Masters Degree Written Comprehensive Questions 1

Masters Degree Written Comprehensive Questions

Maxwell R. Torgerson

Minnesota State University Moorhead

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Abstract

This paper is being written to fulfill the requirements of ED 695B Portfolio Option

Post-Assessment. In this paper I will use examples from my course work, personal

research, and personal experiences to give my input on three scenarios provided by

the Educational Leadership Department at Minnesota State University Moorhead.

The following scenarios are being taken from the K-12 Administrative Comp

Questions.
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Scenario 2

In this first section, I will take the place of Director of Staff Development and

address curriculum concerns. I will use my current knowledge to explain how I

would evaluate the current curriculum, prescribe changes to the current curriculum,

and plan for maintaining current programs and implementation of changes.

The first thing I would do when evaluating an existing curriculum is compare

how closely it aligns to the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards. The MN Academic

Standards are required for statewide accountability according to Minnesota Statute

120B.021 (2016). I would look to the help of my colleagues in order to align

standards for each grade level and see if the curriculum provides adequate

opportunity for education of the standards. If the curriculum is deemed adequate,

then we can focus on merely adjusting or supplementing the curriculum in order to

make it best for our students.

As part of my practicum, I was given the task of evaluating my schools

science curriculum. This evaluation included looking at the current standards to see

how our curriculum aligned. The curriculum was purchased in 2005, but it was

adjusted along the way to ensure alignment to the standards. Next I had to look at

the quality of the materials. The curriculum was FOSS which includes a lot of

manipulates and takes a lot of work to keep organized. Unfortunately for me, the

curriculum at the lower grades was not kept very well intact so I spent many hours

tracking down materials from teachers and referencing them with a curriculum

guide I found online. I started running into issues of missing items and the quality of

the items we had. I made the recommendation to our building principal that we
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harvest any valuable materials and start fresh. I was pleased when he trusted my

opinion and asked me to be on the team that helps select the new curriculum.

We are still in the process of choosing a curriculum, which we will purchase

in July because we’ve used up too much of our current year’s budget on curriculum.

I asked to see the how the budgets for the curriculum get decided and I was

surprised at how easy it was to understand. According to Sorenson and Goldsmith

(2013), you don’t need to be an accounting expert to understand school budgeting.

This has been one of the more daunting thoughts of becoming an administrator, but

the knowledge I learned in ED 636 gave me enough exposure to school budgets

where I’m confident I can understand budgeting.

The curriculum team has been meeting more frequently in preparation of

choosing the curriculum we will go with. We’ve got it narrowed down to two

different choices. I’ve been able to employ knowledge that I’ve learned in EECE 642

when researching the different curricula. A piece that many teachers have stated

they want is access to resources. According to Jacobs (2010), resources in

curriculum play a major role in how they will serve the purpose of the learning

experience. A plethora of resources will help differentiate instruction to our highly

diverse population.

I’m lucky to have experience with evaluating and selecting curriculum. I feel

confident that I would be able to lead a team to evaluate current curriculum,

prescribe changes to the current curriculum, and plan to maintain the current

curriculum.
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Scenario 5

In this second section I will take on the role of principal an address an issue

with student-athletes in violation of some Minnesota State High School League rules.

I will address how I would proceed in this situation, speak to the culture of our

school, and address how involved the school should be in a legal matter like this.

The first thing I would do is get the facts as quickly as possible. I would hate

to accuse a player of any wrongdoing if they were innocent. As an administrator, you

may not remember every conversation you have with a teacher or student, but

they’ll remember every conversation they have with you (Whitaker & Gruenert,

2015). This may be difficult because of data privacy laws, but if four students have

admitted guilt, they must be suspended immediately for the upcoming games.

According to the Minnesota State High School League, a student shall not use or

consume alcohol, tobacco, or any other substance used for intoxication. The penalty

for violating such rule is a loss of eligibility to participate in MSHSL sanctioned

events for two consecutive contests or two weeks, whichever is longer for a first

time offender. Those consequences get more severe after multiple violations (2018).

Being a coach myself, I understand the value of high school athletics and

realize how sports teams can affect school’s culture. A scenario like this would be

unfortunate and would likely cause the school’s climate to drop temporarily;

however it is a learning opportunity everybody involved. The players who have

committed the violation will undoubtedly have regrets about missing the big game

and maybe give second thought before making a choice that could potentially affect

their entire community. The teammates will have a chance to step up and prove
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themselves worthy. The coach may make decisions that will help him avoid

situations like this in the upcoming years.

