Continuous Improvement Themes

As schools were faced with these daunting expectations to meet standards, state agencies, school boards, and administration all had to re-evaluate current practices, not only in the form of what should be taught, but how it should be taught (Performance Evaluation Advisory Council, n.d.). In more appropriate terms,

Training and Development is imperative to the organization’s progress. Training helps addressing employee weaknesses and builds a reliable and skilled workforce. This will improve the employees’ performance and boost their self confidence, and innovation. By acquiring the needed knowledge and skills, employees can perform more efficiently and increase the overall productivity of the organization.

All this information comes from the data that was gathered and analyzed through research and staff surveys. Managers need to plan the resources required to make the change and establish feedback mechanisms to evaluate the progress and success of the change (Sullivan & Decker, 2009, p. 70).

. Training as a part of capacity development is also an element of awareness. Managers of data and stakeholders in a data reporting system must continually be trained to improve on gaps.

Data gathered and examined ought to incorporate data about worker, administration and pioneer needs, needs, yearnings and desires. It is especially discriminating to have a discussion with senior administration as to their yearnings and desires for the wellbeing system. Having this clarity is basic for project outline and arranging.

The leadership team discussed specific outcomes that they want accomplish, taking into consideration the issues they want to address. After careful deliberation, they decided that they wanted to create a process of implementation with a feedback loop in which teachers and staff discuss each lesson. Documentation would be written down of what worked and what did not work and modifications could be done for the upcoming lessons. This could be accomplished by setting time for staff to meet and discuss lesson implementation, areas of strength and weakness. After discussion the staff would discuss and change the lesson plans to meet the needs of classroom. By crating this process of implementation staff can course correct

Continuous improvements are linked to organizational change by being sure their employees have everything they need for them to excel in everyday goals. When people visit CarMax, they do not get that pressure from sale associates like other dealerships. CarMax listens to their employees, so it promotes genuine learning environment. They try to follow all the new technology to help its employees to excel in everyday goals. They make sure they focus totally on the associates needs in turn the associates can focus totally on the customers.

Audit Follow-Up: Practices that are identified as being most challenging and needing further emphasis could be incorporated into the school improvement plan. Professional development experiences on particular practices could be offered. Teachers could use the summary results of the audit to develop instructional practices in individual classrooms, at grade levels, and/or schoolwide.

The Goal, written by Eliyah Goldratt and Jeff Cox, is a 40-chapter book. It is a novel that tells that story of a businessman that is in charge of a plant. This book is more like a business textbook, but is very interesting and easy to understand because is written as a story. As an operation management student, I think this is a very educative book, because it gives you real life situation examples that could happen to anyone. There is a lot to learn from this book.

As instructional leaders, we are responsible for the academic growth of our students. It is my duty to foster a culture of learning. This is best accomplished by being a lifelong learner. Rather than focusing on the instruction of the teacher to the student, an instructional leader within a culture for learning focuses on the students by asking questions such as, “What was learned? What is the evidence that my students learned?” (DuFour, Richard and Robert J. Marzano. “High-Leverage Strategies for Principal Leadership.” How Teachers Learn 66.5. (2009): 62-68) Rather than the principal observing a teacher on instructional style, within a culture of learning, that school leader is directing her observations on ascertaining what the students learned, how they learned it and how they know what to do if they have not yet learned it. In looking at the traditional method of teacher observation, if a principal finds the instruction of a teacher is lacking and helps him improve this instruction, this does not guarantee that the learning will also improve. (DuFour, Richard and Robert J. Marzano. “High-Leverage Strategies for Principal Leadership.” How Teachers Learn 66.5. (2009): 62-68) Rather, the instructional leader of the school should be asking such questions as, “What are the students doing? Are they engaged in their learning

1. Review the Continuous Improvement Cycle (PDCA) discussed on pages 140-141 of the Kelly text. Provide an example of an application of this process to your own organization, either how it is applied, or what an application might look like. Be sure to include a discussion of the challenges to implementing this approach, as well as what the benefits would be.

Assessing is a major priority in the school system because this is the only way principals are aware of the progress their students and teachers are producing. It is recommended that principals meet monthly with other administrators to stay up to date on the current changes in the curriculum, instruction, and assessments. The school leadership teams must ensure that they are choosing instructional works that have high success rates for enhancing student achievement. If the data results from the assessment show that the majority of students are not producing learning gains, the school’s principal should sit down with the teacher to discuss and reevaluate the lessons that are being taught.

One of the videos we watched, talked about what students can tell us about teaching. Whether we are a teacher or a student, change is hard. It is uncomfortable and messy. Teachers need to teach into the unknown and we all need to be self evolving learners that embrace change to help us become successful. Our learning environments are always changing and we need to learn to adapt.

My measurements of success are found in each and every student I teach. One of the most rewarding experiences I have had while student teaching, was watching a child’s face light up at the pivotal moment when they grasp a new concept or master a new skill. In fact, those “aha” moments are my motivators which feed my desire to look for better ways to ensure all students experience those same “aha” moments. As an effective teacher, I am determined and dedicatef to the continual process of researching, implementing, collecting and analyzing data to ensure I am improving upon the curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessment used in my classroom. Learning is a never-ending process. The better skilled I become as a teacher, the better the learning experience I can provide for my students. Therefore, the more I actively research, implement, and reflect, the greater the opportunity for giving my students the education they deserve and hopefully, the inspiration to pursue their own lifelong love of learning.

There is no one size fits all teaching strategy for all students. Therefore teachers must use a variety of teaching strategies to cater for a variety of different learners (Gill, 2013). It is important for teachers to regularly evaluate their practices and whether they are meeting the learning needs of all students (Zeichner & Liston, 1987). Self-evaluation can assist teachers to improve the educational experiences provided for students and assist in identifying the professional education you need to further develop your capacity to teach well (Schwartz, n.d.). As a future teacher developing learning programs, teaching, assessing, providing feedback on student learning and reporting to parents/carers are skills I must be proficient in.