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 Plan
drake_e_coachingjournal.docx | |
File Size: | 26 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Reflection:
The Coaching Journal was an assignment for ITEC 7460 and is the primary artifact for Standard 1.4. The assignment included collaborating with a colleague and assisting them with technology coaching using a partnership approach. Most teachers who begin working at my school have experience in both teaching students and technology integration. However, using those skills in a one hundred percent online environment can be daunting. When a new teacher began working at our school, she was immediately approached and inquiry began on if she needed any pointers. She welcomed the assistance and this partnership became the basis of the Coaching Journal.
During ITEC 7460, various efficient and effective coaching strategies were researched and used during this experience. During one of the early coaching sessions, the teacher completed an adopter survey which helped to gauge her willingness to learn new skills and strategies. Her results indicated she was very willing to adopt well-researched best practices into her courses and add to her skillset. Even though the she taught a different content area, she was recommended various skills and techniques for enhancing student learning in the virtual environment. Strategies and learned skills were modeled for her and she was able to implement the recommended strategies and skills with her students and in during the completion of her work-related tasks.
An area of learning was coaching an adult. It is very different from teaching a middle school student. Ironically, the sensitivity to her to her verbal and nonverbal cues during our coaching sessions was increased, because she was a peer. To remember how difficult learning the specific skills required at GACA could be when arriving as a new teacher, was important during this process. Extra caution to stay positive and listen carefully to her responses was engaged as various skills and strategies were covered. Learning that buy-in for certain strategies and tasks was needed to be established first before she would positively approach learning them was new. This surprised me because she self-identified as an early adopter of new technologies. One of the personal weaknesses of the coach as a technology instructor, is the dislike of using webcams. However, using webcams while coaching peers could be a useful tool for gauging the interest and or concerns of the colleague by using her non-verbal cues. In the future, setting aside personal issues and doing what would be better for colleagues in helping them during this coaching process is what would be done.
The work that went into creating this artifact impacted faculty development, school improvement and student learning. Many of the skills that my colleague learned during the coaching sessions were ones that she missed during professional development sessions, because she started working at our school after the school year had already begun. Many of the coaching sessions were one-on-one faculty development sessions where previously learned strategies and skills from professional development sessions were redelivered. Since the colleague was a math teacher some of the strategies that were coached were in fulfilment of the school improvement plan for benchmarking student learning. The coaching sessions not only helped her meet school improvement goals by assessing her student learning, but it also provided an opportunity for her to remediate identified weaknesses in student learning. The impact of faculty development could be assessed by the colleague’s adoption of best practice strategies with her students and implementing her learned skills as a virtual faculty member. The student learning could be assessed by the student results on GoFar benchmarks assigned and analyzed the colleague.
The Coaching Journal was an assignment for ITEC 7460 and is the primary artifact for Standard 1.4. The assignment included collaborating with a colleague and assisting them with technology coaching using a partnership approach. Most teachers who begin working at my school have experience in both teaching students and technology integration. However, using those skills in a one hundred percent online environment can be daunting. When a new teacher began working at our school, she was immediately approached and inquiry began on if she needed any pointers. She welcomed the assistance and this partnership became the basis of the Coaching Journal.
During ITEC 7460, various efficient and effective coaching strategies were researched and used during this experience. During one of the early coaching sessions, the teacher completed an adopter survey which helped to gauge her willingness to learn new skills and strategies. Her results indicated she was very willing to adopt well-researched best practices into her courses and add to her skillset. Even though the she taught a different content area, she was recommended various skills and techniques for enhancing student learning in the virtual environment. Strategies and learned skills were modeled for her and she was able to implement the recommended strategies and skills with her students and in during the completion of her work-related tasks.
An area of learning was coaching an adult. It is very different from teaching a middle school student. Ironically, the sensitivity to her to her verbal and nonverbal cues during our coaching sessions was increased, because she was a peer. To remember how difficult learning the specific skills required at GACA could be when arriving as a new teacher, was important during this process. Extra caution to stay positive and listen carefully to her responses was engaged as various skills and strategies were covered. Learning that buy-in for certain strategies and tasks was needed to be established first before she would positively approach learning them was new. This surprised me because she self-identified as an early adopter of new technologies. One of the personal weaknesses of the coach as a technology instructor, is the dislike of using webcams. However, using webcams while coaching peers could be a useful tool for gauging the interest and or concerns of the colleague by using her non-verbal cues. In the future, setting aside personal issues and doing what would be better for colleagues in helping them during this coaching process is what would be done.
The work that went into creating this artifact impacted faculty development, school improvement and student learning. Many of the skills that my colleague learned during the coaching sessions were ones that she missed during professional development sessions, because she started working at our school after the school year had already begun. Many of the coaching sessions were one-on-one faculty development sessions where previously learned strategies and skills from professional development sessions were redelivered. Since the colleague was a math teacher some of the strategies that were coached were in fulfilment of the school improvement plan for benchmarking student learning. The coaching sessions not only helped her meet school improvement goals by assessing her student learning, but it also provided an opportunity for her to remediate identified weaknesses in student learning. The impact of faculty development could be assessed by the colleague’s adoption of best practice strategies with her students and implementing her learned skills as a virtual faculty member. The student learning could be assessed by the student results on GoFar benchmarks assigned and analyzed the colleague.