Update on My Innovation Project: Growing Together

It gives me great pleasure to provide you with some updates on my innovation project, which is geared toward enhancing our professional learning experience in education. For the purpose of becoming better educators and leaders, this journey is all about learning, growing, and supporting one another.

At the present moment, I am still in Phase 1, which encompasses the initial three months, and I have made a considerable amount of improvement. To this point, I have finished conducting an extensive study through a literature review to gain an understanding of the most effective methods for enhancing professional development for adult learners. Based on the findings of this research, I now have a strong foundation of information and tactics upon which to develop. In addition, I have proposed the innovation plan to the leadership of my campus to obtain their support and strategic direction for the Engage, Learn, Grow Program. The support that they provide is essential as I move forward. In addition to that, I have carried out competence evaluations and needs assessments to have an understanding of the current standing of our staff members. I was able to discover specific training needs, as well as strengths and weaknesses, with the assistance of these tests, which ensured that our program was tailored to meet the requirements of our campus staff.

Setting goals and objectives that are crystal clear and measurable, based on the requirements of our participants in the professional development program, is one of the next actions that I will take as I continue in Phase 1. It will be easier for us to maintain our concentration and accurately evaluate our progress if we define these goals. In addition to this, I intend to create a specialized curriculum that will include mentoring programs, online courses, workshops, and seminars that are particularly crucial to the professional development of our staff members. Through the provision of a diverse range of learning opportunities, I can cater to a variety of learning styles and requirements. As we look to the future, we will be moving into Phase 2 of my implementation outline, which is where we will begin the process of providing the fundamental professional development programs. In this phase, our goals will be brought to life, and our staff will be provided with possibilities for growth and development that are grounded in reality.

I am delighted to tell you that the initial response to my plan and assessments has been extremely favorable. This is something that I am pleased to share after reflecting on what I have previously learned. The level of engagement has been rather high, which is both encouraging and demonstrates that our staff finds my approach to be effective. Making progress with my ideas has also been significantly aided by gaining support from those in leadership positions. I can make significant progress because of their support, which gives me the momentum I need. On the other hand, there are some aspects that may be enhanced. As we progress into the subsequent phases, I must make certain that we have a reliable mechanism in place for gathering and utilizing input. The feedback that the staff provides will be extremely important for making adjustments and improvements in real-time. The planning of resources has also been a difficulty; it is my responsibility to make sure that we have all of the resources that are required to properly support the development and implementation of the curriculum.

The significance of maintaining focus is one of the most important lessons learned. I can handle my everyday responsibilities while also making significant progress if I focus on a few important goals. In addition, self-differentiated leadership is critical; providing our campus teacher leaders with the training they need to handle tough crucial conversations will be essential to our success, and can drive organizational change. The ability of these individuals to successfully interact with others and to motivate them is necessary for the progression of our project.

To spread the word about what I'm doing, I intend to involve leaders by soliciting assistance from the administration and instructional coaches who can motivate others. In addition, holding sessions in which we discuss our accomplishments and our objectives for the future will keep everyone informed and motivated on our progress.

If I could go back in time, there are some things that I would do differently. We would be able to more accurately monitor our progress if we started with a more robust evaluation plan and implemented it from the outset. In addition to streamlining our work and preventing delays, making certain that we have all of the essential resources right from the beginning will be beneficial. For upcoming projects, I will continue to place a heavy emphasis on developing strong leadership skills and having clear goals. Because of this, we will be better able to overcome obstacles and realize our long-term objective. By working together, we as a staff are charting a course to achievement and making a significant contribution to our professional development.

References:

Buchler, C. (2022). Harnessing Social Pressure. Youtube.https://youtu.be/wu7UBY5euBg?si=30gjT0uYrSNP2gVY

Cebelak, L. (2016, November 29). Teacher Resistance to Professional Development – Looking for “Buy In” Too Late - Corwin Connect. Corwin Connect. https://corwin-connect.com/2015/12/teacher-resistance-to-professional-development-looking-for-buy-in-too-late/

Covey, S., McChesney, C., & Huling, J. (2012). The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving your wildly important goals. Simon and Schuster.

Patterson, K., & Grenny, J. (2013). Influencer: The new science of leading change, Second Edition. McGrawHill Education.