These application activities are intended to help you use exemplary teacher development performance and programs in K-12 schools in the United States.

They are practical examples that support basic themes and theories in instructional leadership.

Treating Teachers as Professionals    |   Published: 10.1.00

The program profiled in this article is available on the Teaching in the Digital Age: School Leadership videocassette.

Possible Applications:

1. Read the article, "Treating Teachers as Professionals," and related internal links.



2. Click on the video link and watch the video, Teaching in the Digital Age: Teacher Support, about Sherman Oaks Community Charter School in San Jose, California.

Task 1: Look at the listing of the four variables identified in the article. Consider these four categories as they relate to your role and performance as a principal.


1. Using the resources from this module and/or your preferred search engine, conduct an Internet search using the four variables cited in the above article.



2. Locate at least one relevant article for each of the four variables.



3. Discuss your response either in writing, in person, or as a PowerPoint^®, as directed by your instructor.

Task 2: Ask 10 other educators NOT in this class, but in your school or professional cohort environment, to look at this article and to watch its related video.


1. Develop three to five questions to elicit the responses of your colleagues after reading the article and watching the video.



2. Create a survey using the questions developed.



3. Elicit responses from your colleagues via an online survey form, e-mail correspondence, paper data collection, or recorded oral responses.



4. Collect the ten (open-ended) responses to the survey.



5. Synthesize their reactions into an essay, including any quantitative results you wish to report.



6. Describe the implications of your report if you were the building principal responsible for fostering a professional atmosphere in a setting (or settings) like those of your respondents.

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Take Action: Ongoing Professional Development    |   Published: 2.22.01

Quickly finding resources for use in professional development is often a challenge for busy principals. While the principal may not personally have total responsibility for professional development, obviously the person in that job will want to participate with faculty in professional development planning and growth. Below you will find an effective starting point for busy school leaders.

Possible Applications:

NOTE: If you have Edutopia: Success Stories for Learning in the Digital Age, "Information Literacy," by Kathy Schrock, Chapter 36, page 245, would be very useful in this activity. The article describes old and new media, using the Internet, including the questioning, searching, evaluation, and citation processes. It is recommended that students have access to this book as background for this activity.

Visit each of the sites listed at the Take Action: Ongoing Professional Development page. This is a listing of sites for teachers, administrators, professional developers, and others interested in keeping up-to-date in educational theory.

Task 1: Spend time reviewing how the sites are organized, what information is provided, what group(s) support the site, and any collateral information linked from the sites.


1. Develop a rubric for examining these sites.



2. Use the rubric to examine each of the sites shown.



3. Prepare a report on each of the sites. Include how a principal might use them.



4. Discuss your response either in writing, in person, or as a PowerPoint, as directed by your instructor.

Task 2: Pick one of the sites and examine it in-depth, related to a particular topic in professional development; this can be an approach, a strategy, a series of studies, or particular theories and theorists.


1. Develop a brief staff development (maximum of 20 minutes) activity that you might use with your own staff, if you were the principal. The activity can be experiential, expository, or a demonstration.



2. Present your activity, either in class or in some written or electronic format specified by your instructor.

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Reflections of a First-Year Teacher    |   Published: 9.1.01

Susan Wei, Ph.D., is a graduate of the Project Promise class of 2000. In this article, she shares a powerfully poignant experience as a first-year teacher. She describes the event, her feelings, the professional context, and the variables that came to be important to her as part of the event.

Possible Application:

1. Read "Reflections of a First-Year Teacher" carefully, several times. Find the part where Susan says, "My mission was to make a difference for my students. Did I succeed?"
   
   
   1. Consider how you would answer that if you were the school leader responsible for her supervision.
   
   
   
   2. Present your answer as a paper, an essay, or other product, as directed by your instructor.
   
   
   
2. Susan says she had to use data-driven research.


1. Describe what she meant, based on what you can infer from her article.



2. Find an article in your reading about data-driven research and see if you can find any implications in that work, plus Susan's experiences, that would help you anticipate what a new teacher and/or an experienced teacher might need to know about this process.



3. Summarize the article as a list of skills.

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Professional Development Through Learning Communities    |   Published: 5.1.99

An adaptation of this article is also published in the Edutopia newsletter.

Possible Applications:

Read "Professional Development Through Learning Communities" carefully with a view to what its contents imply for a building principal in a K-8 school setting.

Task 1: Contemplate the quote below and other information gleaned from the online article on learning communities.

"The concept of continuous professional development in which teachers are given time
to collaborate with colleagues and update knowledge and skills and are expected to assume
much of the responsibility for their own professional growth and development has been
identified by teachers as a critical element in school reform." (OTA, 1995)

1. Identify the barriers found in a typical school setting that make it difficult for teachers and school leaders to meet these expectations.



