On the other survey my leadership qualities turned out to be ESTJ.  I couldn't agree more.  However, I believe I can be both an introvert and extravert depending on the situation.  I have always been a results base type of person.  I like to keep things structured as myself and those I work with continue to work with a purpose.  I really like how this survey gave us tips on how to work well with other leadership types in a PLC situation. 

Overall, it was another enjoyable weekend with the Cohort.  Besides the 40 minutes at Buffalo Wild Wings I can never get back, I enjoyed every minute. 

Understanding the type of leader one is, directly effects the interactions and conversations they will have on a daily basis.  In EDU 270 and 271 leadership styles have been depicted from two different self survey activities.  Feedback from both has been insightful, but also aligned closely to what I believe to be true of the characteristics of my own personality.  I confirmed that I am a persuader and stabilizer mixed in with being an extravert, sensing, feeling and perceptive person.  The general statement of this style is spot on as I enjoy friendly fun situations that work with a group for the good of all and I am always willing to help anyone in their time of need.  Easy going is a best fit for my ability to adapt to un-for seen circumstances and situations.  Roll with the punches, re-set the sails and move on.

Having knowledge of other leadership styles and best practice methods for interacting with them will be vital for having the most impactful leadership of a group.

Once again class was great.  I enjoy hearing from others and their thoughts challenge my own thinking.

I was an ISFJ (after I read the outcome for my original ISTJ and saw that the “Thinker” part of it just didn't fit me as well as the “Feeling” aspect, and so since I was already close between the two I reexamined a couple of the rating scale items and went with ISFJ).  This profile described me pretty well with some of the large similarities between myself and the profile being working behind the scenes on practical details, using data to set priorities and help others understand how data driven decisions impact people, and listening well and needing to be encouraged for my opinion.  I think that this is the way that many of my PLC team members are as well. We work together very productively, with the exception of our Special Education Instructional Coach who is much different than us and often does not mesh with our need to see a logical explanation for tasks and working toward an outcome based on the valuable data that we collect.  I think that we should try to be more understanding of her and her leadership style so that our PLC could function more cohesively.  Maybe it would be helpful for all of us to complete this profile so that we could talk about what we each need as a PLC team member to gain the most from our collaboration. 

Another big idea I learned from the first weekend, is that if a student throws up on you on your first day as a Principal, make sure you check him for alcholo.

Moving into this class I found that I was the profile -ENFP-(Extrovert, Intuition, Feeling, Perceiving). Ironically (or possibly not) it is still stressed that I don't do well with detailed activities. I find this rather comical, as I tend to leave this type of work for others. Although, as a working professional (especially one that strives to be the best I can) I tend to overwork in order to compensate for my faults. I am definitely a "big ideas" type of person that strives to see the best not only in my self, but others. This particular survey had many more details regarding work style, which as you may know…I basically overlooked. :)

Overall, the results I received were not surprising to me. While I may change my personality to suite the environment, I tend to understand my strengths and weaknesses. I can use this information when thinking about the relationships that I have with others on my teams. As for me, I will continue to use information like this to improve my weaknesses and become a better person.

I truly enjoy growing as a person and these classes are helping me to do that. I find myself reflecting more and reacting less.

show caring and empathy for people.  They see the “good” in everyone and spend time developing relationships with others.  I definitely see this in myself and believe it is a part of who I am.  People with this profile also wants to be liked personally and tends to be loyal, dependable, and excellent team members.  I also tend to see these qualities in myself.  Some downsides to this profile is that they fear of hurting others feelings, worry too much about what others think, and wait too long to make a decision.  This is something that I sometimes struggle with and is something that I need to work on.  In a leadership position I can not worry about being liked when I have to make tough decisions.  I will also need to communicate directly to the point when dealing with conflict, making demands or disciplining.  I also should make sure I concentrate on tasks and less on people problems to help meeting timelines and objectives. 

