Practicum Workplace: Case Study

The author had an opportunity to be involved with a personnel issue at the practicum work site. A teacher was reported as being dishonest about a practicum time that she needed to fulfill her assignment towards an endorsement in visual impairments. The report stated that she was supposed to be working with a group of students, but instead of fulfilling this duty, had gone home and indicated that she had completed the task. As a first step, the author wanted to consider and verify that there had not been a misunderstanding about the assignment. A supervisor needs to be supportive so the employee will feel valued and continue to grow on the job. In this particular case, the author had made the assignment well-known in both verbal and written

The author did not believe that the teacher had done this act out of the lack of skill, knowledge, or ability, but indeed the actions were a purposeful misconduct. Regardless of where the problem originated, it was proven to be true, and a well carried out a disciplinary process needed to be put in place to deal with the problem. A discipline that is effective can help protect the organization and everyone involved. If there are mixed messages about what needed to be done, everyone suffers. In addition to this, a well-planned improvement plan can bring a resolution before the challenge gets out of hand. However, the burden for improvement needs to remain on the shoulders of the teacher. The teacher was fully aware of what she was doing and the consequences, but still decided to do it. Furthermore, the author had to find just cause in the actions of the teacher and respond in fairness. Rules and consequences had been developed and clearly communicated to the teacher. Nevertheless, a fair investigation was conducted, and the author balanced this with consistency. The author listened to the teacher’s story and took part in a more in-depth investigation. The purpose of the investigation was to find out if there were reasons behind her actions that would eliminate or reduce the

In the previous essay that explained the personnel issue that the author worked on, four different types of technology were used. The forms that were used for the various parts of the performance plan were available to the author online. An attachment of these forms is available after the essay portion of the task. Having internet access and particularly email, the forms were sent from the human resource office to the author to be used during the process. The author used an excel sheet to chart the visits and the time involved. The author and the teacher needed to communicate directly and confidentially. The author used Google Doc for this. When the author sent a file to the teacher, it was encrypted so that only she and the author would have access to it. This made all documentation needed to complete the plan was confidential. The author also used the internet for professional development on honesty and integrity and also for classes on the subject given by the Utah Professional Development Network. Thus, it was convenient for her to participate without disrupting her class time. It also provided a means to ensure that the teacher understood the concept of integrity and that she realized what she had done wrong and why. Finally, the author and the teacher had weekly meetings, and it was not always convenient to drive an hour to fulfill