Leadership and Ethics D016

Leadership and Ethics D016 Mission Statement - ANS A short sentence that defines the school's goals, philosophies, and purpose. The mission of a school is a sentence that describes the ultimate goal and purpose for the school. What is the mission statement at your school? Vision - ANS A description of what the school would like to achieve or accomplish in the future. A vision statement is a description of what the school wants to be in the future. The intent of defining a vision is to serve as a guide when making decisions. Is the vision at your school motivating and attainable? Core Values - ANS Serve as a basis for traits and descriptions of how individuals should act and what to base their decisions on. The core values of a school define the traits of members of the school community, which guide decision-making, strategic planning, and peer interaction. Core values can be terms such as integrity, respect, responsible stewardship, and trust. As a future school leader, what are some core values that are most important to you? How can school leaders expand their sphere of influence in the school setting? - ANS In order to expand their sphere of influence, the principal must not only support endeavors and policies that align with the school mission and vision; they must also ensure that their actions and behaviors represent the core values identified in the mission and vision. What must a school leader do prior to making changes that will affect the school's culture? - ANS Assess the current culture of the school.. An audit can inform leaders of the current culture of the school so that positive changes can be planned. How can a principal help ensure faculty and staff support the school vision? - ANS By articulating the knowledge and skills needed for each role in the school to achieve the vision. Each member of the school community should know how to align behaviors and professional decisions to the vision of the school. Conversational Leadership Strategy - ANS ne strategy that leaders use build and maintain a school community based on transparency, trust, and inclusion. Goals - ANS Clear, specific goals can help ensure that rational choices are made. Goals that are ambiguous do not clearly guide decisions and do not help determine specific tasks to be accomplished. Formalization can increase positive or negative feelings that team members have toward each other. - ANS Formalization, or the development of rules, helps to standardize performance. This can promote rational decision-making that is based on facts, which can actually reduce feelings team members have toward each other. The exception principle guides supervisors to deal with situations that are not covered in rules. - ANS There will always be situations that arise that do not fit under an existing rule or regulation. According to the exception principle, supervisors must deal with these situations as they come up. When considering the school as an open system, the boundaries of this system are less clear. T or F - ANS True. The school system, being an open system, does not have well-defined boundaries. When considering the external factors (such as parents, service projects, and programs), it must be determined if these factors are within the system's boundaries. What are some important features of schools that define them as a social system? - ANS Schools interact with an external environment. Although not a part of the social system definition of two or more individuals working together in a coordinated way to meet a goal, schools also interact with stakeholders in the community to meet common goals. Internal feedback - ANS internal feedback loop informs individuals how their behavior is viewed, whereas. Internal feedback loops provide feedback, both from leadership and informal peer groups, on an individual's performance. External Feedback - ANS loops indirectly evaluate individuals.. External feedback loops examine the behavior of a school based on community expectations, group norms, and organizational goals that do not directly influence individual needs. A school remains open to the community along with state and federal influences. Laissez-faire - ANS This is an aspect of the leadership style called laissez-faire. It does not mean the leader is lazy; it means that the leader hands over, or delegates, the powers of decision-making and action planning to the followers, while remaining responsible for the outcomes. Remember, there is a balance in leadership. This unit will provide you with the knowledge to better understand situations you may encounter as a school leader and when each leadership characteristic is necessary. Autocratic Leadership - ANS When decisions are made by the leader without input from or collaboration with followers, this is an aspect of autocratic leadership. Sometimes this leadership style is necessary, even though it is often not well received. Pay particular attention to when this leadership style applies to a specific situation; it is important to know when this leadership style is beneficial before taking this approach. This will help to avoid unintended negative impacts on staff. Build relationships - ANS This is one of the top responsibilities of a leader that can greatly influence student achievement. The leader is responsible for building and maintaining relationships among students, staff, teachers, parents, and the community. Adapt and be flexible - ANS This is one of the top responsibilities of a leader that can greatly influence student achievement. A leader needs to be able to adapt his or her