Reflect

Leadership Reflection

At which level (emerging, developing, performing, or transforming) in the progressions do you NOW place yourself for each of your four chosen competencies? Name each competency.

Overarching Competency # 1 (group processes - developing)
Overarching Competency # 2 (reflective practice - performing)
Diversity-Equity-Cultural Competence (Cultivate Socially Just Learning Environments - emerging)
Instructional Competency selection (Facilitating Collaborative Relationships - developing)

How did the TLI experience--both curriculum and Capstone project—impact your growth as a teacher leader in each of your four chosen competencies? What evidence supports each of your claims?

How I have you grown on the learning growth continuum (Emerging → Developing → Performing → Transforming)

I think I started with group processes at emerging but am moving toward (developing) as I understand more about the fundamentals of leading group dynamics. I am more aware now about respecting diversity of opinion and styles. During a recent training outside of this project, I realized I had to take a step back when a teacher left the training unexpectedly. I later reflected that they must have been overwhelmed with the content and needed some alone time to reflect and relax. I checked in with them later and offered my support explaining that it gets easier with time and that I would be happy to assist them as they get started. I also will join the school Foundation's committee that has been in discussion about tier 1, 2, and 3 behaviors and supports to put in place. In addition to my leadership with the book study, this will support my role as a leader in group dynamics.

With reflective practice I was developing but am moving toward (performing) in that our project will enable practice and first hand experience at encouraging staff members to reflect and implement new strategies around a trauma informed approach. I will support others in understanding and using data to drive instructional practice with regard to trauma informed approaches as my school implements this model. This will be a future step in our project further down the line. During the book study the norms of the collaborative discussions established procedures to encourage colleagues to become reflective practitioners through in person discussion, google classroom posts and in email. The needs assessment given to a broad and diverse group of stakeholders informed us of the current viewpoints on behavior programs and the overall understanding of how trauma plays a role at our school. (evidence- performing)

How my awareness of the Foundational Competencies for Diversity-Equity-Cultural Competence impacted me or others:

(Emerging in Cultivate Socially Just Learning Environments) - emerging

I think I am more aware of my own bias that may drive my approach to interacting with others and accepting varying opinions. I realize that with regard to our project, that teachers will need different things to deal with their reactions to trauma. I identified issues during our book study that impede the cultivation of socially just learning environments (ie: lack of parent support and no access to technology). I would like to create effective protocols to facilitate respectful cross-cultural communication and meaningful participation of diverse stakeholders when I take on my role in the school foundations committee this year. I would like to assist other staff members on how to respond to specific exampls of cross-cultural miscommunication, inequity, and/or social injustice in constructive ways. This will help staff reflect on their behavior and establish goals to become more socially just.

What I have learned about myself as a teacher leader: Instructional Competency - Facilitating Collaborative Relationships - developing

I have learned that all of us come with certain bias that we must learn to get past. I have learned that I don’t have to agree with someone to learn from them or teach them. I think my reflective nature will help me reach my goals with teacher leadership. I find I do best when leading through a coach approach rather than a group leader. This is why group processes is one of my practices to improve upon. I tried to develop a deep understanding of policies and initiatives relative to behavior and trauma that impact teaching and student learning. I read numerous books, papers, articles and watched video's on the subject to become more versed in the topic. I conducted a needs assessment with diverse stakeholders to engage in collaborative discussion with colleagues about learning and teaching with regard to trauma and behavior. We discussed data based structures in our books study relative to our teaching practices currently in place (behavior tracking forms- google forms) and how we can use and improve what we have rather than reinventing the wheel. I will participate in our foundations committee which is made up of varying teachers and staff which will help build collaborative relationships to help further my original goals of becoming a trauma informed school.

What are your next steps to continue your growth as a teacher leader?

My overall growth as a teacher leader has been an interesting journey. I learned much about my own growth, what to improve upon and where to go next. It was good to get out of my comfort zone with regard to equity and cultural awareness in order for me to realize where gaps in my understanding needed improvement. I will conduct research and read books, papers on leadership techniques including being an unbiased listener. Once our school follows implementation of a trauma informed approached to education I would like to help other schools and teachers become informed on this approach. I also would like to learn more about secondary trauma and techniques that professionals use to stay balanced when dealing with complex trauma issues with their clients.

What was the most valuable part of the TLI process for you?

The most valuable part of the TLI process was meeting with other teachers and TLI coaches around the country through the online conferencing with Zoom and our local face to face meetings. I learned about what projects other teachers were working on and how they were improving their own leadership abilities through very meaningful capstones. This was very helpful when reflecting on my own teaching practice and leadership goals.

