Week Ten Reflection

After reading these three chapters, I have found that they have something in common with many of my minor classes. When learning to complete lesson plans for specifically my minor, the PIE method was used. I don't think this is an official term, but it was something that we used. P stands for plan. I stands for implement. E stands for evaluate. Though the chapters were not focused on writing lesson plans at all, I was reminded of PIE several times when I was reading. It seems as though there was a common theme in the chapters. Whatever the plan is, it needs to be reviewed after it is implemented in order to improve it. Specific things may work in the original plan, but most of the time, something needs to be re-evaluated. 

Another thing that I see in these chapters is how the district should be viewed as a whole. The book speaks of several different roles (in more of a business setting, but when applying it to education, it works too) that need to be fulfilled in order to carry out a plan. To me, this idea is spread out over the three chapters. Training and meeting in order to come to an agreement needs to happen before the new progress can begin. Each person will have a role in this-whether it be writing the plan or process for change or being a "pawn" and having the very smallest role. These roles need to pull together as an entire "business" (district/school/building) in order to see improvement in the focus area. 

The biggest idea that is common throughout the chapters (sometimes not directly, but it is there) is the idea of implementing technology. Even when the author was speaking of a strategy/method and not specifically mentioning technology, that is what I was thinking about. The nature of the class obviously puts that in my mind when I am reading, but I believe that it can be applied to each of the chapters in several different ways. Each of the different processes can be improved with the use of technology, in my opinion. 

As I read the chapters, I definitely think that some of the methods could be used in a professional setting. I have written about ways they could be used in a school district in other reflections, but at Michigan Works, it could function the same way. I was in charge of creating a curriculum, implementing it, and then evaluating it and adjusting it for the next group that I would be teaching. I also needed to meet and collaborate with the rest of my team when I was going to make a change or teach a new class in order to let them know what was going on and what I needed from them. We worked together, most of the time through the use of technology, in order to achieve the goal. All of these ideas were mentioned and explained in the book (and given official names).