Example Of Research Paper On Change Management Plan

Introduction

According to Schooldigger.com, Fullerton Elementary School is ranked worse than 94.2% elementary schools in Maryland. Within Prince George’s County, the institution is ranked 130th among 134 elementary schools. Fullerton elementary, a Title I school, has been categorized as such because over 90% of the body of students receive lunch free or at reduced cost, and the incomes of the households represented within this edifice are at or beneath the poverty level as determined by the United States Census Bureau. Following in the same vein of many other schools in high-poverty areas, a vast majority of pupils at Fullerton have not been in school prior to kindergarten and/or have numerous issues in literacy in math and reading. Jacquinth (2013) suggests that struggling schools build instructional capacities that may lead to more effective instructional resources. However, Chenoweth (2013) asserts that leadership is the key to changing any school, regardless of any obstacles.
Currently, Fullerton serves large populations of non-native speakers and special education recipients. A common discussion among most stakeholders revolves around the strength of the teachers. Since we cannot change our student population, we have resolved to change our instruction to improve the altitude of our learners. This can be achieved through the utilization of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). Currently, PLCs, at their core, trust in leadership and involvement in school improvement efforts by teachers. It rhymes well with the commonly accepted norms that improving instruction classrooms is a highly significant factor in raising student achievements (Annenberg Institute for School Reform, n.d.). The PLCs will be divided up into groups according to grade levels. Though innovation and imagination, change management will be the order of the day.

Outcomes

The surveys conducted to document and review the school culture served as the platform to develop the change practices outlined in this document. The surveys also identified the immediate need for the reforms and how strongly the stakeholders felt about the poor learning conditions at Fullerton Elementary School. The surveys also suggested that teachers are particularly interested in participating in innovative school improvement programs. Most teachers are deeply motivated, willing to change their teaching methods, and participate in grade level based instructional teaching. From the results of the survey, it is apparent that improving schools through change management plan requires commitment, hard work, patience, resources, and creativity among all the stakeholders.
One of the major goals of Fuller Elementary School is to employ research-based high-impact instructional strategies, including the use of critical thinking and higher order questioning to optimize student learning. Upon observation of our current practices, many of the teachers instruct in isolation in spite of collaborative planning. During collaborative planning meetings, the veteran teacher(s) did most of the talking while the other novice or non-veteran teachers agreed. There were also times when the dialogue was predicated based on previous experiences instead of a Common Core standards-based approaches. As researched by Jaquith (2013), “the instructional capacity..leads to ongoing generation of more effective instructional resources.” The author defines instructional capacity as: collection of resources for teaching that a district, school, or grade-level or subject-area team has to support instruction and, most important, the ability to effectively use these resources to engage students and deepen learning (p.58). This capacity includes instructional knowledge such as pedagogy and content; instructional tools i.e curriculum, assessments; instructional relationships, and organizational structures that promote instructional resources.

Monitor Effectiveness

In order to determine the effectiveness of high impact instruction, a balance must be determined to measure the weight of the team and the strength of the leader (Abernathy, 2005). This can be accomplished with a balanced scorecard. The balanced scorecard (BSC) strategy, initially popularized by Kaplan et al., (Kaplan, Norton & Rugelsjoe, 2010), is a performance management tool used by managers to track activities by the staff and monitor the consequences that result from their activities. The effectiveness of the BSC are that "it articulates the links between leading inputs (human and physical), processes, and lagging outcomes and focuses on the importance of managing these components to achieve the organization's strategic priorities" (Abernathy, Horner, Lillis, Malina, &Selto, 2005). Since we insist on using data to determine growth, the resources of Gretchen Owocki’s “RTI Daily Planning Book” should be very helpful. Owocki’s text has a battery of “if-then” scenarios that teachers can use when student comprehension is poor or unsuccessful. It will be an informal assessment tool used to measure the impact of teacher instruction.
The PLCs will be the divided according to the grade level in order to have consistent language amongst the teachers and the students for that grade level (DuFour & Eaker, 2005). Within the grade level PLCs, the teachers will be charged to create something that is unique and creative that will make learning and teaching exhilarating for all involved. In order to keep stakeholders motivated, they will have various incentives that range from complementary days off, to gift cards for the PLC teams, and meals sponsored by the administration. The staff will give presentations during corporate meetings that will share data as well as plusses and deltas in their journey to progress. Students will also share in the dissemination of data to their peers through sharing their successes and weaknesses during assemblies as well as the plusses and deltas during their process to achievement. By way of phone calls and newsletters, the students and the PLCs will share information with parents as well as community organizations and local businesses.
  Smart boards will allow students to interact with the lessons that teachers have composed in real time and in a playful way. They will also allow teachers to record the lessons and post the recordings onto websites like Edmodo.com, Classnotes.com, and Blackboard.com. Access to this information will allow students and parents to see assignments as well as review notes and build literacy levels in math and English.

