Isreal Spain EDU 650 Instructor Dr. Wendy Ricci July 25th, 2016

 Isreal Spain, I have been an Academy Director in early childhood education for five years.  As an Academy Director, I am the leader at my academy and I am responsible for 180 people daily.  I received my Bachelor of Arts in Theater from Kent State University in  I am currently attending Ashford University working towards a Master’s Degree in Education with a specialization in School Leadership in the 21 st Century.  My goal is to become a Principal in a K-8 Charter School.

The role of a Principal is to educate, lead, and inspire others to be the best version of themselves. This can be addressed by  Having a positive, supportive, and child focused culture within the school.  Uniting the staff and making sure we all are motivated to see our students achieve academic success.  Being knowledgeable, leading by example, and having the right vision that other educated professionals are willing to follow.

 I believe that developing a relationship with your students is important. I believe that educators must meet children where they are and develop a plan to get them where they need to be.  Your students are your partners, and their individual needs must be addressed.  All students learn differently, one size does not fit all. You must observe and analyze your students, then create a plan for them to achieve academic success.

Using your classroom rules, create a reward system for good behavior to give the children something to look forward to. Reward them once a week at the end of every week. For kindergarten children this method will encourage them to enjoy putting the classroom rules to use. Have your students fill their buckets with a pom pom every time you see them using the classroom rules, once they get 10 pom poms they will receive a reward.

DIFFERENT SCHOOL MODELS  Koç (2014) discussed the use of technology in early childhood education, noting that the use of computers may not be developmentally appropriate (p.808). I disagree with Koç (2014) we need to begin to introduce technology in early childhood to prepare children for public, private, or charter school.  Newman (2013) analyzed the usage of the flipped classroom and the changes it can have on students in the 21 st century. Flipped Classrooms are in use in Cleveland public schools. We must continue to embrace different ways of learning in public schools to prepare our kids for the 21 st century. I would like to be a principal in a k-8 charter school that has flipped classrooms.

EFFECTIVE LESSON PLANNING Important Elements of Effective Lesson Design The most effective form of lesson plans is backwards design. When doing backwards design you begin the plan with the end goal in mind. This form of lesson design is more beneficial to the learner because your end goal is guiding your instruction. With your end goal guiding your instruction your lesson will have a stronger impact on the learner. Allow students to give you feedback so you can cater to the way they learn. We learn from the students while they are learning from us.

ASSESSMENT MATTERS  When speaking about assessment Lopez (2013) noted that, “Remember, the creation of an exceptional system is far different from the implementation of one. Creating one is a start, but the results can be found only when you turn talk, or writing, into action” (Chapter 8, para 24).  Formative Assessments are the most effective form of assessment because it benefits the learner. As a principal I will enforce the use of formative assessments more often, and I will try to decrease the use of summative assessments. Student’s do not have the opportunity to learn and grow after a summative assessment because they move on to the next grade.  When speaking on the impact of assessment Newman (2013) noted that “For example, an assessment system designed to judge the overall success of a school, its teachers, and students will have vastly different characteristics from a system that emphasizes guiding students and teachers in determining the next steps in the learning process” (Chapter 11, Section 1, para 2).

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES I’ve noticed that after years of teaching sometimes you can become exhausted and uninspired. Teaching can become routine, once you get settled into that routine it’s hard to break out of. The reason this happens is because teachers are not continuing to educate themselves, and they are not part of a community of continual learners. The only way we can keep up with the times and provide the best service to our children is if we are striving to increase our knowledge on education. If I entered a PLC classroom I would expect to see evidence of non traditional classroom models in action and evidence non traditional learning in action. I would know it was a PLC focused classroom because it would be evident by the way the teacher has designed her lesson. I would see evidence of 21 st century skills on display in a PLC focused classroom.

REFERENCE Koç, K. (2014). The Use of Technology in Early Childhood Classrooms: An Investigation of Teachers' Attitudes. University Of Gaziantep Journal Of Social Sciences, 13(3), Newman, R. (2013). Teaching and learning in the 21st century: Connecting the dots. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Lopez, D. (2013). No excuses university: No excuses university: How six exceptional systems are revolutionizing our schools (2nd ed.) Turnaround Schools Publications.