Theory Based Human Motivation/Leadership Challenge As the math department chairperson, I understand there are some teachers who are against the new changes in curriculum and piloting program for CCSS. According to Kotter (1996), there are eight steps in which a leader should manage change successfully. Based on Kotter’s model, there are steps in which the administrator left out to ensure a smooth change for all. Furthermore, these missteps will trickle down on my behalf. Therefore, I must display leadership characteristics as the math chairperson to contribute to the successful change for the school and district.
One of those missteps is the communications of the change vision (Kotter, 1996). The administrator only communicated with myself …show more content…
In this case, the current state my school is in is the poor state accountability exams. The desired state would be scores that are considered at or above passing. The driving forces in this situation are being the first to pilot the program, assessments giving teachers a way to pinpoint deficit areas for students, summary salary for attending professional development, and higher test scores for the school. A resistance to change may include fear of the unknown, as stated above. These math teachers are not sure how the new curriculum will work within their school for their students, especially sense they just got new curriculum three year prior. They have mentioned that they fear these new assessment scores interfering with their evaluations when some classes have more special education students in them than others. Another resistance to chance may be in terms of the teachers’ knowledge and skills. They have been working with the current curriculum and standards for three years and most have probably found strategies, lesson plans, and supplemental materials to compliment the current curriculum. The new curriculum and standards are more rigorous and may threaten the teachers’ knowledge base. They most likely feel that they are starting completely over and will have to learn something new in a short …show more content…
Although they were not a part of the decision in initially implementing the new curriculum, they can have an effect on how the curriculum is implemented within our math department. From this participation, my colleagues will feel more secure about the change in that they will play a part in the process and be knowledgeable about the things that will take place from here on out. Communicating for the need of the change will make a huge difference in resisting the change. If the teachers know exactly why these changes of standards and curriculum are being put into place, they will help to lessen the fear of not knowing what is taking place. The communication will be in the form of face-to-face meetings and discussions, emails, and memos. I will be sure to involve my fellow teachers in every part of the change initiative. One teacher voiced her opinion about a few meetings in the summer not being long enough to be trained on the new pilot program. I would explain that the meetings will be led by experts who are giving us the best information about this new program. Furthermore, we will be able to provide feedback to our other teachers, schools, and the district about how the assessment are compared to our old assessments and the pros and cons. Communication will fulfill the
One of those missteps is the communications of the change vision (Kotter, 1996). The administrator only communicated with myself …show more content…
In this case, the current state my school is in is the poor state accountability exams. The desired state would be scores that are considered at or above passing. The driving forces in this situation are being the first to pilot the program, assessments giving teachers a way to pinpoint deficit areas for students, summary salary for attending professional development, and higher test scores for the school. A resistance to change may include fear of the unknown, as stated above. These math teachers are not sure how the new curriculum will work within their school for their students, especially sense they just got new curriculum three year prior. They have mentioned that they fear these new assessment scores interfering with their evaluations when some classes have more special education students in them than others. Another resistance to chance may be in terms of the teachers’ knowledge and skills. They have been working with the current curriculum and standards for three years and most have probably found strategies, lesson plans, and supplemental materials to compliment the current curriculum. The new curriculum and standards are more rigorous and may threaten the teachers’ knowledge base. They most likely feel that they are starting completely over and will have to learn something new in a short …show more content…
Although they were not a part of the decision in initially implementing the new curriculum, they can have an effect on how the curriculum is implemented within our math department. From this participation, my colleagues will feel more secure about the change in that they will play a part in the process and be knowledgeable about the things that will take place from here on out. Communicating for the need of the change will make a huge difference in resisting the change. If the teachers know exactly why these changes of standards and curriculum are being put into place, they will help to lessen the fear of not knowing what is taking place. The communication will be in the form of face-to-face meetings and discussions, emails, and memos. I will be sure to involve my fellow teachers in every part of the change initiative. One teacher voiced her opinion about a few meetings in the summer not being long enough to be trained on the new pilot program. I would explain that the meetings will be led by experts who are giving us the best information about this new program. Furthermore, we will be able to provide feedback to our other teachers, schools, and the district about how the assessment are compared to our old assessments and the pros and cons. Communication will fulfill the