Leaders and Stakeholders' Perspectives

Answer

Planning For Change

Change is inevitable for organizations and sectors which continue to grow. Leaders are expected to have strategies which they can use in change planning and management. According to Ruzek et al. (2014), one of the challenges that planning new changes can encounter is resistance from those who are uncomfortable with the status quo being altered. In the present case, change is required to address the problem of poor enhancement options for teacher development. Notably, one of the reasons as to why teachers fail to develop professionally is because they lack flexible programs which they can use for their development (DeMonte, 2013). As such, mechanisms should be used to ensure that they use appropriate actions and programs which will make them develop personally and professionally. The proposed solution to such a problem is the implementation of online certification programs and training for the K-12 teachers for their professional development. Specifically, teachers should seek the Learning and teaching in a K-12 Digital Classroom Certificate which will equip them with skills to be better educators. This paper provides an action plan for the proposed changes.

Goals

The planned online certification program will seek to have various short and long-term goals. According to DeMonte (2013), short-term goals are those which will be achieved in the immediate future while long-term goals are those to be accomplished at a later date. One of the short-term goals that the proposed change would seek to obtain is to ensure that k-12 teachers and school leaders have the skills required for practical education, especially in the increasingly mobile technology learning environment. The second goals are to explore ways in which the emerging, as well as existing technologies can be used as learning tools and how they can be integrated into the classroom. The long-term goal of the planned change is to ensure personal and professional development of the teachers in the fields of character education and development

(Fishman et al., 2013). Additionally, it is the long-term goal of the proposed changes that children in schools will begin to get a quality education due to the increased skills and competencies from their teachers.

Stakeholders

Stakeholders are the various parties who will take an active role in the planning and implementation of the proposed changes as well as those likely to be impacted in one way or another by the changes. One of the most critical stakeholders in this field are the teachers. Specifically, Ruzek et al. (2014) state that teachers must decide as to whether they will undertake the online certification programs or not. As such, the proposed changes revolve around the teachers. The teachers should understand that it is only through professional development that they will become more effective when teaching. The second and most key stakeholders are the institutions offering the certification programs. Such organizations should provide quality training to the teachers so that they become more skilled and competent. The third stakeholder is the Ministry of Education which should provide the teachers with enough time for them to attend the online courses. Additionally, the Ministry should ensure that teachers have all the necessary materials for the acquisition of the certification programs essential for their professional development.

Feedback System to Use In Keeping Stakeholders Informed

Key stakeholders in the planned change should always be informed about the progress of the implementation of the proposed changes. One of the methods that will be used in obtaining feedback would be interviewing the parties involved. Such interviews will ask questions as to the effectiveness of the proposed changes. After those interviews, the feedback will be used to inform the stakeholders of the implementation pace of the proposed changes (Ruzek et al., 2014). Additionally, investigations will be conducted to provide critical data as to the progress of the changes. The results of such an inquiry will form critical feedback which can be submitted to the stakeholders. In explaining to them the need for the change, Information will be provided from a review of the literature (Fishman et al., 2013). Such information will convince them as to why change is needed and the roles that they will play in the implementation of the planned changes.

Action

The proposed action for the existing problem is encouraging teachers to take online certification courses which will offer them training and increase their skills and competencies and enable them to provide quality education to their students. Notably, Archambault & Kennedy (2014) assert that professional development is key to increasing the knowledge of the teachers and ensuring that they assist their students to become more knowledgeable. Various reasons informed the choice of online training and certification. One of the reasons is that having online training and certification is easy and does not require the teachers to be physically present. As such, they can undertake the courses irrespective of their physical locations (Bates, Phalen, & Moran, 2016). The second reason is that such a program is time-effective as teachers can undertake training in the comfort of their homes and at any period of the day. Moreover, the costs of such an exercise are lesser compared to attending classes and having face to face lectures.

How to Best Utilize Individuals Offering Assistance

Utilizing individuals who offer assistance will be vital to ensuring that the implementation of the changes is a success. One of the steps which should be taken to ensure that the assistants play a significant role is working as a team as opposed to a bunch of individuals. Specifically, according to Fishman et al. (2013), all those who will play a critical role should meet, and the duties of each arranged. Such a step will ensure that there is no duplication of tasks and that each understands their roles. To make the plan more successful and meaningful, they should provide information which seeks to ensure smooth implementation (Bates, Phalen & Moran, 2016). Such individuals should give professional advice on their areas of specialization. The advice will ensure that the plan is feasible and takes into consideration all relevant factors and resources.

Resources

The resources needed for the plan include training materials. Notably, the teachers will require reading materials which they will use to get the right skills for their jobs. Such materials should be printed in different formats. Some can be in books while others can be in pamphlets and posters (Archambault & Kennedy, 2014). Each of the resources will have information in different quantities. Additionally, the trainers will require monies to cater for their training and certification. As such, financial resources will be vital as they will be used to pay the trainers and also cater for the expenses of training and certification (DeMonte, 2013). The teachers need to cater for the costs of the training as they will be the ones who will benefit from such a certification. Training will be done by the trainers who will be deployed based on merit by the institutions of learning. Since training will be done online, it will be critical to have access to the internet so that trainers can access all materials which they require.

Timeframe

The various actions which will be undertaken in planning for the proposed changes will require varying amounts of time. The first step would be the application for training the teachers. The application and admission for such a certification program will take three weeks. The next step will be the start of training which will take another two weeks. After the beginning of the actual training, the certification program will take one year. As such, the trainer must be prepared to finish the entire course as it is only after the completion that they will be awarded a certificate (Bayar, 2014). The teachers will then go back to teaching. An evaluation will be done after six months to establish whether the training has resulted in positive changes to the quality of education they offer to their students.

Evaluation

An evaluation will be done after completion of the training so that the effectiveness of the program can be ascertained. The assessment done will be both formative and summative. A formative assessment would be done as the proposed changes progress to improve on any areas of training. According to Ruzek et al. (2014), a summative evaluation will be done at the end of the training to know whether the teachers have acquired skills and competencies which they sought to attain. Formative assessment will be done by the school heads to establish whether the teachers under training are providing quality education. Summative evaluation will be done by instructors at the end of the training through a formal examination to determine whether the teachers have professionally developed over the course of the exercise.