E-Portfolios for Prospective Assistant Principals

Many products and ideas have bled from the business world into education. The first videoconference took place at the World's Fair in 1964 and began to flourish in corporations through the 1990s. Today, students and teachers regularly Skype with experts from around the world. Last year, our art teacher took a yearlong sabatical to work with a communications contractor in Iraq. After learning about her situation, our students developed questions and conducted multiple Skype sessions with her. These sessions provided insight into the Iraqi conflict and culture for our students. Another example is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, which was first written to help people solve personal and professional problems. Now, schools across the nation are utilzing his practices with students to improve character. The Leader in Me outlines steps for children to become more creative, responsible, and tolerant. Schools can even become Lighthouse Schools, which exemplify the common language and culture of leadership.

Portfolios have been utilized in schools as a valid tool for student assessment and have also served as a snapshot of skills and abilities for jobseekers. But in today's technologically-based world, where cutting edge expertise is valued, e-portfolios have been utilized as a way to evaluate student performance, as well as a way for jobseekers to promote themselves to prospective employers. E-portoflios have been widely popular in the business world, but in education, this method of self-promotion is just beginning to flourish.

Part of the culminating assessments for my educational leadership program was a portfolio containing artifacts from my classes, as well as my residency activities. The portfolio was a 2" binder that contained page after page of writing, charts, and presentation handouts. It's organized by standard, but if a principal was looking through my portfolio, it might be difficult to find evidence of how I can organize a master schedule or develop a school budget.

I thought that an e-portfolio might be a good way to showcase my skills and abilities in school leadership. In my e-portfolio, which I developed on wikispaces, I included my mission statement, leadership platform, supervisory beliefs, and resume, as well as work samples from my classes, residency, and teaching career. Now, I can send a principal a link to my e-portfolio instead of just emailing or faxing my resume. I'm hoping that my e-portfolio will inspire a principal to ask me for an interview! It has definitely prepared me for an interview by offering a chance to self-evaluate my skills.

Check out my e-portfolio! What do you think?

Interview for Assistant Principal Opening

One of the final components of my degree program in educational leadership is a mock interview with two practicing principals for a job as an assistant principal. As candidates, we are also required to compile a portfolio of our work completed during our courses and residency, which demonstrates each of the 8 Alabama Standards for Instructional Leaders, to use during the interview. In addition to the mock interview, I'm preparing to interview for assistant principal openings in the coming school year.

While doing my homework for the interviews, I did an obligatory Google search of tips for assistant principal interviews. Here are some of the best resources that I found.

• Interview Questions from the Principal's Page by Michael Smith
• Interviewing for the Principal's Job from the National Association of Elementary School Principals
• Interview Sample Questions 
• My 10 Goals as a 1st Year Administrator from Life of an Educator by Justin Tarte
• Assistant Principal Interview Forum from the ProTeacher Community
• The Questions I Wished I'd Asked When Interviewing for the Principalship from Education World

The thought that I need to remember during this stressful time of applications, interviews, and callbacks is that I'll end up where I'm supposed to be. I've learned valuable lessons at each school that I've taught in. I may not have particularly enjoyed being at that school at that time, but when I look back on my professional history, I wouldn't change anything about where I've spent my time. Things always work out for the best! Music is a great reminder, so here's the Kooks performing their song "Always Where I Need to Be."

Educational Leadership Library

Through the course of my classes in educational leadership and by reading the blogs and tweets of current administrators, like Chris Wejr, Dwight Carter, and Justin Tarte, I have developed a long list of required reading for aspiring principals. Just as I have grown my music education library for the past 15 years, it is now time for me to begin my educational leadership library. The list is continually growing and I don't know where to start, but I'm sure that one text will lead to the next. 


My evolving list of books to read is below. What other required reading do you have for aspiring leaders? What sequence of reading do you suggest?

