SUCCESSFUL CHANGE

Module 3 Reflection Assignment

Successful Change within my Education Environment

Samantha DiMatteo

Marygrove College
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Education is constantly being reinvented. Over the past couple of years my
professional learning community has had an influence on changes within our educational
environment. One change that has proven to be successful is the development of summer
work to help students adequately prepare for upcoming courses in the fall. As Danielson
(2006) states, It is increasingly recognized that if schools are to achieve better results
with their students, it must be a collective endeavor rather than a collection of individual
efforts (Danielson p.15). Through collaboration and a constant evaluation of our
teaching practices we can each contribute to the positive growth of the educational
system.
The teachers of our department took the initiative in the development of this
concept. This new policy was created in an effort to ease the transition from one math
class to the next. Students who do not practice their academic skills in the summer
months have shown significant gaps in their proficiencies from one year to the next. Our
Algebra II PLC worked collaboratively with the Algebra I PLC to develop a series of
practice problems that emphasized all of the necessary prerequisite skills needed for the
Algebra II course. These problems were issued as part of a summer packet that was
mandatory for any student wishing to continue on an honors track. Our collaboration as
professionals outside of the classroom can, as DuFour (2004) states, lead to higher
levels of student achievement (para. 16). In addition, the PLC team developed an exam
that was given on the first week of class in order to assess each students competence on
the skills from the summer assignment.
The cooperation amongst our PLCs helped aid in the success of this change. As
DuFour (2004) notes, the powerful collaboration that characterizes professional
learning communities is a systematic process in which teachers work together to analyze
and improve their classroom practice (para. 16). Teachers have reported dramatic
changes in the ability of their classes during the start of the school year. Through data
analysis we have seen an increase in the students grades during the first semester of these
courses. As Danielson (2006) mentions, hard data are factual and difficult to refute (p.
139). In addition, the students performance on the exam at the start of the year indicated
that the majority of students have mastered the prerequisite skills needed to be successful
in the course. Prior to this initiative the first month of Algebra II was spent reviewing the
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prerequisite skills needed from Algebra I. Since the program has been in place we have
been able to revamp our syllabus, start with more advanced topics, move at a faster pace,
and are able to align our curriculum with the demands of PARCC testing. Each of these
components has supported the success of this educational change.
As with the implementation of any change there are varying reactions. Overall,
all parties involved have shown positive support of this change. Students gain valuable
feedback from this summer work as to whether or not they are prepared for the rigor of
the upcoming course. Based on their ability to complete the material they can choose to
take an alternate math class that may better suit their needs. Parents feel as though their
child is better prepared for upcoming courses. Finally, teachers have noticed a huge
change in the entrance abilities of their students, yielding faster paced lessons that are
aligned with the Algebra II curriculum. On a few occasions parents and students have
voiced negative opinions about the summer assignments. Particularly when a student
does not complete or struggles to complete the assignment and are therefore required to
take a different level mathematics course. Regardless of ability level, some parents and
students insist on the honors track; but if a student is misplaced it can cause tension
among all parties involved. Therefore, in this situation the teachers and guidance
counselors arrange for tutoring to help keep that student on track with their goals. Any
change that is implemented will have supporters and detractors, yet as long as that change
is in the best interest of the students it will ultimately receive mostly positive feedback.
It is important that we continuously change our educational practices to support
the needs of our audience. Miller (2004) states, The real power to improve achievement
lay with teachers, who need to be entrusted with new responsibility and accountability for
change (Miller p.8). Small successful changes within the educational environment can
reshape and positively influence the educational system. With the development of
summer assignments students are starting the school year with a solid knowledge base
and as a result teachers spend less time re-teaching material and are more productive with
their intended curriculum.
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References

Danielson, C.D., (2006). Teacher Leadership. Alexandria, Va.: Association for

Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Lieberman, A.L., Miller, L.M., (2004). Teacher Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

DuFour, R. (2004). Schools as learning communities: What is a professional learning

community? Educational Leadership 61(8), 6-11.