Rick's Algeblog

The 10 Best Books On Emotional Intelligence

2012-03-03T11:29:00.000-05:00

This link comes from Online Universities and is one of many informative articles that can be found on this site. Educators would benefit from browsing the very informative articles and blog posts found here.

What Makes An Effective Leader?

2012-02-26T11:22:00.001-05:00

The most effective and successful leaders are those who frequently re-assess their strengths and weaknesses, while consciously placing the betterment and growth of the organization above personal gain. In addition, little has been done to address the issue of gender and race inequity in the leadership pool. Continued research is the key to fixing this gross injustice.

Honesty and integrity are core attributes that all leaders must possess in order to be effective and respected. Risk-taking and Emotional Intelligence (EI) also play key roles in the success rates of the best leaders. In addition, ethics, morality, humility, and personal values are essential to effective leadership. "Unethical practices that go unchallenged can become the norm of a society or business. Difficult circumstances can produce moral laxity..." (Wren, 1995, p. 498). It is up to us, the 21st-century leaders, to ensure that these types of practices do not go unchecked.

References

Wren, J.T. (1995). The leader's companion: Insights on leadership through the ages. New York, NY: Free Press.

Organizational Change

2012-02-26T11:17:00.002-05:00

Inspiring change must go hand-in-hand with managing change. This is especially true as leaders realize that not everyone within an organization is going to be agreeable to change, especially major ones. The level of follower "buy in" will inevitably vary as change relates to each constituent's role and point of view. As change is essential in order for institutions/schools to stay competitive and current, how leaders successfully manage change ultimately determines their effectiveness. To facilitate the management of change, leaders can enlist the help of those constituents who accept change more willingly than others. "Leaders can identify followers who more readily accept and adapt to change, and encourage them to support their peers who find change more difficult to adjust to" (Oreg & Berson, 2011, p. 653). Furthermore, these authors conclude that, "charismatic leaders can help followers' [sic] compensate for the dispositional difficulty some of them have in times of organizational change...[while using] their transformational leadership style to override employees' resistance to change" (Oreg & Berson, 2011, p. 653).

References

Oreg, S., & Berson, Y. (2011). Leadership and employees' reactions to change: The role of leaders' personal attributes and transformational leadership style. Personnel Psychology, 64(3), 627-659. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2011.01221.x

Experiential Learning

2012-02-26T11:14:00.001-05:00

Personally, I feel that I have learned more experientially over my years as an educator than I ever did as a student in an undergraduate classroom setting. As my experiences relate to my classroom approach, I incorporate many hands-on, peer-monitored, application-based activities in my math classes. Not only does this approach help maintain students' interest and focus, but it is essential for my students to be able to answer for themselves, the age-old question, "when are we ever going to use this?" Clearly, the lecture-only based classroom is a non-effective learning environment for 21st-century adolescent learners. This approach leads to students who "bow their heads to take notes, lift faces bravely, and too often gaze with a glazed look at the [teacher]" (Braid, 2008, p. 42). Whereas, experiential learning helps "to shatter the glassy stare" (Braid, 2008, p. 42).

It amazes me that on-the-job experience, student teaching, or experiential learning in general--especially in regards to veteran professionals like us--is so often looked upon as being less preferred than formal classroom learning. I simply do not understand that rationale. Don't the best leaders/educators combine what they have learned in the classroom with experiential learning and apply that to heir followers'/students' real-world learning environments? How can experience so often count for so little to those in charge of hiring or appointing leaders? Mind-boggling....

References

Braid, B. (2008). Majoring in the minor: A closer look at experiential learning. Honors in Practice, 4, 37-42. Retrieved from www.nchchonors.org/nchcpublications.shtml

