Written by Alexis Adams
I entered Michigan State University a bit reluctantly, as I had no intention of completing a master’s degree program after graduating college. I shared with my boss that I was a self-learner, and could easily develop the skills needed to grow and develop independently. He encouraged I apply anyway, and handed me a recommendation letter before leaving the office. After months of resistance, I got a call from a friend whom had just finished their master’s program at MSU. I could tell that he left school with a completely different perspective, and was a better leader as a result of his experience. I took that as a sign, and began my journey at Michigan State two years ago. While I wasn’t excited initially, I’ve been numerous situations in which my graduate experiences served me incredibly well.
Last year was, without a doubt, a prime opportunity to leverage the culmination of the things I have learned in graduate school. Anticipating a year as Director of Academics within my organization, I spent the summer planning great professional development sessions and learning experiences that could get even the most “non-math” person excited about solving problems in a conceptual way. I was a strong member of my team, leading our weekly meeting agendas, dedicating early Saturday mornings to math study sessions with teachers, and serving as a support system wherever I could.
However, in September, I was asked to take on the role of principal of a school that had received a failing letter grade based on the citywide school performance score scale. Abruptly, the sitting principal was asked to leave, and the teaching staff was almost entirely new to their role and/or first year teachers. I felt responsible for the outcomes of kids, as seeing students excel in life is a true passion of mine. I am a firm believer that education provides an open door to opportunities that may not have existed without the right academic support, so I accepted the role as interim principal for the remainder of the school year. Following my year as a principal, I transitioned to a role where I recruit and interview aspiring principals. Very quickly it became apparent of the true task I was taken on as school leader in a broken system. I identified that leadership and coaching were the key levers in making a difference at the school. But teaching adults on a campus was new to me. Through my graduate experiences in educational inquiry, adult learning, and science reasoning & inquiry, I was able to increase my ability to lead by shifting the approach I was taking each time I learned something new in my coursework. It was the perfect marriage between real life experience and textbook theory that ultimately helped fortify my leader development skills.
I initially relied on my experiences in the Educational Inquiry course I took my first semester of school. The Educational Inquiry course exposed me to the teaching philosophies of various educators- from James Dewey to Vivian Paley, kindergarten teacher and author of the book The Girl with the Brown Crayon. Each of the educators we were introduced to in the course had strong beliefs about the way students learn content inside of a classroom that pushed deep discussion and revisions to how we as current day teachers approach instruction each day. The reflections I wrote, along with the discussions of my classmates, allowed me to understand why the teachers I was supporting were frustrated at times by the expectations I placed on them. It wasn’t always related to a lack of interest, but also a lack of alignment with the teaching philosophy inherent in the curriculum or lesson structure that was in direct conflict with their beliefs about how lessons should be taught and ultimately how students interpret and process information from adults.
I recognized that my new responsibility as a leader was to consider that everyone comes with a different teaching style that is driven by previously held beliefs and perspectives. As I received push back on use of new curriculum resources that used the Common Core State Standards to guide delivery of instruction, I took the time to ask questions and help teachers make sense of their arguments. I shared the readings of the course that allowed my staff an opportunity to make connections and have robust discourse about their hesitations to adopt certain approaches. The conversations led to a deeper appreciation of educators before us and greater understanding of each other.
The educational inquiry course also began to expose me to the biases that exist in hiring. Some teachers had very specific viewpoints regarding educational approaches that were guided by their university or alternative certification program. When they articulated their perspective to hiring managers with a very different viewpoint, they were later denied the job. Some could say the person wasn’t a fit, but it should also be noted that previous experiences served as barriers to opportunities. I saw this as a perfect entry point into advancements in recruitment and selection processes. I realized that I could increase my footprint by exposing this bias, not just on one campus as one principal, but through the training and development of multiple principals and their managers across an entire network of schools. Now, I use my experiences to adjust the interview questions that I use as a model for our district of schools. During the trainings I lead to prepare leadership teams for interviews, I am sure to ask specific questions to determine if a potential candidate is willing to explore other learning philosophies before completely excluding them from the application pool. My experience in Educational Inquiry allowed me to be more open minded and curious about candidates so that biases and prejudice toward one specific instructional approach are avoided.
