Paradigm Shift

Disruptive technologies are not tidy.  Teachers do not readily restructure lessons, classroom processes, and their roles as professionals in a seamless, painless transition.  In coaching teachers through profound shifts in thinking about technology’s role in their students’ learning and how this impacts their role as educators,  what I seek and strive for is that aha moment that signals a teacher’s empowerment and ownership in transformative learning with technology.

So how do we create the right environment, the so-called “fertile ground”,  for teachers to have this experience?

Empowerment not Entitlement

A reliable path to success is to encourage a culture of innovation and sharing in your school.  When a teacher innovates – independently or with a team – and completes an activity, assessment, or project with a unique and inspiring product to share with others,  the result is empowerment.  Even if the idea was borrowed,  the success was their own to share. This in turn builds greater incentive to reflect, refine, and repeat.

This is the type of behavior we want to see.  This is the type of behavior that will lead to real change in schools.  Teachers who innovate lead for change themselves.  They help motivate and empower other teachers as well.

One thing I’ve observed in my work is that teachers are more likely to overlook, downplay, or accept frustrating in situ technical problems when they own the change. Also,  the frustration is tempered by the teachers’ own desire to see their ideas bear fruit.

Conversely,   when teachers have little to no ownership of an activity,  the opposite reaction often occurs.  If teachers don’t own the change, they don’t own the success and have little motivation to ensure it.  Failure may breed resentment.  In order to keep the wheels of integration turning, the squeaky ones get greased.  What this breeds in the end user is a sense of entitlement (in the pejorative sense), or a feeling that one is owed more support, more time, or more software in order to remain an ally of the program. This is never a winning strategy long-term.

Reversing the Effect

It is not an overnight process. But if you find yourself in a situation where entitlement or apathy, rather than empowerment, is the rule, there a few simple things you can do to get moving in the right direction.

• Encourage Innovation

Are teachers encouraged to think outside the box at your school?  Are they, within reason,  provided with tools and resources that they need to experiment ?  If so,  does this innovation have a public forum to spread these ideas?    School leaders must set the expectation and then set the stage for innovation to flourish.

• Provide the right support

There is a direct relationship between empowerment and the need for educational tech support.  A good integration specialist will promote consistency across grade levels and subject areas, ensure that best practices are followed,  and strengthen ideas that empowered teachers generate.   An innovative school needs top notch support.

• Build collaborative teams

There are good and bad ways to collaborate, but either is clearly better than nothing.  Develop teams of empowered teachers that help shape the school technology and education vision.  Set an expectation for dedicated collaborative planning time with technology integrators.   This is an opportunity for teachers to bounce tech ideas off of each other and receive just-in-time PD from the integrator.  This can be done at all divisions.

Empowered teachers become allies that help promote innovation and positive change in schools.  Entitled teachers drain the energy of a system.  Which type of teacher do you want on your team?