behavior to meet the needs of a situation. Be visible and provide outreach - ANS One responsibility of a leader is to effectively interact with teachers, staff, and students on a daily basis. As a part of being visible, it is the school leader's responsibility to represent and speak on behalf of the school to all stakeholders. Provide order and resources - ANS It is the responsibility of a leader to create the routine and standard operating procedures of the school, in addition to ensuring teachers and staff are provided with the resources necessary to serve students. Participative Leadership - ANS Participative leadership behavior focuses on supervision of the staff as a group. The leader encourages staff participation in decision-making, cooperation, and resolving conflict. By calling the staff together to come up with a plan to complete the professional development, she is encouraging participation and enabling her staff to be a part of the decision-making process. Task-oriented behavior - ANS Task-oriented behavior, on the other hand, focuses on the staff, work standards, organized tasks, the processes to complete tasks, and the close supervision of staff. Yes, Ms. Williams addressed the tasks that need to be completed for the professional development requirement to be met; however, she did not dictate the tasks or process to the staff to complete the tasks Relationship-oriented behavior - ANS Relationship-oriented behavior focuses on the development of interpersonal relationships involving the personal needs, the professional development, and the type of relationship that would motivate the staff. Ms. Williams recognizes that her staff all have different needs, but she took a different approach to solve the problem. Vroom-Yetton Normative Decision Model - ANS According to the Vroom-Yetton Normative Decision Model, when stakeholders are involved in the process, they will collectively make better decisions; they will be more committed to supporting and implementing the decision. Rational System - ANS Scientific management is another name for Frederick Taylor's rational system approach. Time and motion studies are aspects of Frederick Taylor's rational system approach. Efficiency is a quality of the rational system approach. Natural System - ANS Human relations is an aspect of the natural system approach. Worker morale is a concern of a natural system approach. Creative tension is an aspect of the natural system approach. According to the Hawthorne studies, which factor affects production rate in the workplace? - ANS Social factors affected worker productivity in the studies. Which statement describes Marzano's study from which the 21 leadership responsibilities were developed? - ANS The study is based on a synthesis of multiple school leadership studies from various researchers. The primary research methodology for the 21 leadership responsibilities was meta-analysis, using a synthesis of 69 studies of school leadership conducted by other researchers. Optimizer - ANS A school is implementing a new teaming strategy. At the rollout meeting, the principal presented the staff with a data-review presentation highlighting the need and positive results achieved elsewhere using the strategy. She met with internal stakeholders whose strengths would help with implementing the new program. She consistently remained positive about the change and the staff's abilities to make it work for students. The principal delivered relevant data to support initiatives and expressed a positive attitude toward the changes in an effort to lead the change. These are traits of an optimizer. Culture - ANS A school principal leads every staff meeting with a slideshow titled "Tomorrow's Successes Today." The slideshow displays photos of school community members engaged in activities that promote student learning and staff and student success. She then identifies how these activities are consistent with and supporting of the future vision of the school. The principal promotes a common goal among staff and a shared vision of the school's future. These are ways of demonstrating the leadership responsibility of culture. Visibility - ANS The principal makes every effort to attend the home sporting events, concerts, plays, and club activities. In these venues, the principal speaks informally to students, parents, and community members. The principal also spends a portion of every day in the hallways and classrooms, speaking to students and addressing them by name, and asking staff members if they need any support or have any successes to share. The principal makes frequent contact with all stakeholders, both internal and external. These are characteristics of visibility. Change Management - ANS There is much that is involved in change management. Did you consider the following?: A formal change management process The effective use of communication Roles of essential staff involvement Strategies to motivate staff Theories of change management For communication to have the greatest impact, which two components must be considered? - ANS Message content and feelings of the sender. It is crucial for educational leaders to be aware that the most impactful messages are communicated when both the content of the message as well as the feelings of the sender are acknowledged. Active listening - ANS is hearing—with understanding—the intended ideas, information, and suggestions of others. The basic elements of communication (including the sender, the receiver, and feedback) are all present. This is a key communication skill that promotes understanding among people. Active listeners