Supervision of Instruction

Fall 2020
Reflection
This was the first time I had Dr. Plas as an instructor. He was eager to teach and have the class
work together during the learning process. There were many forum questions that allowed me to
think more deeply about the topics covered. I enjoyed how the textbook chapters were aligned
with the forums and the assignments.
One thing my school desperately needs is a mentoring program to acclimate new teachers to the
school. In the course, I was able to develop a mentoring program plan to not only help my
current school after hiring new teachers, but it is something I can use when I am an administrator
in any school. It was a learning process because there are so many things a teacher must learn to
be comfortable, independent, and successful in a new school.
Surprisingly, PLCs or Professional Learning Communities were new to me. I have always taught
in small, private schools that are one track. I have never worked in a PLC. This class allowed me
to really learn more about them and how, as an administrator, I can use them to benefit the
teachers and the students. I was able to go in-depth about how a school would start implementing
them. I also researched the benefits of PLCs with hard data. When I am an administrator,
Professional Learning Communities will be a priority in my school.
This course also gave me the opportunity to write my educational leadership philosophy. Until I
really thought about the kind of administrator I would be…I would WANT to be, it was all very
abstract. This assignment made me put into words, make the abstract concrete, and realize the
characteristics of a good school leader and what it will take for me to lead a successful school.
I also put together a teacher evaluation tool using the four domains. It is very detailed, including
dates, types of observations, and a checklist to use during both formal and informal observations.
It is something I will be able to use in a school that may not be following the Danielson model or
any other specific tool to measure teacher performance.
There were multiple other assignments that I will be able to use both in my current school and in
future my career as a school leader. Dr. Plas gave the class multiple choices to work on, so I
could focus on topics and activities that would best benefit me now and in the future.