Key lessons learned by directors summarised from responses to the annual ICT PD Survey 09.

1. KEY LESSONS LEARNED -
THE DIRECTOR ROLE
compiled from responses to the ICT PD Annual Survey 2009

2. PERSONAL
CHARACTERISTICS

3. EFFECTIVE DIRECTORS:
are able to ‘go with the flow’ at times.
are well organised and plan well ahead for upcoming tasks
and events.
ensure they have enough time, resource and senior
management support before agreeing to take on the role.
are able to work well with people of varying personalities.
are patient!
have lots of energy and enthusiasm.
remember to keep things in perspective.
have faith in their own abilities.

4. EFFECTIVE DIRECTORS:
show an interest in ICT and emerging technologies.
set aside dedicated time for the ICT PD cluster.
have a strong belief in the value of ICT PD.
BARRIERS
Juggling the demands of the director role
alongside the principal role.

5. KNOWLEDGE AND
UNDERSTANDING

6. EFFECTIVE DIRECTORS:
have a clear understanding of the New Zealand curriculum and
how it fits with the ICT PD contract.
have an understanding of recent changes in pedagogy.
have previous experience in implementing school change.
are able to articulate what they want to achieve from the
contract.
have an understanding that the focus needs to be on the shift in
pedagogy rather than purely ICTs.
BARRIERS
Lack of technical capability.

7. FINDING THE
RIGHT
PEOPLE FOR
KEY ROLES

8. EFFECTIVE DIRECTORS:
work with the management team to prepare job descriptions
for key roles within the cluster so expectations are clear.
spend time making sure they have the right person/people in
the facilitation role/s
select a facilitator who is an excellent classroom practitioner –
a facilitator should not be viewed as a technician.
select a facilitator that has initiative and passion.
select a facilitator that has had prior experience working with
adults.
select a cluster facilitator that shares ideas and strategies.

9. EFFECTIVE DIRECTORS:
look within cluster schools to see if there is someone who
could be released to be the facilitator.
have cluster schools that choose willing lead teachers who can
work well with all staff within the school.
BARRIERS
Inexperience of the cluster leadership.
Changes in school principals.
Trying to ensure that the facilitator is not
overloaded.
Lack of the reliability of the facilitator.

10. SETTING
EXPECTATIONS
AT THE
BEGINNING OF
THE CONTRACT

11. EFFECTIVE DIRECTORS:
Set up a memorandum of understanding between all schools.
work with principals early in the contract on the role that they
need to play as leaders within their schools.
establish clear expectations and parameters for schools in the
cluster and make sure that all dates are communicated well in
advance.
ensure that all schools have a commitment to the Milestone data
gathering process and that this is discussed at the beginning of
the contract.
ensure that all schools discuss data collection at the beginning of
the contract and have a commitment to doing this.

12. EFFECTIVE DIRECTORS:
arrange for all of the management team to be available to meet
with the National Facilitator at the beginning of the contract so
all are aware of requirements.
arrange for all of the management team to be available to meet
with the National Facilitator at the beginning of the contract so
all are aware of requirements.
ensure that they have a firm commitment from all principals that
they will support cluster initiatives.
BARRIERS
Lack of involvement by all schools in the initial proposal.

13. STRATEGIC
PLANNING

14. EFFECTIVE DIRECTORS:
visit other clusters to discuss what they have learned in
order to feed into cluster planning.
develop clear goals with the management team that are
revisited regularly and allow for some flexibility.
refer back to the cluster vision as a guide for planning.
involve all school leaders in cluster programme planning.
look at the range of abilities and confidence and try not
to race too far too soon.
try to personalise learning as much as possible by finding
different ways of working on the same big goals.
ensure that cluster goals relate directly to national goals.

15. EFFECTIVE DIRECTORS:
understand and ‘own’ the strategic plan for the cluster.
have cluster schools that provide sufficient infrastructure
to achieve desired outcomes.
seek support and guidance from the cluster management
team when revising cluster goals.