Another course that shaped my thinking and skill set for the role of principal, and now recruiter, is Adult Learning. In my final reflection paper, I wrote, “an expert is not only knowledgeable but adaptable because of the sophisticated interpretation of information that comes with understanding”. This newfound definition of expert allowed me to better determine who might be the best fit for a specific role within a school. For example, rather than listening for technical language or references during an interview, I would instead provide scenarios or role plays that challenged candidates to interpret information and use that interpretation to adapt in the moment. The change I made to the hiring process increased the retention and success rate of new hires in my principal role, and has pushed me to revise the final interview process in my current role. Specifically, we ask leaders to reflect on their approach to learning as an adult and how they’ve adopted that approach. We then have candidates prepare a professional development session that helps us experience how the candidate would approach teaching other adults. By challenging them to create coursework for other adults, I am given an open window into their ability to adapt to situations using their expertise. When candidates struggle to make those adaptations, I know that they may need some additional support or time to deepen their understanding of the subject matter to be best prepared for the role and therefore may not be quite ready for the role.
On a related note, teaching inquiry in science helped me adjust hiring practices in both of the roles I’ve had most recently. Throughout the science inquiry course, I was able to take a deep dive into the Next Generation Science Standards, and was amazed by the interconnectedness of the content within and across grade levels. The standards were developed with input from professionals in varying capacities- engineers, professors, scientists, and mathematicians- in an effort to better prepare students to solve complex problems in the science field as they become adults. The first portion of the course pushed me to better understand the content itself, which contributed to my own support of science teachers at my school. I began to ask questions about how the teachers could consider mathematics in their lesson, as well as how they could help students make connections to the overarching concepts of time, identify patterns they noticed, and articulate their thinking in writing.
In my current role, I was able to take the thematic approach of the Next Generation Science Standards and apply it to our hiring process. In the course I took, I began to realize that there is no way you can understand science deeply if you don’t relate it back to the overall themes that exist across contents and grades. Similarly, there is no way you can understand a candidate deeply if you don’t relate their experiences back to overall themes that drive them to make decisions throughout their career. So, we decided to have potential candidates share their leadership story, which provides an opportunity for them to incorporate key themes that have guided their thinking over time as an educator. Each and every candidate, no matter how prepared, hesitated in thought when asked to align their professional decisions to themes. This helped me see just how rigorous the process of making connections can be, and how critical it is to be able to bring cohesion to the work of education. We experienced a candidate who told a story of his career, jumping from role to role with little ability to tie his experiences together. While very charismatic and experienced, he struggled to demonstrate the critical thinking and presence needed to be a successful principal. Conversely, another candidate shared key themes that were present throughout her career in education. While her resume was not as extensive, she was able to relate her personal and professional decisions back to the themes shared in her story fluidly. Her ability to make connections and strategically solve problems were illuminated throughout her interview, and she has since then been a valued member of her school campus team.
In short, it is far more valuable to possess the skills of the second aforementioned candidate and the skills are mirrored in the crosscutting concepts of the NGSS that are being used in high quality science classrooms across the country. The adjustments made to the interview process highlighted the need for the Next Generation Science Standards and made me appreciate the video observations of teachers I watched in my science inquiry course who developed these same skills in their students through cohesive science units over the course of a year.
My impact in my role as Regional Director of Leader Recruitment has grown exponentially as a result of the Master of Arts in Education program at Michigan State University. I can now confidently improve the recruitment materials, hiring trainings and ultimately the mindsets of those making final hiring decisions that are grounded in a deep understanding of teaching philosophies, content standards, how adults learn, and what it means to be an educator holistically. I was changed my both my instructors and classmates, who continually pushed me to re-think my viewpoints and challenged me to come outside of my “bubble” that existed in the New Orleans Public School System.
Following my graduate school experience, it is my hope that I can be an active and impactful member of a senior leadership team that makes thoughtful, research based decisions on behalf of incredible students and educators who deserve the best. Specifically, I hope to influence the talent, diversity, and academic initiatives that education organizations use to increase their impact on the students and communities they serve. I know, with no doubt in my mind, that shifting recruitment and hiring practices across entire organizations, and using data to make strategic decisions, can drastically change outcomes for the disadvantaged in our country. I am lucky and privileged to have had the opportunity to learn and grow as an educator at Michigan State University and am excited to put my learning to use for years to come.