Supervisory Policy and Practice allowed me to reflect on what sort of supervisor I would like to be and what sort of framework I believed allowed for the most professional growth within the teaching profession. Throughout the course a common theme was that very few (if any) policies can be created that can universally applied to everyone. Some employees perform best in a more hands-off setting, while others crave structure and close support. The needs of a new teacher are very different from that of a teacher who has been in a classroom for 10 years and different again from a 30-year veteran educator.
The two aspects of the course that stuck with me the most were the scenarios that we worked through as a group and the informal stories of Dr. Skinner. We were able to each bring our relevant experiences and strategies to bear on the situations and come away with some valuable problem-solving strategies that we likely wouldn’t have arrived at on our own. Dr. Skinner’s stories/lessons/direct instruction were always educational and entertaining, illustrating many different aspects of what it’s like to be responsible for assessing and motivating a group that is as diverse as most teaching staffs tend to me.
My artefact from this course represents my first stab at action research. I really enjoyed engaging in conversation as a key aspect of my research as opposed to the more commonly used online journals and textbook pages. I learned a lot about what original research looks like and how to organize data sets and findings into a cohesive narrative. My thesis looked at “Grow Your Own” leadership programs in rural school divisions. Interviewing a teacher, principal, superintendent, and a former superintendent/current faculty of education professor, allowed me to see the idea of identifying and nurturing leadership from many different points of view.
01:757 Supervisory Policy and Practice Outline
Action Research – Rural VP and “Grow Your Own” Leadership Training