The structure of the Organization and Administration course has helped me to develop an understanding of concepts prior to implementing them in my Administrative Action Plan. Each week, our administrative team discusses a series of questions and then responds to the team challenge. Our collaborative discussion leads my thinking in new directions as team-mates share innovative ideas and suggestions based on their varying professional backgrounds and experiences. Following our team discussion, I have further investigated discussion topics through references in the resource library and other professional journals and books. I have focused my reading on topics that support my Administrative Action Plan and are beneficial for my needs at the elementary instructional level.
I liken the model of this course to the collaborative model employed by administrators in schools. Observing my principal, I see that she rarely makes decisions in isolation; rather, she brings topics to the school leadership team, holds roundtable discussions with teachers and teacher specialists, and engages in conversation with her administrative peers and leaders. Decisions are made based on the shared knowledge and input of all stakeholders, and often include research into best practices and related topics. Our work as an Administrative Leadership Team within the course mirrors the practice that a school administrator employs before taking action.
I have appreciated the weekly input from our instructor. Through both news items shared with the entire class and messages in our team discussion forum, Frank has encouraged our work and made sure our discussion is appropriately focused. The ELC resource library and references shared by classmates have helped me with my research citations. Ongoing support with finding these references is appreciated. Additionally, I am sure that I will benefit from ongoing technical support as we use Web 2.0 tools and other technologies in our coursework.
My only question about the format/content of the course is whether I will garner the optimum information through my readings and independent work. Since we had whole-class discussions in previous courses, I was exposed to a broad range of experience and opinion. In contrast, the format of this course is encouraging independent thinking and research, teaching me how to approach an administrative task rather than teaching the “right answers.” As we proceed with our coursework, I will be interested to see how confident I feel with the knowledge I am gaining and its application within the action plan.
