During this module we will prepare you for taking on the joint responsibility of being change leaders in your school during a period of time in which you may be experiencing challenges with the change that technology brings to the school environment. During the workshops we will be covering 3 aspects:
Content – acquiring new skills and understanding;
Learning method – experiencing an approach to learning that you and your teachers can use with students and technology in the classroom;
Badges – challenging you to provide evidence of your skills and understanding and earn a badge if you are successful.
Course Content
Module 1: Why are we doing this?
- List a number of challenges that you and your staff face with regard to technology in your school;
- State the moral purpose for change in your school;
- Describe, with visual images, a typical change story which you would expect your school to experience;
- Describe the vision that you would like to communicate and share with your school’s stakeholders.
The Vision Badge
Topic Progress:
This is a compulsory badge that must be complete to graduate as a Change Leader.
Instructions:
Return to your school and start a vision-building process with stakeholders, taking care to emphasise that a vision is something you would like them to develop collectively. Place the first version of the vision on a large poster and take a photo of it. Send the photo to your facilitator and indicate who attended the meeting in which you discussed the vision, and state where the poster is displayed now.
Assessment criteria
The vision statement
- Speaks about the future of the school
- Is memorable
- Uses simple language
- Will help my school have a better purpose
- Has been announced to the staff
- Has been displayed at the school
Module 2: Understanding the change process
By the end of this session you will be able to:
- Distinguish between managing and leading in a change scenario.
- Understand how to develop commitment and ownership.
- Describe the traits of successful teachers and principals.
- Develop a set of basic principles for leading change.
Module 3: Capacity Building
By the end of this session you will be able to:
- Understand that capacity building is as much an individual as a collective process;
- Identify the new skills and understandings required to support change;
- Identify the competencies required by both teachers and the SMT in order to teach and manage in new ways;
- Identify the new roles and responsibilities that emerge as the school and its teaching and learning environment changes with new resources;
- Strategize to manage capacity building with new resources;
- Recognise the need for a shared effort in working in a changing learning environment.
The Capacity Building Badge
Topic Progress:
This is a compulsory badge that must be completed in order to graduate as a Change Leader.
Instructions:
Submit a Capacity Building strategy document (or portfolio of documents) that includes
A table summary of the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders on your staff (refer to Activity 2). Completed delegation meeting template for 2 staff members. Assessment criteria
The capacity building document(s)
- Identify the stakeholders responsible for the key roles in the school technology plan.
- The supporting stakeholders have been identified.
- Actual names of staff members and other stakeholders are included if possible.
- The 2 delegation meeting templates outline clear responsibilities with minimum measurable requirements.
- The 2 delegation meeting templates outline concrete next steps.
- The 2 delegation meeting templates indicate a schedule of follow-up meetings.
Module 4: Facing Challenges
By the end of this session you will be able to:
- Recognise when you can solve problems with your current capacity;
- Recognise when you need to engage others and adapt your strategy in order to overcome a challenge;
- Engage in an adaptive challenge process that concludes in an action plan;
- Embrace resistance and reach a plan of action.
The Adaptive Challenge Badge
Topic Progress:
This is a compulsory badge that must be complete to graduate as a Change Leader.
Instructions:
You must address one adaptive challenge in your school, work through the process from identifying the challenge until the point where you have tried a plan of action and have given feedback to your colleagues. Note that the challenge does not need to have been solved after one round. If it has not been solved, mention how the plan of action has been modified. Submit a detailed description of how you worked through the adaptive challenge, including the completed tables used in this module.
Assessment criteria
The Adaptive Challenge Badge assessment
- The challenge was not a technical problem
- The challenge was clearly defined in a table
- The critical elements were identified
- An action plan was developed and discussed with colleagues
- An action plan was implemented
- Feedback was given after the action plan was implemented for a given period of time
The Resistance Badge
Topic Progress:
This is a compulsory badge that must be complete to graduate as a Change Leader.
