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)
Artifact: Coaching Journal
Reflection:
This artifact is the Coaching Journal that I completed in ITEC 7460. Within the past several years, my school has begun a very strong initiative of integrating technology into the classroom in innovative and engaging ways. As the technology coach, I became a very big part of this initiative by providing professional learning opportunities and classroom support for teachers. I coached a lot of teachers, and for this assignment, I spent an entire semester coaching a first grade teacher new to technology integration. This journal describes three of these coaching sessions, but I actually coached this teacher for an entire school year. The coaching journal shows mastery of Standard 1.4 - Diffusion of Innovations & Change - which states that "candidates research, recommend, and implement strategies for initiating and sustaining technology innovations and for managing the change process in schools" since I specifically focused on initiating and sustaining technology integration in the classroom when I coached this first grade teacher.
Brooke, this first grade teacher, is an amazing teacher who has been teaching for quite a while. Back when she first began teaching, technology and education were never really used in the same sentence. As a result, when all of that started to change, she was not quite sure where to start, but she knew she wanted to jump in and be a part of the incredible ways that technology can transform education. So she and I started working together consistently. She taught something new to her students once every one or two months, and I usually came into her classroom on the first day of a new tool to model the tool for both her and her students. I also modeled for her the best strategies to use when introducing a new program to first graders.
When Brooke first approached me telling me that she wanted to start really integrating technology with her students, I immediately began researching the best Web 2.0 tools for first grade use and the most effective strategies to use when teaching these tools to young students. For example, I spent a lot of time researching tools that would allow students to record themselves explaining something. Allowing students to verbalize answers to questions or summaries of books they are reading will really help them since writing all of that down can still be somewhat difficult for first graders. Then, Brooke and I met many times after school, and I recommended some tools and strategies to use to start off. First, I described strategies to use to initiate technology innovations in her classroom. Then, once the activities were going strong in her classroom, I recommended strategies to use to sustain the technology innovations that were going well.
Throughout the school year, I worked alongside Brooke in implementing the new technology tools with her students. Every time she taught her students a new technology tool, she would bring her class down to my room and I would model the tool for her and her students and how to teach the tool. That way she could see first hand the crucial strategies to use during the initiation process.Then, once the use of the technology tools were going strong in her room, I pushed into her classroom to work with small groups to make sure that they truly understood how to use the program. Sustaining the technology use in her classroom really came down to repetition. We made sure we had students do multiple projects using the same tool so that they could really master each tool we taught.
As I coached this teacher, the change process was not as difficult as I had expected, and was therefore quite simple to manage. I met with her very consistently to answer any questions or concerns she had and to also give her suggestions for activities to do moving forward. It is amazing how incredible the change process can be when the teacher involved is so incredibly receptive to learning new ways to teach.
Through this coaching journal assignment, I learned the importance of the coach and the classroom teacher being a team. Brooke and I really were a team. We worked together and co-taught the technology lessons, and we also have a mutual respect for one another and for what the other person brings to the table. My only wish is that I could have spent more time providing classroom support. I get spread pretty thin since there are so many teachers implementing technology in their classrooms, and as a result, I was unable to push in to her classroom as consistently as I would have liked.
The work that went into this artifact impacted school improvement, faculty development, and student learning. Brooke's classroom has become a place filled with technology, and her students are known for being technologically savvy. In addition, the learning that is going on in her classroom is unbelievable. Brooke has become an expert at integrating technology with the content she needs to teach, and the growth that her students are showing is amazing.
This artifact is the Coaching Journal that I completed in ITEC 7460. Within the past several years, my school has begun a very strong initiative of integrating technology into the classroom in innovative and engaging ways. As the technology coach, I became a very big part of this initiative by providing professional learning opportunities and classroom support for teachers. I coached a lot of teachers, and for this assignment, I spent an entire semester coaching a first grade teacher new to technology integration. This journal describes three of these coaching sessions, but I actually coached this teacher for an entire school year. The coaching journal shows mastery of Standard 1.4 - Diffusion of Innovations & Change - which states that "candidates research, recommend, and implement strategies for initiating and sustaining technology innovations and for managing the change process in schools" since I specifically focused on initiating and sustaining technology integration in the classroom when I coached this first grade teacher.
Brooke, this first grade teacher, is an amazing teacher who has been teaching for quite a while. Back when she first began teaching, technology and education were never really used in the same sentence. As a result, when all of that started to change, she was not quite sure where to start, but she knew she wanted to jump in and be a part of the incredible ways that technology can transform education. So she and I started working together consistently. She taught something new to her students once every one or two months, and I usually came into her classroom on the first day of a new tool to model the tool for both her and her students. I also modeled for her the best strategies to use when introducing a new program to first graders.
When Brooke first approached me telling me that she wanted to start really integrating technology with her students, I immediately began researching the best Web 2.0 tools for first grade use and the most effective strategies to use when teaching these tools to young students. For example, I spent a lot of time researching tools that would allow students to record themselves explaining something. Allowing students to verbalize answers to questions or summaries of books they are reading will really help them since writing all of that down can still be somewhat difficult for first graders. Then, Brooke and I met many times after school, and I recommended some tools and strategies to use to start off. First, I described strategies to use to initiate technology innovations in her classroom. Then, once the activities were going strong in her classroom, I recommended strategies to use to sustain the technology innovations that were going well.
Throughout the school year, I worked alongside Brooke in implementing the new technology tools with her students. Every time she taught her students a new technology tool, she would bring her class down to my room and I would model the tool for her and her students and how to teach the tool. That way she could see first hand the crucial strategies to use during the initiation process.Then, once the use of the technology tools were going strong in her room, I pushed into her classroom to work with small groups to make sure that they truly understood how to use the program. Sustaining the technology use in her classroom really came down to repetition. We made sure we had students do multiple projects using the same tool so that they could really master each tool we taught.
As I coached this teacher, the change process was not as difficult as I had expected, and was therefore quite simple to manage. I met with her very consistently to answer any questions or concerns she had and to also give her suggestions for activities to do moving forward. It is amazing how incredible the change process can be when the teacher involved is so incredibly receptive to learning new ways to teach.
Through this coaching journal assignment, I learned the importance of the coach and the classroom teacher being a team. Brooke and I really were a team. We worked together and co-taught the technology lessons, and we also have a mutual respect for one another and for what the other person brings to the table. My only wish is that I could have spent more time providing classroom support. I get spread pretty thin since there are so many teachers implementing technology in their classrooms, and as a result, I was unable to push in to her classroom as consistently as I would have liked.
The work that went into this artifact impacted school improvement, faculty development, and student learning. Brooke's classroom has become a place filled with technology, and her students are known for being technologically savvy. In addition, the learning that is going on in her classroom is unbelievable. Brooke has become an expert at integrating technology with the content she needs to teach, and the growth that her students are showing is amazing.