Schools, Teaching, and Supervision
Grand Canyon University
Reflections on Schools, Teaching and Supervision
EDA-551
Holbeck
May 5, 2014
Schools, Teaching, and Supervision
My beliefs are supervisors are in a school to be leaders and raise the bar for the school, teachers, students, and community. Supervisors are there to continually drive the school mission and vision statements. My beliefs as a future supervisor most closely follow the philosophy of essentialism. Furthermore, “Teacher supervision is a formative process that focuses primarily on improving instruction”.(L. Kalule, Y. Bouchamma pg.89) This is mostly based on how I was raised and the beliefs instilled into me as a child, young adult, and adult.
I was
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This is the job of an instructional supervisor. Supervise teachers within their schools and give them feedback on o their instructional development. Each teacher is a person, and every teacher comes in with unique experiences, gifts, and considerations. Being able to recognize and direct teachers in the correct path is vital to being a good supervisor.
Teachers need to be supervised on a daily basis. Whether it is an evaluation, walk through, or just a check in, this will hold the accountability bar high for everyone. This will also allow the supervisor the chance to get to know the teachers within the school. The supervisor will learn the strengths and weaknesses of the classroom teacher, where they are at with the curriculum, and help all parties when having to deal with any discipline issues within the classroom.
As a supervisor I believe one must be a master of the skills and knowledge needed to lead a school. Studies go on to say that, “study suggested that the trainees acquired a significant amount of the knowledge and skills that are essential”.(S. Eva, O. Marie-Louise, B. Boalt pg 381) Experience will come with the territory and learning from past events will be vital in the future. A supervisor must come to work each an every day with the attitude that today is going to be a great day. This will warm up the school environment and rub off on to other staff members as relationships are made over time. This will also help in making on
Kadushin describes a supervisor as someone "to whom authority is delegated to direct, coordinate, enhance, and evaluate on-the-job performance of the supervisees for whose work he/she is held accountable. In implementing this responsibility, the supervisor performs administrative, educational, and supportive functions in interaction with the supervisee in the context of a positive relationship" (Powell, 1993).
Essential aspects that underpin the professional and dedicated educator include the revising of knowledge and experience, reflection, and an effort in understanding their students. Within mathematics, these skills are informed by the curriculum chosen, the students involved, and the pedagogy that is selected, that create the professional judgement cycle (as seen in Appendix One) (Department of Education and Training Western Australia [DETWA], 2013a). The more teachers understand about their students, the more they can adapt the learning environment to cater for these different learning approaches (Burns, 2010).
When asked what were the most challenging issues in supervision, Ms. Lord stated that dealing with personality differences, supervisee resistance, and training management were issues that stood out the most for her. Ms. Lord described herself as a team player who will do what is necessary to serve her students so if she needs to stay at work later than normal, perform tasks that aren’t necessarily in her job description, etc. that is what she will do. She
Similar to other leadership settings, educational leadership has a reliance on individual traits such as respect, trustworthiness, and fairness. Similarly, skills are essential since they determine the effectiveness of headship. Cooperation of staff members requires leaders to have strong awareness and understanding of their complex organizational environment. Concurrently, choice of management style is essential while focusing on maximum effectiveness of educational leadership. Lastly, as postulated, educational leadership is a great influencer towards students
Educational leadership has changed and evolved through the years as a result of dramatic changes in the school culture, student demographics, environment, science, technology, and economy. Given the complexity and unpredictability of the demanding challenges to educate all children, prospective school leaders may find it desirable to define their own beliefs about instructional supervision and evaluation as they prepare for the rigor of school leadership practice. While enacting supervision, a supervisor is guided by certain values, assumptions, beliefs, and opinions that support the purpose and process of supervision (Sergiovanni & Starratt, 2006). This can be described as the supervisor’s
Many organizations and establishments have philosophies in how an organization is to be functioning and which positions are necessary to execute the plan. One of the crucial positions that make the establishment function is that of a Supervisor. The term supervisor is a word with Latin roots which means “to look over,” however, a supervisor is viewed as a person who is an immediate overseer to an employee at a workplace. The supervisor is the person an employee would directly report to for any work related situation. A supervisor plays an essential part of the management team that gives an organization purpose and leadership by being responsible for employees’ progress and productivity (Bittel & Newstrom, 1992).