attend to nonverbal, symbolic, and verbal messages. The challenge is to listen despite your own assumptions, biases, judgments, and emotions and then to ask suitable questions to get more information. Use the following techniques: Paraphrasing - ANS Paraphrasing is restating the content of a message in your own words. Typically, it does not include feelings. This gives the speaker an opportunity to reflect on what is being communicated and to refine it if necessary. When the receiver gets it right, the sender will affirm in some way that they feel understood. When you paraphrase what you have heard into your own words, you exhibit your present understanding and thus enable the sender to address any clarification to the specific understanding or misunderstanding you have revealed. Clarifying - ANS Clarifying is reflecting on the broader context of what you understand the speaker to be saying and often comes in the form of a question. You can request that the sender clarify by asking, "What do you mean by this?" This gives the speaker an opportunity to fill in any missing details to the interaction. The desired outcome is a clear understanding of the issue or issues chosen for attention. Clarifying implies checking your understanding of a message by asking to hear it again or by asking for more information and details. In clarifying, the receiver helps describe the communication of the speaker. This encourages both to consider the meaning and impact of words or actions. The receiver is reflecting back the intent of the verbal or nonverbal (or both) cues of the speaker. Use clarifying when you want to understand what is being communicated in context. Probing - ANS Probing is a subset of clarifying. Probing is used to prompt a speaker to give more information or to explore a situation that is not clear to the listener. It creates a request to become more specific in situations that are often of an important, sensitive, or problematic nature. Perception Checking - ANS A perception check occurs when the listener states what he or she perceives the speaker to be experiencing. A good perception check conveys a desire to understand the other person's feelings. You can make a statement about the speaker's feelings and ask how the speaker feels about the situation. A perception check is a way of verifying the accuracy of your interpretations. It includes a description of the information you received, your possible interpretation, and a request for confirmation. You may find that using it in non-class relationships is also useful. Your perception of another person's feelings can result more from what you are feeling, are afraid of, or are wishing for than from the other person's words, tone, gestures, facial expression, etc. If people feel guilty, they may perceive others as angry or accusatory. Inferences about other people's feelings can be, and often are, inaccurate. Thus, it is important to check them for good, interpersonal communication. Perception checking responses aim to accomplish the following: Convey that you want to understand the other individual as a person and to understand that individual's feelings Help avoid actions that are based on false assumptions of what the other was experiencing Help people be more open to what you have to say Cautions - ANS Regardless of which technique you choose to use, you will need to listen not only for the words but also for the feelings behind them. To truly comprehend the message a person is sending, you must try to understand the other person's frame of reference, even if you do not agree with it. Using this strategy is an important first step in creating understanding with others Barrier of words - ANS A building principal is attending an IEP meeting for a student newly identified for special education services. The student's parents are eager to attend the meeting to support their child, but they had concerns about the meeting after reading the documents that were sent home in advance because of all of the technical language. Educational documents, especially those driven by legal mandates, have a great amount of vocabulary unique to the field and use a variety of acronyms to abbreviate common concepts. Leaders must remain aware of this language and be sure to parents fully understand what is being shared. Background barrier - ANS Mary is the building principal of a public high school with a broad range of socioeconomic diversity. She is very excited about a new teacher joining her staff this year. He has extensive teaching experience, but all have been in private education settings with specific religious affiliations. An individual's' experiences, both personal and professional, influence the lens through which they hear and interpret information. While this teacher has pedagogical experience, he may require additional support when looking considering issues unique to the organization such as diversity. Physical barrier - ANS The director of EL services is meeting with a family who is new to the school district. The children have some working understanding of English; however, the parents only speak and understand French. Physical barriers can arise in many areas of education, whether it be physical distance and the reliance on electronic communication or language barriers that exist as a result from physical impairment or primary language differences. Diagonal Communication - ANS The curriculum supervisor updates the director of pupil services with progress on student portfolios for college and career standards. The curriculum supervisor is communicating across departments as well