Digital Literacy

2012-02-18T14:24:00.002-05:00

One topic that is receiving increased emphasis by researchers is digital literacy. The majority of 21st-century students utilize the Internet as their primary resource for retrieving information. Frequently, teachers view this approach as both acceptable and preferred, whether it pertains to learners obtaining a quick answer, or conducting lengthy research. Even though the 21st-century student has immediate access to information via various online sources (e.g., Google, Google Scholar, Yahoo, YouTube, etc.), it is essential that information literacy be adequately addressed in today’s classrooms. The ability to distinguish between reliable information and “junk” should be a required skill that is addressed in all current classrooms. To the 21st-century learner, information competency translates primarily to digital literacy. The ever-evolving nature of digital literacy is complicated (Pfannenstiel, 2010). Nevertheless, classroom teachers must strive to have their students understand not only what constitutes reliable information retrieved from the Internet, but also the more important concept of academic integrity. In addition, Badke (2009) states the need for educators to develop strategies that teach “our future users of information how to go beyond” (p. 49) search engines in order to acquire information; the fear being that if a student is unable to locate something via a search engine, then that student will not find it at all. As role models for students, it is each educator’s responsibility to ensure that their students acquire the appropriate, grade-level informational literacy requisite to maintaining academic integrity, while enhancing each student’s journey as a lifelong learner. I am confident that future research on this topic will increase as technology continues to advance.

References

Badke, W. (2009). How we failed the net generation. Online, 33(4), 47-49. Retrieved from www.cinahl.com/cgi-bin/refsvc?jid=296&accno=2010356030
Pfannenstiel, A.N. (2010). Digital literacies and academic integrity. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 6(2), 41-49. Retrieved from http://www.ojs.unisa.edu.au/index.php/IJEI

Emotional Intelligence: The Role Of Communication

2012-02-12T11:58:00.001-05:00

Communication plays a vital role in the development and effectiveness of a leader's Emotional Intelligence (EI). When I first started out as an educator, I dreaded having to contact parents when there were issues with their children. However, as I became more of a veteran educator and school leader, I came to realize how important it was to be proactive in terms of communicating to parents and colleagues--whether bad or good news, as it established the partnership which is necessary for my students' success. In addition, I have come to expect the same forthrightness in communication from my superiors, again whether in the form of praise or constructive criticism. "Successful leaders match their communication behaviors to their goals...[and] monitor their actions to create desired impressions in the minds of others...[in order to] reach group goals rather than to satisfy selfish, personal goals” (Wren, 1995, p. 431).

References

Wren, J.T. (1995). The leader's companion: Insights on leadership through the ages. New York, NY: Free Press.

Risk-Taking In The Classroom: A Necessary Component

2012-02-11T11:35:00.000-05:00

In my classroom, risk-taking is part of the learning experience and is encouraged. Risk-taking goes hand-in-hand with allowing students the opportunity to fail, without them feeling ridiculed or too discouraged. However, this does not appear to be as prevalent a classroom philosophy as it should be within our educational system, especially during students' adolescent years. In addition, this classroom approach seems to go against our current culture which focuses too much on the mentality to "succeed no matter what." As noted in Clifford (1991), "errorless learning methods have failed to produce the creative, self-confident scholars we had envisioned" (p. 293). Furthermore, in Clifford's research study, she concluded that in the classroom "students often preferred near-moderate risks, expressed positive attitudes toward risk taking, and demonstrated learning benefits" (Clifford, 1991, p. 289).

References

Clifford, M.M. (1991). Risk taking: Theoretical, empirical, and educational considerations. Educational Psychologist, 26(3/4), 263-297. Retrieved from http://www.erlbaum.com/Journals/journals/EP/ep.htm

Failure In Innovation

2012-02-04T12:05:00.001-05:00

Failure plays a vital role in innovation. As noted in Townsend (2010), failure has value as it allows organizations to learn from mistakes. In addition, "innovations [that do not meet with success] should not be discarded, since it is inevitable that they will find value in some context. The issue for managerial practitioners is to find the correct context through which to capitalize on this value" (Townsend, 2010, p. 78). A "free to fail" workplace atmosphere allows opportunities for leaders--and followers--to dream a little and think "outside the box". Establishing and promoting a "failure-tolerant environment for innovation hypothesis testing and experimentation does not do as much to guide the behavior of an employee with an insight as it does to remind us that all ideas have value" (Townsend, 2010, p. 79). Even though current research data is limited as it relates to unsuccessful innovation, the fact remains that value can be garnered from such "failed" innovations. Failure leads to improvement and a better understanding of what innovations may be more successful in the future.

