any other young administrators to talk to. Topics and discussion from this class helped me while I was in the middle of all of it, and it was great to discuss these topics with other administrators. Although it was a stressful couple of years, I am still so grateful for the experience - a learned a tremendous amount, and feel that down the road, I might want to try it again. With that being said, I might come across another position that would give me the opportunity to be an instructional leader amongst teachers, without all the headaches of administration. I'm still not sure which position I should be in that would utilize my strengths the most. Ultimately, I would love to teach undergraduate classes at the university level to education students, but it's tough to do that without a doctorate degree, and without living in a different community. Time will tell!

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Administration really is all about working and collaborating with others. I was on a staff that had a great group of colleagues that became my best friends, and were teachers who shared very similar philosophies. This sure upped my game, kept me current, and kept me loving my job. I was very invested in that school, and I really cared about making it a better place. Now that I am at a new school, I realize that it will take time to create the same connection, and to find my place in this comparatively huge division.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Below, I have attached links to my assignments for this course, along with a brief reflection piece for some.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Course Outline

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Article Review - The Supervisory Process

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Supervisory Model - Critique Analysis <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I'm pretty sure that I analyzed the supervision model that Creighton Community School used for supervising administration, which from what I can remember, was a very basic policy that could use some revamping.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Philosophical Statement <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This paper gave a brief overview of my perspective and philosophy on supervision. I needed to draw on different themes from the course, which I think I chose power, conflict, relationships, communication and professional development.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Action Research <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I really wish I could find this assignment - it was the only one that I got to analyze data using open coding. I am pretty sure I chose researching the key elements of a sound supervision process for new teachers.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Below are links to annotated bibliographies for articles/books that I found particularly interesting and helpful from this class: (click here for a link to all three citations and summaries) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Final Grade: A
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Trust, Empowerment, and Reflection: Essentials of Supervision. Journal article by M. McBride and K. G. Skau
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Getting Out There. A chapter in the book What's Worth Fight For Out There? by A. Hargreaves.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Teacher Evaluation and Professional Development. A chapter in the book Evaluating Teaching (edited by J. H. Stronge) written by S. P. Gordon