as "up" a level within the structure of the organization. Upward communication - ANS Some teachers share their struggles with meeting the needs of the range of student abilities with the curriculum supervisor. In this scenario, the teachers are reporting "up" to a supervisor a concern around the curriculum implementation in their classrooms. Horizontal communication - ANS Administrators from the middle school comprise a team that meets biweekly to update each other on progress with projects and individual areas of focus. Several administrators who work at the same level within the organization come together to discuss topics specific to that level and therefore exemplify horizontal communication. Downward Communication - ANS The superintendent announces the exploration of full-day kindergarten programming at a district administration meeting. The information is being presented by the head of the organization to administrators who work for him to inform them regarding exploration of new programs. Connectors - ANS Connectors have mastered the social component of working with colleagues and are important to educational leaders in bringing people together around a common cause. These individuals do not focus on problem-solving. Salesperson - ANS Salespeople have the ability to influence the direction of a task or project. They have high energy and are generally positive, but they do not emphasize collaboration. Mavens - ANS Mavens work well with others and are able to support them in solving problems individually or those seen on an organizational level. They understand the importance of collaboration. an individual focused on collaboration and problem-solving who is willing to work with and support colleagues. Reflective Communication style - ANS Focus on relationships and communicate in a non-offensive manner. Understand listening as a key component of the communication process. Reflective communicators avoid conflict. Relationships are important to them, and they choose words carefully so as to not offend others. Noble Communication Style - ANS Focus is on getting directly to the point—the fewer words, the better. Noble communicators state specifically what is on their minds. Minimal elaboration is employed, and they speak succinctly and directly. Socratic - ANS Details and debate are necessary to reach appropriate conclusions. The opportunity to argue a point and think through issues is valued. Socratic communicators need the opportunity to talk through topics, gather as many details as possible, and engage in debates prior to reaching a conclusion. First-order change - ANS A teacher and principal agree that the teacher's classroom management system needs work. The teacher implements a new system of rules and consequences and sees immediate improvement. This is an example of a change that is not a shift in culture but it makes modifications to something that is already in place. A high school adopts new science textbooks with updated content. This is an example of first-order change that changes what is already in place but does not create a new way of thinking. Second-order change - ANS A principal saw that seventh-grade math competency was not where it needed to be. The principal facilitated change by having teachers create professional learning communities used to reflect on their practice and begin to make changes in their instructional practices. This change creates a new paradigm and shift in culture, making it a second-order change. A school moves to nongraded classrooms instead of assigning students letter grades. This change would require a new way of thinking about things and would require new learning. It is an example of second-order change. Autocratic Decisions - ANS A risk from this type of change leadership is leaving teachers feeling inadequate and unprepared. When an autocratic approach is used, the leader makes the decisions and hands them down to teachers. This can lead to feelings of inadequacy and of being unprepared, since teachers have no input on the process and may not have knowledge that change is coming. Participatory decision making - ANS Using this approach allows all interested individuals the opportunity to assist in the change process. Leaders who use this approach are less likely to get resistance from stakeholders when changes are implemented. A leader who uses a participatory approach allows interested stakeholders to assist, which helps create feelings of value, ownership, and responsibility. Research has shown that leaders who follow a participatory change process see less resistance. When stakeholders have ownership in the change and have the opportunity to participate in it, there is less resistance. 8 elements of action for a change leader - ANS The eight elements: Understand the nature of change. Make the case and create urgency. Begin with a vision for change and communicate it. Create coherence. Understand how change affects others. Spread success. Incorporate change into the school culture. Focus on personal leadership. Select the benefits of using the appreciative leadership approach as a K-12 leader. - ANS Appreciative leadership supports innovation by allowing staff to focus on and generate solutions. Using appreciative leadership prevents schools from focusing on their past failures. Appreciative leadership provides a way for staff to be part of a democratic leadership process. Appreciative leaders serve as catalysts of change and models of looking at an organization's strengths. This strategy for change allows stakeholders to focus on the positive instead of falling into a cycle