Page 31 - EdViewptsSpring2020

formally educated professionals, retiree or fill a new position not based zeal in which data-driven decisions
and yet the use of the World Health on the researched characteristics of are prescribed for educational leaders.
Organization’s (WHO) Checklist, effective teaching, but on similarity to However, bounded rationality holds
even with its most obvious and simple the present staff. This raises concerns that regardless of the clarity of the
set of questions, has saved literally not only about perpetuating the status available data, intuitive thinking, or fast
thousands of lives from the mistakes of quo in teaching styles, but also about thinking, undercuts rational thought
highly skilled experts (Fudickar, Hörle, diversity, or the lack thereof, among (Kahneman & Tversky, 1984). When
Wiltfang, & Bein, 2012). This research the school faculty. individual perceptions filter the data,
would suggest that although principals Seeing Around the Bend even carefully organized data-driven
are also highly educated, their decision- decision-making settings are jeopar-
making processes could become more Predicting the future behavior of an in- dized (M. E. Toplak, West, & Stanovich,
rational through the use of research dividual is extremely difficult (Courtney, 2014). In this view, it is not the just
supported decision-making tools. Lovallo, & Clarke, 2013; Schumacher, the use of data to drive decisions that
Grigsby, & Vesey, 2015); the simple cause school leaders to navigate the
Danger Ahead fact that the interviewee knows they are problem solving required but rather
Speed Kills being judged may make accurate as- understanding their own unconscious
sessment by the interviewer that much
The complexity and the importance more difficult (Cain-Caston, 1999). filtering of that data that improves
of effective teacher hiring generates Coupled with the demands for time on decision-making.
the potential for problems. The hiring the part of the school administrator, the Listen to Back Seat Drivers
process begins with screening ap- interview process is ripe for misunder- An extension of the problem caused by
plicants based on static criteria such standing and erroneous conclusions misinterpretation of data is the issue of
as certification, education and experi- (Shen et al., 2012). information gap. When information is
ence. Screening is usually followed by missing from a data set, people often
individual interviews. Impressions from Possible Improvements infer the value of missing information
interviews are given the most weight in Use a Road Map based on the value of the known
hiring decisions (Kersten, 2010). Specifi- Research on teacher hiring is limited, information, sometimes bolstering or
cally, principals focus on interview skills but findings offer possible improve- diminishing the value, assuming the
and stated expressions of caring and ments. One technique is the use of groups realize there is missing infor-
work ethic rather than content knowl- structured interviews specifically aligned mation (Henningsen & Henningsen,
edge or pedagogical skill (Engel, 2013). to the domains of teaching — planning, 2007). “Organizations need to real-
The impressions made during isolated management, instruction, and reflection. ize that a disciplined decision-making
meetings are given more value than the These protocols are helpful in selecting process, not individual genius, is the
information gleaned from the years of effective teachers, but structured inter- key to a sound strategy. And they will
performance reported through records views are rarely used (Clement, 2009). have to create a culture of open debate
reviewed in the screening process Using decision-making tools such as in which such processes can flourish”
(Peterson, 2002). Researchers such researched interview protocols improves (Kahneman, Lovallo, & Sibony, 2011 p.
as Engel and Cannata (2015) indicate the rationality of the decisions; however, 60). When groups meet to discuss and
some achievement gaps between high experts in fields of business, medicine make decisions, it is the shared and not
achieving and low achieving schools are and education often ignore protocols the unique perspectives that are given
tied to hiring practices. Perhaps due to (Campbell et al., 2004; Fudickar et al., the greatest deference. Information that
the higher turnover and other associated 2012). is unknown to all is rarely discussed
pressures, lower achieving schools (as and information that is known to just
measured by standardized testing), tend Admit When You are Lost a few is devalued. Therefore, increas-
to use shorter interviews and to hire Despite the human shortcomings ing the number of members of a group
staff from within the school rather than involved in processing data demon- does not necessarily increase the num-
conducting full rounds of the interview strated through the decades of ber of choices to be considered.
process (Papa & Baxter, 2008). research building the theoretical Arriving at Our Destination
Replacing Last Year’s Model framework of bounded rationality We administrators owe it to ourselves
One manner in which the hiring (Botterill & Hindmoor, 2012; Kahne- and our students to be our very best
process may be less than optimal man, 2003), in the field of education, in our most crucial roles. Teacher
is caused by the comparison to the there remains a widely held belief hiring should be at the top of that list.
employee being replaced. Information in the possibility of rational, data- Research in the fields of business,
gleaned is often skewed, consciously driven decisions in schools (Marzano, medicine, and in our world of education
or unconsciously, in comparison Waters, & McNulty, 2005; Reeves offer a way there. Are we willing to
to the teacher the candidate may & Flach, 2011). The best practice accept the roadside assistance?
be replacing. Candidates are often era that has dominated the world of
measured by the “fit” to the staff teaching, which assumes a set of
already in place (Rutledge et al., techniques can be applied to all cases
2008). Thus, new hires may replace a to garner the same effect, mirrors the

Educational Viewpoints -29- Spring 2020