Individual Reflection Log #3: Culture and Change

From Educon 2.1 taken by the author

Culture: What impact does the creation of a positive school culture have on school reform?

I believe that the creation of a positive school culture plays a crucial role in any school reform effort. Prior to beginning a reform effort, there needs to be a positive cultural foundation in place, or the reform effort will crumble. These "pillars" of positive criteria include a focus on learning for staff and students, a trusting environment, shared decision making, a belief that all can learn, respect and caring for all, physical space that all can take pride in and stories, rituals and celebrations that reinforce the values of the community. By having a sense of identity, the goals set forth in the reform effort can be aligned to the mission and vision of the organization. If there is a negative culture to begin with, there will be little support for the reform when implementation dips occur. It is incumbent upon educational leaders to focus first on developing a positive culture prior to implementing a reform effort. Once the organization has the positive components in place as a foundation, real reform building can begin.

Deal, Terrance E. and Peterson, Kent D. (1999). Shaping School Culture: The

Heart of Leadership. Jossey-Bass, Inc. San Francisco.

Change: Based on your understanding of the Marzano reading, which of the 21 responsibilities and day-to-day management of a school are most necessary for second-order change? How does the complexity of second order change demand a very thoughtful and flexible administrator?

Over the past two years, I have had the opportunity to lead a pilot of 1:1 Laptop Learning in my district. This represented a second order change, as teachers were working to alter their pedagogy to a more student centered approach, while maintaining rigorous academic standards. Due to issues related to network infrastructure, limited shared decision making, and the lack of student financial buy in, it was impossible to determine the effectiveness in meeting the goals set forth. It was with great practical interest then that I read the chapter on the two types of change outlined in School Leadership That Works: From Research to Results. Marzanno, Waters and McNulty (2005) identified seven of the 21 leadership responsibilities as being related to second order change:

• Knowledge of the Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
• Optimizer
• Intellectual Stimulation
• Change Agent
• Monitoring and Evaluating
• Flexibility
• Ideas and Beliefs

Of these seven, I believe the one that plays the most important role is knowledge of curriculum, instruction and assessment. By being knowledgeable in curriculum, the leader will understand the impact that the change on each curricular area so that they can understand the impact of the change on teachers in those areas and be prepared to offer guidance. By being knowledgeable of instructional pedagogy, the leader will be able to assist staff with any pedagogical changes that may result from the reform. By being knowledgeable of assessment techniques and requirements, the leader will be able to offer guidance in how the innovation impacts formative and summative assessment and provide strategies for staff to best implement the change to have the greatest impact on student learning.

Marzano, R., Waters, T. and McNulty, B. (2005) School Leadership That Works: From Research To Results. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development