Elements of a Vision Statement

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Week 4 Instructor Guidance

Welcome to Week 4! This is an activity-packed week while you work in groups with class peers in a mock PLC. More on that below and on our Week 4 Unit page. WEEKLY LEARNING OUTCOMES Let’s take a moment to review and reflect on our learning expectations for the week. These are aligned with the specific assessments for the week on our Week 4 page.

· Select technologies that facilitate the development and dissemination of the school’s vision.

· Describe resources that will be needed to implement the school vision.

· Utilize resources supporting implementation and maintenance of proposed programs or activities, ensuring the vision is in concert with school culture (needs, interests).

· Analyze data (i.e. surveys, observation) representing the diverse interests, viewpoints, and needs of stakeholders

WEEK 4 – OVERVIEW In the past few weeks, you have been preparing a justification in creating a new vision to your school board and school stakeholders. Additionally, we discussed who benefits from involvement and planning activities necessary for a successful collaboration on the school vision. Review the Week 4 page for full instructions for each assessment and consider the guidance below as well as you prepare for this week’s activity. Discussion 1: The Implementing Work Groups discussion has us exploring how you can put the people identified as stakeholders in Week 3 to work on the school vision through effective groups to ensure the vision is in concert with the school. Discussion 2: The Working Collaboratively discussion has you posting your mock PLC group to create roles and responsibilities, identify the mode of communication you will use in your group and attach your portion of the assignment as well as the group agreement document. Assignment: The assignment Co-Creating a Vision you will work in groups (previously assigned by your instructor) as a mock PLC to create a document that in Week 5 you will use to present to all school stakeholders. INTELLECTUAL ELABORATION Professional Learning Community A professional learning community (PLC) might consist of a group of teachers, administrators, and other sometimes school stakeholders working together on a particular initiative related to the school. The function of a PLC may vary, but universally a PLC consists of a small number of people, usually between 5-15 (DuFour & Eaker, 2010). Typically a PLC meets over a long period of time, normally a year, and everyone works together helping each member reach a goal of learning or completing an initiative. During Week 4, this week, you will collaborate in a mock PLC with each member selecting one of the four topics to discuss as it relates to a school vision and then sharing with the group their findings. The problem to solve is gathering scholarly information about each topic and the use of this jigsaw approach will work well for solving it in your groups. The purpose of working in a mock PLC is to get you thinking about how you will work at a school in creating a vision statement with all the school stakeholders you identified in week 3, which typically can be a part of the PLC you will actually establish or may have established in your current school work setting or a future setting. When we invite stakeholders into the school, we must have a plan to keep them on track. If a stakeholder feels time is being wasted, that person is more likely to self-remove from the collaboration. Consequently, as a leader it will be your role to develop activities to ensure that all stakeholders feel valued and appreciated for their ideas in the school vision project. The questions that are relevant at this juncture are: What activities do we create to ensure that the process of creating a school vision is done in a quick timely matter? How do we help the stakeholders feel valued in the process?

Designing Work Groups Designing a work group is not without challenges. We are wise to consider a variety of factors before placing stakeholders in sub-groups. According to Davis (2009), there are three steps leaders can consider before designing a work group to ensure it is effective. According to Davis (2009), the first step is to think about how the groups will be formed. What will you use as criteria to place stakeholders in a group? Will it be their background, demographics, skill set? Effective groups are varied with common interests and associations to increase the sharing of information. Davis (2009) noted after determining how groups will be formed has been considered, we benefit from thinking about how to ensure stakeholders are productively collaborating toward the established goals. Having a chart or timeline that clearly outlines the steps, roles and responsibilities is a common way to track and help ensure the group remains on task. What other solutions can you think of for ensuring the group remains on task? Finally, according to Davis (2009), when creating a work group we benefit from thinking about how the group will communicate outside of the planned meeting times. One item that can keep the work moving forward is the incorporation of technologies for asynchronous and synchronous communication. Think about the different forms of technology that can be used not only to disseminate information to the whole group, but also to sub-groups so the work on the vision continues forward, between meetings. Solutions might include email, a blog, or even a website or wiki site for content management and group levels of access. Feeling Valued Now that you have decided how to create a work group and separated that work group into sub groups, the next step is to ensure that all stakeholders feel valued in the process of creating the vision. According to Sheldon and Van Voorhis (2004) feeling valued as a parent in the school is difficult. We all come to the school with different backgrounds and experiences. Some of these experiences can be good, but more often than not, parents may feel undervalued. One way to curb this feeling, according to Sheldon and Van Voorhis (2004), is to distribute engaging informational packets from the school about things that need to be done at the school, such as the need to create a school vision. When parents can identify and see that they are needed in a school, they are more likely to join in as a valued member of the school community (Comer & Haynes, 2012). Think about times you have volunteered. Did you feel valued and your skills put to good use? If so how did the leadership help you feel this way, what activities did you do that helped in your feelings of value? If you did not feel valued, why? What transpired that made you feel your time was wasted at the volunteering event? References Comer, J., & Haynes, M. (2012, January). Parent involvement in schools: An ecological approach. Elementary School Journal, 91, 271-278. Davis, B.G. (2009). Tools for teaching (2nd ed). (pp. 190-221). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. (2010). Professional learning communities at work. Solution Tree Press, Bloomington, IA. Sheldon S.B. & Van Voorhis F.L. (2004). Partnership programs in U.S. schools: Their development and relationship to family involvement outcomes. School effectiveness and school improvement, 15(2), 125-148. Additional References Barkely, E.F., Cross, K.P. & Howell Major, C. (2005). Collaborative learning techniques: A handbook for college faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Bruffee, K.A. (1998). Collaborative learning: Higher education, interdependence, and the authority of knowledge. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Epstein, J.L. (1995). School, family, community partnerships: Caring for the children we share. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(n9), 701-713. Michaelsen, L.K., Knight, A.B. & Fink, L.D. (Eds.) (2004). Team-based learning: A transformative use of small groups in college teaching. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Recommended Resources

1. Gabriel, J., & Farmer, P. (2009). How to help your school thrive without breaking the bank. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

2. Marzano, R., Waters, T., & McNulty, B. (2005). School leadership that works: From research to results. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

3. Williams, R., Brien, K., Sprague, C., & Sullivan, G. (2008, June). Professional learning communities: Developing a school-level readiness instrument. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 74, 1-17. Retrieved from the ERIC database in the Ashford University Library.