Now more than ever, schools need capable, visionary administrators to lead increasingly diverse schools in our ever-changing, ever-challenging world. School and school district leaders have extraordinary responsibilities to satisfy multiple and distinct stakeholders while they constantly face new challenges. One way to be prepared for those challenges is by incorporating the use of the SchoolSims Simulation Library into your professional development program. SchoolSims simulations provide an opportunity for current and aspiring school leaders to gain virtual experience dealing with situations before facing those same issues in real-life.

Working with graduate students who are preparing for administrative careers and school leadership presents the need to balance academics with practicality. Understanding theories of leadership is important. Practicing what to do in decision-making situations is critical. For the last two years, much of the practicality has come from the use of simulations.

Given the urgent challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, districts may not believe it possible to continue to effectively focus on the critical objective of building a leadership pipeline.  Fortunately, by deploying online simulations, districts can provide both sitting and aspiring leaders with developmental opportunities to experience problems of practice in a collaborative and communication-rich manner.  Online, collaborative simulations provide organizations a chance to contextualize learning for their participants even when it is not possible to be together in person.

When faced with extraordinary circumstances we think about each other and come together to work out solutions that are in the best interest of our clients, partners, and employees. The unprecedented outbreak of the Coronavirus COVID-19 and the global public health crisis it has spawned is one of those extraordinary circumstances. As many of our clients move to remote modes of teaching to ensure the safety of their communities, we thought it important to point out that SchoolSims simulations can be utilized asynchronously.

Why have so many strategies and interventions to achieve school reform been largely unsuccessful? Research has shown that in most cases, it is because of administrators who, through no fault of their own, lack the breadth of experience necessary for success. In any major organizational change effort, especially in an organization as complex as the education system, leadership is a key. In fact, the role of leadership in education is one of the more daunting positions in any industry.

What’s the most effective way to learn?  Learning by doing.  But how do you learn by doing when you can’t “do” until you learn?  Since we also believe that Experience is the Best Teacher™, our simulations essentially accelerate time and manufacture experience.

We expect administrators to learn on the job, but responding to conflicts in a virtual world helps them learn without real-world consequences. American schools are facing a crisis in the lack of professional learning for school leaders.

On January 30th, 2020, Dr. David De Jong presented the 10 Commandments of Facilitating a Simulation to Large Groups. In addition to a summary of the content, you can listen to the recorded version.

Thou shall…

There is a silent crisis undermining school improvement efforts. As in any major organizational change effort, leadership is a key ingredient to success. However, in educational leadership, the abilities to communicate, coordinate, and make decisions are not enough to address the “painful” trade-offs regularly faced by leaders in education. Their challenge is not just about making good decisions, which is daunting enough. They must also manage highly-public and often emotionally-charged issues among a diverse student and adult population. The state of our leadership pipeline, though, and our efforts to support their work, call for a dramatic shift in approach.