First, select someone you with whom you have a good relationship to ask these questions:
How did the change you experienced affect your personal belief system? (I shared in class that embracing the SOL test as the measure to further sort and select students was not something I agreed with philosophically when we changed our direction overnight)
How could the change process you encountered have been improved?
Secondly, let the person talk and you listen, do not try to write everything they say at the sitting. Instead, listen well and summarize what they tell you. The procedure of taking copious notes during the interview complicates the process; a few lines is all you need to jog your memory. Develop those good listening skills, they will serve you well throughout your career.
The purpose is for you to learn how a real life change was handled by someone who lived it, not to inform me of a series of facts. Make this assignment assist you in understanding how people deal with the changes they must face to improve student achievement. Hopefully, the person will feel compelled to share what they have learned in their career about successfully managing change. The only constant in life.
Hope this helps.
Write no more than two pages of your success in getting your person to share and what you have learned from the interview.
Sam
PS if your Good to Great article is missing pages - Google it on the net, it is there.
2 comments:
1.) What are the steps required to affect lasting, effective change in a school or a school system?
2.) What is the most effective method for assessing change in a school or a school system?
3.) Are we seeking to change the system or are we, merely, seeking to return to a system that seems more "traditional" or familiar?
4.) Are all stakeholders change agents in the school or school system?
5.) What is the best, most efficient, or most effective method or procedure for including and empowering the stakeholders as change agents in the school or school system?
6.) How do you best assess the priorities for change in a school or a school system?
7.) What motivates us, as educators, to seek and to employ change in our schools and school systems?
8.) Which is the better assessment of the current state of education and the urge to implement change:
"If it ain't broke don't fix it" or "If it ain't broke, break it"? Is the educational system in American broken? When did we recognize the system was broken? Who is responsible for breaking it? How can it be repaired?
Thank you for the input. It was helpful.
Kendra Hamilton
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