Developing Leaders
Presentation Feedback
Firstly I had a really positive experience listening to all
the presentations (thank you everyone); there was lots of food for thought and things that I heard from
other departments/curriculum areas that could be really beneficial in MFL. I
particularly like the idea of mentoring within a subject – though we are
limited to the number of A-Level students we could use as mentors I am sure
that this could be something that could be beneficial for Year 11 students or
high ability Year 10s who could support Year 9s. This is definitely something I would be keen to look into.
Feedback from my
peers on my challenge and presentation
Strengths & Development Points:
Reflection – all the feedback I received commented on the reflection that I had done on my own learning preferences and leadership style. I feel that I have come a long way not only on this course but over the years I have been teaching in Greece and the UK. When I was initially asked to complete a reflective journal in Greece I was rather sceptical as to the benefits of doing this when it would take away from my preparation and marking time. However, as I aim to progress as a classroom practitioner and a leader within school it is clear that this element of reflection and being able to look at my practices critically is the key to driving me forward.
Data Analysis - Due to my own learning style, data analysis is something I relish and I am only too happy to drill down into data to look for trends and identify gaps within the department, which the feedback picks up on. It is interesting that some of my peers suggested looking at soft data when I continue with my challenge and perhaps get some more feedback from the students more formally about how they found the extraction groups. I have some examples of the more vocal students expressing an opinion but I did not look at the feelings of the entire cohort which is something to build into the challenge moving forward.
Leadership Development – All the feedback I have been given states that I have a clear understanding of my strengths and weaknesses, which having completed the sessions and writing the blog I would agree with. During my challenge I did aim to move away from my preferred style and develop my areas of weakness and improve upon my level 1 & 2 competencies. I feel that I have come some way to doing this yet there is definitely more work to be done. In future when I work in different teams on other projects I am sure that putting more focus on other leadership styles will be key. Whilst I did strive to take the role of a co-ordinator with my challenge, and try to move away from my preference for pacesetting, being a pace setter wasn’t too much of an issue due the high level of competency my colleague has and also the extremely high standards she sets.
Strengths & Development Points:
Reflection – all the feedback I received commented on the reflection that I had done on my own learning preferences and leadership style. I feel that I have come a long way not only on this course but over the years I have been teaching in Greece and the UK. When I was initially asked to complete a reflective journal in Greece I was rather sceptical as to the benefits of doing this when it would take away from my preparation and marking time. However, as I aim to progress as a classroom practitioner and a leader within school it is clear that this element of reflection and being able to look at my practices critically is the key to driving me forward.
Data Analysis - Due to my own learning style, data analysis is something I relish and I am only too happy to drill down into data to look for trends and identify gaps within the department, which the feedback picks up on. It is interesting that some of my peers suggested looking at soft data when I continue with my challenge and perhaps get some more feedback from the students more formally about how they found the extraction groups. I have some examples of the more vocal students expressing an opinion but I did not look at the feelings of the entire cohort which is something to build into the challenge moving forward.
Leadership Development – All the feedback I have been given states that I have a clear understanding of my strengths and weaknesses, which having completed the sessions and writing the blog I would agree with. During my challenge I did aim to move away from my preferred style and develop my areas of weakness and improve upon my level 1 & 2 competencies. I feel that I have come some way to doing this yet there is definitely more work to be done. In future when I work in different teams on other projects I am sure that putting more focus on other leadership styles will be key. Whilst I did strive to take the role of a co-ordinator with my challenge, and try to move away from my preference for pacesetting, being a pace setter wasn’t too much of an issue due the high level of competency my colleague has and also the extremely high standards she sets.
Whilst listening to other presentations I was interested to
hear that some people thought, that when they took on a leadership role, they imitated
the styles of leaders they had worked under. Whilst I do think I have come from
an educational background where my teachers were pacesetters, I have worked in
a number of different sectors and under various leaders that used different
styles. Looking back I have found coercive and democratic having the least
effect on myself as I like clear direction but I also have a way of working
that I would find hard to give up altogether. I have been drawn towards a pace
setting style simply as I was always told to lead by example and that you can’t
expect people to do what you yourself are unwilling to do. Whilst I see that
there are benefits to this, seeing others’ Leadership Challenges and their ways
of approaching Leadership has further demonstrated to me that there is no right
or wrong way of being a leader. However, there is a right or wrong way of being
a leader within a certain context, to analyse it and approach it in a way that
enables you to not only get the best outcome but respond to the needs of
others, whatever kind of stakeholder they may be. In getting the best out of
everyone you in turn empower them to lead. There are definitely situations
where pacesetting can be useful but I have also seen that this needs to be used
in collaboration with other approaches if I am to be a successful leader.
Questions
Impact of giving up free periods?
Neither member of the department raised any concern about this. I think the challenged worked as the department works so well together. There is no every man for himself attitude and staff want to help each other so that they can get the best outcomes for the students we teach. As a department resources are shared and wherever possible we cover lessons and assist within other lessons.
Impact of giving up free periods?
Neither member of the department raised any concern about this. I think the challenged worked as the department works so well together. There is no every man for himself attitude and staff want to help each other so that they can get the best outcomes for the students we teach. As a department resources are shared and wherever possible we cover lessons and assist within other lessons.
Complaints of pupils?
Throughout the period that the extraction ran only one student complained. The rest of the students were fully on board and understood the rationale behind the foundation and higher tier groups. The student who did want to be included in the higher group was offered additional one to one tuition and their parents were contacted, however, their attendance was sporadic and after a number of weeks they understood the reasoning behind their exam entry. What did not happen was a drop in expectations or academic challenge in the foundation group. The main difference in the exams is the skill set required to achieve maximum UMS points so there was academic dialogue in both groups, neither member of staff wanted to lower the standards or expectations by extracting the different ability groups.
Throughout the period that the extraction ran only one student complained. The rest of the students were fully on board and understood the rationale behind the foundation and higher tier groups. The student who did want to be included in the higher group was offered additional one to one tuition and their parents were contacted, however, their attendance was sporadic and after a number of weeks they understood the reasoning behind their exam entry. What did not happen was a drop in expectations or academic challenge in the foundation group. The main difference in the exams is the skill set required to achieve maximum UMS points so there was academic dialogue in both groups, neither member of staff wanted to lower the standards or expectations by extracting the different ability groups.
Stepping on toes
Before the challenge began I was a little apprehensive but this was completely unfounded. At no point during the leadership challenge did I feel as though I was treading on someone’s toes or going above them. Although I tried to adopt a more affiliative and democratic approach to ensure this didn’t happen, the main reason for this was due to the leader I work under. As a Leader my HoF is excellent as she allows others to take a leading role and fits into a team by moving away from her own modus operandi to empower others to act and lead.
Before the challenge began I was a little apprehensive but this was completely unfounded. At no point during the leadership challenge did I feel as though I was treading on someone’s toes or going above them. Although I tried to adopt a more affiliative and democratic approach to ensure this didn’t happen, the main reason for this was due to the leader I work under. As a Leader my HoF is excellent as she allows others to take a leading role and fits into a team by moving away from her own modus operandi to empower others to act and lead.
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