Benefits Of Overarching SMART Goals

While the individual teaching styles of the team were very different, it became apparent that commonality existed in terms of supporting the growth of our students. After team collaboration, we adopted the following vision statement: “We will provide a classroom climate that fosters thoughtful and respectful consideration of alternative viewpoints and ideas, personal ownership of learning, and individual construction of personally meaningful knowledge.”

Teacher Collaboration measures the degree to which teachers engage in constructive dialogue that furthers the educational vision of the school.

Making a school successful takes more than individual effort, it takes teamwork. Individuals need to work together towards shared goals and commitments focusing on meeting the academic and social needs of all pupils in the school.

After reviewing the fourth grade DDM data, it was evident that our students struggle with close reading and comprehending texts on a deeper level. They were able to answer a majority of comprehension questions that were stated in the text, however, 89% of students scored 60% or below on inferential and higher order thinking questions. It is because of this data that I propose we implement literature circles into our reading routine. In literature circles, small groups of students gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth. The discussion is guided by student 's ' response to what they have read. You may hear talk about events and characters in the book, the author 's craft, or personal experiences related to the story. These types of groupings allow for authentic conversations that help deepen a student 's understanding of a text. It also requires students to work within groups and as teams, which is emphasized in our PBIS curriculum. I believe that incorporating literature circles will allow students to work collaboratively in the area of reading while strengthening their comprehension skills.

In the world of education, many educators work together, not only for the benefit of student achievement, but to develop and spread new ideas to each other. When one speaks of collaboration in education, it simply means being in agreement. Collaboration is important and must be taken seriously by both cooperating parties because they are working together to create a new shared vision. While collaborating communication plays a major role because both parties must share in agreement of certain classroom issues, behavioral strategies, and instructional methods that will be going forth.

This body of work was jointly assigned to my fellow students and I as a requirement for our Leadership with a Vision for Changing School Culture in a Changing Society class. Much to our chagrin, each of us, after five weeks of ever changing syllabi, were tasked with completing a component of a school improvement plan. Schentel Jones completed the “Assessment of the current state of school culture” component. Ronald Berry completed the “Supervise the instructional and leadership capacity of school staff” component. Diamond Elam completed the “Appropriate technologies to support teaching and learning” component. I completed the “Create and evaluate the curricular and instructional school program” component. Each of us provided input and feedback to each other to make our individual components a success and part of an interconnected improvement plan.

The intent is to examine how a school community can collectively work towards common goals and the essential leadership features required for nurturing a collaborative culture. To answer this question, the author used three of the seven Professional Practice Competencies for School Leaders in Alberta (PPCSLA) as a lens to guide the reflection on the benefits and challenges of nurturing professional collaboration (Alberta Education, 2009). The author compares and contrasts the benefits and limitations of collaboration against its theoretical framework that emerged from a review of the

3. Foster a culture of collaboration among teachers through reflective dialogue and by encouraging personal commitment to create a collective end.

Unlike learning organizations, the five dimensions of a professional learning community include supportive and shared leadership as well as supportive conditions. These two dimensions have to do with the support of administrators on school improvement and empowered their teaching staff to help make decisions to help benefit the schools goal and mission. In such a model, administrators, along with teachers, question, investigate, and seek solutions for school improvement (Morrissey, 2000). Teachers appreciate being considered in the decision making that are school based. Teachers want their voices to be heard and considered. This is awfully important when team learning and a sense of community is being created in the school environment. A good example would be the climate control surveys that are administered once a year on a campus. Teachers have the ability to express how they feel the climate is on their campus. During this time, teachers can bring up areas of improvement. With the gathered information, administrators or central office personnel can develop of strategies to

Creating a detailed plan explaining where I am and where I want to get , as well as how much time I have. Do I have months, weeks or yeas. Creating realistic steps to achieving my goal can be one of the biggest steps for me to achieve the goal I want. Breaking it down could also make it easier to accomplish my personal goals through money goals.

Learning communities share collective responsibility for the learning of all students within the school or school system by bringing together the entire education community, including members of the education workforce -- teachers, support staff, school system staff, and administrators -- as well as families, policy makers, and other stakeholders, to increase effective teaching in every classroom. Within learning communities, peer accountability rather than formal or administrative

As seen above it is very important to establish a theme as a leader. While reading how to “Envision the Future” according to Kouzes and Posner (2012), “Every leader needs a theme, something on which he or she can structure the rest of their performance” (p. 106). The recurring theme and prominent message I want embedded in the culture of my school is a “Collaborative School Culture”. A culture that is collaborative is created through modifying and changing the behaviors as well as attitudes of the school community through various initiatives that will sustain new behaviors. These new behaviors will then become part of the culture. For example, Gruenert and Whitaker (2015), described how a principal can ask teachers to change and model certain

The first learning outcome is leadership and collaboration. The educators establish leadership by seeking leadership roles and other opportunities to take responsibility for student learning. Mr. Cornutt and Mrs. Morgan work with other educators in their school systems to make sure other educators are teaching the same information when covering similar topics. Both of the teachers will let their colleagues review some assessments to confer that the students are giving accurate statements and answers. Involvement with parents was also evident whether it was an email service or parent notes explaining the progress of the students. Collaboration with colleagues and having strong leadership in a classroom is imperative in education.

In order to effect change within my school and transform it from a culture of isolation to a culture of collaboration, first I would ensure that all stakeholders are professionally on one accord (shared values and goals). I can assure that we are on one accord by creating a school mission, a shared vision, collective commitments and goals. The mission is why an organization exists, the shared vision is what the organization hopes to become, the collective commitments (values) are public declarations of what we will do to achieve our vision and goals (monitor progress). These shared values, goals and moral purpose will be the foundation of all decisions made within the school building.

across all the classrooms was the rapport that has been developed in each classroom between not only the teacher and students but the students with each other. It was evident that students are comfortable working in groups and helping each other learn. Students spoke to each other in respectful ways and offered help to each other. The teachers communicated with students in positive and respectful ways that encouraged students’ participation. Another pattern I noticed was that the students were involved in their own learning. There were not teachers giving lectures at the front of the room and students just sitting in desks taking it in. The teachers of this school understand the value of letting the students explore, create, and discover for themselves. There was evidence in each room that the students were taking an active part in their own learning through small group work, independent work, discussion, creating things and using technology. These walk-throughs gave me a view of the school that this is a positive learning environment where students’ best interest is at the forefront.