Hoy & Tarter Simplified Shared Decision Making Model

Name: Julie Marsh

Date: 10.22.14
Case No.: 8.8 Grading Policy
What is the problem?
Three English teachers took a summer workshop and have increased the rigor and standards in
their classrooms without consulting the department, other academic departments, or
administration, resulting in much lower grades for many students. Parents, students, and other
teachers are frustrated with the situation because it does not seem fair. There is a lack of
communication about the standards as well.
Who are the stakeholders that you are considering involving?
As principal of the school, I believe the stakeholders are the teachers in the English department,
the teachers in the rest of the school, the parents, and the students.
What are the criteria for a satisfactory solution?
All teachers need to feel valued, the three English teachers who participated in the workshop
need to explain what they learned to the rest of the English department and even teach the rest of
the school what they learned, the students needs need to be addressed through the curriculum,
and parents concerns need to be addressed.

Hoy & Tarter Simplified SDM Model

Stakeholder
Group 1
English teachers
1. Relevance Question:
2. Expertise Question:
Zone of Acceptance:

3. Trust Question (if

necessary):
Situation:
Involvement:
Decision Making Structure:
Role of Superior:

Yes/ No
Yes/ No
Outside Zone of
Acceptance
(Definitely
Include)
Yes/ No
Democratic
Extensive
Group
Consensus
Integrator

Stakeholder
Group 2 rest of
the teachers in the
school
Yes/ No
Yes/ No
Marginal with
Relevance
(Occasionally
Include)
N/A

Stakeholder
Group 3
students
parents
Yes/ No
Yes/ No
Marginal with
Relevance
(Occasionally
Include)
N/A

Stakeholder
Group 4
students in the
classes
Yes/ No
Yes/ No
Marginal with
Relevance
(Occasionally
Include)
N/A

Stakeholder
Limited
Group Advisory

Stakeholder
Limited
Group
Advisory
Educator

Stakeholder
Limited
Group
Advisory
Educator

Educator

Plan of Action Based on Decision Style (Programming, Communicating, Monitoring,

Evaluating)

Programming As principal, I need to trust my teachers, and I need to support their mastery
learning at professional development such as workshops. I think it is in the best interest of all of
my teachers to continue to be reenergized at professional development, so I do not want to
assume what the three English teachers at the center of this conflict learned is faulty in any way.
The first step would be to meet with the three English teachers who took part in the workshop
and have them walk me through what they learned and how they are applying it. If what they
learned is a strong support for my schools curriculum then I will discuss the appropriate level of
rigor in the classroom. If the four of us can come to an understanding, I will then, in conference
with my English department chair, help design a department professional development that will
help incorporate many of the learned elements from the workshop and have the three English
teachers take lead on teaching the rest of their department what they learned. Part of this process
will also be to discuss how the learned elements from the workshop may impact students grades
and how we can move away from a punishment scale (that seems to be used in this case) and
closer to a mastery learning scale. Once the entire English department comes to a consensus on
what this should and will look like, I will ask my English department chair and the three English
teachers to design a professional development that will be applicable to all of the teachers in the
school. We can design a model that uses the best elements of the workshop, combine it with a
mastery learning scale and process, and implement it school-wide for the greater good of our
students learning. This will support and value what the three English teachers are learning and
implementing while also giving them positive leadership opportunities within the school.
Communicating I need to first communicate with my English department chair about having a
personal meeting with the three English teachers. Then I need to meet with the three English
teachers in a neutral area (one of their classrooms or the library) to have them walk me through
their learning from the workshop. It will be important to come to a combined understanding of
the workshop learning and my wish for a mastery scale throughout the entire school. Once I
have the English department chair and the three teachers invested in the process through their
enthusiasm to share their knowledge, then I will ask them to design the professional development
for both the English department and the entire school. I will communicate when and where the
professional development will take place to all faculty and staff in the school. I will also help
facilitate the professional development along with the English department chair and the three
English teachers.
Monitoring I will monitor my own conversation with my English department chair and the
three English teachers. I will also monitor and assess engagement at the professional
development at both the English department level and the school level. I will ask all faculty and
staff to also help monitor their learning and engagement through an evaluation system.
Evaluating student feedback, student data, teacher feedback, department feedback, department
data