Building Level Educational Leadership Change Plan
Draft #2 of My Change Plan
Your culminating assignment, due next week, will help you
reinforce what you have learned throughout this course by reviewing your
practical application of the theory and processes that affect
organizational change.
For this assignment, submit a nearly finished second draft of My
Change Plan in the assignment area for instructor review and then
immediately post an excerpted copy for peer review in the Week 5
discussion forum titled, “Peer Review of Second Draft of My Change
Plan.” (Posting your draft immediately for peer review will give you
additional time to coordinate peer review partners and provide quality
feedback. See the instructions in Week 5 about the allowable excerpt.)
Your instructor’s graded feedback is the most important. The peer
responses will help you check for clarity of ideas.
Support your statements with evidence from the required studies and your research. Cite and reference your sources in APA style.
My Change Plan
Assessment Context: This assessment is used at the
end of the course in the Preliminary Administrative Licensure
certificate, M.Ed. Administration, and M.Ed. Educational Leadership
programs. The assessment measures knowledge regarding equitable
practices in school systems in the context of instructional and
assessment practices. The minimum passing score for this critical
assessment is 104.5 points.
Note: This course includes this assignment as a
critical assessment documenting your learning on the national standards
listed below. Please see the course syllabus or further information on
the critical assessment policy. It is important to review the materials
below and the
critical assessment rubric
before you begin this assignment.
Your culminating assignment will help you and your colleagues
reinforce what you have learned throughout this course by reviewing your
practical application of the theory and processes that affect
organizational change. Important note: The
focus of your assignment must be centered on issues of ensuring equity
for your students in the context of instruction and/or assessment in the
classroom.
You will demonstrate organizational change and leadership in a detailed action plan by selecting one of the following options:
Option 1
Rejuvenate an existing, but flawed change process focused on
increasing equity in instruction and/or assessment: Select a conflict
situation at your school, district, or work site that resulted from the
introduction of a new change initiative, but has stalled or created
disequilibrium and now requires resolution.
- Identify the change that has caused issues.
- Provide a brief background or history of the issue including:
- Whose idea was it?
- Was it a consensus or forced initiative?
- Who “bought in” and who did not?
- Clarify the situation and determine the true roadblocks by
identifying such items as the driving forces, restraining forces,
personal agendas, specific interest groups or cliques, varying agendas
of the major players, etc. You decide. You may also want to consider the
following:- Environmental forces (national, regional, state, or community level forces driving change at your school)
- Strategic imperatives (action your school or district needs to take)
- Organizational imperatives (changes needed in the school or district)
- Cultural imperatives (school or district norms that need to change)
- Leader and employee behavior (specific behaviors that need to change)
- Mindset (assumptions, beliefs, and mental models that need to change)
- Next, go to the “balcony” like David King at Kennedy High to gain
insight. What do you see? Which frames are paramount and which are
lacking? - Now you are ready to create a strategy based on your growing
knowledge of organizational change and leadership to remedy the
stalemate or disequilibrium that includes a minimum of:- 5-6 action steps based on your knowledge of theory and framing
- Address such items as what your role will be. Who else will be involved?
- From which frames and organizational theorists will you borrow the heaviest?
- Consider Kotter’s (1996) 8 steps for leaders outlined in earlier learning activities. How might these help?
- Lastly, what intimidates you the most about becoming an agent of change and enacting this plan?
Option 2
Identify a new territory—an area either in your classroom, school
district, or place of work—you consider in need of change. What type of
change is required in your workplace, classroom, school, or district to
improve equitable learning experiences by altering instruction and/or
assessment practices?
Using that as a focus, develop an action plan for instituting your
selected change initiative based on those skills and information gained
during this course. Your task is to serve as change agent to design—and
hopefully implement—a personal change initiative. In this process, you
should:
1. Describe the change you want to implement and provide a brief rationale.
- What do you immediately see as the three key benefits of this change?
2. Identify key restraining forces and driving forces.
- Clarify the situation and determine potential roadblocks by
identifying such items as the driving forces, restraining forces,
personal agendas, specific interest groups or cliques, varying agendas
of the major players, etc. You decide. You may also want to consider at
least some of the following:- Environmental forces (national, regional, state, or community level forces driving change at your school)
- Strategic Imperatives (action your school or district needs to take)
- Organizational Imperatives (what needs to change in the school or district)
- Cultural Imperatives (what school or district norms need to change)
- Leader & Employee Behavior (what specific behaviors might need to change)
- Mindset (what assumptions, beliefs, and mental models need to change)
- Consider how you can provide ownership early in the change process to prevent alienation and bring everyone aboard.
3. Now you are ready to create a strategy based on your growing
knowledge of organizational change and leadership to remedy the
stalemate or disequilibrium that includes a minimum of:
- 5-6 action steps based on your knowledge of theory and framing
- Address such items as what your role will be. Who else will be involved?
- From which frames and organizational theorists will you borrow the heaviest?
- Consider Kotter’s (1996) 8 steps for leaders outlined in earlier learning activities. How might these help?
4. Explain the reasons for your approach (be bold and honest, indicating where you are not certain).
5. How will you measure the success of your change?
6. Lastly, what intimidates you the most about becoming an agent of change and enacting this plan?
Support your statements with evidence from the required studies and your research. Cite and reference your sources in APA style.
Final Assignment Parameters
- The use of graphics (pictures, charts, graphs, videos, PowerPoint, etc.) is encouraged.
- Outlines and bullets may be acceptable for certain elements of your change strategy (you decide which).
- Reference a minimum of two scholarly sources other than your text, and a minimum of two organizational theorists.
- Make certain to address the requirements listed in your option selection.
Final Assignment Suggestions
Be bold with this assignment and do not view it as simply a head
exercise. Instead, be hopeful of eventual implementation, always
remembering what Einstein said: “Great spirits have always encountered
violent opposition from mediocre minds.”
The Eight-Step Process by Kotter (1996) that you explored will be a
huge help as you grapple with that all-important question: Where do I
start?
Note: In addition to submitting this assignment to your instructor, post it as a reply to your initial post in the “Peer Review of Second Draft of My Change Plan” discussion board to prompt further dialogue with your peers. Peer responses are not required.
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This course includes this assignment as a critical NELP Standards
Standard Three: Equity and Cultural Leadership – Program
Standard Four: Instructional Leadership – Program
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