S.E.E. (the Statement, Evidence, Explanation Model), by Shawn Northfield

Gadzooks! 'Zounds! (Are you Crazy!), Exceptional Shakespeare in the Exceptional Classroom, by John Bell.

The Strategic Planning Process, by Barry Russell, Alix MacDonald, and Leslie McKernon

Writing Class? Where to Start?, by Margann MacGregor

The Strategic Planning Process
(printable PDF version)

Introduction

As teachers, we are familiar with methods to make our classrooms positive and pleasant places to learn. At the beginning of each school year, we spend time making our classrooms inviting and interesting. We attempt to develop the best possible learning environment. September is the time of the year when our enthusiasm and optimism is at its highest. We want our students to grow and develop. We have high hopes and aspirations for our kids. We will give our students their best year ever! It’s going to be our best year ever!

The first day of school arrives and everything is ready. The classroom looks great. The students are excited. The lesson plans are working. Then October hits. Suddenly, the thrill is gone. Homework completion peters off. Students don’t seem to be very excited about being in class. Socializing appears to be the main reason for attendance. Somewhere along the way - students and teachers begin to go their separate ways. We started with the same enthusiasm. What happened?

Just as important as the development of a pleasant physical environment and exciting lesson plans, is the development of shared goals and visions with our students.

Shared visions and goals will result in greater feelings of satisfaction, higher levels of energy, a greater degree of ‘connectedness’, and higher levels of achievement for everyone in the classroom.

The purpose of this article is to describe methods to implement a shared vision or strategic planning process that can be easily used in the classroom. Shared visions can change a group of individuals assigned to a classroom into a cohesive and supportive team that works towards common goals. Even with today’s highly volatile classroom environment, it is possible to develop a common purpose and sense of meaning that fits everyone’s agenda.

The strategic action plan described in this article was implemented with a group of high school students who had a history of minimal academic success over many years. As a group, they had very little confidence that they could actually influence their own learning.

However, through a six-step process, using the strategic action planning form (see Fig. 1) we created a cohesive and common vision with our Grade 10 class. The purpose of this article is to explain each step of the process, illustrate the rationale, the cognitive processes, and provide feedback from real students.