1. Chapter 14 discusses the concept and
evolution of human performance improvement. Several sections of chapter 14
present a variety of non-instructional solutions to performance problems.
Identify a performance problem in your area of work and identify
non-instructional solutions that may help solve the problem.
The biggest performance problem, I feel is the lack of
communication between the elementary campuses in my district and my
campus. Not knowing what the classroom expectations
were for the students that we are getting from year to year puts us at a huge
disadvantage. Also, for the students who
struggle or have behavioral concerns, it would be nice to have some input from
former teachers as to what worked and what did not work for those
students. This would be a huge time
saver and help the students’ current teachers have an idea of where to
start. Right now we have no idea and it
takes us several weeks, sometimes longer, to find out what works for each of
our students.
A great way to fix this would be
for each department to be able to sit down before the school year starts and
the past year’s teachers talk to the current year’s teacher give them what
works and what does not work with their students. If they could not meet face to face, then a
written report would be another great asset to a student’s current teacher.
Because classroom procedures and
expectations vary from campus to campus, it would also be a huge asset for this
information to be shared as well. So
that as students move from campus to campus the new teachers have a clear idea
of what the students were expected to do.
It makes a difference if a child comes from a campus where they were
changing classes multiple times for different classes versus changing just
once. When they get to my campus they
will be changing for every core subject so this is a huge adjustment for many
of my students and they get really stressed out about it. It would be nice to know ahead of time which
kids are going to struggle with that before they start so that we can ease any
stresses that they may have faster.
2.
Chapter 15 presents performance support systems. Define performance support
systems and explain how a performance support system might (or might not) help
solve the problem you identified above.
A performance support
system is defined as “a system that provides performers with varying levels of
access to support information and tools at the moment of need.” I think that the administrators in the
district I work in provide a good performance support system and would be
willing to figure out a way to develop a more consistent set of procedures at
each campus. They would also be
supportive of setting up some sort of portfolio system for the students who
have behavioral and/or learning difficulties.
This would make a huge difference for these students, I feel because
their teachers would have a better idea of what works for them and what does
not work.
3. Chapter 16
explains knowledge management: the way we manage information, share that
information, and use it to solve organization problems. Organizations, such as
schools, accumulate a great deal information/data, which must be organized in a
way that we can make sense of it in order to use for making decisions. What
knowledge would help solve the problem you identified above and how would that
knowledge need to be collected and managed to help facilitate problem solving?
The
way a student’s general information is organized in the district where I work
is very well organized. I have access to
it online 24/7. This is great when I
need to talk to a parent about their child.
However, when I am asked to attend an ARD meeting on a student,
especially at the very beginning of the school year, this information is not as
helpful. If there was a way to have
access to what interventions or behavior management techniques have been used
in the past and whether they worked or not, that information would be very
valuable to have when working with the student.
It would also help when setting up modifications and accommodations for
students with learning disabilities to know what has worked and what has not
worked. I have had to attend ARD within
the first few weeks of school on students who I have barely had time to learn
their name. I am always fearful of the
choices that I make for modifications and accommodations for that student
because I have not had them long enough to know what really works for
them. I use the modifications and accommodations
from the previous year as a guide because that is the only source of information
I have to go by. This works as long as
those modifications and accommodations are allowed on STAAR. I believe that with better communication and
sharing of information between grade levels would be very beneficial to these
students. I think it would help close
gaps much faster.
4. Chapter 17 describes types of
informal learning. What informal learning experiences have you participated in
at your organization? Could those informal learning experiences be shared with
others? Could the knowledge gained in those settings be codified and managed?
And should it be managed or should the informal experiences be replicated or
broadened for others?
Three
years ago, my 5th graders were given the opportunity to attend a 3
day 2 night camp that was designed to reinforce 85% of the Science TEKS that
are tested on STAAR. The students were
divided into groups and we (their regular teachers) were only there for
behavior management. The groups were
lead by a person who they did not know but had a way of catching their attention. The lessons were very project based and
student centered. The students were able
to make connections with what we had talked about in class with what they saw
in the real world. It was amazing to
watch. I saw kids who had struggled all
year finally understand how weathering, erosion, and deposition worked to tear
down and build up land. It also provided
us (the teachers) the opportunity to get to know the students on a more
personal level which was a very heartwarming experience for me. When we came back to school all I had to do
was show a picture of an activity when we were reviewing and the kids knew
exactly what I was talking about and they were able to explain it to their
peers who were not able to attend. I
have recommended this camp to many of the teachers that I come in contact with
from other districts. I think that it is
a great way for students to connect what they learn about it class to the real
world which shows them how what they are learning is relevant to them. When we took this trip, we took half of our 5th
graders 2 weeks before STAAR and the other half 1 week after STAAR. The results were substantial. The kids who went before the test
showed significant growth. So I know the
program works. We took all the 5th
graders last year, all at the same time and the experience was very good for
the students. We are planning on
returning this year with our students and I cannot wait to tell the students about
it. They are going to love it and I will
use the activities that they do at the camp to reinforce concepts I am teaching
in the classroom so that they can develop a better understanding of the
concepts. This will help the students
have a stronger foundation in Science to build on as they go through school.
I also feel that the lack of communication between campuses is a major concern. Classroom expectation change from room to room. My campus has tried to unify that with a program called CHAMPS. Our campus formed a committee that focused on behaviors that were a concern for our students. We did this by doing a survey that parents and students could participate in for our campus. From there we identified the top concerns for our campus and created expectations that our whole campus would adhere to for the safety of our school. We called the first areas the Commons Areas which was the restroom, hallways and cafeteria. Next we focused on expectations in the classroom. Again it would look differently for each teacher but the structure of the expectations would be the same. I know district wide about half the campuses have used the same classroom management program with good success. It is also helpful for students who transition between schools in the same district; because they know the expectations are fundamentally the same even though they may look slightly different. Last I heard they were going to implement this program universally through our district.
ReplyDeleteCarla,
ReplyDeleteI also feel that lack of communication can cause issues at any workplace, from employee to employer, and even from teacher to student. Communication is one of the most important things that some people take for granted by not using it effectively. There are many different ways to communicate besides just verbally. Email is a form of communication that a lot of business and schools use, however, if someone does not check and read their emails regularly then that is where the mis-communication occurs.
You also stated "Not knowing what the classroom expectations were for the students that we are getting from year to year puts us at a huge disadvantage". Don't the teachers have a general idea as to where the students should be in learning? I thought that is why teachers grade the assignments, and why there are report cards and the STAAR exam. Those 3 things should give the teacher a general idea as to where each student should be with their learning.
I agree that there is a lack of communication between not only campuses, but grade levels. It would be nice to know from year to year what to expect. I think it is important to pass on ideas that worked for a particular student and what didn't work. Some schools don't want teachers to talk because of the negativity that some teachers would pass on and that is understandable as well, but we really do need to know about the big issues behavioral or academic.
ReplyDeleteA few years back I was the RTI Coordinator for our Jr. High campus. At the end of each year I would attend the RTI final meetings with many of the elementary teachers. I received great information about academic, behavioral and many times personal issues. Unfortunately, after the summer months and not having ever been around the children we were discussing the information was not as helpful as maybe it could be. The best case senario in my thoughts would be after a week or two at the beginning of the school year, when the teachers have had a chance to learn who the kids are, sit down and discuss what worked and what didn't with "last year's" teachers. In this way, the new teachers would have enough experience with the children to ask questions and I think the information that is being passed on would have a greater impact.
ReplyDelete