2. Determine what you, as a school leader, might be able to provide as solutions.



3. Present your activity, either in class or in some written or electronic format specified by your instructor.

Task 2: Using the resources from this module and/or other tools you prefer, research different approaches to providing resources for staff development within a typical K-12 school.


1. Clearly define resources.



2. Review the results of your search critically.



3. Provide a professional, executive summary.



4. Interpret the results of the article in terms of its implications for your situation or anticipated situation as principal.

Task 3: Conduct a similar search for at least one additional article that focuses on resource allocation for staff development in a K-12 environment.


1. Specifically define resources.



2. Review the article critically.



3. Present your activity, either in class or in some written or electronic format specified by your instructor.

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Emotional Intelligence: The "Missing Piece"    |   Published: 2.22.01

The program profiled in this article is available on the Teaching in the Digital Age: Emotional Intelligence videocassette.

Possible Applications:

Watch the 7-minute video segment Emotional Intelligence Overview before reading "Emotional Intelligence: The 'Missing Piece.'" Here's the brief summary about the video:

"Many innovative school programs integrate
social and emotional learning with more traditional academic areas,
providing students with skills they'll need through their adult lives."

Task 1: Discuss your reaction to the overall theme and message. Watch Emotional Intelligence Overview a second time, this time "wearing the hat" of the principal of that school.


1. Discuss how your point of view changed the second time you viewed the video.



2. Discuss what "kind" of teachers you would need to have or want to have in that school setting if you were the principal.



3. Describe the teachers. Include personality, experiences, and attitudes of the individuals.



4. Determine how you would "find" such teachers to ensure the proper combination of these skills. What would you look for in hiring?



5. Present your activity, either in class or in some written or electronic format specified by your instructor.

Task 2: Look at the links to the experts in the article, "Emotional Intelligence: The 'Missing Piece.'"


1. Read the information provided on the site, linked from each name in the article.



2. Click to Expert Interviews on The George Lucas Educational Foundation's Web site at www.glef.org. Watch each video for each expert listed in the article.



3. Prepare a one-page summary of what you learned from each professional included.



4. Read "Emotional Intelligence: Five Years Later" by Daniel Goleman.



5. Determine and discuss the implications for educators to meet the challenges of educating today's youth as prescribed.



6. Brainstorm and record what staff development is needed for teachers to meet the challenges of educating today's youth as prescribed.



7. Explain how emotional intelligence might be critically related to how a school or group of educators might approach staff development.



8. Summarize the general themes or messages you recognize as a future school leader.



9. Present your activity, either in class or in some written or electronic format specified by your instructor.

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The Long Haul    |   Published: 2.22.01

Possible Applications:

Read "The Long Haul" and "Teacher Learning that Supports Student Learning." Review the articles on The George Lucas Educational Foundation's Ongoing Professional Development: At a Glance page at www.glef.org.

Task 1: Consider these statements, as they relate to "The Long Haul" and "Teacher Learning that Supports Student Learning."


1. The 'best' professional development programs for teachers are those that only include 'experts.' (trick question -- define 'experts!')



2. How does the question, "Whose interests are being served with this program?" relate to professional development for educators?



3. Mentoring and Modeling: Modes with Meaning -- describe and explain.
1. Select one of the statements as the topic of a one-page essay, PowerPoint or multimedia (audio, video, or combination) product.



2. Support the statement or challenge it, using the major themes in the articles and in your own experience as an educator.

Task 2: Study the article, looking for threads of theory researchers, projects, programs.


1. Do an Internet search to see what additional information you can find related to these.



2. Summarize that information in a chart for presentation.

Task 3: Re-read "The Long Haul."


1. Deconstruct what happened at this school, as described in this article, in terms of these factors: curriculum and mission/purpose.



2. Describe how this related to staff development (cause or effect?).



3. Explain why you think the title, "The Long Haul" was chosen. Use quotes to support your position.



4. Create a graphic logo for this staff development program. Reflect in your design the program's character and purpose.

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Looping: The Best Kind of Déjà Vu    |   Published: 3.30.01

An adaptation of this article is published in the book Edutopia: Success Stories for Learning in the Digital Age.

This article describes something called "continuous learning," "multi-year placement," or "family-style learning," in addition to "looping." The same teacher remains with a group of students for two or more years.

Possible Applications:

Read "Looping: The Best Kind of Déjà Vu."


1. Give a brief overview of this approach as chronicled in the article.



2. Learn more about this approach through your own reading and research.



3. Imagine that you are going to be asked by your community to consider this approach.



4. Identify, in terms of teacher development and supervision, exactly what the issues might be.



5. Consider that you are assuming the leadership of a school already involved in looping.



6. Discuss and record questions you would ask your predecessor in terms of teacher development and support. Be specific.



7. Present your activity, either in class or in some written or electronic format specified by your instructor.

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