References

Townsend, W. (2010). Innovation and the value of failure. International Journal of Management & Marketing Research, 3(1), 75-84. Retrieved from http://theibfr.com/

How Leaders Can Develop Innovation In Their Organizations Or Schools

2012-02-04T12:03:00.003-05:00

Leaders can develop innovation in their organizations via initiatives that are based on research. In addition, innovation can be best developed when leadership can provide a clear mission and vision, along with honest assessment. "Mission provides a purpose and vision translates mission into intended results” (University of Phoenix, 2012, “Week Six Lecture/LDR 711a/Lecture Four: Assess leadership effectiveness and usefulness in implementing innovation”, para. 3). For example, companies and schools should have a Mission Statement that accurately reflects what the company/school stands for, not what it hopes to be in the future. Vision needs to be reflective of a realistic long-term plan, coupled with attainable short-term goals. Assessment needs to be an honest appraisal of what is currently working, what does not work, and what simply needs some tweaking. The "if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it" mentality is not effective if organizations/private schools wish to stay competitive and on the "cutting edge". In some cases, this assessment can best be done via a third party (i.e., a consultant firm.) Ultimately, leaders need to inspire a passion within their followers if innovation is to make a positive difference inside an organization.

References

University of Phoenix. (2012). Week Six Lecture/LDR 711a/Lecture Four: Assess leadership effectiveness and usefulness in implementing innovation. Retrieved from https://classroom.phoenix.edu/afm213/secure/view-thread.jspa?threadID=39965931

Brain Bank Examines Athletes' Hard Hits

2012-02-04T11:58:00.000-05:00

Scary article regarding brain injuries due to impact sports....

Government Seeks Help To Stop Teacher-Led Cheating

2012-02-02T15:50:00.000-05:00

Another recent article from USA Today regarding testing scandals....

Transformational Leadership

2012-01-28T11:42:00.000-05:00

The success of transformational leadership is determined by the level of effective engagement between leaders and followers. "Such leadership occurs when one or more persons engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality" (Wren, 1995, p. 101). Successful transformational leadership "changes some of those who follow into people whom others may follow [while changing] leaders into moral agents" (Wren, 1995, p.103). This promotes a healthy and collaborative workplace environment which can only benefit a company/school. However, unsuccessful transformational leadership occurs in situations when leaders feel threatened by followers' growth or empowerment. Avolio (2002) notes that "the impact of transformational leadership on followers' performance is often explained as stemming from followers' development and empowerment, which increases both their ability and their motivation" (p. 83). Leaders who are too self-absorbed or egotistical, and not willing to work with their constituents as relative equals, may soon find this collaborative leadership approach too "hands on" for their liking. In turn, this would stifle progress and attitudes within the company/school.

References

Avolio, B.J., & Yammarino, F.J. (2002). Transformational and charismatic leadership: The road ahead. San Diego, CA: Emerald.

Wren, J.T. (1995). The leader's companion: Insights on leadership through the ages. New York, NY: Free Press.

The Role Of Conflict In The Establishment Of Leader/Follower Relationships

2012-01-28T11:40:00.000-05:00

Conflict is an unavoidable, yet necessary "evil" in establishing leader/follower relationships. This inevitable interaction is both healthy and vital in order to achieve an effective work environment. "If successfully managed, conflict can produce high quality, creative solutions that lead to innovation and progress" (Wren, 1995, p. 435). This rationale can be applied to both the corporate world and our educational system. In addition, "the resolution of disputes is a major factor driving incremental change in an organization [or school district] or in a [leader/follower] relationship" (Wren, 1995, p. 437). Conflict forces leaders and their constituents to work together in partnership for the betterment of the company/school. The top-down, power approach (i.e., "I am the boss, and what I say goes") does not foster the healthy working atmosphere necessary for an institution's continued success. Followers would become unhappy in their work and suspicious of the leader's intentions. Effective leaders need the support of followers, while being open to their constructive criticism. Through conflict and resolution, followers are a more integral part of the workplace, leaders entertain a wider range of options to a situation, and the organization benefits from the collaboration.

References

Wren, J.T. (1995). The leader's companion: Insights on leadership through the ages. New York, NY: Free Press.

Superior Leaders

2012-01-21T13:01:00.000-05:00

Superior leaders often possess certain natural born traits that make being a successful and effective leader more likely. The most important of these traits are honesty and integrity. These qualities (especially integrity) cannot be taught, and every potential leader freely chooses to either accept or reject these virtues. On one hand, they represent innate characteristics that potential leaders virtuously aspire to uphold which, in turn, enhances followers' respect. On the contrary, non-potential leaders do not value or possess these traits and are subsequently set up for failure or, at best, mock success. Honesty and integrity are requisites of superior leadership as they "form the foundation of a trusting relationship between leader and followers" (Wren, 1995, p. 138).

