To complete this assignment:
1) Choose two principals to interview regarding their school schedules, one from elementary (PK-5) and one from secondary (6-12). Arrange and schedule your interviews. Because you will receive hours towards your practicum for conducting these interviews, they may not be conducted by e-mail. Principals are very busy people. You’ll need to start this well in advance and leave room for re-scheduling when things fall through.
2) Use the information from the readings in this module and your personal experience(s) to craft between 8 and 10 interview questions regarding:
The different types of schedules they have used
Reasons for choosing the current schedule
What the principals see as their objectives for scheduling
The approach they take to scheduling
How scheduling impacts student learning
If you’re really gutsy, throw in a couple of questions based on the “look 4s” in the NASSP article. But be careful–you may step on some toes!
Anything else you want to know about
3) Conduct your interviews, being sure to take plenty of notes. You also want to take the opportunity to have them walk you through their schedules. Get a copy of the schedule and really figure out how it works.
4) Complete a two page, double-spaced reflection that synthesizes the information from the interviews and addresses, at least, the following topics:
What did you learn from the principals about scheduling? (Be specific here–this part should be at least a page!)
What do you think will be your strengths/weaknesses in terms of scheduling?
What concerns you about the scheduling process?
What else do you need to know or learn?