SISE Reflections

The Student Internship Summative Evaluation conference was very beneficial for me. During the conference with Mr. Eric Haugeberg, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations on February 17, 2012, every planned and conducted internship activity was reviewed. Lessons learned were discussed and Mr. Haugeberg gave specific feedback and suggestions for future growth. He suggested that I work specifically on Competencies 1, 2, 6, and 8. Each of these competencies was identified by my mentor as most important to the superintendent. During my self-assessment, I rated myself as needing more development in competency number 6 and 8. I addressed these weaknesses in my three-year professional development plan. 

3-Year Professional Development Plan

Producing my three-year professional development plan was actually not an easy task for me. Most of the professional development in which I have participated over the last ten years has either been directed by district administration or has been part of a university program of study. There has been little choice in the type of professional development activities. Unfortunately with coursework and family there has been little opportunity to conduct personal professional development. The formulation of the three year plan has provided me the opportunity to assess myself and to address what I have found. This is empowering for a professional.

Week Four Reflections on Reflection

     CS. Lewis once said, “Experience, the most brutal of teachers; but you learn, my God do you learn.” I would add that experience without reflection on the experience may not result in learning. During the internship activities, imbedded logs, and learning experiences woven into the coursework of our superintendents’ preparation program, I have learned to value the importance of reflection upon my professional experience as an administrator. The text describes the three stages of development of the cognitive skills needed to make decisions and further describes that to move from the declarative stage, to the associative stage, and then to the autonomous stage, reflection is necessary. The text defines reflection as “learning to analyze prior experiences in order to better understand how they shape future courses of action.” One who flows through the stages of cognitive skills without the reflective piece may well reach an autonomous stage, but the effectiveness of the automatic responses may not reach the quality of those of a more reflective leader with similar experiences. In short, reflection is necessary so that gains in wisdom are maximized and applied to practice in the shortest time possible. The gravity and complexity of the decisions made by school administrators day to day, and minute to minute dictate that leaders reflect on practice to capitalize on every experience.

The most involved piece of reflective learning I experienced during the course was the self-assessment of my skills related to the superintendent competencies. Looking deeply at the statements and measuring myself against the standards caused me to look at my experience and knowledge base honestly and was an eye opening experience. I learned a great deal about the complexity of a superintendent’s position and learned that I still had a lot to learn. I know that I feel competent and even strong in most of the superintendent competencies but I know that many of my skills are developed only to the declarative level as described in the text. More experience and reflection are necessary to move to the later stages of development.

Another important reflective exercise I experienced during the course work was the reflection on ethical practices related to school finance. In finding several instances of ethical violations, I attempted to place myself in the role of the leader who committed the ethical violation. This is powerful learning because all of the examples that were in the local and national media that I pointed to are common temptations for leaders born from common circumstances. The opportunity to relate the ethical violations to ethical dilemmas that may face me in a role as superintendent is a great exercise.

     Another powerful learning experience that caused me to reflect deeply on my knowledge and practice was the collaborative assignments from the school finance course. Working with two cohorts who I did not know caused me to out trust in two total strangers. Not knowing them at first caused me a great deal of uncertainty but as we began working on the first assignment, I realized that their different experience and perspective really challenged my understanding of the content we were to present together. I found that reading the subtleties of their understanding and interpretation of the material helped me to gain a deeper understanding of the material myself. The reflective part of this experience was not in the content we learned, and I am not sure that it was the intended learning but through that reflection, I found that it is acceptable and necessary to put trust in other professionals in order to accomplish the mission.

     A fourth learning experience that cause great pause for me to grow was the requirement of commenting on other cohort members’ blog posts and reading the posts of other cohort members to my submissions. We truly had to be vulnerable and open to the input of others. In most cases, the others were professionals we have never worked with before and had no previous relationship. To make a post on another student’s blog, I had to truly understand their post and interpret their viewpoint as it related to the learning I had done. For the most part, we were of one mind in our observations. This in itself is uplifting and reinforcing for me. I could read and know that I had understood what was intended. On other occasions, the posts of my cohort members were of a different vein. I would then have to acknowledge that maybe I did not learn everything appropriately. This practice truly enhanced my learning.

     Another important activity that caused me to reflect on my professional judgment was in preparing the recommendation for a professional development program. At a campus level, this has been an easy accomplishment since I have recent experience with a small staff in a specialized educational format. We were of one mind because of our circumstance. But as we approached the development of a training program for an entire district, I had to admit that my experience had not prepared me fully to accomplish the task. Dissecting the data at a district level and committing resources of time and funds is scary. I do need much more experience in this area.

     Finally, the development of a professional vita was a reflective process for me that caused me to look deeply at my experiences in the world of education. As I entered the superintendent preparation program, was this as the next logical step after being principal for three years. The development of the vita caused me to realize that I did indeed have experience that was relevant to a district level position but my experience was meager compared to those in my district who are currently in district level leadership positions. I also was able to read the Vita of my cohort members and compare my meager experience and accomplishments with theirs. I have a long road ahead of me to gain the types of experiences of those with whom I will likely compete when I decide to pursue a district level position.

     The first step I have identified in implementing regular reflection on my administrative practice is to identify a mentor and colleague whom I trust to help with the reflective process and then meet with them at least monthly. I have found through my experience both in my professional practice as an administrator and as a member of this cohort that bouncing ideas off those I respect and trust is the best way to both receive input and think about the experiences fully. This approach provides access to a different perspective from a knowledgeable and experienced professional with differing experience. If chosen carefully, the mentor will have familiarity with my position but will have a deeper and broader knowledge base. The colleague will be a counterpart at my campus or in a similar position at another campus. The inherent problem in beginning this practice is taking the risk to be that vulnerable with another professional who could one day be my competitor, supervisor, or subordinate. As a man, this is difficult for me. As a leader, it is almost counterintuitive to being out front. But it is necessary and it is beneficial.

     The second part of my plan for reflection is to continue my professional development through professional reading and journaling. Our school district has provided opportunities for professional book studies from which I have benefitted greatly. Part of the reading process for me is to write in response to the reading. I write in the margins. I write on the note pages. I write between the lines. I write about personal experiences that I have related to the reading and I write the questions I have about how the reading applies to my current or previous positions. The questions I pose to myself cause me to look deeper into the beliefs I have and the way forward.

     Finally, I plan to use the reflective process in conjunction with my district appraisal program. The appraisal program is a requirement and so should be taken advantage of. Our district appraisal process has three stages. First is the summer reflection over the previous school year to identify major accomplishments. The second stage, in the fall, involves goal setting for the new school year and the third step is the summative appraisal conducted in January. I have always approached the appraisal process seriously and looked to it as a source of honest feedback upon which I based efforts to improve.