Similar to the fact that the best athletic coaches are often those who were not superstars as players, people who possess average charisma and/or personality have the potential to be truly superior leaders. These types of people have had to work hard for their successes and have a clear understanding of the followers' mindset. In fact, Wren (1995) suggests that charisma often becomes a leader's undoing. Just as superstars are often too "full of themselves" to be effective coaches, so too are leaders whose charisma narcissistically "gets in the way" of effective leadership. In fact, although a certain amount of charisma is a plus, charismatic leaders are not necessary "to influence followers to comply with and carry out the vision of the leader. Rather, the vision itself needs to reflect and draw upon the vast resources contained within individual employees" (Wren, 1995, pp. 219-220). "Regardless of personal style, an individual can be inspirational to a good portion of colleagues" (Zenger, 2009, p. 20). Hence, even if a person is perceived to have only an average personality, he/she can have a dedicated following through trust and credibility.

References

Wren, J.T. (1995). The leader's companion: Insights on leadership through the ages. New York, NY: Free Press.

Zenger, J.H. (2009). Challenging times demand inspiring leadership. Financial Executive 25(6), 18-22. Retrieved from http://www.financialexecutivemag.com

13 More Charged in SAT Cheating Scandal

2012-01-15T15:19:00.000-05:00

This relatively recent article in USA Today from last November, brings into question morality issues that we, as the professional educators, must be willing to address and discuss with our constituents. It seems that more often than not, students feel the "need" or the pressure to excel--at any cost--as, to them, the end results are worth the possible consequences of the unethical means. "To view plagiarism in terms of morality requires the writer to acknowledge that using someone else’s ideas or words without permission or acknowledgement is morally wrong" (Hatcher, 2011, p. 154). As learners move up the educational ladder, and stress or the pressure to succeed increases, students of all ages must resist unethical shortcuts as methods for obtaining their intended degree. To this end, educators (at the earliest levels) must continuously address the need for each student to do his/her own work and to properly cite thoughts and ideas that are not original. This will give students the solid foundation required for them to become both ethical and moral scholars, and effective leaders in our future society.

References

Hatcher, T. (2011). Becoming an ethical scholarly writer. Journal of Scholarly Publishing 42(2), 142-159. Retrieved from http://www.utpjournals.com/Journal-of-Scholarly-Publishing.html

Advancements In The Development Of Basic Leadership

2012-01-12T18:48:00.002-05:00

Some leading thinkers claim that there have been no major advancements in the development of basic leadership in the last 200 years. Even though there appears to be no clear cut, definitive definition of leadership, to suggest that no significant strides in development have transpired over the course of two centuries is too critical a statement. Leadership, along with what determines the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of individual leaders, is an ever-changing and evolving term that is contingent upon contextual settings, situations, current perceptions, and followers' characteristics. As these variables have changed over time, so has the workable definition of leadership and the qualities and traits effective individual leaders should possess. Leadership development should not be measured in terms of whether or not norms have been established over time, as for every leadership opportunity there exists a different setting, context, and follower constituency. In addition, current research suggests that effective leaders must evolve with, and adapt to, the times (e.g., the 21st century.) This signifies progress. As noted in Wren (1995), a 21st century SuperLeader maximizes "the contributions of others through recognition of their right to guide their own destiny" (p. 213) all for the betterment and good of the workplace. In addition, recent developments based on research suggest 21st century leaders will need to find "ways to bring out the best of people through trust, respect, listening, inspiration, setting the example...nourishing...mentoring...recognizing creativity and genius, harnessing talent...and even having fun" (Wren, 1995, p. 460). This research exemplifies recent developments and advancement of basic leadership. In addition, Clawson (2006, Appendix) outlines the development of various leadership theories and approaches that have been developed over time (trait, behavior, power and influence, situational, charismatic, and transformational) and add credence to the proposition that there have been significant developments in basic leadership, even if this list simply represent theories.

References

Clawson, J.G. (2006). Level three leadership: Getting below the surface. (3rd ed.). [Adobe Digital Editions version]. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content/home.aspx

Wren, J.T. (1995). The leader's companion: Insights on leadership through the ages. New York, NY: Free Press.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T12:21:00.001-05:00

This video exemplifies what Christmas is all about....

