Essay on Improving Teacher Induction Programs Through Supervision & Staff Development

The area to be focused on in this practicum is supervision, resource management, and staff development. Since these areas are broad fields, I will select only a few indicators from them. It will be important to apply the theory of supervision in an authentic area. For this reason and my passion, I choose to focus on staff development. This provides a great opportunity to conduct research and come up with a strategy that would improve teacher induction programs. This will go a long way to promote staff members in the teaching profession. The other thing to be covered is resource management. Knowledge and skills gained from class will be important in this area. However, learning requires application of the acquired skill set and knowledge to create an institutional budget and schedule with the help of the administrator. Focusing on these areas during my practicum will make me resourceful and more equipped.

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The course of leadership involves interaction among various concerned parties as well as some assessment methods. The idea that resonated from the course experience concerns the assessment strategies used. They are summative and formative assessment types (Dixson & Worrell, 2016). These types of conducting evaluations gave the basis of the course, guiding me on how to lead the followers. I discovered that there is a possibility of coming up with stronger assessment procedures that are learner-based to assist the learner in developing an understanding of the leadership issues. These methods make it easier to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the learners since focusing on leading oneself gives better results.

The method of assessment whose application in academic institutions results in a greater impact in the activities of the practicum is formative assessment. The criteria used to select this method of assessment is based on which one provides room for change control. The method focuses on the tutor as well as the notions regarding the changes that are intended. However, I think that it should also focus on the perceptions of the learners. This will increase the levels of participation for the learners. This method aimed to cause the highest levels of change in the students. The practicum program will involve the learner's interaction with the organization area as per the learning materials, skills, and knowledge that is provided in class.

Activity-based learning is important in helping students to achieve their objectives. It will promote active participation in acquiring learning experiences among students and discourage them from being passive listeners. By interacting with the students, it is easier to identify the areas in which they need help to assist them to learn better.

The use of activity-based learning will aim to enhance the skills of creative and critical thinking. Supervision of the institution will ensure that the learners are always motivated to work towards achieving their full potential. The teaching methodologies will make use of various interactive activities such as question-and-answer. The practicum determines the study's favorite areas for the students, the reasons for this, and the elements of motivation.

During the practicum, the students will be pretested for evaluation of the success of the teaching method used. However, it may not support all students. Some students with low cognitive abilities will take time to process. The times allocated for some activities may not favor this group of students. For teaching practicums to be more successful, it will be important to develop them in a way that accommodates students with low cognitive abilities.

Activity Objectives

The main objective of this activity is to improve leadership skills that are applicable in the real world. Other objectives that will lead to the realization of the main aim include supporting staff development program, engaging in budgeting, human resource management, and supervision of tutors. The practicum also aims to create a friendly environment for learning purposes.

Method of Evaluation

The other area of supervision in the practicum is the plans for teacher improvement. It will be used to evaluate the teachers. The school head will be interviewed to determine whether the practicum has been successful or not. After working closely with many teachers regarding improvement plans, some may be laid off for seeming not to improve their skills. This might seem like an unfair thing to do, but students deserve teachers who can deliver in class (Wilson, 2017). The process of doing teacher assessment will be noted down. Among students, the pretests will be used for evaluation.

Real-World Application

Leadership skills are very important in real-world applications. Therefore, a leader must be equipped with both teaching and leadership skills. These skills enable him to handle various tasks presented to him like teaching and leading various groups in the society. As a leader, obtaining experiences of the real world as impacted by skills and knowledge acquired in class is important. The effects of this on the life of an individual determines the level of understanding concerning the various factors involved. The leadership course emphasizes the effects of refection and its usefulness in the successful application in cases of the real world to drive change.

Final Reflection

This course enabled me to develop good perceptions about leadership. For instance, I have learned that leadership is a tough, competitive, and uncompromising professionalism. A leader may be forced to make decisions that will not favor everyone, but help the institutions to get closer to its objectives. Therefore, a leader should be prepared to face opposition from some of the people he is leading. I also learned that leadership requires interactive empowerment. Also, I learnt that leadership requires striking a balance between the people's interest and the leader's interest. As result, resistance is reduced among these parties.

References

Ahmad, N. J., Ishak, N. A., Samsudin, M. A., Meylani, V., & Said, H. M. (2019). Pre-Service Science Teachers in International Teaching Practicum: Reflection of the Experience. Jurnal Pendidikan IPA Indonesia, 8(3), 308-316. https://journal.unnes.ac.id/nju/index.php/jpii/article/download/18907/9591

Dixson, D. D., & Worrell, F. C. (2016). Formative and summative assessment in the classroom. Theory into Practice, 55(2), 153-159. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-0323-2.ch018

Wilson, E. (2017). Reflections on the process of implementing a large scale teacher improvement program throughout Kazakhstan. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/264236/Carnegie_wilson0317.pdf?sequence=1