Building reflection into administrative training programs

conceptualization To help synthesize the information collected to this point, models, concepts, or generalizations are developed. These concepts can be self-generated or can be created from existing theories. In creating self-generated theories, several questions are answered such as: What have I learned as a result of this experience? Was there anything about the experience that was beyond my control? How can this experience explain other situations? Using existing theories to explain a situation is a way of merging theory and practice. For example, in making sense of a situation, ideas from different theories of leadership, learning, and/or motivation can be examined as possible ways to interpret the events in question. Based on this examination, the theory may need to be refined to explain the experience fully. Active experimentation The first three phases of the experiential learning cycle provide a structure for gathering information about past events, bringing these events to a conscious level, and making sense of them. In the final phase, solutions to a problem are implemented based on the insights gained to this point. Before actually incorporating a solution, however, an intermediate step must occur, namely a "planning for implementation" phase. In this planning stage, an action plan is developed. Built into this plan are ways in which information will be collected to determine if the proposed solution is accomplishing its aims. As these data are collected during active experimentation, the experiential learning cycle begins to repeat itself. In other words, active experimentation evolves into another concrete experience. This model of experiential learning illustrates the centrality of reflection in learning from experience. This conceptual framework also highlights the two types of reflection advocated by Sch6n (1983). During the reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and planning for implementation phases, reflection-on-action is being practiced. The active experimentation stage provides the opportunity to engage in reflection-in-action, especially as the elements of an action plan (developed in the planning for implementation phase) are examined to determine if they are working or are in need of revision. BUILDING REFLECTION INTO ADMINISTRATIVE TRAINING PROGRAMS 183 Preparation activities that encourage reflection Kolb's (1984) notion of experiential learning is a driving force behind a new preparation program at Indiana University which is being supported by a Danforth Foundation grant. The Foundation's Program for the Preparation of School Principals is an initiative aimed at altering the current administrative preparation models that exist in many schools of education across the country (Danforth Foundation, 1987). The basic idea of the program is to restructure administrative training programs to include more field-based training activities by: (1) allowing students in preparation programs to be released from their teaching responsibilities for some portion of time, (2) having students work closely with mentor principals, and (3) encouraging universities and local school distrcits to work collaboratively to recruit and select students and mentors and to develop the curriculum. Each year the Danforth Foundation selects several universities to work with, providing seed money for program development and operational costs for approximately 18 months. During the first year of the program, the University of Alabama, Georgia State University, and Ohio State University participated. Besides Indiana University, four other universities are involved in the second year: the University of Washington, University of Houston, Oklahoma University, and University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Scheduled as third-year institutions are San Diego State University, Brigham Young University, East Tennessee State University, University of Tennessee--Knoxville, University of Virginia, and City College of New York. Given the general guidelines provided by the Danforth Foundation, each university develops a unique program geared to the expertise and resources available within the university and the participating school districts. At Indiana University, 13 students from seven school districts in the greater Indianapolis area are participating in this new initiative. The underlying structure and operating procedures of the Indiana University program include the following: 1. A core set of faculty members is responsible for developing and delivering the program. 2. Students participate as a cohort group, taking all their classes and conducting their activities together. 3. The program is one year, beginning in the summer and ending the following spring semester. 4. Districts agree to release each student (with pay) for 30 days from their teaching or administrative responsibilities. 5. Each student is assigned a mentor principal from their school district to work with throughout the year. 6. If students already have a master's degree, by completing this program they will receive their provisional Indiana school administrators' and supervisors' certificate. An overarching concept of this program is that students need to become more reflective about their current administrative preparation activities for two reasons. First, taking the time to reflect on their coursework exercises and their interactions with mentors allows students to make better sense of the critical factors associated 184 B.G. BARNETT & A.D. BR1LL with successful leadership. Early in the program, students are exposed to the concept of reflection using Kolb's (1984) four-stage experiential learning theory outlined above. They also complete a learning styles inventory which allows them to determine the particular stages of experiential learning they are most apt to employ. Second, reflection is espoused to be a useful process once aspiring principals enter the profession. Having practiced these strategies during their administrative preparation, students will have a strategy for making sense of the complexities and ambiguities that will plague them as practicing principals. In either case, reflection is introduced as a critical thinking skill--critical for learning about administrative practices and critical for becoming a reflective practitioner. Besides being introduced to a general orientation of the value of reflection and its importance in experiential learning, students engage in a variety of learning activities meant to stimulate their reflective processes. Through written exercises, readings, simulations, and interactions with mentors, students engage in the phases of experiential learning as a way of examining their experiences, gaining insights from them, and determining appropriate future actions. The major reflective learning activities and materials are described below.