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The George Washington University Education 282: "Administration of College Student Development Programs" Instructor: Dr. Billy Molasso Fall 2007   By Nada M. Salem

A second set of Skills that the Dean of the School of Education Needs to Have in order to be a State-of-the-Art Dean is the Strategic Planning Skills: s/he should be an accomplished strategic planner

• who has the ability to articulate and support a vision for educational innovation;

who will engage the school community in thinking broadly about the school's potential

• who develops, implements, and assesses high quality academic programs and their effectiveness;

who shows oversight in planning curriculums and instruction

The State-of-the-Art Dean of Education needs to be able to articulate a vision (plan) for educational innovation in order to move the school from "good to great" (Collins, 2001); however, the dean needs to involve the whole school community in this, first, so that the plan can really be exhaustive and accurate; second, so that the constituents of the school take ownership of the plan and proactively participate in its implementation.

How does the State-of-the-Art Dean need to proceed?

1- The dean needs to exhibit the characteristics of a "level 5 leader" (Collins, 2001) who enjoys personal humility and professional will; who leads with questions, not answers; who engages in dialog and debate, not coercion.

2- The dean needs to establish a steering committee under his/her leadership, and each person on this committee should be the right person in the right seat.

The characteristics of the "right person": (Collins, 2001)
- shares the core values of the institution
- doesn't need management
- is or can become one of the best people in the field
- has a broad sense of responsibility (is productively neurotic)

"You can accomplish anything in life provided that you do not mind who gets the credit"-- Harry Truman
It is not about you: it is about the mission.

3- The committee needs to evaluate the school's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats: (M2PressWIRE, 2007)

- Strengths to Build Upon (internal):

Learning from the Past: What is working well within our system? What is not working well and why?

- Weaknesses to Overcome (internal):

Thinking about the future: What parts of the system need to be enhanced? What enhancements are the higher priorities? What parts need to be changed/modified in some way? What new ideas or approaches to crisis services would you like to see considered?

- Opportunities to Exploit (external)

- Threats to Overcome (external)

'Where are we at? Where do we want to go?' are key questions.

4- The committee will conduct surveys and use their results to shape a five-year plan to help with decision making. The surveys will enable all the people in the school of education to have their voices heard. (Nelson, 2007)

The survey can be a four-question one that asks people to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the school of education, what critical issues face the school and what opportunities the school has for addressing them.

5- The committee needs to develop a strategic plan (with strategic goals and measurable objectives) for addressing the school's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

6- The committee needs to set a tentative due date with different stages for completing the plan.

7- The committee needs to assess the results of the plan after a previously defined period of time.

8- The committee needs to close the loop and make the necessary changes.

Very Important:

The dean of the school of education has a responsibility that other deans at the university do not have: it is to strive to get all doctoral programs at the university level (not only at the school of education level) to include in their curricula at least one course about goals objectives, assessment (including devising rubrics), and teaching strategies.

Doctoral programs (in business, engineering, medicine, sciences...) might produce teachers/instructors, and it would be a shame if those teachers/instructors took up teaching at school or university level without having taken at least one education course.

Setting broad course goals, writing specific and measurable objectives, following sound and effective assessment techniques, and implementing appropriate teaching strategies that accommodate all learning styles are skills that every teacher/instructor needs to have. We all know that very few schools besides the school of education do teach those skills, but all schools at the doctoral level produce teachers. Therefore, it is a must for the dean of the school of education to strive to get ALL schools at university to include this education course at the doctoral level.
 

The State-of-the-Art Dean of Education needs to develop, implement, and assess high quality academic programs and their effectiveness; the dean needs to show oversight in planning curriculums and instruction.

The changes in society, the current trends, the needs, and the futures of society are what the dean needs to keep in mind when developing, implementing, and assessing academic programs.

Conventional Instruction, Computer Mediated Communication, Educational Technology, Educational Trends, Technological Advancement, and job markets are some aspects that need to be studied.

Mission statement, goals, objectives and assessment methods are all very important for the success of the school of education. The dean needs to make sure that they follow the vision the dean has for the school and for each department within the school.

The State-of-the-Art Dean needs to make sure that

• all departments' mission statements, goals and objectives are in harmony with the school's
• all teachers' goals and objectives (stated in their syllabi) are in harmony with their departments'
• all objectives target mainly higher order thinking skills (cf. Bloom's Taxonomy)
• proper instruction takes place in the classroom, instruction that does not merely focus on transfering information/knowledge (which is nowadays very 'cheap'), but on involving students, getting them to think: analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and create
• teachers implement sound assessment methods, including using effective rubrics that they would give to the students prior to conducting any assessment so that the students know what to expect
• teachers give proper and sufficient feedback to the students so that learning occurs
• teachers motivate their students to learn
• teachers and staff build a culture of teamwork, where the only competition present is with previous achievement
• mentorship programs are created for new faculty, staff, and struggling students, hereby setting an atmosphere of help, collaboration, and love... and a belief in "All for One, and One for All!"


Sources:
Collins, 2001; James, 2002; Wellington-Dufferin Crisis Intervention System Steering Committee, 2003; M2PressWIRE, 2007; Nelson, 2007

Relevant Links:
Mission, Goals, and Objectives (Bloom's Taxonomy)
What is Required of Teachers?
Affect in Language Learning: Motivation
Be the Leader. Produce Leaders. Organize Teams that Work!
Benefits of "Organized" TEAMWORK
English Mentorship Program: Recruiting Students to Teach Students