Reflections on Domain II: Instructional
Leadership
Over the past three years I have acquired a lot of
experience in instructional leadership.
In my previous experience I served as Lead Special Education
Teacher. As the Lead SPED teacher I had
to conduct classroom observations, mentor teachers, monitor teaching
assistants, oversee lesson planning and ensure compliance with special
education policies and procedures. In my
current position I serve as SPED Department Chair and Special Services
Coordinator. In this capacity I have
some of the same duties I had in my previous experience with the addition of
working with general education teachers to provide assistance in curriculum
modifications, monitoring students’ performance and behavior and overseeing other
special programs. Through my experience
I believe my greatest level of mastery lies in Domain II.
In Competency 4, Curriculum, Measurement and Alignment of
Resources I obtained experience in creating master schedules for in-class
support, assisting teachers with applying modifications, developing a testing
accommodations manual, and writing a technology grant for the school. Of these experiences I enjoyed gaining
knowledge in curriculum and instruction.
Working with my peers and providing guidance in applying modifications
is one of the most rewarding experiences from the entire internship. This experience is attributed to working in
charter schools. The benefit of working
in a charter school is that there are several opportunities to step outside of
your comfort zone.
Another experience I enjoyed was researching and writing
a technology grant for my school.
Although we were not awarded the grant, we received an honorable
mention. My taking initiative to seek a
technology grant allowed my administration insight to the other skills I
possess.
My practice in Competency 5, Campus Culture and
Professional Learning allowed me to develop a student reward system, create a
TAKS initiative and developed a behavior management system. The
TAKS Initiative provided me an opportunity to collaborate with my principal to
create an initiative designed to increase student preparedness for testing.
Participating in the development of a discipline management plan gave me an
opportunity to address an area of interest.
As a potential administrator my areas of interests are staff development
and training, student achievement and discipline management. With this experience I am more knowledgeable
about the development of programs that shape campus culture.
In Competency 6, Teacher Evaluation and Staff
Development, I had an opportunity to conduct staff development in applying
accommodations in accordance with students’ IEPs. I really enjoyed this aspect of the
internship! The best part of conducting
the training was getting feedback from my peers. Since professional development is my primary
interest I would like to seek more experience in this area.
In addition to professional development, I
observed the teaching assistants at both my previous campus and current
campus. My observations occurred while
the teaching assistants worked with students.
After my observations I had an opportunity to meet with the assistants,
share my observations and offer suggestions for improvement when improvement
was needed. This allowed me to gain
understanding of the evaluation procedures.
Most
of my experience in Competency 7, Decision-Making and Problem Solving came from
my participation on the SBDM Committee.
As a member I provide input to decisions that impact the campus. This is my first time serving in this
capacity. Although our committee is not
as active as it should be, I have still learned a lot about the decision making
process on both a campus level and district level.
My
experiences in problem solving occurred from mediating various situations on
campus and making suggestions to improve some processes. When a dispute occurred between two teachers
I was asked to mediate. I met with the
teachers and provided each an opportunity to state their side of the
conflict. As I listened I took
notes. As a mediator I worked with the
teachers to process the situation and to come up with a resolution. This situation allowed me to practice some of
the skills I acquired through my studies.
To
summarize my experience in Domain II I would have to say my level of mastery is
most proficient in this area because of my role and position on my campus.
