Abstract
Continuous reflective practices are a driving agent in allowing educational stakeholders to understand the consistent need for recurring change in P-12 learning settings. In this chapter, school leaders describe how they are supporting teachers and ancillary instructional staff with implementing transformative action-based programs. Four transformative leadership initiative case studies will be described. The authors bring various perspectives of supporting program implementation due to their roles in school districts as an elementary ELL teacher, a teacher coach and math teacher, and a district supervisor of Early Childhood education. The first case study will walk readers through how the infusion of a literacy program was conducted using transformational read-alouds to boost reading engagement and motivation amongst English language learners. Next, a teacher coach and math teacher will share how professional learning communities (PLCs) were utilized to promote collaboration amongst K-5 teachers throughout the implementation of a new core mathematics program. The third case study examines a doctoral student project that provided evidence based professional development on early science inquiry. Finally, a Supervisor of Early Childhood details how teachers were supported with the implementation of a three-tiered instructional intervention designed to aid preschool students with developing kindergarten readiness skills to close an identified transitionary achievement gap between preschool and kindergarten classrooms in the participating school district.
TopIntroduction
Michael Fullan (2008) states that “Leaders have to provide direction, create the conditions for effective peer interaction, and intervene along the way when things are not working as well as they could” (p. 49). This insightful quote sheds a significant amount of light on how leaders must be in a consistent cycle of evaluative practices for the betterment of their organization. With that reflecting may come the need for change, which, as Fullan states, is when the leader should interpose with a plan for forward progress. This type of organizational change can provide experiences for educational stakeholders that can be beneficial for growth, enlightening and offer the expansion of one’s ideologies or mindset in either specific or general situations. Significant changes in an organization can also be difficult to process, comprehend or agree with for those either involved with decision making or those who are on the receiving end of the change’s effects. Organizational change is not only inevitable, but it is also typically needed for sustained growth and desired success (Fullan, 2008). Relating the need for consistent reflection of practices and subsequent correlating change can prepare you, as an educational leader, with the mindset necessary to be a proactive change agent for the betterment of the learners, no matter their age, learning style, or current capabilities.
Modern research and logic suggest that the inclusion of various stakeholders in educational decision-making at schools helps to enact real change. “We can continue to create new initiatives and programs, but if teachers are not a part of the process, we will miss out on our greatest level in educational change,” (Martin, 2018, p 9). This chapter highlights three examples of how the inclusion of different school leaders in the change-process can spark positive change. While the authors work at different capacities, they share a vision of supporting teachers with program implementation. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the purpose, guiding principles, and supportive implementation of four unique academic programs. This chapter also describes teacher participants’ perceptions of support during the implementation process.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Kindergarten: Grade level for children typically of five- to six-years-old and often the entry grade for elementary school settings; Student participation is not mandated for parents in the state of New Jersey.
Science: As a term is used to label both a “domain knowledge” (plants, animals, chemical processes) and the “actions that produce that knowledge” (observing, measuring, predicting) as scientific ( Zimmerman, 2000 ).
School Culture: Perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and values of students, teachers, staff, and administrators that influence customs, traditions, and social expectations within a school building.
Conceptual Knowledge: Understanding of concepts, principles, theories, classification, and the relationship between and among them. Also referred to as creating mental models.
Mathematics Anxiety: Feelings of hopelessness, fear, and tension towards mathematics, especially when asked to problem-solve and perform calculations. This feeling is so intense, it interferes with learning, concentration, and recall.
School Readiness: A multi-dimensional construct that includes cognitive skills, such as oral language, social and behavior skills, and self-regulation skills (Landry, Zucker, Williams, Merz, Guttentag, & Taylor, 2016 AU69: The in-text citation "Landry, Zucker, Williams, Merz, Guttentag, & Taylor, 2016" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Preschool: School program for three- to five-year-old students before entering kindergarten; Student participation is not mandated for parents in the state of New Jersey.
WIDA ACCESS Test: An annual assessment used to monitor students’ growth in learning academic English (ACCESS).
Foundational Skills: Basic skill areas in the domains of oral language, phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, and mathematics that have been shown to be predictive of school readiness and sustained academic progression (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).
Literacy Engagement: Acknowledges several perspectives related to reading-motivational dispositions, cognitive strategies, conceptual understandings, and social discourse (Guthrie, 2004 AU68: The in-text citation "Guthrie, 2004" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. )
Benchmark: Recurring assessments that are given throughout a designated time frame to monitor baseline data and student growth and retention of content or concepts.
Inquiry: Actions that produce knowledge. Examples: observing, measuring, predicting, inferring, and questioning ( Zimmerman, 2000 ).
Program Implementation: How well a proposed program or intervention is put into practice and is fundamental to establishing the internal, external, construct, and statistical conclusion validity of outcome evaluations ( Durlak, 1998 , p. 5).
Early Childhood: The age-range from birth to eight-years-old, and corresponding grade-levels of preschool to third grade, when the most significant development occurs.
Professional Learning Communities: Working groups of educators that collaborate to develop instructional strategies and skills and analyze data to improve student achievement.