Stafford D. Boyd

 

 

About Me:

 

WOO-HOO!  I just got married on June 28th, 2008.  My beautiful wife Anna is also an educator--she teaches 5th & 6th graders in Mapleton Schools.  You can see us on our perfect day:   Stafford & Anna Slideshow 1.pps

 

I also have a beautiful daughter named Isobel who is seven going on seventeen.  She is enthusiastically entering the 2nd grade.  You can see her joyous and energetic personality by linking to these few pictures:   Isobel Slideshow.pps

 

 

Professional Experience: 

 

I am engaged in an on-going quest for a challenging career as a catalyst and facilitative leader in public education.

You can check out where I am and where I've journeyed on my quest by linking to a copy of my resume:

  Stafford_D_Boyd_-_Resume[1].doc

 

 

Action Plan:

 

Essential Questions:

·       How do I as a leader intend to support teacher effectiveness to improve student achievement?

·       What is a 21st Century school/district/teacher/administrator?

 

Guiding Knowledge & Concepts:

 

Being a 21st Century school/district/teacher/administrator, no matter one's current context, by definition necessitates on-going TRANSFORMATION!

Thus, as a leader I intend to support teacher effectiveness to improve student achievement by being a leader and model of TRANSFORMATION!

 

Numerous organizations and research have recently proposed frameworks that describe a vision of the transformational education environments of the future, most notably:

• The Partnership for 21st Century Learning - Framework for 21st Century Learning
• The State of Colorado, Gov. Ritter's Graduation Guidelines Development Council -  Reimagining High School in Colorado.pdf
• ASCD - Educational Leadership, May 2008 - Reshaping High Schools 

 

Similarly, standards for educators and students have recently been or currently are being revised to provide detailed descriptors of the skills, behaviors, and knowledge needed by all players within these future educational realities, such as:

           - For Administrators  NETS_A_Colo.doc       NETS_A-Profiles.doc    ISTE National Educational Technlogy Standards

           - For Teachers  NETS for Teachers 2008.doc   Colorado_standard_7.pdf

           - For Students  NETS_for_Students_2007.pdf    NETS-S_Student_Profiles.pdf

 

Therefore, the following frameworks provide guidance on how I can catalyze and facilitate the development of the standards-based aptitudes of myself and others within the transformational environment of 21st Century Learning.

 

Technology Learning Spectrum -  tech learning spectrum.pdf

Grappling's Technology and Learning Spectrum describes three stages of integrating technology skills and uses into teaching, learning, and professional practice.  Stage 3 learning—titled “Transforming Uses”—is “just in time”, enabling new learning such as exploration, knowledge production, communication, and self-direction, as opposed to the much more teacher-centered uses of stage 1—technology literacy—and stage 2—adapting uses.  Stage 3 learning is messy, for both teacher and student alike, because it requires change in thought and action.  Yet stage 3 holds a key difference from the other two stages that grounds this messiness—clearly identified essential skills, practices, and learning tasks that drive learning in which technology enhances, rather than technology learned for technology sake.  As a leader, I must catalyze and facilitate learning grounded in stage 3 transformation, while allowing teachers and students alike to veer back into stages 1 and 2 when appropriate.

 

School Leadership That Works: From Research to Results - http://www.mcrel.org/product/212/

Robert J. Marzano, Timothy Waters, and Brian A. McNulty conducted a meta-analysis of years of research on leadership and concluded that 21 specific leadership responsibilities have a significant effect on student learning based upon the correlation of each to academic achievement gains.  Further, they distinguished between efforts that reflect first- and second-order change and the leadership responsibilities that are most important for each.  They define first-order change as, “incremental change [which] fine-tunes the system through a series of small steps that do not radically depart from the past.”  Further, they define second-order change as, “deep-change [which] alters the system in fundamental ways, offering a dramatic shift in direction and requiring new ways of thinking and acting.”  21^st Century Learning and related future-focused frameworks of teaching and learning, the newly revised technology related standards, and the stage 3 learning these require are second-order in nature.

 

The second-order change leadership responsibilities identified in the research are: Knowledge of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment; Optimizer; Intellectual Stimulation; Change Agent; Monitoring/Evaluating; Flexibility; and, Ideals/Beliefs.  As a leader, I must catalyze and facilitate learning within these second-order contexts by understanding and utilizing these seven responsibilities, and I must model refinement of these as new situations arise.  Further, the researchers found that second-order change evokes negative perceptions of the following leadership responsibilities:  Culture; Communication; Order; and Input.  Thus, I must additionally be aware of strategies and actions I can take to address these areas.  Additionally, I can model by carrying out these leadership tasks in ways that the use a variety of media and formats, including telecommunications and the school website, to communicate, interact, and collaborate with peers, experts, and other education stakeholders.

 

A final conclusion of note from this research is that they propose leaders develop a strong leadership team and distribute leadership.  This collaborative framing of leadership clearly aligns with the collaboration integral to 21^st Century (stage 3) learning and the associated standards.

 

 

My Next Steps:

 

Strand 1 – Basic Technology Skills and Applications

What skills, experience, and/or willingness can I model in regards to using technology without having to be an “expert”?

 

	Short Range	Medium Range	Long Range
III. Productivity and Professional Practice Educational leaders apply technology to enhance their professional practice and to increase their own productivity and that of others.	Use Google Docs to collaboratively create retreat admin. slide show; Model effective use of  digital “capturing” of group thinking with PLC leaders; Create templates and organization for PLC leaders on P: drive; Gain access to and utilize CO growth model tech communication tools.	Transition PLC docs & sharing from paper/P: Drive to paperless/ other appropriate technologies; MODEL transformational use! (which means search, experiment, practice, reflect, learn, do again) – based upon context of the work I’m engaged in; Gain access to and utilize CO growth model tech communication tools.	MODEL transformational use! (which means search, experiment, practice, reflect, learn, do again) – based upon context of the work I’m engaged in

 

Strand 2 – Leadership Skills

How will I, as a leader and facilitator, help others focus on a vision that improves student achievement and facilitates continuous professional growth?