After reading about the ESTJ profile, I believe this is also myself as I am a HUGE believer in the "focus on facts and reality while at the same time drawing on past experience and traditions to avoid mistakes" - it's the "perfectionist" in me. I often times find myself choking feelings down to think more logically about the emotion and forward movement. I am go-getter, not someone who gets bogged down by pleasing others first. Now, don't get me wrong... I recall my leadership quote from our first class of EDL271 being along the lines of the importance of how you make other people feel. This still holds true, as I believe in making everyone feel good and heard, but I like the balance between the two. I find myself balancing thought (facts/mistakes made) and feelings(others thoughts/my beliefs) regularly to be proactive and less reactive, which leads me to the emotional intelligence survey.

I, by NO means, want to call myself an emotional genius given the fact that I did score high or mostly high in every area of the survey. I believe that is in part due to my ability to balance thoughts and feelings so well. And through reflection of myself on the PLC leadership profile, mentoring two new teachers, and my personal life, I do find myself constantly feeling for others. At the same time, I am an action-oriented person as well. I'm a problem-solver, yet I feel so deeply about how and what other people go through. I am extremely empathetic and have an extremely positive attitude on life and my job. And that is why I do agree and feel strongly about the survey and profile completed thus far in the program. I feel as though I know myself well, but it feels good to see it on paper. The most powerful part too, has been the tips on how to work with people unlike myself. I would enjoy completing the PLC profile with my PLC team at work and discuss how to most effectively work, communicate, and move our team along!!

I was very excited to do the Emotional Intelligence Inventory again, to see how much I had grown/evolved over the years based on experiences. This year I rated as ISFP. Although I still rated in some of the same in most of the areas, I did see growth and change. My Introversion score was not as dominant as it once was, now I had a 5-3 score. I was also quite surprised to see that I have become a strong Sensing over Intuition , and for many of the Sensing items I can pinpoint the life experiences that created the change.

All in all, I find Emotional Intelligence tools to be great self reflection tools. Hopefully I will find a reason in another 5-10 yrs to reflect on changes I've made based on this inventory or how experiences have changed my perspective.

If anyone is interested in learning more about the Leadership Through People Skills (LTPS) approach to working with different personalities, here is the website: http://www.q4solutions.com/workshops

Reading the Guskey article outlining a model for the process of teacher change was very interesting and reflective as I begin to think of myself in a leadership role and possibly someday leading professional development.  I have personally had the opportunity to participate in professional development as an educator, and I believe this experience will serve me well as I begin to think about things that will be important to be effective in delivering professional development.  As I read through there were a few points Guskey brought up that really resonated with me.

The first was that “change in teachers’ beliefs and attitudes is primarily a result, rather than a cause, of change in the learning outcomes of students.”  This was not what I had selected when we voted in class, but as I reflect it is very logical.  If you encourage teachers to try new things, the teachers realize that there was an increase in student achievement, the results will help to change their beliefs and attitudes. 

The next take away that I noted as I read through the article was that “change is a gradual and difficult process for teachers.”  Time in the classroom with students is precious, and you cannot expect teachers to abandon practices that they have found to be effective for many years.  If you expect teachers to make changes in the classroom with their students, they have to be comfortable with the changes and confident with implementing the new strategy. 

The third takeaway I marked in the article was “Follow-up procedures incorporating coaching or time for collegial sharing may seem simplistic, particularly in light of the complex nature of the change process.  Still, as the model suggest, careful attention to these types of support appears crucial in facilitating change.”  I have participated in various forms of professional development as an educator, and I can honestly say one of the biggest frustrations teachers have with professional development is time.  Good teachers spend a great deal of time outside of the “work day” grading and lesson planning due to demands that are placed on them in a typical school day.  In order to get the best results out of professional development you must provide adequate time for teachers to plan and implement any new strategies, curriculum, etc. that you are asking them to do.

The last takeaway I will note on is the fact that educational leaders need to have the mindset that they are working with teachers rather than working on teachers.  Leaders should bring a team mindset that we are all working together to support our students and provide a quality education for them. 

