Lesson Activities

Task 5.a. PLC Discussion - Promises kept or opportunities lost Case Study (eBase Group)

Promises kept or opportunities lost: A wicked problem in educational leadership.

Please complete the required case study reading for this shared decision making lesson, by Karen Stansberry Beard [Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 2017, Vol. 20 (3), 86–103] by, then respond to the following questions by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. (ET).

• If you were principal Jeff James, how would you resolve this issue after having heard the superintendent’s response?
• What are the key elements of this case that suggest the principal may have a “wicked” problem on his hands?
• In the article, Beard cites Maxwell (2014) who suggests three questions to pose when attempting to resolve leadership problems: Why are we facing this problem? How do we go about solving it? What specific steps need to be taken? Consider this case in relation to these three questions as well as how this problem might be avoided in the future.

By Sunday at 11:59 p.m. (ET), interact with at least two other course colleagues.

Task 5.b. Commentary Activity (eBase Group): School-Based Shared Decision Making

Lesson 5's theme is shared decision making. In this commentary assignment, you are asked to capture three or four of the big ideas that are most relevant to you. Specifically, share your thinking in your two-page paper and include:

• Examples from your experience that illustrate the merit of shared decision making in an organization/school.
• Learning is emotional. What struck you in the readings—that grabbed you emotionally—that you continue to process?
• What questions do you still have (or) what else are you curious about that remains unanswered based on your experiences to date in combination with the literature?

Upload your completed responses to the questions to share them with your eBase Group.

Task 5.c. Reflection Paper - First Half

Instructions

Following the prompts associated with each Lesson Reflection, compose and save your responses in a word processing application. Reflections for the first half of the course will be submitted on the last day of Lesson 6. Be sure to label each reflection in your document.

Lesson 5 Reflection: Decentralized School Governance Models (SBM and Distributed Leadership)

The purpose of this lesson's reflection paper is to have you stop and think about the structures and philosophies of site-based management and distributed leadership. Please respond to the following question prompts but feel free to add additional thoughts, musings, or insights:

• If you were in a school that the superintendent had targeted to be decentralized via either SBM or through a distributed leadership change initiative, what would you most excite you?
• How do either of these models relate to what you already know and believe about leadership?
• What areas of professional development would be critical for you to have to help you grow as a professional?
• Other reflections?

Label and hold the Lesson 5 Reflection until you are ready to submit all reflections for the first half of the course.