of getting stuck on the negatives or failures. Once strengths are identified, stakeholders can then generate innovative solutions. Staff members are involved throughout the process as they are a part of the process. This is a different approach than a standard problem-focused method in which change is instigated by identifying problems rather than strengths. School community - ANS Successful implementation of this element indicates that, teachers, parents, and the business community are involved in the school and in decision-making. An essential element of a shared decision-making process is the involvement of various stakeholder groups, enhancing the overall community culture within the school. School goals - ANS This element involves setting specific parameters to be met that are clear and created in a team environment. The collaboration and sharing of goals provides a common focus that allows the organization to work together for a specific purpose. This process supports a positive school culture. Comparative achievement - ANS This form of benchmarking helps school leaders understand how the organization compares to other similar organizations. Having an understanding of how an organization's performance compares to similar organizations can support improvement, goal setting, and determining needs Personal Values - ANS Below is a sample of possible values and their connection to educational leadership. The key component is a logical connection between the values you choose and the role of an educational leader. Common values might include, but are not limited to, honesty, transparency, flexibility, collaboration, perseverance, and respect for diversity. Critical connections for future educational leaders should tie in to a willingness to work as a team in a shared model of leadership. Transparency and honesty build trust, so members of the organization understand why decisions are made and how they connect to the overall mission and vision. Flexibility as change is a constant in education through technology evolutions and new learning theories to support required inclusive environments. The essence of perseverance is understanding that educational leadership is about being able to overcome challenges and problems that are unique to each individual student. Analysis - ANS Educational leaders must incorporate ethical as a way of thinking in order to provide a framework for decision-making. Comparing standards examples - ANS When comparing the Utah standards with the Pennsylvania standards for leadership, two common themes are the use of data and establishing a vision. Data is a critical tool for educational leaders to analyze areas of strength and need, as well as to inform decision-making. It is crucial for educational leaders to have a sense of the role of various forms of data, both formal and informal, in determining the current state of the organization. This data analysis can provide the foundation with information for the future vision and mission of the organization. This vision and mission provides a common direction and purpose for the staff. Decisions based on need - ANS Making a decision based on an identified need that is supported by data from achievement results is justified. The principal focused on professional responsibility rather than personal relationships. Accusation of staff member - ANS When an accusation is made regarding a staff member, an investigation needs to occur that involves interviewing witnesses and gathering information. An informal conversation outside of the scope of the investigation is inappropriate. The principal cannot ignore a potential danger to the child and must pursue it further even if it is not convenient. Student attendance - ANS Research supports that student attendance is paramount to maximize learning opportunities. While ADA does require public buildings to comply with service dog requirements, an emotional support dog does not fit the specifications as it does not provide a specific service to the student. The safety and well-being of all the students and staff with regards to allergies must also be considered. LEAD - ANS leveraging, engaging, aligning, development Leverage - ANS Using strategies to lift up the organization to achieve a task or goal that is otherwise seemingly impossible. Leverage is using the levers of engagement, alignment, and development to lift up the organization to achieve what is seemingly impossible Engage - ANS The creation of a psychological contract between educational leaders and teachers and staff (an unspoken contract to make the relationship work as a means to get the job done). Engaging employees can be done by creating a psychological contract between the leader and the employees. This is an understanding and an agreement on what the school will provide, what the leader will provide, and what the employee will provide. This helps to make the relationship work and engage employees. Align - ANS An understanding of teacher and staff activities and goals as they are related to the school's mission, vision, and values. Teachers and staff are in alignment when they fully understand the relationship between their activities and goals as they align with the mission, vision, and values (primary goals and focus) of the school and coworkers. Develop - ANS Encouraging all teachers and staff to work toward their goals and meet their full potential. As a leader, you are accountable for developing your teachers and staff. You need to be able to recognize the potential of each member of your team so that you are effectively able to coach and mentor them.