Stakeholder Action Plans for Engagement and Opportunities

It is expected that the main stakeholders in carrying out the change process will do so not simply based on direction from management alone, but also actively participate in formulating methods, changes, technologies and resources. The staff' and faculty involvement in the planning process begins at phase 1 and continues to the end with regular opportunities for feedback, reflection and support. School board would be encouraged to offer special incentives for staff members considered outstanding in the collaborative cultural change.

Resources

The resources needed would be minimal since the existing staff and faculty is expected to be sufficient to initiate and complete the project. Monetary resources, if needed for providing incentives or conducting events and workshops, would be provided by the school board.
Timeline
The following table elaborates the specific details of the change management plan. The timeline incorporates three distinct phases to the change management plan for improving student learning at Fullerton Elementary School. The table clearly identifies the purpose, time, integration, follow-up process, stakeholder involvement and the outcomes expected for each of the three phases.
In phase 1, a self-assessment and review of the CCSS standards will occur. Implementing Gretchen Owocki “RTI Daily Lesson Plans will also start in this period. The purpose is to learn how to apply the CCSS standards to each grade level. Based on what is learned and identified as the gaps in teaching process, a review of the lesson plans with PLC partners will occur through use of Gretchen Owocki “RTI Daily Planning Book”. A video record of the lessons would also be available for review and analysis. The planning process and the new methods introduced are relayed to parents at the nearest parent nights and workshops. Teachers are the primary stakeholders in this process and every effort would be made to clarify their concerns and questions about the new lesson plans. Teachers are encouraged to express their opinions about CCSS and clarifications would be made as required. Teachers will also be able to articulate different ways to help parents be a supportive of students.
Phase 2 primarily involves reflections on how the overall plan is progressing. To reflect on lesson plan and informally assess student’s progress, PLCs would develop flexible groups. Teachers will combine collaborative planning information to small flexible groups to reflect on student perceptions and interpretations of standards. Based on the feedback, next steps, interventions, and modifications would be introduced. Teachers may visit one another or another school to observe instructions and standards. Students are expected to be aware in this phase if they are progressing in their learning efforts. To help students understand the overall process, teachers will create a multi tiered reflection and follow up.
Phase 3 is essentially a wrap up phase and would review the gains made and it could implement additional changes as required. Overall, the PLC by grade level is organized to review data from formative assessments. They also would create next steps in response to data on hand. If necessary, restructuring into small groups to meet needs would be undertaken, based on determination by data. Finally, teachers will revisit lesson plans.
The timeline proposed takes into account more than six months of school year for initiating the implementation, assessment, and modifications. The plan incorporates several features of longitudinal approach to implementing and assessing educational changes in schools (Krist & Jung, 1980).
Referencies
Abernethy, M., Horne, M., Lillis, A, Malina, M., & Selto, F.H. (2005). A multi-method approach to building causal performance maps from expert knowledge. Management Accounting Research. Vol (16) 2.
Kaplan, R. S., Norton, D. P., & Rugelsjoen, B. (2010). Managing alliances with the balanced scorecard. Harvard Business Review, 88(1), 114-120.
Abernathy, S. F. (2005). School choice and the future of American democracy. University of Michigan Press.
DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. (Eds.). (2005). On common ground: The power of professional learning communities. Solution Tree Press.
Kirst, Michael, and Richard Jung. "The utility of a longitudinal approach in assessing implementation: A thirteen-year view of Title I, ESEA." Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis (1980): 17-34.