Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow. -Anthony J. D'Angelo. A TWU Digital Learning Commons site
Hey guys!
I am so excited to be sharing this online journey with you. I look forward to learning from each you and working together with you over the next 10 weeks. I wish you all the best in your journey through this course online and I hope you enjoy my video! (Click on the IMG below to view the video)
-Sadie
The authors of these articles conceptualize “evidence” as the results of research. They conceptualize evidence-based leadership as a challenging, yet highly reliable means of leadership. Evidence based research helps to minimize the human error in that one’s perception of a situation and how to handle it, can differ from the actual reality of the situation. Evidence based research removes the human bias; and therefore in theory provides more accurate information, resulting in better decision making.
“The greater number of supporting sources for a “lesson learned,” the more rigorous the supporting evidence, and the greater the triangulation of supporting sources, the more confidence one has in the significance and meaningfulness of a lesson learned.” (Patton, P 335, 2001). Patton explains that evidence based research is more reliable than research that is not evidence based. He states that “lessons learned with only one type of supporting evidence are a, “lessons learned hypothesis.” (Patton, P 335, 2001).
Walshe and Rundall state that “evidence-based health care is, at its simplest, the idea that the care that health professionals provide should be based as closely as possible on evidence from well-conducted research into the effectiveness of health care interventions, thereby minimizing the problems of underuse, overuse, and misuse.” (Walshe and Rundall, P 431, 2001). They further explain how difficult this is in the medical field as the volume of research that is available is unending. This creates many difficulties and requires an excellent means of knowledge management within health-care organizations. (Walshe and Rundall, 2001).
Trybus explains that evidence based research is “research that involves the application of rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain reliable and valid knowledge relevant to education activities and programs.” (Trybus, M. P 5, 2007).
I agree with the authors, in that evidence-based decision making is a reliable, and more effective means of making decisions. Although I believe that while evidence-based research is reliable, one still needs to critically assess the results of the research in practical terms. If research provides a person with strong evidence that contradicts his/her own personal values, he/she should still make the decision based on the evidence as it is backed by research and is based on facts, rather than personal bias.
References
Kieran Walshe, a., & Thomas G. Rundall, a. (2001). Evidence-Based Management: From Theory to Practice in Health Care. The Milbank Quarterly, (3), 429.
Patton, M. Q. (2001). Evaluation, Knowledge Management, Best Practices, and High Quality Lessons Learned. American Journal Of Evaluation, 22(3), 329.
Trybus, M. (2007). Understanding Scientifically Based Research: A Mandate or Decision Making Tool?. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 73(4), 5-8.
Research is something that I find to be challenging. In chapter one, Clark and Creswell discuss that research is sometimes the most difficult type of text for people to read because they are unfamiliar with the structure of research text and because it uses a type of language which is more challenging to comprehend. (Clark and Creswell, ). I find this to be true for me.
I did a little bit of research in my Bachelor of Education degree, however, I feel as though I need more practice and I look forward to learning to improve my research skills throughout this course. From chapter one and two, I have already discovered some strategies that might help me to break down the articles I am reading which allow me to better understand the research that is being presented.
A decision that I have made as a leader took place when I was acting principal of our school for two days. There is a student in our school who has a history of severe violence. During my time as acting admin, he had been given several chances and plenty of support to redirect his behaviour but his behaviour continued to escalate. I made the decision to suspend him from school for 5 days. I made this decision based on values, past experience and policy. These values included the safety of all staff and students that remained in the school and the need to provide other students with an environment in which they could learn. I also value an environment in which appropriate language is being used and an environment in which abusive behaviour towards staff is not tolerated. I also made my decision based on past experiences. I have previously had this child in my class and from experience, I know that his least successful times, are times that are high energy and times when normal routines are not in place. On the day that the incident happened, the students homeroom teacher was not present and there was a substitute in the classroom. It was also close to Christmas break and there were exciting things happening, such as Christmas concert practice, caroling and classroom games and excitement. This student does not function well when normal routines are not in place. Policy was also a factor in my decision. Finally, as acting principal, I had the authority to make the decision to suspend him from school for 5 days.
After reading the required readings for this post, I am interested in researching more about this specific child. His needs are very complex and it would be beneficial for anyone dealing with him to read research that is strongly supported so that we can be more successful when interacting with him. The research would provide each individual with an increased knowledge base about students who face similar challenges and have similar needs as this child does.
References
Plano-Clark, V., & Creswell, J. (2015). Understanding research: A consumer’s guide (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
In his post, Rob Tegelberg posed the following questions, Is it possible to be a leader without taking on the role of manager? Can you think of a tangible example of a leader who is not also a manager?
I believe it is possible to be a leader without taking on the role of a manager. There is a staff member in my school who demonstrates leadership in everything she does. She volunteers in the school and outside of school. She is gifted with technology and volunteers to make ‘how-to’ slideshows for people who are not as skilled. She is always ahead and willing to help other staff members who are behind. Perhaps one of her most inspirational leadership qualities is portrayed in her love for the students. She takes the time to research to ensure that she is providing her students with the best possible strategies for learning and that she is providing them with exactly what they need in order to experience success. This individual is a classroom teacher. Even though she is not in an administrative position, she continuously demonstrates leadership qualities. I find myself constantly reflecting on how I can follow her example and be a leader on staff as well.