On page 24, there is a rubric to introduce the following
concepts:
Informed (prepared)-adequate, predictable, good, dependable,
reactive, content
Intentional (purposeful)-deliberate, reflective, seeking
understanding, curious
Inspired (passionate)-visionary, proactive, driven by
possibilities, commitment
Where do you see yourself in your practices of assessment,
consultation, school leadership etc.?
Reply to at least one other person.
Reply to at least one other person.
I likely hover between Informed and Intentional, but who wouldn't want to live an Inspired life and work for an Inspired organization that is visionary and is proactively driven by commitment, not only to the communities, schools, parents, and children we serve, but to the quality of life lived by their employees.
ReplyDeleteI think that the lack of support for education in the state of Kansas has driven educational entities into survival mode and has caused many to retreat back to the Informed level when most would like to feel Inspired. It's difficult to be Intentional or Inspired when a lack of funding causes many things to be about money and about quantity over quality. As we psychologists are driven to perform more secretarial duties, it has become more difficult to take the time to be Intentional or to Inspire others. We will all need to find efficiencies and work hard to continue our Inspired commitment to children, families, schools, and our communities. After all, we, as psychologists, have one of the greatest jobs in the world. It is based on helping schools in our communities provide our children with one of the greatest gifts we can give, a quality education and hopefully, as a result, a future in which we can all be proud.
Isn't it exciting to think about working for or with visionary & proactive people/organization!!
DeleteI also see schools and staff being in survival mode! We are all being asked to do more, with fewer & fewer resources. I appreciate your insight Alan!
It is really unfortunate that our schools are in survival mode due to funding. We need an educated society to remain a successful, powerful country.
DeleteI do agree with you that we have one of the greatest jobs in the world! I love my job!
When it comes to assessment practices, I feel I am very much intentional, with a characteristic or two of inspired. I like to think I am very deliberate in assessing the needs of each child and judge each situation accordingly. However, I do become excited when we talk about different, alternative ways of assessing knowledge and performance. There are more possibilities and different ways of determining strengths than an IQ or achievement test, which is why I wanted to work for HPEC 15 years ago! I was excited last week when Marcy & Shelly talked about the innovative ways under former leadership, and getting back to that spot!! Let the spirit move us ALL! :)
ReplyDeleteWhen consulting with others, I am probably somewhere between informed & intentional. Sometimes when consulting with teachers & related service providers, there isn't the opportunity for deep, integrated thinking, rather just being a dependable & knowledgeable listener and colleague.
My role & position on the rubric regarding school leadership depends on the different situations presented and each building dynamics. In some situations I am more comfortable and more likely to put myself out there and and display that "visionary" and "transformative" approach. Yet there are other situations where I am just as comfortable taking a back seat and not being a strong force. My role definitely changes with the dynamic and personalities of the diverse groups I work with.
I too am excited about the possible direction we have been thinking about using alternative ways to assess knowledge and performance. Sometimes when assessing kids I often wonder if I just had one more piece of an assessment if it would make our decision easier for placement.
DeleteI too was very excited about Marcy's and Shelly's comments. I used to feel that HPEC as an organization, especially the psych group, was very innovative and inspired. The last few years it has felt very ho hum and at times the psych group has almost reached the point of being disengaged. Reading Shelly's comments below, I think we are taking the beginning steps to get back there. Let's hope we can stay the course.
DeleteIn regards to assessment practices, I believe I find myself at the intentional level. When looking at each individual student, I take into careful consideration the types of assessments to conduct on students based on their areas of needs. An assessment I give to one student may not be fitting to give to another student based on their areas of deficits. I use to just have a standard battery of assessments that I used for referrals. However, the past couple of years I've tried to pull different pieces of assessments or assessments I've created to assess kids.
ReplyDeleteWhen consulting with others, I find myself at the informed level and a little of the intentional level. In order for consultation to be effective, I think you have to be a good dependable listener and have knowledge in the field you work in.
In terms of school leadership, I find myself at all three levels. If it's something I'm passionate about or something I have strong feelings about, I find myself more at the inspired level. If I'm in a situation that I'm least comfortable in, I'm more at the informed level.
I'm thinking of a recent staffing that I attended with you Catherine and you were the only inspired person there - you kept bringing up possibilities for the child when others were dropping the ball. The child did not qualify and the others were just like - oh well. But not Catherine!!
DeleteI agree with you Catherine in regards to consulting others, sometimes people just need an ear to listen to or someone with knowledge on the topic to provide them information they are seeking. I also go between the three levels depending on the situation.