 

	Short Range	Medium Range	Long Range
I. Leadership and Vision Educational leaders inspire a shared vision for comprehensive integration of technology and foster an environment and culture conducive to the realization of that vision.	Collaborate with tech staff to drive vision enabling transformation of use from solely e-mail and “save-drive” to other more effective/appropriate tools (i.e.-web 2.0)	Catalyze shared vision of secondary ed. at THS & Adams 12 by including 21st Century Learning & CO Reimagining HS in conversations and future-focused work.	Lead a school that purposefully uses 21st Century Learning Framework and CO Reimagining HS as guides to how education looks/sounds/feels--the basis for how learning occurs--curriculum, instruction, and assessment--either as a new school or transformation of a school to a 21st century model
II. Learning and Teaching Educational leaders ensure that curricular design, instructional strategies, and learning environments integrate appropriate technologies to maximize learning and teaching.	Have PLC leaders use current tech tools (P: drive) to create, organize, and communicate PLC work based upon annual instructional units	Transition PLC leaders to use of wiki for PLC work creation, organization, and communication	Lead a school that purposefully uses 21st Century Learning Framework and CO Reimagining HS as guides to how education looks/sounds/feels--the basis for how learning occurs--curriculum, instruction, and assessment--either as a new school or transformation of a school to a 21st century model
IV. Support, Management, and Operations Educational leaders ensure the integration of technology to support productive systems for learning and administration.	Have PLC leaders use current tech tools (P: drive) to create, organize, and communicate PLC work based upon annual instructional units; Collaborate with tech staff to drive vision enabling transformation of use from solely e-mail and “save-drive” to other more effective/ appropriate tools (i.e.-web 2.0)	Transition PLC leaders to use of wiki for PLC work creation, organization, and communication; Collaborate with tech staff to drive vision enabling transformation of use from solely e-mail and “save-drive” to other more effective/appropriate tools (i.e.-web 2.0)	Collaborate with tech staff to drive vision enabling transformation of use from solely e-mail and “save-drive” to other more effective/ appropriate tools (i.e.-web 2.0)
V. Assessment and Evaluation Educational leaders use technology to plan and implement comprehensive systems of effective assessment and evaluation	Provide  “just in time” tech integration of Mastery Manager for PLC teams; Use tools for CO Growth Model to communicate and collaborate with staff, parents, students.	Provide  “just in time” tech integration of Mastery Manager for PLC teams; Use tools for CO Growth Model to communicate and collaborate with staff, parents, students; Continue use of numerous and varied assessment data systems	Use tools for CO Growth Model to communicate and collaborate with staff, parents, students; Continue use of numerous and varied assessment data systems

 

Strand 3 – Social, Legal and Ethical

What systems and resources do you need in place to ensure that available technologies support and enhance the learning environment?

 

	Short Range	Medium Range	Long Range
VI. Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues Educational leaders understand the social, legal, and ethical issues related to technology and model responsible decision-making related to these issues.	Use ICT for “formative” (learning culture) means vs. “summative” (evaluative culture) means; Catalyze conflict & facilitate negotiation of conflict between development of 21st Century Learning and current habits/policies/practices--Mastery Manager	Use ICT for “formative” (learning culture) means vs. “summative” (evaluative culture) means; Catalyze conflict & facilitate negotiation of conflict between development of 21st Century Learning and current habits/policies/practices.	Use ICT for “formative” (learning culture) means vs. “summative” (evaluative culture) means; Catalyze conflict & facilitate negotiation of conflict between development of 21st Century Learning and current habits/policies/practices.

 

 

 

Further questions I must consider to help me lead to effectively integrate ICT at T.H.S. and Adams 12:

 

My greatest strength in helping to integrate ICT into practice at T.H.S.

 

• Envisioning, catalyzing, and facilitating teachers' (and my) existence in the messiness of transition (Stage 3 of the Learning Spectrum, second-order change)

 

My greatest weakness in helping to integrate ICT into practice at T.H.S.

 

• Pacesetting: Not heeding and working through “shut-down” by some folks when it comes to not being able to do things and their frustration

 

My  greatest “personal” staff development need(s) in the area of ICT

 

• Awareness of tools available to improve effectiveness of teaching, learning, and professional practice; Not seeking these out and being "status-quo" with my own use of ICT tools (poor modeling) 

 

What I believe to be the greatest staff development need(s) of teachers at T.H.S. in the area of ICT

 

• Here are the areas, framed within the National Education Technology Standards for Teachers, I percieve are the greatest needs for T.H.S. teachers:
  • Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
    •  Making learning--and framing "core skills & knowledge"--within real-world and collaborative contexts
  • Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
    •  Using learning info on students to drive classroom activity and learning
  • Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
    •  Step out of the e-mail "comfort-zone" for collaboration and communication
  • Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
    •  Be explicit about ethical use with appropriate documentation of information sources
  • Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
    •  Reflect, privately and collaboratively, in regards to practices focused on improvement of student learning

 

Technology Tools I will explore (software, hardware, Web 2.0, etc.)

 

• Wikis
• Google Docs
• Intel Tools & Resources
• Expanded utilization of StarMail applications

  

School resources and support I need

 

• Tech team at THS
• District IT
• Peers and collaborative teams (T.H.S. Ad Team, Executive PLC, Assessment Dept.)

 

 

:)