Overview

This Assessment is a Performance Task in which you are asked to assume the role of the director of a specific early childhood center. You have been the assistant director at Elmtree Early Childhood Care Center for several years. The current director of Elmtree is vacating her position and you have recently decided to accept the position of director. In your new position, you are responsible for facilitating staff meetings and team building; assigning faculty to classrooms; and implementing strategies for effective collaboration. You are aware of the need to address conflicts that have arisen among the teachers and caregivers in your center.

For this Performance Task, you will create a plan for managing, leading, and developing your team of early childhood professionals. Using the information provided in the “Overview of Elmtree Early Childhood Care Center” and “Conflicts at Elmtree Early Childhood Care Center” documents, you will explain how you will build and manage an effective team under your new leadership.

Your response to this Assessment should:

• Reflect the criteria provided in the Rubric.
• Adhere to the required assignment length.
• Use the APA Course Paper template. All submissions must follow the conventions of scholarly writing. Properly formatted APA citations and references must be provided where appropriate.

Professional Skills: Written Communication and Critical Thinking are assessed in this Competency. You are strongly encouraged to use the Writing Checklist and to review the rubric prior to submitting.

This Assessment requires submission of one (1) document. Save this file as LD002_firstinitial_lastname (for example, LD002_J_Smith). When you are ready to upload your completed Assessment, use the Assessment tab on the top navigation menu.

Instructions

Before submitting your Assessment, carefully review the rubric. This is the same rubric the assessor will use to evaluate your submission and it provides detailed criteria describing how to achieve or master the Competency. Many students find that understanding the requirements of the Assessment and the rubric criteria help them direct their focus and use their time most productively.

Rubric

Access the following to complete this Assessment:

In one document, do the following:

• Explain how you will pair the teachers at your center with a rationale for your choices. Consider the background information provided about each person and the conflicts that have taken place as you develop your teaching teams. (1–2 pages)
• Explain at least one strategy you will use to resolve each of the three conflicts presented in “Conflicts at Elmtree Early Childhood Care Center.” Provide a rationale for each strategy you chose. (2 pages)
• Describe at least two strategies that build consensus among team members. Provide a rationale for each strategy, and explain why it is effective in building consensus. (1–2 pages)
• Describe at least two ways you will foster a team approach to problem solving and decision making. Provide a rationale for each strategy you chose and how it fosters a team approach to problem solving and decision making. (1–2 pages)
• Describe at least two strategies you will recommend to your staff for responding to diversity and cultural differences among team members. Explain how these strategies will contribute to an effective team. (2 pages)