DeleteI suppose I am all over the board on the rubric depending on what part of my job I am doing. I really crave to be a part of bringing HPEC to a more passionate and visionary direction. But I am unsure how to get back there again. I suppose just by the very fact that we are discussing this and looking at all our practices is a first step!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started being a school psych in 1990 (yes that long ago) we were changing the world by stopping the IQ/Achievement discrepancy test and place rut. My first years I gave over 100 IQ tests each year. As a group back then we were tired of doing IQ tests and we had grant dollars and got to travel and receive a lot of training. We were very motivated to practice differently. At the time I was very passionate. It seems like there is some unrest about our assessment practices now. Maybe it is time for big discussions to see where we are now and what makes more sense. I want to be open to those discussions.
This post makes me so happy! I am looking forward to a big open discussion/discussions.
DeleteI think that people tend to be more passionate if they have ownership of what is being created. I think that ideas that are outside of the box tend to emerge more freely if there is trust that those listening want to hear what is being said and that the person won't get shot down for presenting new or different ideas. I appreciate the opportunity for discussion that is being offered and believe that our leadership is trying to create ownership and trust. Go HPEC!
DeleteI find this encouraging too. Moving forward and taking the next step are the kinds of things that people can be passionate about .
DeleteWhen I look at the rubric, I find I am all over depending on the area. I want to aspire to be in the inspired column but it may be quite a process to get there. With the new position I am in as the director, I often feel my hands are tied by the rules and regulations we have to follow in order to be funded and that is really important. The paperwork of the bureaucracy is sometimes a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteI agree with many others that I find myself all over the rubric depending on the situation. When I feel overwhelmed and like I am functioning in survival mode, it is hard to move out of the informed column. When I feel relaxed, but challenged then I definitely move more toward the intentional and inspired columns.
ReplyDeleteJan, I agree that survival mode gets us all. Finding what rejuvenates your soul helps to get us all back to that intentional and inspired column.
DeleteI agree that depending on the situation is where I fall on the rubric. For example, when it comes to time I feel that I am in intentional. Concerning, vision and voice I am inspired. In IEP meetings when I am talking about testing and what is best for he child I become passionate.
ReplyDeleteAt this phase in my career, I feel like I am all over the place on the rubric. I have values, principles, and beliefs that guide my work. The type of relationships I have with the general and special education staff is collegial. I believe in taking the proactive approach. I am curious to see how things could be improved especially in the schools that I have worked in. I am the type of person who likes to sit back and observe how things operate, then think of ways that the operation could be improved. I am not afraid to have discussions regarding change and making improvements with the teachers and administrators regarding issues pertaining to special education. I have learned that you have to tip toe around some more than others to share your ideas. However, depending on the situation I am very fluid and can switch between informed and intentional.
ReplyDeleteI have taken over the SIT process at Syracuse just because when I started there, the SIT process was pretty much non-existent. I was not afraid to go to the principal and say we need a process for this. I shared my ideas with her and before I knew it, she was assigning me the responsibility of SIT. I feel like my involvement in this process has really opened up the communication lines between the teachers and myself. Teachers know that they can bring students or situations to SIT and we as a team can discuss and share our thoughts and ideas. This has really helped with the consultation role.
I think of each student and case as a puzzle. I prefer to have as many pieces to the puzzle as I possibly can when trying to figure out the student’s strengths, weaknesses, and educational needs. I want that data that can be provided through many different types of assessments! I want to be able to explain to parents everything I possibly can. I think it is crucial to have as many pieces to the puzzle as I can so I can see the whole picture.
Jamie-
DeleteI'm like you in wanting MANY pieces to the puzzle. It can definitely be more work at times, but I'm also much more satisfied with the end result when we're able to analyze the overall picture from multiple angles.
Oh my gosh… I’m all over the place. And I don’t feel like I can even say, ‘Well, I’m at this level with assessment, this level with consultation, and this level with school leadership’ because I think it’s all kind of situation dependent. I suppose a person can strive to be at certain points on the rubric, but I also believe that various outside factors (i.e. other people involved, time, the specific task, etc.) are going to influence how I act/react in a particular situation. For me personally, while it’s nice to think about, I don’t know if I could ever realistically be in the inspired column, consistently, across all areas of my profession.
ReplyDeleteLike many of the others, I am all over the rubric. As Rachel said, my level depends in some cases on the situation. I would like to think that I stay between intentional and inspired.
ReplyDeleteI think stress and work load can affect where I am on the rubric. I work hard to stay passionate and inspired but there are those times when I struggle to keep up. I think through relationships and communication with others I am able to regain my passion and to do best for kids.
I'd agree that I fluctuate between levels depending on the demands at the time. Most of the time I am at the intentional level with assessment and collaboration, and aspire to become more inspired :) We can all get bogged down in the day to day scheduling and paperwork, and it makes it harder to get out of the office and do the kinds of things an inspired leader needs to do.
ReplyDelete