Ideally, schools should define their goals clearly and determine the factors that shape their beliefs. As well, they should a polished understanding of the knowledge-related resources at their disposal and define their programs, as well as policies, accordingly. Different models, including the 4 Circles Model, help schools in these aspects. The 4 Circles Model is geared towards helping schools attain their elementary aim of affording learners quality education. It helps schools in their quest to shape their futures of their pupils or students favorably by ensuring that they take them through quality high-level learning processes (Danielson, 2002). This paper explores the 4 Circles Model In High-Level Learning Contexts.
The 4 Circles Model
As noted earlier, the 4 Circles Model is geared towards helping schools attain their elementary aim of affording learners quality education. It comprises of varied dimensions, which are christened circles. Particularly, the 4 Circles Model consists of four dimensions. The dimensions are “want”, “believe”, “know” along with “do”.
The “want” dimension, or circle, assists schools in explaining what their objectives really are, or what they really want for themselves and their pupils or learners. For instance, based on the “want” dimension, a school may determine that its stakeholders are communally interested in creative positive learning spaces and assisting its instructors and students or publics to remain attentive to particular instructional processes.
The “believe” dimension helps schools establish the factors that shape or influence their collective beliefs (Danielson, 2002). Besides, in the light of the dimension, schools explain how they develop particular beliefs, for instance, they explain the development of their beliefs about what makes high-level learning a success. They establish the factors that shape or influence the beliefs on high-level learning’s success.
The “know” dimension helps in characterizing the varied aspects for which particular schools have the requisite research and knowledge-related resources. Notably, the dimension helps schools explain or typify the researches they have executed with respect to the aspects. Besides, the “know” dimension helps schools in describing the instructional and motivation resources in their possession. Lastly, the “do” dimension assists in characterizing the programs, as well as policies, that schools put in place to make certain that they realize their principal aims.
Reflection of the 4 Circles Model In a Specific School Situation
The 4 Circles Model’s application is rather evident in how my school is managed, or run. Even then, a close examination on how the dimensions of the model and the corresponding values are actualized in the school reveals that the school’s management still has considerable room for enhancing its practices. Ideally, the school’s management should enhance the practices in line with the unique needs of the school’s teachers along with students.
Regarding the “want” dimension, the school’s management, in collaboration with all other relevant stakeholders, defined the school’s objectives several years ago. The objectives communicate the school’s purpose especially in relation to the students. Every student joining the school is taken through the objectives and asked to remain committed to their realization. As regards the model’s “believe” dimension, my school defines the collective vision of its stakeholders as the factor that principally affects its belief that every student deserves to be taken through effective high-level learning processes always (Danielson, 2002). The school holds the belief that every student has the requisite wherewithal to go through the processes successfully. As well, it believes in the high value of integrity, teamwork, and open-mindedness.
Regarding the “know” dimension, the school determines its capacity in terms of research and knowledge-related resources regularly through objective audits. The audits are aimed at helping the school determine how best to support and facilitate the teachers along with students to meet the school’s objectives (Lipu & Hill, 2005). For instance, last year, the school established that they were gaps in the gaps of in the competencies of the teachers handling arithmetical classes. Consequently, the teachers were sponsored for in-service training to bridge the gaps. The most recent of the audits revealed that the gaps are no longer there; hence the students are expected to meet the school’s arithmetic-related objectives.
On the subject of the “do” dimension, my school has put in place well-defined programs, as well as policies, to ensure that its principal aims are realized always. For instance, the school has a policy requiring that all the teachers attend refresher training in all areas that teacher skill audits reveal they need to work on. With respect to the policy, the school sponsors the teachers for such training.
Aspects that the School Should Improve in Regarding the 4 Circles Model
As regards the 4 Circles Model’s “want” dimension, the management of my school should ensure that the school’s objectives, which were defined years ago, are reviewed regularly to ensure their continued compatibility with the extant realities. The management should review the objectives in collaboration with all the other relevant stakeholders. As well, the school should consider improving how it explains its objectives to ensure that especially all its teachers along with students identify their roles in their attainment of the objectives. If the school improves how it explains its objectives, it will increase the utility of its stakeholders in their actualization. The teachers along with students will put the necessary efforts into working towards the speedy realization of the objectives.
As regards the 4 Circles Model’s “believe” dimension, the school should make sure that each of its stakeholders has an ample appreciation of its beliefs. That will help ensure that the each of the stakeholders work, as well as behave, in ways that are in line with the beliefs. For instance, that will ensure that each teacher or student values executing his or her mandate with integrity and open-mindedness. Concerning the “know” dimension, the school should ensure that all the parties interested in the teacher skill audits are represented on the audit teams. That will ensure that the parties accept and own the audits’ outcomes. Concerning the “do” dimension, my school should ensure that all the parties interested in the development and characterization of the policies, as well as programs, are well-represented in them as well.
Curriculum Changes and the Suggested Improvements
In actualizing the suggested improvements, the school may consider ensuring that they support the development of a coherent curriculum. With regard to the “want” dimension, the school may find it necessary to establish as one if its aims to design a curriculum that is purposefully designed and organized to facilitate high level learning processes. The school may need to reconfigure its beliefs in relation to the freeing up of needless repetitions and academic gaps in its curriculum (Lipu & Hill, 2005). The school needs to believe in the value of having a curriculum that coherent owing to its lack of repeated facets.
As noted earlier, concerning the “know” dimension, the school should ensure that all the parties interested in the teacher skill audits are represented on the audit teams. It should ensure that the teachers have the capacity to handle high-level learning processes effectively by aligning grade level, subject areas, courses, and lessons accordingly. The school should consider the alignment of teaching and high-level learning standards with respect to the “do” dimension.
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