At first thought I did not see the complete value of reflection. I have so many tasks to complete in a day I could not imagine how reflection would be worth the time I would have to invest. Not to say I did not take the time to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of decisions, but to really take time to reflect on the entire process was definitely an area I was deficient. After utilizing reflection to such an extent as this program required allowed me to realize how reflection, and the input from others, really creates a vivid picture about the quality of a particular action. As stated in the text, School leadership internship, 2nd edition on page 106 “Reflection is learning to analyze prior experiences in order to better understand how they shape future courses of action; it is thinking about how actions are connected to cultural norms, to initial experiences growing up, institutional histories, and on-the-job experience.” I now realize that reflection is the key to making better decisions in the future and preventing the same mistake be repeated.
There are several course assignment activities that have utilized reflection. In EDLD 5342 there were several opportunities to reflect on personal experiences regarding ethical issues. Taking examples of situations that were real life and reflecting on the things that lead to such actions was very powerful. I was then able to read reflections of other students and gain insight on activities that occurred that some individuals did not even realize were considered unethical. In EDLD 5396 it was enlightening to take the self-assessment of the competencies and to reflect on the areas of strength and the areas that need improvement. To then complete this activity in the final internship course has shown a significant amount of growth.
Creating the blog and the wiki was a new adventure for me. Now that I go back and review the items posted to these two sites I see how much I have accomplished during this program. One of the most recent reflection activities posted to the blog that had a significant amount of impact was the lessons learned from action research. To go back and reflect on all the activities conducted throughout this program showed just how much I was able to accomplish in such a short period of time. During our finance class we were asked to reflect on the conversation with the superintendent regarding personnel salaries and financial audits. Conducting the group work during the finance class through the wiki was another example of an opportunity to reflect on personal opinion and come to a consensus as a group.
The reflection provided for each of the 38 activities from the site-supervised logs has provided me with great insight as to which projects made an impact and which ones were not quite as meaningful. I am very excited to look back at my reflections and realize that I was a part of two projects that went to the Board of Trustees and were approved as new programs in the district. I was also part of a staff development opportunity that was deemed successful by administrators and teachers throughout the district.
Each time an assessment was scored and returned I always took time to reflect on not only the ones I missed, but also which questions I got correct. This reflection process helps me determine the areas I need to build up and get better, and which areas I seem to show consistent strength and no longer need to dwell in this particular area.
I definitely take more stock in reflection after completing this program than I did when I began. I plan to use reflection throughout my career, but will start using reflection immediately as I wind down another school year as an elementary principal. I intend to have each staff member write a reflection for this school year. I plan to have them reflect about the implementation of our CSCOPE program, and then expect them to pick one other area of their choice to reflect on. I think it would be too overwhelming for them, and for me, to expect a reflection of the entire year, but certainly see where picking key areas would provide me with a great deal of insight that might not otherwise be shared. During committee meetings we use a plus/delta format to collect input. I would take these bullets and construct an overall reflection to capture the overall essence of the discussion.
1 comment:
I was with you in not realizing how important reflection is to everyday life until I took on my first administrative job and realized I had to learn from mistakes to be able to become the best leader I could. Reflection allows us as leaders to step back and look at a problem more globally and understand the different parts of the problem before and after a decision is made. It allows for adjustments in our leadership and decision making skills. The greatest gain from reflection is learning from our mistakes and prior actions.
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