1.4 Diffusion of Innovations & Change
Candidates research, recommend, and implement strategies for initiating and sustaining technology innovations and for managing the change process in schools. (PSC 1.4/ISTE 1d)
Candidates research, recommend, and implement strategies for initiating and sustaining technology innovations and for managing the change process in schools. (PSC 1.4/ISTE 1d)
Reflection:
In standard 1.4, Diffusion of Innovations and Change, mastery can be shown by researching, recommending, and implementing strategies for technology innovations in schools. One of my last classes in this program was the Professional Learning and Technology Innovations, ITEC 7460 class. In that class, I was given to opportunity to coach a teammate of mine. My teammate agreed to participate in this class activity as I have been coaching her for the past year and a half. I knew she would be a great candidate as she is so close to taking those initial steps towards technology innovation but still needs a bit of hand holding before she lets go.
This project involved using the research gained from reading Instructional Coaching (Knight 2007). The Communication Process and using the Authentic Listening methods proved to be beneficial when working one on one like this. This teammate was a willing candidate and spent a lot of time with me each week trying new digital tools, Smartboard, PowerPoint, anything that would help her advance. She wanted to progress in her area of weakness was performing any of these digital tools without a coach present. She truly had a fear of being up in front of her class and the technology not working and then she would not know what to do in order to fix it. She envisioned this happening which was preventing her from taking the next step of trying something on her own.
Instead, she simply did not use technology much with her students. She would only use the pieces of technology that did not require her getting in front of her class and the whole class being dependent on her to do something with technology, such as Smartboard and PowerPoint digital tools. After coaching her on her biggest fear, the Smartboard, I was able to assist her with gaining confidence with the technology tools and integration so that she felt confident enough with the Smartboard. We practiced repeatedly, with me making several mistakes and her needing to correct them. After weekly practice sessions, she was ready for her students. Once she successfully completed the lesson, she was amazed at how well she had performed.
Her final goal was to check out the iPad cart for one class period. My teammate had her own personal iPad so it was not the actual use of the iPad that scared her but it was the thought of all twenty four students having one and managing them. I convinced her to give it a try by the end of the year and she reached her goal with great happiness. I feel confident that it would not have happened if I had not pushed her and promised to be right next door if she needed help. The delight of her student when she brought those into their classroom was immeasurable. I saw the confidence that excitement gave to her as well. The students were eager to become engaged in an activity with that iPad. I saw the growth in confidence with this teammate. I will continue to stay on her at the beginning of the year so she will continue to enhance the learning of her students through the use of technology integration. I showed mastery of this standard by managing the change process with my teammate through the use of the strategies mentioned in the Instructional Coaching (Knight 2007) book. The change process brought success to my teammate and she was very grateful.
The project impacted my school by the growth that my teammate made. She fell into the novice level at the beginning of this coaching project but certainly moved up a notch by the time our coaching sessions ended. As my other teammates saw the growth she was making, they too have seen her confidence grow and technology being used in her classroom more. This benefited my teammate but also benefited the students of Timber Ridge. It showed the benefits of technology coaches working with other teachers to support them if they are lacking in the needed technology skills.
References
Knight, Jim (2007). Instructional Coaching, California: Corwin Press.