As an administrator, I would allow law enforcement to take the lead. Since

this happened off school property, it is not my business to investigate the matter

further. According to the MSHSL handbook, a player who violates an eligibility rule,

denies it, plays, and is then proven guilty serves a nine game or nine week

suspension, whichever is longer. As a principal, I would mention this to two groups

of people. First, I would mention this to law enforcement. If they are talking to

suspects during their investigation, they could mention this to any student-athletes

to give them a chance to come clean. Secondly, I would mention this to the players

who have already admitted guilt. I would talk to them about how proud I am of them

to admit their wrongdoings and tell the truth, and have them spread the word to

their teammates about the severity of the penalties if they are caught at a later date.

I would not make a whole team announcement or accuse any students individually

because of what I learned from Shifting the Monkey. Addressing the whole team

assumes you think everybody is guilty when really it was just a few bad apples that

have caused this situation. Keep that monkey away from the student-athletes who

made a good choice and stayed away from that party (Whitaker, 2014).

Being closely involved with athletics throughout participation and coaching,

I’m confident in my ability to handle this scenario. I would make the situation into a

learning opportunity and make decisions based on my best students.

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Scenario 7

In this scenario, I will take the role of principal and explain my beliefs of

supervision and evaluation of tenured and non-tenured employees. I will discuss

what method and style I would use to evaluate employees.

I believe that administrators should be seen in classrooms when students are

learning. One of my biggest takeaways from Shifting the Money was that crummy

teachers will try to get away with it; my solution is to not let them (2014). I was

fortunate enough to see Todd Whitaker speak for a professional development

opportunity that my district provided. By being present in the classrooms, teachers

will make sure they are prepared to teach and deliver effective instruction every

day. The school I currently teach in requires all teachers to display and discuss

learning targets with the students for every lesson. During the school year, an

administrator has not come in to check to make sure I was teaching my learning

targets. Since I consider myself a good teacher, and I know it’s best practice, I

continue to use learning targets in my classroom. However, there are several

teachers whom I visit with regularly who choose not to display learning targets in

their classroom because they are not being held accountable for them. This is a case

where an administrator should be supervising all teachers in order to ensure best

practice is taking place.

As is comes to evaluating staff, I am most familiar with iObservation and

Marzano. I would choose to formally evaluate non-tenured staff at least three times

per year. I would meet with each staff individually and select goals that may have

been school-wide initiatives before their arrival. I would assign them a mentor who
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is comfortable helping new teachers with their goals and check their progress after

each formal observation. For tenured staff, I would try to do one formal observation

per year. I would meet with the staff before hand to have them set up a growth plan

and set personal goals for themselves and their teaching. I would allow them

freedom to choose their own goals and experiment with the teaching in their

classrooms. If I were to see something I didn’t like while observing, I would speak

with the teacher and be honest with them. This may lead into setting up another

observation or more specific growth plan depending on the type of offense.

Another thing I would do is contact people in my network to see if there are

any resources they use that helps them supervise and evaluate staff more

effectively. In an interview with Matt Dass on February 16, 2017, Matt mentioned

they have created an evaluation to that is specific to their school using the Google

Suite. This would be customizable for specific goals for the school and free. As part

of this, I would have staff fill out a needs assessment on what professional

development they feel would be most effective for them and make it one of our goals

to improve. According to Knight, creating a focus for professional learning is one of

the pillars of an impact school (2012). Creating a common goal for all teachers to

work toward and learn together can help foster an improvement in climate

(Whitaker & Gruenert, 2015)

Throughout my educational and professional experience, I’ve found that

great administrators are visible throughout the school to students and teachers. It is

a way to show you care about the work being done in your school. Whitaker believes
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that hiring and retaining great teachers is one of the elements that great principals

do differently (Whitaker, 2011).

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Works Cited

Jacobs, H. H. (2010). Curriculum 21 essential education for a changing world.

Alexandria: ASCD.

Knight, J., (2012). High-impact instruction: A framework for great teaching. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Minnesota State High School League Official Handbook. (2018), Bylaw 205.

Sorenson, R. D., & Goldsmith, L. M. (2013). The principals guide to school budgeting.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Whitaker, T. (2014). Shifting the monkey: The art of protecting good people from liars,

criers, and other slackers. Solution Tree Press.

Whitaker, T., & Gruenert, S. (2015). School culture rewired: How to define, assess, and

transform it. Hawker Brownlow Education.

Whitaker, T., (2011). What great principals do differently: 18 things that matter most.

New York, NY. Routledge