Notes on Reading 1-4

Reading 2: Streeton Primary School 2000 The 12 quality principles

#1 Clear Direction: Vison, mission, goals, plans, JIS has these (Covey) Climbing the right ladder.

#2 Plans take you in the right direction: not bending to authority: strategic plan is in place

#3 Quality is defined by the client. Parents and students: Quality education for our students!

#4 Continuous Improvement systems to improve quality

#5 Enthusiastic people are motivated and keep getting better.

#6 Life long learners. We are all learners together. PD is essential.

#7 People are the most valuable asset. Outcomes improve with collaboration. Teams.

#8 Effective Data is used to improve instruction and decisions.

#9 Data can have variability. We need not panic.

#10 Be aware of the community we live in and how we affect it. This is very important for overseas school. They have a need to embrace the local culture.

#11 Sustainability is determined by our ability to meet the needs of all stakeholders in the community.

#12 Leadership must be role models for these principles for it to reach full potential.

I especially like the examples given in this article.

Reading 3: Harvey 2001: Core Steps in Decision Making

Leaders taking care of PROBLEMS. Problem solving/decision making

1. Id problem
2. Develop possible solution
3. Choose a course of action

Problems not as bad but as opportunities/challenges for action and learning

Negative thinking shuts down the part of creative brain (what about lack of sleep?)

Trusting and supportive organization conducive to problem solving.

Team needs to know parameter, such as resource constraints, legal matters, These can be called “givens”.

People must be informed to create synergy. the problem (opportunity) must be understood by all.

4 categories of problems

1. short fall: don’t focus on symptom but on real problem
2. opportunity: due to change
3. improvement: proactive
4. new venture: start with clear compelling vision. clear goals. Makes you viable for the future.

Solution Criteria: what you want to the solution to look like. Evaluate and combine solutions. Criteria can be divided in to needs and wants (can have “nice too’s”) Generate as many solutions as possible. Be creative. Good solutions are often derived from combining parts of ideas. Clarify solution so it is understood by all. What are the consequences?

Solution Choice: Don’t vote. work for consensus: everyone agrees to support the solution whether they agree with it or not.

Deciding: may need to prioritize.

NO solution???? review solution and try to be creative. Don’t get caught in a dilemma: no solution. Make sure the solution is clear for the implementation team. Planning/doing/inspecting. Evaluation, revision, renewal...important for successful implementation.

Reading 4:Hough 1997 Collaborative decision making with teams

This topic is so relevant to my learning right now.

Interesting to read that if an organization is Bureaucratic or autocratic the teacher do exactly the same to the students in their class.

Committees do not provide the opportunity for a sense of team to develop.

Collaborative decision making involves sharing knowledge and empowerment beyond the principal. It involves stakeholders at all levels. Empowers them to make meaningful decisions.

teams forming, storming, norming, performing,

learning teams in this article are different than what I am thinking. These may only be formed for a particular task.

Roving leadership empowers another person, not the principal to lead a process or innovation.