Scholar-Practitioner-Leader: The SPL Model

2011-12-17T11:29:00.000-05:00

My view of the scholar-practitioner-leader model is evolving into a clearer and more practical understanding of its benefits, challenges, and implementation strategies. In the near future, the specific actions I intend to develop as a scholar-practitioner-leader include (a) continuing to obtain knowledge (scholar) via my current doctoral journey, (b) integrating application-based knowledge (practitioner) at my school and in my classroom, and (c) taking charge within my math department (leader) through innovation and initiative.

Please comment with thoughts, strategies, recommendations, successes and failures that you have experienced in your own application of the SPL Model....

Grades - The Unfortunate Foundation of Our Education System

2011-12-17T11:19:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, grades are the foundation of our education system. This can be a crippling reality for certain learners. It is similar to the emphasis that colleges used to place (and some still do) on SAT scores. I had a classmate at my prep school during the late 1970's who was a straight "A" student, a three-season Varsity athlete, very involved in extra-curricular activities, etc., who did not get accepted at a single college because he had moderately low SAT scores! In addition, I remember attending a conference a number of years ago where the keynote speaker suggested that students should approach their teachers on the first day of school and ask, "what do I need to do to get an 'A'?" Although I never have had a student actually ask me that question, too often I see the negative effects when a student receives what he/she perceives as a poor grade. Recently, I returned a quiz in which one of my students earned an 85% (right around his overall average) who proceeded to email his dad--during class--that he had just received a bad score! When the father emailed me for specifics, I was dumbfounded that the boy really thought an 85% was a bad grade. His dad agreed with me, as his son had neglected to include the actual grade in his email.... In any case, students (and many parents) are so anxious when it comes to grades, that the actual learning suffers. Something is clearly wrong with a system that holds grades above learning. Even professional educators can get caught up in this problem, as recent scandals regarding "score adjustments" on standardized tests have shown. "When the worth of a person is connected to scores, and when those who don’t do well are publicly ridiculed, cheating happens.... We shouldn’t be surprised when teachers working in similar climates make similar choices" (Starnes, 2011, p. 71).

References

Starnes, B.A. (2011). Superstars, cheating, and surprises. Phi Delta Kappa 93(1), 70-71. Retrieved from http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/kappan.htm

In Honor of Teachers

2011-09-11T12:11:00.005-04:00

As a new school year is upon us, and teachers are fresh and revitalized, everyone should read this recent article in the New York Times entitled, In Honor of Teachers.

eSchool News Service

2011-06-18T17:43:00.000-04:00

A very interesting--and FREE to subscribe to--online school news service. Click here to be re-directed. Enjoy the summer...time to rejuvenate!!

Will Richardson’s TEDxNYED - 3/5/2011

2011-04-05T17:48:00.001-04:00

Click here for a 14-minute video that is well worth the time to watch.... Will Richardson is a parent of two middle school-aged children and has been blogging about the intersection of social online learning networks and education for the past 10 years at Weblogg-ed.com. He is a former public school educator for 22 years, and is a co-founder of Powerful Learning Practice, a unique long-term, job-embedded professional development program that has mentored over 3,500 teachers worldwide in the last four years.

The Search For A New Way To Test School Kids

2011-03-18T11:22:00.002-04:00

Check out this USA Today article.... An interesting and quite worrisome read....

Formative Assessment and Standards-Based Grading

2011-03-14T12:55:00.005-04:00

Has anyone read the book, Formative Assessment and Standards-Based Grading: Classroom Strategies That Work, by Robert J. Marzano? If so, would you please share your thoughts on his ideas and whether or not you have successfully implemented any of the strategies he outlines in this book? Any input would be greatly appreciated, as I have just ordered this and was wondering its real-classroom value....

Alternative Assessments

2011-02-26T12:54:00.000-05:00

I have always felt that there is too much emphasis placed on grades. In my math classes, I often use alternative methods in order to assess my students' progress and mastery of content. However, the bottom line is that even these assessments must be ultimately translated into percentages or letter grades. Secondary schools, colleges, and universities require such defining "standards" in order to evaluate prospective applicants. Even though these institutions clearly look at the broader, overall picture of each applicant, I still believe that too many students, and parents, are far too concerned about grades--much more so than the actual learning of content.
How can we as educators/schools de-emphasize grades when our students' next schools place such high importance on these impersonal assessments?