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:
The Coaching Journal was completed as an assignment in ITEC 7460, Professional Learning and Technology Integration, and documented my experience with utilizing the Impact Cycle process for coaching. The journal was created to log progress working with a peer teacher as a coach for my technology coaching assignment. The journal addressed strategies used, changes observed, and my own reflections on challenges and solutions to problems in an effort to improve instruction and student participation in an ESOL Science class. This artifact is a collection of my own personal thoughts, experiences, and reflections through the identify, learn, and improve aspects of the Impact Cycle.
The artifact demonstrates mastery of Standard 1.4, Diffusion of Innovation and Change, which states that candidates will research, recommend, and implement strategies for initiating and sustaining technology innovations and for managing the change process in schools. The Coaching Journal and embedded coaching videos document the process through which I researched and recommended strategies and instructional opportunities, dependent upon my mentee’s and her students’ needs. After observing her class and distributing an anonymous survey about participation and engagement to students, I reviewed results with her and recommended ideas for improvement. Later, I modeled and assisted my mentee with implementing the strategies within her classroom. She was open to the process, allowed me to fully take on the role of an Instructional Technology Coach, and gave a positive review of the experience. This coaching role allowed me to fully experience coaching, including the challenges of managing the change process.
Prior to this experience, I had occasionally recommended and modeled various instructional and technology resources for peer teachers, but not in a formal coaching capacity. The process of creating the Coaching Journal helped me to reflect and analyze my role as an Instructional Technology Coach. I was able to improve research skills, as I had to identify technologies and strategies for various instructional needs, in order to recommend them. I recommended resources that corresponded to a teacher’s needs, which was a positive, inspiring experience. Through the process, I began building a Coach’s Playbook, and I learned that keeping a journal is also a way of documenting a mentee’s efforts, as well justifying a coach’s time spent assisting them. If I could change one thing about my coaching experience, I would have asked my supervising administrator to “pair” me with a teacher who truly needed the coaching assistance, but with whom I did not already have a close, positive relationship. My mentee volunteered for the task during lunch one day, after I stated that I needed to find a coaching opportunity, and she was complained about student engagement in her ESOL class and said I may be able to help. While it did help with the ease of the process, I believe the experience would have been more challenging and empowering had I needed to develop the relationship and trust with the mentee.
This artifact impacted school improvement, student learning, and/or professional development by allowing me to adopt a coaching role to help a peer teacher and her otherwise unengaged 1st period class. The mentee teacher later stated to me that her students’ engagement levels and assessment scores had made obvious improvements over the next couple of units. She credited our coaching experience for this change and said that she was using the instructional strategies in her other classes as well. This denotes a direct impact to faculty development and student learning.
The Coaching Journal was completed as an assignment in ITEC 7460, Professional Learning and Technology Integration, and documented my experience with utilizing the Impact Cycle process for coaching. The journal was created to log progress working with a peer teacher as a coach for my technology coaching assignment. The journal addressed strategies used, changes observed, and my own reflections on challenges and solutions to problems in an effort to improve instruction and student participation in an ESOL Science class. This artifact is a collection of my own personal thoughts, experiences, and reflections through the identify, learn, and improve aspects of the Impact Cycle.
The artifact demonstrates mastery of Standard 1.4, Diffusion of Innovation and Change, which states that candidates will research, recommend, and implement strategies for initiating and sustaining technology innovations and for managing the change process in schools. The Coaching Journal and embedded coaching videos document the process through which I researched and recommended strategies and instructional opportunities, dependent upon my mentee’s and her students’ needs. After observing her class and distributing an anonymous survey about participation and engagement to students, I reviewed results with her and recommended ideas for improvement. Later, I modeled and assisted my mentee with implementing the strategies within her classroom. She was open to the process, allowed me to fully take on the role of an Instructional Technology Coach, and gave a positive review of the experience. This coaching role allowed me to fully experience coaching, including the challenges of managing the change process.
Prior to this experience, I had occasionally recommended and modeled various instructional and technology resources for peer teachers, but not in a formal coaching capacity. The process of creating the Coaching Journal helped me to reflect and analyze my role as an Instructional Technology Coach. I was able to improve research skills, as I had to identify technologies and strategies for various instructional needs, in order to recommend them. I recommended resources that corresponded to a teacher’s needs, which was a positive, inspiring experience. Through the process, I began building a Coach’s Playbook, and I learned that keeping a journal is also a way of documenting a mentee’s efforts, as well justifying a coach’s time spent assisting them. If I could change one thing about my coaching experience, I would have asked my supervising administrator to “pair” me with a teacher who truly needed the coaching assistance, but with whom I did not already have a close, positive relationship. My mentee volunteered for the task during lunch one day, after I stated that I needed to find a coaching opportunity, and she was complained about student engagement in her ESOL class and said I may be able to help. While it did help with the ease of the process, I believe the experience would have been more challenging and empowering had I needed to develop the relationship and trust with the mentee.
This artifact impacted school improvement, student learning, and/or professional development by allowing me to adopt a coaching role to help a peer teacher and her otherwise unengaged 1st period class. The mentee teacher later stated to me that her students’ engagement levels and assessment scores had made obvious improvements over the next couple of units. She credited our coaching experience for this change and said that she was using the instructional strategies in her other classes as well. This denotes a direct impact to faculty development and student learning.