Technology

• Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns - Clayton Christensen, Curtis W. Johnson, and Michael B. Horn
• The World is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education - Curtis J. Bonk
• Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead - Charlene Li
• Education Nation: Six Leading Edges of Innovation in Our Schools - Milton Chen
• Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives - John Palfrey and Urs Gasser
• Young World Rising: How Youth Technology and Entrepreneurship Are Changing the World from the Bottom Up - Rob Salkowitz
• Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology: The Digital Revolution and Schooling in America - Allan Collins and Richard Halverson
• Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning - Marc Prensky
• Communicating and Connecting with Social Media - William M. Ferriter, Jason T. Ramsden, and Eric C. Sheninger

Teacher Resources

• Teaching As Leadership: The Highly Effective Teacher's Guide to Closing the Achievement Gap - Steven Farr
• The Strategic Teacher: Selecting the Right Research-Based Strategy for Every Lesson - Harvey F. Silver, Richard W. Strong, and Matthew J. Perini
• Tools for Promoting Active, In-Depth Learning - Harvey F. Silver
• The Passionate Learner: How Teachers and Parents Can Help Children Reclaim the Joy of Discovery - Robert L. Fried
• Qualities of Effective Teachers - James H. Stronge
• What Great Teachers Do Differently: 14 Things That Matter Most - Todd Whitaker

Educational Theory/Future of Education

• A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future - Daniel H. Pink
• Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell
• Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative - Ken Robinson
• The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology that Fuel Success and Performance at Work - Shawn Achor
• A Place Called School - John I. Goodlad
• Creativity Now: Get Inspired, Create Ideas, and Make Them Happen Now! - Jurgen Wolff
• The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need and What We Can Do About It - Tony Wagner
• Five Minds for the Future - Howard Gardner
• Emotional Intelligence 2.0 - Travis Bradberry
• Emotional Intelligence - Daniel Goleman
• The Water Is Wide - Pat Conroy
• Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us - Daniel H. Pink
• The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything - Ken Robinson
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success - Carol S. Dweck
• Schools Cannot Do It Alone - Jamie Robert Vollmer
• Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time - Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
• The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education - Diane Ravitch
• The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology - Ray Kurzweil
• College and Career Ready: Helping All Students Succeed Beyond High School - David T. Conley
• What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action - Robert J. Marzano
• Delivering on the Promise: The Education Revolution - Richard A. DeLorenzo, Wendy J. Battino, Rick M. Schreiber, and Barbara B. Goddy Carrio
• Results Now: How We Can Achieve Unprecedented Improvements in Teaching and Learning - Michael J. Schmoker
• Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning - Mike Schmoker
• The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference - Malcolm Gladwell

Professional Development for Teachers/PLCs

• Designs for Learning: A New Architecture for Professional Development in Schools - Paul V. Bredeson
• Whatever It Takes: How Professional Learning Communities Respond When Kids Don't Learn - Rebecca DuFour, Robert Eaker, Gayle Karhanek, and Richard DuFour
• Professional Learning Communities at Work: Best Practices for Enhancing Student Achievement - Richard DuFour
• Leaders of Learning: How District, School, and Classroom Leaders Improve Student Achievement - Richard DuFour and Robert J. Marzano
• On Common Ground: The Power of Professional Learning Communities - Roland Barth, Barbara Eason-Watkins, Michael Fullan, and Lawrence Lezotte
• Personal Learning Networks: Using the Power of Connections to Transform Education - Will Richardson and Rob Mancabelli

Assessment

• What Does It Mean to Be Well Educated? And Other Essays on Standards, Grading, and Other Follies - Alfie Kohn
• Ahead of the Curve: The Power of Assessment to Transform Teaching and Learning - Larry Ainsworth, Lisa Almeida, Anne Davies, and Richard DuFour
• The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing - Alfie Kohn
• The Principal as Assessment Leader - Cassandra Erkens, William Ferriter, Tammy Heflebower, and Tom Hierck

Organization

• The 5th Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization - Peter M. Senge
• Get Organized: Time Management for School Leaders - Frank Buck