Reflections/Evidence from our online Zoom Workshops:

I learned that teachers across the country have similar issues and challenges. I also learned that we always have something we can improve upon.
I learned that all teachers can use the design process to be creative and think outside the box with choices. I also learned we all have biases that surprised us and took us out of our comfort zones. I will be more aware of empathy towards others/colleagues I will be involved with in my profession. I will try to allow others to be creative with ideas and not be boxed in with old thinking and choices. I will be more empathetic to others, trying to understand their point of view, objectives and reasoning. I have to be aware of my own bias and not let it affect how I may judge others or form an opinion about them when interacting with them as a leader. I have to realize that other opinions that may be part of my bias should not alter how I interact with others.
I could see how I might tend to favor some people over others and not evaluate them or their work fairly. I learned that is totally ok wherever you are at in the process. I thought to apologize since I did not get everything done and misunderstood the self-assessment vs. assessment for module 3. I will not beat myself up about making mistakes and give myself grace when reflecting on my personal values and bias.
I will be more aware of my personal biases and try to not let them affect my leading others or learning from them. I will keep in mind that my leadership growth will always be growing and that it never may be done. I am constantly learning from others, children and adults alike. I learned that we are all in different places in our projects and that is totally ok. I also learned that ever one of the TLI fellows are amazing leaders in varying ways already.
I learned that equity can include socioeconomic status and the culture of poverty. People in our meeting today expressed how they sometimes felt invisible because of a stereotype applied to them. Others talked about how they felt oppressed because they wanted to teach about diversity and cultural awareness and were told they were pushing their beliefs. I see how people see things through varying lenses based on their cultural background and upbringing. My own biases and personal values may impact how listen to others. I need to really listen despite formed opinions I may have of others. I have learned that listening helps. I now know I don't have to enjoy everything about a person to engage with them. I can still maintain a professional relationship with them.
Personal reflections from zoom (ie: leadership with regard to reflective practice) Aha moment in Zoom conference. True leaders accept that their ideas may be taken by others to implement on a broad scope and that is ok. It’s not about recognition of ideas but the benefit your leadership/ideas brings to others. I have learned I have to really listen to people, even those I don't agree with. I know now that I can learn from every person. I understand more now about white privilege and male privilege and how our society and its system promotes this. Much of it is underneath the surface and hidden but some of it is out in the open and just not recognized. Capstones can change and that is totally ok. The main emphasis is on your growth throughout the process not if you are successful with your capstone project.
I learned that it is ok no matter where you are in your capstone project. You don't need to be done with your project in order to submit. Its important to consider all aspects of diversity. One good point that was brought up was considering whether you should hire your friends or only consider people that have similar interests. This was eye opening. I will consider diversity of opinion along with diversity of culture, race, religion etc.I need to consider my own biases with regard to differing opinions and takes on matters that I think differently on.
I learned that it is very important to listen to everyone, whether that be students, parents or colleagues. I learned that it does not matter where you are in the process. Reflection is paramount in order to grow as a leader.I will effectively listen to others. I have to realize that not everyone has the same work ethic as I do. I have to relax and not be bothered when others do not turn things in early or even on time. Everyone is different. Not everyone is deadline conscious like I am. I have to let it go when things are not done in a timely manner.

Personal Leadership Evidence:

The Behavior Code book study reflections from participants - Google Classroom

Jenny CadeMay 17

This has been a great book study. I've really appreciated going through this book, sharing ideas, and talking through some of the tough things we are dealing with at our school. It was helpful to go through this study with my coworkers. I found myself wanting to share what we discussed with others. I also think this is a great step in the right direction for our school--having these conversations, brainstorming who else needs to be a part of these conversations, and thinking about ways to start making some changes around here. I know this book will be a helpful resource in the future; I can see myself going back and rereading certain sections to help with the kind of students I have in my class each year. Thank you for facilitating this great opportunity! I'm looking forward to next year's book study! One suggestion is to cover less chapters between meetings for next year. I know we were short on time this year, but we covered so little of what we read in our discussions, it would be nice to discuss smaller sections of text and having deeper conversations about what we learned. One final thing for us to think about next year...how can we turn these conversations into action steps? How can we (as a whole group) move away from just talking about things, to actually changing things. I'm happy to help with this if I can!

Thanks Dacia and Christine!

Heidi LaugMay 26

This was an inspiring and educational read. It is really helpful to hear others' perspectives about the various challenges we all face, so we can brainstorm new interventions for struggling kids. What I really appreciated about this book was that it addresses not only kids' actions - the symptoms - but also the sources of their behavior. This creates a better opportunity to devise supports that address the needs of the whole child rather than just managing the surface behaviors. Instead of temporary fixes, I feel like using the suggested strategies will help kids to learn the skills they need to be empowered and keep up their positive momentum. I will be referring back to this book and my goal is to consolidate some of the information for the benefit of other teachers and parents. Thank you, Dacia and Christine, for doing the research to find such a practical and user-friendly book. I am trying to practice some of the suggestions already and look forward to implementing more of these ideas.

Book Study Recording (click link)

This recording demonstrates leadership evidence - listening skills (2:10), thoughtful reflection (9:21) (4:36) (23:00) (30:34) redirect/driving conversation (10:10) (33:44) (37:52)

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