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Phase 2: Identification of System Needs and Action Planning
Whether we think of an initiative as part of the school improvement process,
the change process, or school-wide
reform, it affects the system. After identifying
the initiative, our next step is to consider the possible ripple effects of
the changes throughout the system.
One way to think systemically about schools is to consider three major facets or domains of school systems: the Technical Domain, the Personal Domain, and the Organizational Domain.
The chart below gives a brief description of the domains and their components.
For each of these domains, there is a guiding question.
| Domain |
Guiding Question |
| Technical |
What are the implications of this initiative for what and how students learn and how we assess their progress? |
| Personal |
Will our attitudes and skills contribute to the success of this initiative? |
| Organizational |
Will our organizational supports contribute to the success of this initiative? |
These guiding questions can be used to design specific questions, which should be phrased in a way that elicits more than a simple "yes" or "no" answer. For example, it's more useful to ask how professional development can help teachers raise student reading scores than to ask if it would help.
The specific questions will, of course, depend upon the particular circumstances
of your improvement efforts. To illustrate, the table below provides examples
of specific questions you might ask while undertaking one such improvement effort,
in this case implementing standards
in the classroom.
| Guiding Question |
Possible Specific Questions |
| Technical: What are the implications of this initiative for what and how students learn and how we assess their progress? |
How well is our current curriculum aligned with standards? What implications do standards have for teachers' instructional methods? To what extent are teachers able to design effective standards-based classroom assessments? |
| Personal: Will our attitudes and skills contribute to the success of this initiative? |
How can we create a school culture that supports standards? What leadership support is needed to help us implement standards in the classroom? What professional development do teachers need to use standards effectively? |
| Organizational: Will our organizational supports contribute to the success of this initiative? |
How will we communicate student progress on standards to stakeholders, in particular to parents? How can we better allocate resources to support the implementation of standards in the classroom? How can our school accountability system provide teachers with adequate incentives to create standards-based classrooms?/td>
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Considering Possible Actions
Asking thoughtful questions about each component of the system should lead to actions that better align the system in support of reform efforts or head-off negative consequences of reform. Considering the possible implications of each component of each domain and the actions to take may require examining pertinent research literature or talking to other school leaders who have gone through a similar reform effort.
| Possible Specific Questions |
Possible Actions |
| Technical
How well is our current curriculum aligned with standards? What implications do standards have for teachers' instructional methods?To what extent are teachers able to design effective standards-based classroom assessments? |
Enhance curriculum materials as needed to more adequately cover standards. Make sure students as well as teachers are focused on standards. Give teachers time and opportunities to share their testing strategies. |
| Personal
How can we create a school culture that supports standards?What leadership support is needed to help us implement standards in the classroom?What professional development do teachers need to use standards effectively?
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Make standards the overarching reform initiative.Observe classrooms to see how well standards are being taught.Set up teacher study groups to design standards-based lessons. |
| Organizational
How will we communicate student progress on standards to stakeholders, in particular to parents? How can we better allocate resources to support the implementation of standards in the classroom? How can our school accountability system provide teachers with adequate incentives to create standards-based classrooms?
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Expand report cards to reflect students' progress in meeting standards. Provide opportunities and resources to help students who are not meeting standards. Create peer review panels to observe how well teachers are implementing standards in their classrooms. |
To better understand Phase 2 of the process, you may wish to access examples that illustrate this process:
Implementing standards in the classroom
Linking professional development to student learning
Responding to external accountability demands
Next: Phase 3: Implementation
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