Instructions:
Deal with one case of resistance in your school. Work through the process as you did in your role play in Activity 3. Submit a detailed description of how you worked through the resistance meeting including:
- what the person’s reason for resistance was;
- how you displayed empathy;
- what common elements you found;
- how you concluded your “what’s in it for us?” discussion;
- what plan of action you agreed on.
- Assessment criteria
The Resistance Badge assessment
- You were able to show respect to each other.
- You were able to establish the reason for resistance.
- You showed empathy.
- The discussion about “what is in it for us?” reached a satisfactory conclusion.
- You agreed to a plan of action which was acceptable to both of you.
Module 5: Let’s Communicate for a Change
By the end of this session you will be able to:
- List the key elements of an effective change communication strategy;
- Identify the best methods of communication for your stakeholders;
- Identify the best message content;
- Develop a change communications strategy;
- Implement effective two-way communication about change in your school;
- Evaluate Learning Stations as a teaching strategy.
The Communication Badge
Topic Progress:
This is a compulsory badge that must be completed in order to graduate as a Change Leader.
Instructions:
Develop and submit a complete communication strategy for your school using the following 5 headings:
- Communicators and audience;
- Message content;
- Effective communications methods;
- Feedback and dialogue;
- Evaluating the outcome.
- Mention specific stakeholders that you will use to implement the communication strategy.
Assessment criteria
You communication strategy
- Identifies specific communicators and the various audiences for each kind of communication.
- Has a clear indication of the purpose and detail of the proposed message content.
- Names specific communication methods that would be effective for your stakeholders.
- Makes provision for stakeholders to respond and interact about the message content.
- Names specific criteria and evidence that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of messages.
- Names specific criteria and evidence that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of communication strategy.
Module 6: A Culture of Learning in the Workplace
By the end of this session you will be able to:
- Describe how a culture of learning in the workplace can support your change leadership;
- Propose a strategy for developing a culture of learning in the workplace;
- Identify opportunities for collaboration with other schools;
- Conduct a brainstorm session.
The Collaboration Badge
This is a compulsory badge.
Instructions:
You must provide evidence of a culture of learning in the workplace by providing the following:
- Show how your school’s vision and/or objectives and IT strategy make reference the culture of learning in the workplace.
- Provide testimonies from 5 staff members describing how a peer had supported them in solving a technical problem.
- Provide one page lesson descriptions for more than 50% of your staff, describing technology integrated lessons that they planned in collaboration with others. The names of the collaborating teachers must be on each document.
Assessment criteria
Collaboration
- Your IT strategy makes reference to how a culture of learning is encouraged at the school.
- You have provided the testimonies of 5 teachers supported in collaboration by peers.
- You have provided one page lesson descriptions for 50% of your staff
- Lesson descriptions describe how technology was integrated.
- Names of the collaborating teachers appear on each document
Module 7: A Culture of Evaluation
By the end of this session you will be able to:
- Describe the cycle of assessment and planning;
- Evaluate the transformative value of lessons with technology;
- Develop a school-based self-evaluation plan;
- Write performance indicators.
The Evaluation Badge
This is a compulsory badge
Instructions:
You must provide an evaluation strategy for your school that includes the following:
- Indication of how all stakeholders are involved in upholding a culture of evaluation
- Targets for learning with ICT that have been negotiated with all stakeholders
- A plan for your own self-evaluation as a change leader
- A plan for teachers’ self-evaluation as curriculum integrators of technology
- A list of performance indicators that you will use in both these self-evaluations and for the technology in the school generally.
Assessment criteria
Evaluation strategy
- Your evaluation strategy makes reference to how a culture of evaluation is encouraged at the school.
- You have clear targets for learning with technology.
- You have a personal self-evaluation plan.
- Teachers have negotiated a general self-evaluation plan applying to teaching with technology.
- You have a list of at least 5 but no more than 10 well-written performance indicators.