I think this is key- because I am a believer and often give things MORE than the benefit of the doubt when it comes to trying something new. Through reading this article I realize as a future administrator that not everyone will approach new initiatives as I do. I am willing to try something new on the basis alone that it will benefit at least some, if not my whole class. This may also be because, as Guskey mentions in one of the 3 guiding principles (the purveyor of the change initiative should be seen as someone credible- in the first guiding principle), I have an incredible building level instructional coach that rolls out new initiatives. She models the initiative to the staff, meets in PLC meetings with individual grade levels, and is willing to come to the classroom to model before our own classes. SHE'S AWESOME!! I have a lot of respect for her and I realize how important what Guskey says is for a staff. It gave me a lot to think about in making sure as an administrator I have the right people in place. AND for me, to be more sensitive about how change can bring anxiety and feel threatening to some teachers, as I have never perceived change in that manner, myself. This will now allow me to be MORE cognoscente about the effects of change moving forward. Great read.

After reading this article I immediately started to reflect on ALL of the change initiatives that have taken place in my school (district and school admin directed).  There have been a lot.  They all have had a lot in common, and follow this model of trying to change a classroom practice.  Most of them have been good ideas, and some have helped a few teachers.  However, most have failed.  The reason for this is that they have NOT followed the principles laid out in this model: 1. Knowing change is difficult and a slow process. 2. Giving teachers regular feedback on student achievement. 3. Providing additional support.

“If a staff development effort is to be successful, it must clearly illustrate how the new practices can be implemented incrementally, without too much disruption or extra work. If a new program does require that major changes be made, it is best to east into its use rather than expect comprehensive implementation at once. (page 5 – paragraph 6).

This quote stands out to me.  I feel that initiatives in my school and district are laid out and then teachers are asked to do everything at once.  This gets teachers VERY overwhelmed and then ultimately they quit or don’t even try the new initiative.

All initiatives have good/great research behind them and have been successful at other schools; that is why they are introduced in the first place.  However, if the initiative is not broken down into smaller chunks, so teachers aren’t overwhelmed, it is doomed from the beginning.  I feel that this is why initiatives change so quickly as well.  The higher administration sees that teachers are not trying it or that it isn’t working and give up on it.  When in fact, if they would have broken the initiative down into smaller chunks and gave it time, it might very well have worked.

In Guskey's article, he stated that most teachers define their success in terms on their pupils behaviors and activities. Approximately one month ago, I found myself becoming very frustrated with the amount of past due/incomplete work in one of my classes. After speaking with my building principal, we discussed utilizing WIN as a 9-12 program, rather than just JH (which it was before). After creating and following through with the system, I found that not only was I doing less work, but my students behavior and activities had changed. In turn, I felt like a much more successful teacher, instead of feeling like I was failing my students.

The change sequence that we briefly touched on in class and that was shown via graphic in the article, proves how I created successful change. (change in teachers' classroom practices, change in student learning outcomes, change in teacher's beliefs and attitudes) Before I began my change initiative I made typical excuses "my students are lazy, they are not doing their work because they don't have accountability or responsibility, and I'm about to give up on them…" Then, I changed my practices by showing my students that their work was important (I collected work everyday at the beginning of class and basically made a complete/not complete list). From this, students were assigned to WIN, where they completed their missing work (I saw a drastic improvement in completion and also was able to identify students that needed additional SKILL help). Lastly, my beliefs and attitudes changed (I realized that the students would follow if I lead and that they are capable, with the right system in place).

After reading this article and actually implementing change in the process discussed, it makes success seem possible. Many teachers find themselves in a rut and thus complain and create negativity. As a leader of a school, you must create simplified/effective plans that will assist teachers in making change for the better of students. The process in Guskey's article makes change seem like an easy goal instead of a complicated obstacle.

I tend to agree that most teachers become involved in professional development outside of their own buildings to become better teachers and hope to carry these improvements to student achievement. This is where I believe many most staff development days lose focus on; student achievement.  I also agree with the reading as they describe how many staff developers may come across as if they are trying to change an educators style of teaching and or curriculum.  Even though this may not be their intent. 

I really like the three major outcomes of staff development mentioned in the reading (change in classroom practices, change In belief in attitudes, and change in the learning outcomes of students).  As mentioned earlier, it takes cooperation from all fronts to make staff development successful. 

Though the article was written many years ago, it contains many 'modern' suggestions (TLC, SBG, etc...) how to attain the three major outcomes.  I believe our school, Benton Community, genuinely tries to enhance student achievement through PD but sometimes gets carried away in initiatives.