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: ITEC Coaching Journal
Reflection:
During the Ed.S program, I had the opportunity and pleasure of coaching a colleague on implementing effective online math tools and mapping out one of her math units to align it to the district one. I recommended and modeled strategies and skills that could change the way unit plans are created and utilized to teach students. My colleague also learned how to use online math tools to help her feel more comfortable with technology in her math classes. A reflective journal was organized while completing the sessions.
The coaching journal serves as an artifact that demonstrates my ability to research and
recommend strategies for initiating and sustaining technology innovations and managing the
change process. While completing this artifact, much of my time was spent researching different strategies and online tools that would benefit her students in math. During the sessions, I recommended these to the teacher and worked alongside her to ensure that the strategies and online tools were being implemented correctly. The strategies used were new to me since I only taught science and language so it was important that we worked together to maintain true open-mindedness, so that the skill and/or affective changes could be evaluated. We also worked together when it came time to implement the online tools. The co-teaching method was used a lot in order to gain a better understanding on how the strategies and online tools were going to look in her class.
Technology innovation is another way to prove that the coaching journal artifact meets the requirements for standard 1.4. The colleague I worked with did not felt comfortable with technology, however she understood the importance of it. In the beginning of the coaching sessions, my colleague was very nervous, but throughout the completion of the artifact, she began to feel more comfortable with the technology tools I introduced to her and those that she already had in her classroom. Towards the end of the coaching sessions, she began to step outside the box and started to implement more technology in her lessons. She also gained knowledge on the importance technology has and the benefits when implemented in math.
The work and coaching done while completing the artifact was one of the most memorable and enjoyable instrumental parts of the program. I can recall feeling very uncomfortable and nervous with coaching, but I later gained confidence on myself. After I completed the coaching journal, I realized how the job of an instructional coach is not an easy task to take over. Instead of coaching, I felt I was learning alongside the teacher. If I were to do this artifact again, I would implement the strategies in my own classroom or at least see if I could implement the strategies and online tools with another teacher. I believed this would have given me more experience in instructional coaching and time to implement various strategies and online tools.
Creating this artifact impacted the professional development of the teacher that attended the coaching sessions. I believe the sessions improved the teacher’s knowledge of the different strategies to use when teaching new math content. The strategies were found to be helpful in order to improve student learning. The strategies used along with the online tools can be assessed by the summative assessments give by the teacher. The artifact also impacted my own professional development as well. I learned a great deal when it comes on coaching another teacher. It was very important for me to take time to research the right online tools and teaching strategies that my colleague could use with her students. Lastly, I took away the importance of taking time to reflect after each coaching session and really understanding the needs each teacher has and wants out of an instructional coach.
Reflection:
During the Ed.S program, I had the opportunity and pleasure of coaching a colleague on implementing effective online math tools and mapping out one of her math units to align it to the district one. I recommended and modeled strategies and skills that could change the way unit plans are created and utilized to teach students. My colleague also learned how to use online math tools to help her feel more comfortable with technology in her math classes. A reflective journal was organized while completing the sessions.
The coaching journal serves as an artifact that demonstrates my ability to research and
recommend strategies for initiating and sustaining technology innovations and managing the
change process. While completing this artifact, much of my time was spent researching different strategies and online tools that would benefit her students in math. During the sessions, I recommended these to the teacher and worked alongside her to ensure that the strategies and online tools were being implemented correctly. The strategies used were new to me since I only taught science and language so it was important that we worked together to maintain true open-mindedness, so that the skill and/or affective changes could be evaluated. We also worked together when it came time to implement the online tools. The co-teaching method was used a lot in order to gain a better understanding on how the strategies and online tools were going to look in her class.
Technology innovation is another way to prove that the coaching journal artifact meets the requirements for standard 1.4. The colleague I worked with did not felt comfortable with technology, however she understood the importance of it. In the beginning of the coaching sessions, my colleague was very nervous, but throughout the completion of the artifact, she began to feel more comfortable with the technology tools I introduced to her and those that she already had in her classroom. Towards the end of the coaching sessions, she began to step outside the box and started to implement more technology in her lessons. She also gained knowledge on the importance technology has and the benefits when implemented in math.
The work and coaching done while completing the artifact was one of the most memorable and enjoyable instrumental parts of the program. I can recall feeling very uncomfortable and nervous with coaching, but I later gained confidence on myself. After I completed the coaching journal, I realized how the job of an instructional coach is not an easy task to take over. Instead of coaching, I felt I was learning alongside the teacher. If I were to do this artifact again, I would implement the strategies in my own classroom or at least see if I could implement the strategies and online tools with another teacher. I believed this would have given me more experience in instructional coaching and time to implement various strategies and online tools.
Creating this artifact impacted the professional development of the teacher that attended the coaching sessions. I believe the sessions improved the teacher’s knowledge of the different strategies to use when teaching new math content. The strategies were found to be helpful in order to improve student learning. The strategies used along with the online tools can be assessed by the summative assessments give by the teacher. The artifact also impacted my own professional development as well. I learned a great deal when it comes on coaching another teacher. It was very important for me to take time to research the right online tools and teaching strategies that my colleague could use with her students. Lastly, I took away the importance of taking time to reflect after each coaching session and really understanding the needs each teacher has and wants out of an instructional coach.