Week 2 – Discussion

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Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon above for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

Reflective Supervision

Supervisors who utilize opportunities to guide teachers’ decision-making through reflection are engaged in a form of on-the-job mentoring which is an ideal scenario for promoting teacher growth as well as successful program outcomes. This apprenticeship approach is known as reflective supervision. In this discussion, we will apply ideas about ethical leadership, mentoring, and reflective supervision to common early childhood settings in a practical context. Begin by watching the following two-minute video on using reflective supervision as program benefit: Lessons in Leadership: Reflective Supervision (Links to an external site.). After watching this short video and reading Chapter 7, consider a time when you, or someone you know well, took on the duties of managing or leading in an educational or related organization.

In your initial post,

• Identify two key skills or competencies (see Table 7.1) that a manager or leaders needs to exhibit in an effective early childhood program and describe why these skills are needed.
• Discuss a strength that you have observed in a leader who is/was able to help teachers identify and discuss the vision and direction in which an early childhood program should go.
• Describe two factors that contribute to the success of a person serving as a manager or leader in a school that would also contribute to their ability to serve as a successful mentor to teachers.
• Answer the following question: What concerns do you have about your ability to fulfill the various roles and responsibilities as a manager who is also a mentor?