DRAKE UNIVERSITY

MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN EDUCATION

CLINICAL LEARNING PLAN
NAME: Mike Marsden

DRAKE ID #: 100171131

DATE: 11/14/14

COHORT: CR 10
TERM: Fall 2014

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Connect theory and practice during the clinical experience
Provide evidence of growth in your knowledge and application of the standards in real
settings
Demonstrate and advocate for your own learning consistent with your Individualized
Learning Plan, and Standards
PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL VISION:
Personally, I am feeling more comfortable in the program. My first year in the program was a
challenge because I was a substitute teacher at the time. Substitute teaching made it difficult to make
connections between what we were learning and what I was seeing in schools on a daily basis. However, as
we have progressed through the program the class discussions, assigned readings, and various field-based
learning activities I have felt a growing sense of comfort. The field-based learning activities, especially, have
built my confidence tremendously. Also, being employed in a district where there is ample opportunity to
take on leadership roles has allowed me to make the connections I was lacking my first year in the program.
My personal vision is to be as well-prepared for an administrator position as possible by exposing myself to
as many administrative activities and leadership opportunities as possible.
Professionally, I feel that the tools we have learned of and used in the first year of the program have
been valuable. However, I had a hard time viewing the tools through the eyes of an administrator. I was still
thinking of these new tools with a teachers perspective. I think the turning point in the program has been the
two classes we have had this fall semester; Managing Schools and Organizational System Behavior. Both
classes require us to view our schools through the lens of an administrator and be systems thinkers. I feel my
understanding of the administrator role is now improving at a phenomenal rate. I believe whole-heartedly
being a systems thinker is essential to performing administrative tasks effectively. My professional vision is
to be a systems thinker and be able to address systems in a way that produces long-term change.

KEY STANDARDS ON WHICH I NEED WORK:

The one standard I will be focusing on throughout my clinical experience is standard 3: An
educational leader promotes the success of all students by ensuring management of the organization,
operations and resources for a safe, efficient and effective learning environment. (Management). I
believe it was at the beginning of the program when we reviewed the administrative standards and
reflected on our level of comfort with each. We discussed that it is often management issues that
cause the termination of administrators. If an administrator is an inept manager they may struggle
in their role. My recent classes have focused on systems and systems behavior and have only
furthered my belief that systems thinking is absolutely essential to being an effective administrator.
I will attempt to become more of a systems thinker and approach situations through the eyes of an
administrator.

GOALS FOR THE CLINICAL EXPERIENCE:

1

As was my goal when we completed our first CLP, I aspire to absorb a broad range of
information. I will continue to collect as many new tools and pieces of information as I can expose
myself to. However, I have narrowed my focus to an area I believe is most important to being an
administrator. I feel being a systems thinker is crucial to running as effective school. If there is a
good system in place everything else will benefit and have a better chance of being successful. For
so long I have been a teacher and have had a narrow view of how things are affected across my
school or district. I want to start taking a more birds eye view of education and understanding how
all of the interconnected parts of schools have an effect on the system as a whole. I want to take a
closer looks at systems that are in place that have flaws. My broad goals are to get a deeper
understanding of systems in place within my school and to assist in developing remedies for the
system when necessary. More specifically, I will attempt to understand how to identify and address
current and potential issues, better manage resources, and communicate with all stakeholders.
PROPOSED PLAN FOR ACCOMPLISHING THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:
To better prepare myself for an administrative position I will continue to take advantage of
any opportunity made available to me in my school by my administrator. My narrower focus is to
find a deeper understanding of systems in place within my school and how to manage them. In
order to accomplish my goal I will be working closely with my administrator. I will meet with my
administrator to identify and discuss any issues within our school in order find a better
understanding of the systems controlling it. I will also work with my administrator to determine a
course of action to fix the issues. For example, we recently completed our DE site visit and there
were three items listed as non-compliant. My administrator has tasked me with taking a deeper look
at these items. We will discuss the non-compliant items and their root causes to make a long-term
repair in the system. Through this process I hope to learn about identifying and addressing issues,
managing resources, and communicating with all stakeholders.