16. LEADERS OF
LEARNING

17. EFFECTIVE DIRECTORS:
are leaders of learning and get involved rather than just sitting back
and overseeing the contract.
delegate jobs to others in the cluster with a clear set of outcomes
and regular meetings to get updates on progress.
find multiple ways to draw other principals into the process
ensure that the contract is done with schools not to schools.
involve themselves in as many aspects of the cluster as possible
give staff time to implement the use of ICTs in classrooms
tap into staff that have a strong interest in ICT
give dedicated time for staff to reflect on their learning eg staff
meeting slot
build ICT PD goals into the staff appraisal process.

18. EFFECTIVE
DIRECTORS:
give dedicated time for staff to reflect on their learning eg
staff meeting slot
build ICT PD goals into the staff appraisal process.
BARRIERS
Lack of engagement by some schools.
Resistance of many staff to using ICT.
Principals who fail to see the big picture and
create barriers for staff rather than opportunities.

19. COMMUNICATION

20. EFFECTIVE DIRECTORS:
are open and honest with all members of the cluster to ensure
transparency.
remind cluster schools frequently about upcoming dates – once is
not enough!
communicate frequently with the cluster management team.
have many discussions with teachers to ensure that methods of
communication, collaboration and working are developed that
encourage maximum input from all.
provide schools with ongoing encouragement to participate in the
online community.

21. EFFECTIVE DIRECTORS:
ensure that the management team meets regularly.
encourage open communication between all stake holders in the
cluster.
access and disseminate ideas from ICT PD resources such as the
newsletter and the online portal.

22. ADMINISTERING
THE CLUSTER

23. EFFECTIVE DIRECTORS:
set up money management processes early and explains these
clearly to everyone concerned with ICT PD funds.
work with the management team to prepare job descriptions for
key roles within the cluster so expectations are clear.
provide opportunity for all cluster schools to participate in the
writing of the milestone.
keep a record of activities happening in the cluster to make
milestone reporting easier.
set up good systems/ templates for each school to gather data in
order to make things easier for schools.
use the follow-up meetings with the National Facilitator to
ensure that everyone is meeting their obligations.

24. EFFECTIVE DIRECTORS:
have the support of a great office administrator
BARRIERS
Schools not meeting deadlines for milestone reports.
Changing criteria over the course of the contract in terms
of what is expected in cluster reporting and variations.
The complexity of milestone reporting and variations.
Not having all the templates available at the beginning of
the year.
Data collection for milestones expected during the
busiest time for schools eg writing school reports.

25. DEVELOPING
A NETWORK

26. EFFECTIVE DIRECTORS:
help to facilitate ways to share good resources from within each
school across the cluster.
make use of all networks and contacts as people are the greatest
resource.
develop a good relationship with the National Facilitator.
seek contact with other cluster directors for support and advice.
have good relationships with the facilitator and principals across the
cluster.
encourage collaboration between school lead teachers and
principals.
attend cluster network meetings.
develop connections with other clusters in the ICT PD network.

27. EFFECTIVE DIRECTORS:
facilitate pedagogical discussions within the cluster management team.
recognise the benefits of cluster staff attending conferences or going on
best practice school visits to share ideas and develop pedagogical
knowledge.
BARRIERS
The difficulty in getting the cluster to collaborate across
schools.
Wide differences between schools that can be hard to bridge.
The wide range in abilities of principals and lead teachers.
Schools/clusters being isolated geographically.
Money and time demands to attend regional meetings.

28. DISCUSSION PROMPTS
Which points would you prioritise for the director
role?
What would you add to these key lessons learned?
Which do you disagree with and why?
How could the barriers that are listed be overcome?
What would you like to see happen at national level to
address some of the points raised?
How could you use this information within your own
cluster?

29. IMAGE CREDITS
Slide No. Image source Image title Author
1 Flickr 3D Team Leadership Arrow Concept lumaxart
2 Flickr Hide and Seek lunadirimmel
5 Flickr The word for today is “knowledge”, pass it on Stephen Poff
Year 2~Day 204 +175/366: Cruisin'with the MSP to the
7 Flickr Old Shoe Woman
Secret Garden
10 Flickr Roland in Vancouver459 Roland
13 Flickr When work is play... Christmas w/a k
16 Flickr INDEX: Documentation team meeting Jacob Botter
19 Flickr the maus phone 54/365 Jason Nicholls
22 Flickr This paperwork is big 1.93 kg Unk’s dump truck
25 Flickr Hanging by a thread Jenny Downing
4,6,9,12,18,24,27 Flickr Red lights wlodi