Course Description

In schools across the nation the time for significant change is now. In response to a public outcry, leaders from education and business are joining hands for school improvement and school reform. These efforts highlight involving teachers in making needed changes. Two new roles for teachers are apparent:

• participation in making school-wide decisions
• planning for and implementing change at the school site

Teachers express a genuine concern about their lack of professional preparation in performing these additional roles. Community representatives, parents, students and administrators are co-partners in the change efforts. Their inclusion calls for new work relationships for teachers as they collaborate with these stakeholders. This course has been designed to assist teachers in managing new roles and relationships in site-based decision making.

Course Purpose

This course aims to contribute to the training, support, and development of teachers in improving their schools. Whether new to or experienced in site-based decision making, the course provides teachers with:

• increased awareness of how they fit into the school improvement effort
• learning of specific knowledge and skills that contribute to the process
• opportunity to apply knowledge and skills learned to their school situations
• the motivation to become advocates of site-based decision making

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Course Objectives

1. To identify personal styles and how those styles affect others and group processes.
2. To understand a school's culture and its relationship to school improvement and site-based decision making.
3. To understand change and how it impacts individuals and groups within a school.
4. To define school improvement and explore conditions for its success.
5. To clarify new roles for teachers in school improvement and site-based decision making.
6. To examine the human side of school improvement.
7. To explore strategies for identifying, collecting, and analyzing data needed for school improvement.
8. To apply the characteristics of a healthy organization and the effective schools correlates to assessing a school's needs.
9. To understand the theory and concepts related to site-based decision making.
10. To become familiar with the governance structures and the roles of stakeholders involved in site-based decision making.
11. To identify and analyze the common components of school improvement planning models.
12. To review individual portfolios and prepare a personal plan for making a contribution to a school improvement plan.

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Curriculum Design

School Improvement and Site-Based Decision Making: A Graduate Course for Teachers was developed by a team of course designers, writers, and practitioners who have had recent experience in this specialized area. The curriculum content was clarified for the designers by two focus groups representing a cross-section of the education community, including classroom teachers. The ten course modules attempt to incorporate the most useful knowledge and skills needed by teachers nationwide. The structure of the course includes instructor presentations, discussions, experiential activities, self-assessments, role plays, and opportunities for processing and reflecting. Assignments require participants to do outside reading, analyze school data, and develop plans for applying what they have learned to specific school situations.

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Course Materials

A participant's notebook which includes materials needed for each module, plus a portfolio section for compiling required products, assessment results, key learnings from outside readings, reflections and plans is provided for each student.

A Library Resource Kit which includes books, audiotapes, and selected readings from periodicals will be available in the class. An annotated list of resources will be included in the participant's notebook.

Module 1: Assessing Personal Styles

Content:

1. Member Introductions
2. Individual and Group Expectations
3. Course Modules, Resources and Requirements
4. Culture Variables
5. Self-Analysis of Personal Styles
6. Analysis of Personal Styles

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Module 2: Elements of School Culture

Content:

1. Applying Personal Styles in Group Settings
2. Understanding School Cultures
3. Norms Supporting Improvement
4. School Culture Survey

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Module 3: School Improvement and the Teacher's Role

Content:

1. Dealing with Definitions of School Improvement
2. Looking at Past School Reform Efforts
3. Essential Conditions of Successful School Improvement
4. Identifying New Roles for Teachers
5. Reacting to New Roles

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Module 4: Taking Charge of Change

Content:

1. School Improvement as Change
2. Overcoming Resistance and Managing Change
3. Concerns-Based Adoption
4. Reactions to Change

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Module 5: Getting to Know a School

Content:

1. School Profile Analysis
2. Categories for Analysis
3. Process for Analysis
4. Practice at Analysis
5. Looking at Ourselves
6. Looking at Power and Authority
7. Planning for Data Collection

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Module 6: Healthy Organizations and Effective Schools

Content:

1. Analyzing the School Organization
2. Data Collection Methods
3. Surveys of School Climate
4. Review of Research on Effective Schools
5. Defining and Supporting Teacher Expertise
6. Planning for Improving Instruction

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Module 7: Organizing for Site-Based Decision Making

Content:

1. A Visioning Experience
2. Restructuring and Governance Defined
3. Readiness for Site-Based Decision Making
4. Rationale for Site-Based Decision Making
5. Making Site-Based Decision Making Work

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Module 8: Making Decisions at the School Site

Content:

1. Decision-Making Guidelines
2. Determining What is Decided
3. Who Makes Decisions?
4. Essentials of Site-Based Decision Making
5. What Goes Wrong?

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Module 9: Developing a School Improvement Plan

Content:

1. Rationale for Developing a Plan
2. Components of School Improvement Plans and Exploration of Planning Models
3. Analyzing a School Improvement Plan

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Module 10: Where Do We Go From Here?

Content:

1. Overview
2. Review Course and Learnings
3. Analysis of Conditions at Your School
4. Personal Readiness for Change
5. Planning for Back-Home Applications
6. Building Local Support Systems
7. Course Evaluation and Closure

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Grading

Assignment	Points
Attendance	25
Portfolios	75
Total Points	100

Grading Scale

93 - 100	A
85 - 92	B
77 - 84	C

The following is a detailed outline of course projects and assignments.

1. Attendance/Participation	25 points
10 Sessions at 2.5 points per session
(note: absence of more than 2 hours of class time will result in "No credit".)
2. Portfolios
A. Products	25 points
25 total products at 1 point each
B. Reflections	20 points
10 Reflection Journal Entries, 2 points each
C. Supplemental Readings	20 points
Book Reports - 5 points each
Article or tape reports - 2 points each
D. Supplemental Activities	10 points
Book Reports - 5 points each
5 Activities at 2 points each
(Independent study activities are included in this category.)
TOTAL POINTS AVAILABLE	100

Assessment of the quality of portfolio contents will be an on-going process between the instructor and the participant, thus giving participants continuous opportunity to improve the quality of their work. The instructor will award points for quality work only. The total number of points earned will result in an alpha grade. The lowest point total for which credit will be awarded is 77.

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Student Requirements

For successful completion of the course, the following is expected of participants.

1. Attend all class sessions (absence of more than 2 hours of class time will result in "No credit")
2. Participate in class activities
3. Complete all class products
4. Reflect and record learnings from each module
5. Maintain a portfolio of activities, products, readings and learnings
6. Successfully complete outside reading and supplemental activities

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