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: Action/Evaluation Plan
Reflection:
The Action and Evaluation Plan was completed as a class assignment to generate various yearlong goals related to technology integration at Lee County High School 9th Grade Campus. In this assignment I was to use the earlier generated Current Reality and Vision for Technology Use to create goals in the following areas: Skilled Teachers, Instructional Use, and two other goals based on the previous analyses. Four specific goals were outlined for faculty and administration: 1) teachers will create and implement authentic, constructivist-style lessons which incorporate technology use into their curriculum on a regular basis, 2) teachers will have students use Web 2.0 tools (wikis, blogs, website creation, etc.) to enhance creativity and higher-order thinking skills, 3) technology infused lessons which incorporate constructivist style learning principles will strongly influence student learning and success, and 4) administrative staff and faculty will work together to better communicate technology use and learning strategies to the community by sharing student achievement in these areas in order to enhance a shared vision within the community. For each goal, I set a success indicator, an evaluation method, strategies, timeline, funding sources, and person(s) responsible. Though this was an individual class assignment, I worked with the school instructional supervisor and members of the school’s leadership and technology team.
For Standard 1.4, Diffusions of Innovations and Change, candidates were to prove “the ability to research, recommend, and implement strategies for initiating and sustaining technology innovations and for managing the change process in schools” (PSC 1.4/ISTE 1d). The artifact provided in the portfolio is an example of an action and evaluation plan that required me to research and evaluate the current state of the school and research appropriate best practices to apply in an action plan. Upon researching best practices and evaluating the current state of the school, I aligned the two and made recommendations based on these to include in the Action/Evaluation Plan. Though this particular plan was not implemented as it was not properly aligned to district goals, implementation of the plan would require the collaboration of school technology leaders, school administrators, specifically the instructional supervisor, instructional technology specialists, and system curriculum supervisors. These goals would be incorporated into the system and/or school improvement plan and would align nicely with the incorporation of the success indicators, evaluation methods, strategies, timelines, funding sources, and person(s) responsible. Implementation would be one year long and would require evaluations to occur according to the plan to ensure that goals are being met.
Creating an action/evaluation plan was a significant learning experience. After looking at the Vision for Technology Use and the Current Reality, it would have been simple to set goals without determining the specifics regarding the goals. I found when creating the plan the importance of the success indicators, evaluation methods, strategies, timelines, funding sources, and person(s) responsible. Many, myself included until this assignment, think that just setting the goals and reviewing them might be enough, but the supporting information is critical to ensuring the goals are met. If I were to go back and recreate this assignment, I would look more closely at aligning the goals with one another. Looking back, the goals feel separate from one another and I would rather them build on one another to create an overall action plan that feels more cohesive.
The evaluation methods outlined in the action plan would be helpful in determining the impact on faculty development. The evaluation methods would directly show the improvement in faculty knowledge, skills, and actions. In order to see changes in school improvement, you would have to first evaluate the most important factor in the action plan: the student. It would first be necessary to evaluate student learning to see the changes in school improvement according to the plan.
The Action and Evaluation Plan was completed as a class assignment to generate various yearlong goals related to technology integration at Lee County High School 9th Grade Campus. In this assignment I was to use the earlier generated Current Reality and Vision for Technology Use to create goals in the following areas: Skilled Teachers, Instructional Use, and two other goals based on the previous analyses. Four specific goals were outlined for faculty and administration: 1) teachers will create and implement authentic, constructivist-style lessons which incorporate technology use into their curriculum on a regular basis, 2) teachers will have students use Web 2.0 tools (wikis, blogs, website creation, etc.) to enhance creativity and higher-order thinking skills, 3) technology infused lessons which incorporate constructivist style learning principles will strongly influence student learning and success, and 4) administrative staff and faculty will work together to better communicate technology use and learning strategies to the community by sharing student achievement in these areas in order to enhance a shared vision within the community. For each goal, I set a success indicator, an evaluation method, strategies, timeline, funding sources, and person(s) responsible. Though this was an individual class assignment, I worked with the school instructional supervisor and members of the school’s leadership and technology team.
For Standard 1.4, Diffusions of Innovations and Change, candidates were to prove “the ability to research, recommend, and implement strategies for initiating and sustaining technology innovations and for managing the change process in schools” (PSC 1.4/ISTE 1d). The artifact provided in the portfolio is an example of an action and evaluation plan that required me to research and evaluate the current state of the school and research appropriate best practices to apply in an action plan. Upon researching best practices and evaluating the current state of the school, I aligned the two and made recommendations based on these to include in the Action/Evaluation Plan. Though this particular plan was not implemented as it was not properly aligned to district goals, implementation of the plan would require the collaboration of school technology leaders, school administrators, specifically the instructional supervisor, instructional technology specialists, and system curriculum supervisors. These goals would be incorporated into the system and/or school improvement plan and would align nicely with the incorporation of the success indicators, evaluation methods, strategies, timelines, funding sources, and person(s) responsible. Implementation would be one year long and would require evaluations to occur according to the plan to ensure that goals are being met.
Creating an action/evaluation plan was a significant learning experience. After looking at the Vision for Technology Use and the Current Reality, it would have been simple to set goals without determining the specifics regarding the goals. I found when creating the plan the importance of the success indicators, evaluation methods, strategies, timelines, funding sources, and person(s) responsible. Many, myself included until this assignment, think that just setting the goals and reviewing them might be enough, but the supporting information is critical to ensuring the goals are met. If I were to go back and recreate this assignment, I would look more closely at aligning the goals with one another. Looking back, the goals feel separate from one another and I would rather them build on one another to create an overall action plan that feels more cohesive.
The evaluation methods outlined in the action plan would be helpful in determining the impact on faculty development. The evaluation methods would directly show the improvement in faculty knowledge, skills, and actions. In order to see changes in school improvement, you would have to first evaluate the most important factor in the action plan: the student. It would first be necessary to evaluate student learning to see the changes in school improvement according to the plan.