Many people think the role of a teacher is just to teach students new skills; however the role goes much further than this, it can include assessor, verifier, advisor, record keeper, course designer, working with employers and personal tutor.
However, The subject leader is not just the machine that carries out guidelines, policies and enforces the orders from the superior, but it should more address the relationships with relevant others and related performance hoped of a post holder (Adey,1988; Ribbins, 1988; Webb and Luons, 1982). The role-set of the subject leader should involve not only to be teachers, but also their subject leaders, head teachers, governors, parents and student (David, 2001). As an intermediary, the subject leader should accommodate the relationship between all aspects. Therefore, apart from the job of teaching and learning, the more crucial issue for the subject leader is how to deal with these relationships. Furthermore,
A good supervisor will inspire, challenge, and motivate their employees. In addition, a supervisor has the ability to stay focused and is able see the big picture. However, one could possibly argue that the best quality that a good supervisor must possess is the skill to recognize the potential in others. Nevertheless, the most important skill a supervisor must possess is the ability to help those around realize their own potential.
Supervision should be planned and adopted to the changing conditions. It calls for good planning and organization.
"Some teachers may work with students to create the class environment; others may force a class environment upon students" (Zawondiak 124). Regardless of the approach the teacher might decide to take, she holds the power even before a student walks into class. The teacher is the one that chooses what materials are going to be used during the school year. She creates and plans lessons that are going to be used during class time. How children are going to be assessed and placed in levels that fit the children's capabilities. And finally, the teacher decides what set of goals she might have for the class, the different set of teaching techniques she would like to use and the set of expectations she might have for each students. The teacher is the one that decides what she wants to concentrate on, how to go about teaching it, and the outcomes she expects from the students.
“There is an unequivocal correlation between student achievement and teacher quality.” Direct supervision and evaluation of teachers should effectively address teacher quality, and thereby effect student learning and achievement. Bret Range, an associate professor of educational leadership at the University of Wyoming has written two papers and maintains a blog related to teacher supervision. His research indicates, “the key to teacher development lies within well-planned teacher supervisory activities.”
Classroom management is a key element to establish a successful learning environment in any classroom. An effective classroom management plan creates a positive learning environment. Classroom management is affected by the characteristics of the students and their behavior. Students’ behavior is influenced by their age, academic abilities, goals, interests, and home backgrounds (Evertson, Emmer, and Worsham, 2006). Teachers need a diverse array of classroom management skills to facilitate learning. A classroom with a proper management plan will spend less time in disciplining and more time in learning. Students in effectively managed classrooms know and follow clearly defined rules and routines. A classroom management plan should provide
The education habits of students are rooted in them from the earliest days of their educational careers. The different influences on students, whether it be inside educational institutions, or outside is huge. The teacher of a classroom is the first and most pertinent influence in a student's educational career. Teachers provide students with the basic skills they would need to survive not only in the academic world, but also the world beyond. The relationship between teachers and their students is the key element in creating an educational atmosphere that is both pleasant and effective.
Teaching is a profession that is considered to be a rewarding challenging and complex role. An effective teacher does not simply teach knowledge their students and instead aims to arm students with the knowledge, skills, understanding and attitudes that will prepare students for life-long learning. The constructivist theories developed by Piaget and Vygotsky have impacted on the way that teachers teach and this has changed the approach of teaching to place a greater importance on the teacher instead to act as a facilitator of learning in an open, constructivist environment and providing students with the tools to challenge themselves to develop both academically and personally. The education of students within classrooms of today is