Professional Learning and Development

2023-03-13From : 管理员Click : 453

Professional Learning and Development

Professional Learning and Development is an effective tool to ensure that educators share best practice and new ideas regarding educating young people. In a recent PLD session, administrators from Griggs China and GIA schools met to discuss Leadership Traits and ‘Affect’.

Discussions took place regarding what it truly means to be a leader with participants agreeing that leaders should give those they are leading the space, resources, and tools to be able to do their job effectively. We should lead by example and ensure that we truly listen to the needs of those around us.

Gallup (2018) determined that the four most important traits of good leadership were Trust; Compassion; Stability; and Hope.

Trust

Building trust is the foundation for leading. Honesty, clarity and behavioral predictability all make up trust.

Compassion

Bring positive energy and a willingness to listen. Being compassionate means caring about your followers holistically while seeing them as more than just their ability to perform.

Stability

Ensure people can count on you. Providing stability looks like creating space where people feel psychologically safe, like they can depend on you to answer their questions, hear their ideas and address their concerns.

Hope

Encourage people to believe in a better future. While stability focuses on today, hopefulness deals with the future. People need to see that their leaders have a clear direction in mind.

A successful, efficient, and effective leader will embody such values.

The group also discussed the concept of ‘Affect’. James and Jones (2008) propose that our feelings, emotions and moods – which are collectively referred to as ‘affect’ – are as much a part of a ‘situation’ as our rational responses. They argue that considering peoples’ emotions during decision making is fundamental to effective implementation of new policies or procedures. It was agreed that collaborative and inclusive decision making was most beneficial to implementing effective change. Allowing people to express how they felt about decisions and keeping all involved – in particular those who would be most affected by change – was vital to ensure a smooth transition with little resistance to change.

As an administrator, we often have to make decisions that some may disagree with. However, by giving those who will be affected by the change the opportunity to acknowledge such emotions and feel heard even if plans will not be changed, could allow for better change implementation.

The session allowed administrators to share their ideas and discuss how they manage their leadership duties. We were able to reflect on our current practice and determine where there is scope for development.

In the next session, administrators will discuss the role of collaboration and the idea that for teachers to deal with stress and overwork, seeking help and collaboration with colleagues can provide fresh perspectives and ideas.

References 参考:

Gallup (2022) Effective Leadership: How to Be a Better Leader.

盖洛普(2022)有效的领导:如何成为一个更好的领导者

Available at 访问: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/356072/how-to-be-better-leader.aspx?gclid=CjwKCAjwkYGVBhArEiwA4sZLuNO5etdXOVWQukHoTVnRGeUDxz7zEvmYjjXnhkGdGtN3IFxMRCakRRoChLQQAvD_BwE (Accessed: 15 June 2022).

James, C. and Jones, N. (2008) ‘A case study of the mis-management of educational change: an interpretation from an affective standpoint’, Journal of Educational Change, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 1–16.

詹姆斯，C.和琼斯，N.(2008)，“教育变革管理不善的案例研究:从情感角度的解释”，《教育变革杂志》，第9卷，第1期，第1 - 16页。