Leadership

• Left on Red: How to Ignite, Leverage, and Build Visionary Organizations - Bill Glynn
• Transforming School Culture: How to Overcome Staff Division - Anthony Muhammad
• Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation - Tim Brown
• Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High - Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler
• Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard - Chip Heath and Dan Heath
• The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization - John C. Maxwell
• Opposable Mind: Winning Through Integrative Thinking - Roger L. Martin
• Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers - Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, and James Macanufo
• Dealing with Difficult Parents and with Parents in Difficult Situations - Todd Whitaker and Douglas Fiore
• Now, Discover Your Strengths - Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton
• Strengths-Based Leadership - Tom Rath and Barry Conchie
• Strengths Finder 2.0 - Tom Rath
• Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? - Seth Godin
• The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness - Stephen R. Covey
• You're in Charge - Now What?: The 8 Point Plan - Thomas J. Neff and James M. Citrin
• The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You - John C. Maxwell
• Qualities of Effective Principals - James H. Stronge
• The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life - Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
• Balanced Leadership: How Effective Principals Manage Their Work - Sheryl Boris-Schacter
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable - Patrick Lencioni
• Winning with People: Discover the People Principles that Work for You Every Time - John C. Maxwell
• Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us - Seth Godin
• Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School - John Medina
• If You Don't Feed the Teachers They Eat the Students: Guide to Success for Administrators and Teachers - Neila A. Connors
• How Full Is Your Bucket?: Positive Strategies for Work and Life - Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton
• The Fred Factor: How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary into the Extraordinary - Mark Sanborn and John C. Maxwell
• The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your LIfe, Work, and Team with Positive Energy - Jon Gordon
• The Radical Leap: A Personal Lesson in Extreme Leadership - Steve Farber
• The Power of Pull: How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion - John Hagel III, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison
• The Power of Appreciative Inquiry: A Practical Guide to Positive Change - Diana Whitney, Amanda Troston-Bloom, and David Cooperrider

Discipline

• Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community - Alfie Kohn
• Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges Are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them - Ross W. Greene

Most Informative Interview Questions

I'm currently in the process of earning a master's degree in educational leadership. One of the instructors asked us to gather interview questions from each of our mentor principals and compile a list of our favorite interview questions that we could use in future interviews. I was particularly excited about the questions that had a hidden meaning. For example, candidates could answer the question, but how they answered the questions would reveal more about their teaching style or personality. The thought of having the opportunity to better the faculty, as a whole, each time an opening in the school is posted is very interesting to me!

Here's the list that our cohort of educators developed.

1. What are your favorite teaching methods?
2. What character traits will you offer to our school?
3. Tell me what you do when a student does not complete their assignment?
4. Given all necessary supplies and materials for the first day of school, what would your classroom look like? What is something in your classroom that you couldn't live without?
5. How would you ensure all students achieve high academic success regardless of their circumstances? 
6. On your best day of teaching, what would I see, hear, and experience in your room? And on your worst day of teaching? 
7. Provide scenarios about a topic. Then, ask the applicant what he/she would do in the situation or how the situation could be re-directed in a positive manner.
8. Propose a set of parameters for a class, for example, an honors class, an inclusion class, or a freshman class, and ask the applicant to talk through how he/she would prepare to meet the needs of the students.
9. Tell me some differentiated instructional methods you use in your classroom.
10. What should I expect to see happening if I dropped into your classroom on a random day? 
11. How do you plan for daily instruction and describe a typical class that you would teach from beginning to end? Include what you would do during the first 10 minutes, how you present new information, teaching techniques/strategies you would use, and how you would end class.
12. What methods do you use to evaluate/assess students?  What are some alternative methods of assessment that you have used?  How do you use assessments to plan for instruction and for monitoring student progress and effective teaching practices?
13. What do you do to grab and keep your students attention?
14. With the practice of inclusion, does a child with Down Syndrome belong in the general education classroom?

Do you have any great interview questions to add to the list?