Self-Reflection Leadership/Service Susan M. Blunck, Ph.D. Assistant Clinical Professor Department of Education UMBC
Self Reflection Educational Leadership/Service My beliefs and actions as an assistant clinical professor/teacher educator are grounded in the idea that some of the greatest professional growth and accomplishments come through the service opportunities we choose to get involved with across our career. Through service we discover many opportunities to impact positive changes as people channel their talent and energy on shared passions and issues. On the shelf above my office desk I keep Margaret Mead s words that inspire me to keep providing service to others Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. From early in my career, I have been involved in many service opportunities that have helped me learn how to advance new ideas, solve problems, create new opportunities, build/improve educational programs, and impact the quality of schools for students and teachers. As a classroom teacher and university program director in Iowa, I was chosen to be one of two teachers to serve on the Iowa Board of Teacher Certification, to serve on many committees in my school and district, in executive leadership roles in The Iowa Science Teachers Association, and in advisory capacities to The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and National Association of Science/Technology/Society (NASTS). Through all these efforts I gave freely of my time and expertise realizing that I always gain much more than I give. This characterizes the service spirit that I brought with me to UMBC in the fall of 1995.
Across my seven-year tenure (1995-2002) at UMBC, I have had the opportunity to be involved with a number of professional service roles in The UMBC Education Department, other UMBC departments and wider university efforts, as well as in roles at state and national levels See Category 2 Performance Review Matrix that follows this narrative for description and details of all leadership and service activities. I view myself as a strong team player capable of working effectively with a wide range of personalities and challenges. My professional service contributions have helped: Build and maintain UMBC education programs at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, Establish the UMBC professional development school network, recruit and support graduate students, Stimulate UMBC Arts and Science faculty to implement active learning strategies, Implement and refine joint Maryland/NCATE teacher preparation program review processes, Seek funding to create quality professional development experiences for practicing teachers, Promote professionalism among UMBC teacher candidates/area teachers as faculty advisor and co-founder of the UMBC Kappa Delta Pi, Chi Psi chapter. I consider the leadership service that I have provided to the UMBC Education Graduate Programs to be some of my most significant service (1997-2002). In the fall of 1997, I assumed the role of UMBC Post Baccalaureate Teacher Education Program (PBTEP) Coordinator. This is a service position within the department with no extra pay or course release attached to the role. I was drawn to this leadership opportunity for a
number of reasons. Dr. Young, UMBC Department Chair, and I had been sharing this leadership work since the time I had come to UMBC. Through his mentorship I came to realize the importance of providing multi pathways into teaching and viewed the UMBC PBTEP as one of the most promising programs for producing quality teachers. I deemed the work well worth my thought and time given the fact that Maryland was facing one of the greatest teacher shortages in its history. My colleagues supported me in accepting this role. Enrollment in the Post Baccalaureate Teacher Education Program (PBTEP) has continued to grow over my tenure in this service position and new processes for advising have been developed. At this point, I am working with Dr. Eugene Schaffer, current chair of The UMBC Education Department, to gain final approval for a new Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree that will replace the ISD PostBaccalaureate degree. In 2001, I accepted the position of Graduate Program Director in the Education Department. With this position I assumed responsibility for coordination of the largest graduate program in The UMBC Graduate School. The Instructional Systems Development (ISD) Program enrolls 25% of all UMBC graduate students with an enrollment of ~500 students. The Graduate Director oversees all tracks of Instructional Systems Development (ISD) Programs including Early Childhood, ESOL/Bilingual, Elementary and Secondary Post Baccalaureate Teacher Education (On-campus and urban delivery systems), Experienced Teacher, and Training Systems tracks. Director responsibilities include reviewing all admissions, supporting faculty, overseeing curriculum issues, preparing NCATE documentation, helping develop new curriculum (New MAT program in final stages of approval), providing support to students enrolled when needed, and coordinating searches for and supporting all graduate assistants. The
work that I have done with the UMBC Graduate Programs has proven to be very rewarding for me in terms of continuously developing my skills as a university instructional leader. My hope is that I will continue to serve in this role in the future. At the state level, I am involved as a state NCATE reviewer. Over the past four years, I have had the opportunity to serve as state team chair on two joint state/ncate reviews for Maryland teacher education institutions. This work has helped me become aware of the different types of teacher certification programs and the challenges that are involved in growing and continuously improving them. Having these insights has helped me work more effectively within The UMBC Education Department. I currently serve on The Department of Education NCATE Coordinating Committee. This group is charged with providing ongoing support and direction in building stronger NCATE, standardsbased programs at UMBC. I also have worked in an advisory capacity with Montgomery County Maryland Schools' district teacher leader workshops and currently serve on the Baltimore Ecosystems Study (BES) Education Coordinating Committee. At the national level, I am involved as an elected Board member with The National Association of Science/Technology/Society (NASTS) and, since Baltimore is the permanent home for the annual NASTS conference, have served, for the past 4 years, as registration and local arrangements chair for the conference. I have been involved with this professional organization for the past fifteen years. NASTS is an organization of interdisciplinary thinkers concerned about the interrelationships among science, technology and society (STS), with a particular emphasis on the impact of science and technology on society. The membership includes teachers and educators, scientists and
engineers, ethicists, environmentalists, and business leaders among others. The work we are doing together is centered on achieving the following goals: To integrate all cultures to include science and technology; To create a technologically literate citizenry; To help human societal values direct an evolving technology; To provide a radically new approach to education concerned with science and technology. The leadership/service challenges that I have taken on across my career have changed me as a professional. As a result of my leadership/service experiences, I am: More deeply committed to attracting people to teaching and working collaboratively to support them; More aware of the dynamic complexities of systems and what it takes to be a change agent within the system; More appreciative of my colleagues talents and the need for us to work together, across all disciplines, to achieve common goals; More confident and hopeful that the future is bright for teachers and students when we keep them at the center of our shared attention. Please see other file on this CD labeled Evidence Matrix Leadership/Service for information and evidence of the service that I have described in this narrative. All materials included in the Evidence of Service column of the matrix are hyperlinked all
the reader needs to do is 1) move cursor to document/evidence listed in column, 2) hold down the CTRL button on the keyboard and 3) left click mouse at the same time to view the evidence. To advance the document/evidence once it is opened using this method, use arrow keys or sidebar.