Shared decision making is essential to transformational leadership and organizational development. For this assignment, consider the impact of decisions without stakeholder buy-in and involvement. Compare and contrast autocratic decisions versus participative decisions. What approach is currently practiced most frequently in your organization? What steps might be taken to increase democratic principles? What may you need to do to unite the organization?
In addition, evaluate your school’s/school district’s CURRENT understanding and implementation of PLCs and communities of practice. Be certain to identify and define key terms and concepts as used in the district’s conversations on PLCs.
Next, given the 10 aforementioned characteristics of a PLC, identify one characteristic that needs enhancement and describe in detail with specific action steps how you, as an instructional leader, would lead the school in the identified characteristic becoming common practice within the school’s culture.
PLCs consist of effective teams focused on improving teaching and learning. PLCs focus on:
a.improving student learning for all subgroups
b.engaging in relationships built on trust where risk taking is not only accepted, but also encouraged
c.challenging peers in a respectful manner by questioning practices and procedures
d.valuing diversity in thought, experience, and perspective
e.making their work, and the work of students, public for both feedback and celebration
f.meeting and engaging in conversation throughout the day informally with colleagues, and also formally with focused, process agendas
g.employing action-research cycles of inquiry
h.developing experts from within the school to provide professional development the majority of time, yet acknowledging that outside consultants can be valuable contributors when appropriate
i.sharing leadership within the group and holding all accountable for the organization’s success and setbacks
j.observing one another’s practice and providing timely feedback
Reference:
Owen, S. (2014). Teacher professional learning communities: Going beyond contrived collegiality toward challenging debate and collegial learning and professional growth. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 54(2), 54–77.