The Essentials for New Department Chairs (The Department Chair)

Be brave and stand your ground. Look at your subject.

Reward Yourself

For example history really competes for students at GCSE and A-level and the more students the better; more resources, more specialist teachers, more status in the school. Make sure therefore that the people delivering your year 9 curriculum are those who are likely to make students want to study your subject and at year 11 — have your best teachers ensuring good results.

This sometimes isn't an easy call to make, but your department lives and dies by results and numbers so get the staffing right. Exploit your subject matter to boost your profile. Again using the example of my department history lends itself to explaining current affairs, so shed the tag of being stuck in the past by keeping the department relevant.

Ask to take over the Remembrance Day assemblies to publicise the importance of history, run a school election next time there's an election and make connections with the past, use your display boards to make links to current news stories, foster links with the primary schools. No other subject gives you as much scope to do this as history. Be as creative as you can, so in a World Cup year make a wall display of a footballing team from history and ask for students to contribute personalities who would be suitable for the various positions, Bouddica on the wing maybe?

Most importantly, know where you're going as a department. Set the focus as a team of what you want to achieve; better GCSE results, higher numbers, better teaching. Then work out the steps to get there; better exam technique, revision materials, whatever. Next allocate jobs, but do more than your fair share. Finally meet regularly and discuss how you're getting on with the goal you set. Once it's achieved, celebrate, tell someone, and set another one. Peter Smith has been teaching for more than 10 years.

Lead by example All historians love a quote and that quite wise chap Gandhi once said: Create Influence Beyond Campus: Video Basics for Faculty. Understanding the Latest Changes. Incorporating Degree Assessment into Your Classroom. Creating Critical Thinkers in the Information Age. Truth, Fiction, or Some of Both? Listen to the Data: Create a Data-Informed Culture.

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The 7 things successful heads of department do

Rethinking the Role of Content. Assessment Strategies for Flipped Learning Experiences. Understanding and Combating Resistance to Online Learning. Best Practices in Flipped Class Design. The Secret's in the Assignment Strategy. Strategies for Deep and Lasting Learning. Mindfulness in the Classroom. I started my first semester as department chair this fall. I need to do something over this break to make things better or figure out how to quit.

Jossey-Bass Department Chair Leadership Online Institute — LearningTimes

Let me suggest a few strategies for moving forward. Develop a new mentor map. There are new rules written and unwritten , you need a different set of skills to be successful, and you need a whole new set of mentors, sponsors, support and community. I encourage you to start by identifying your specific needs e. Feel free to adapt a standard mentor map for your needs as a department chair.

And if you find that your immediate needs are more specific, you can also identify some more targeted resources. All you have to do is find a small group of positive peers department chairs, either on or off the campus who are willing to commit to meeting weekly for the purpose of tackling challenges and supporting one another in solving problems.

Instead, a well-constructed mastermind group can be an incredible source of consistent, external problem solving and an instant supportive community.

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Go find your campus mentors. No matter what, you are going to need to have on-campus mentors who are seasoned department chairs or have been effective chairs in the recent past. Start taking a fresh look around to see who is particularly savvy in this role, who has influence, who seems healthy and happy, and who gets things done for their unit.

Additionally, you will need to start meeting and building relationships with a wide range of administrators and staff members on your campus in order to get tactical assistance, break through the bureaucracy and help move your agenda forward. You may want to ask yourself:. Answering those questions honestly will help you to identify where you need to focus your networking and relationship-building activities in the short term and will help you tremendously on a daily basis.

Be gentle with yourself. More than anything, I encourage you to be gentle with yourself as you go through this difficult transition process from faculty member to administrator. And you are more than capable of fulfilling the requirements of this role. As always, stressful times require more not less self-care.

So give yourself permission to do whatever you need to prioritize your health and well-being. It may mean seeing a therapist during your transition. It may mean scheduling some regular bodywork to physically destress. Or it may mean starting a regular exercise routine. Do whatever you need to do to take time for you -- away from the campus -- to keep things in perspective.