A Computer-Based Technology To Assist in Developing School Improvement

This paper outlines reasons why current school improvement efforts in the Miami-Dade (Florida) school district are inadequate and offers an approach that will both build on the formal structure already in place and add a methodology to make it more effective. The text focuses on the field of system dynamics and how this method of analyzing features of complex, interconnected actions can help principals. The narrative examines school-originated improvement efforts and what principals can do to improve their schools, particularly if their schools are among those designated as Low Performing Schools. It looks at the school as an organization and a system and how solutions to problems are apt to be counterintuitive. Suggestions for enhancing the improvement process are offered, and the text outlines how principals can use theory in making decisions in complex systems. It looks at an idealized school-improvement scenario in which objectives guided by research and dynamic analysis might reflect an underlying strategy based on an understanding of a complex process. The scenario illustrates how peer influence, peer-interaction patterns, and group characteristics can affect a school. Overall, the system-dynamic approach offers a sophisticated technology to mobilize local knowledge, expertise, and plans. (Contains 47 references.) (RJM) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** A Computer-based Technology to Assist in Developing School Improvement Strategies

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