Design

1. My first step will be to talk with my principal, reviewing the needs assessment, and explaining to him why I am looking at this particular need and my interest in working to address and improve the identified challenge. Both the Personal Effectiveness competency and Reflective Practice competency will influence this first step, as I explore an opportunity for teacher leadership, yet realizing that there will be limitations such as time, interest, and willingness to participate from stakeholders. In addition, I am looking to make a strategic plan using data to promote growth and reflection among staff regarding how we currently respond to problem behaviors.

I would then like to take the idea and discussion to our MBI team. There has been some discussion and planning of better defining and tracking behavior data. For example, we started the year talking about receiving training for and implementing the SWIS program, which is an online behavior referral and tracking system. Due to a variety of factors, the training and implementation of that system did not occur.

After speaking and collaborating with the MBI team, I would ideally like to take the discussion to a larger group of staff members, including paras and other personnel who also interact with students. This piece is important in order to create a diverse and equitable system of expectations that can be utilized in multiple settings. This step will be informed by the Coaching Mentoring competency, as it would require establishing a trustworthy work environment in order to exchange ideas openly and respectfully, with the end goal being to make improvements that benefit our students.

2. I will be able to address strengths and needs of a diverse group of stakeholders by utilizing the variety of grade levels and experience levels represented within the MBI team. Gathering input from all grade levels will allow for a more collaborative environment, as well as making decisions which are more consistent across a variety of grade levels. This is important since behavior expectations in first grade will be different than in fifth grade. In addition, a diverse team working together to challenge current practices and beliefs will be more effective. ( See Evidence D)

3. During the implementation of my action plan, I will use the data from the needs assessment as a starting point. I would then like to ask staff to more clearly define what they see as specific behaviors that they feel are poorly addressed, as well as possible consequences and whether the behavior should be addressed in the classroom or office. This could be done through direct conversation or a survey.

4. In order to address obtacles that may occur, I would like to keep a line of conversation open with my prinicipal. I would also encourage staff to contact me with questions or input. I can also address obstacles by completing research regarding the issue to give myself other ideas I or others involved may not have thought of before.

5. I will know my action plan is successful if there is movement toward better defining behavior standards and how undesired behavior is dealt with.

Evidence D: Two article I read during the TLI Capstone process.