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Diffusion of Innovations and Change- research, recommend, and implement
strategies for initiating and sustaining technology innovations and for managing the
change process in schools.
Reflection
The coaching journal was created for ITEC 7460 Professional Learning and Technology
Innovation. The goal of this assignment was to work collaboratively with a colleague to
develop a technology integration plan that met his needs. The journal contains what
each session entailed, as well as changes in skill and knowledge of my colleague, and
my reflections and challenges on each session.
The coaching journal includes many references to the research I conducted to coach
my colleague. My colleague was a teacher who was new to teaching Health. In order
to make him feel comfortable, I conducted research about the partnership approach to
coaching. Knight (2007) references the thoughts of Devonna Dunekack where she
states that when she met with teachers one-on-one, the teachers were very willing to
talk with her, and she was determined to listen to them because they had a lot to tell her
(Knight, 2007, p. 21). This formed the basis for a great working relationship. After
meeting with my colleague, he admitted that he heard his students talking about things
that were being done in my class involving the use of technology. He confirmed that
these were things he wanted to try in his classroom, so I recommended I teach a model
lesson where he could observe me implementing some of these technologies. My
research also revealed steps to take prior to teaching a model lesson. Knight (2007)
states that before conducting a model lesson, an instructional coach must ensure that
the collaborating teachers are prepared to get the most out of the model lesson and
they know what to watch for and are actually watching the model lesson (p. 111). I gave
him an observation form to fill out during the model lesson and we then met to discuss
the lesson. We then met to discuss the things he observed in the model lesson. After
our meeting, I suggested he begin to implement some of the technologies we have
been talking about in his class and I would observe him. Knight (2007) recommends
that after the collaborating teacher has watched the coach provide a model lesson and
then discussed his thoughts and questions about it with the instructional coach, it is time
for the instructional coach to observe the teacher (Knight, 2007, p. 120). My colleague
then taught a lesson where students were to use MovieMaker to create a instructional
video. There were some issues that arose during the lesson, but overall, it went very
well. During our last session, I gave my colleague a reflection to complete which shows
his newfound confidence and desire to implement new technologies in the classroom.
While this experience was a tremendous one, the change in practice of my colleague is
something that must be sustained. I will continue to work alongside him next school
year to collaboratively identify ways to incorporate technology into our lessons. Further
than that, I will work with other members of my department to attempt to enact a positive
change in their integration of technology in the classroom. This reflection can be found
on page fourteen of the coaching journal.
I learned a lot about myself as a teacher and as a technology facilitator from completing
this assignment. The main thing I learned from this experience is that I have the ability
to enact positive changes in my colleagues by taking the time to invest in their lives.
Prior to this experience, I did not possess the confidence to help out my colleagues.
This was not because I did not want to help them, but because I was afraid I would not
know how to help them. This experience showed me that I may not always have all of
the answers, but there are people who do have the answers and it is alright if I do not
always know. In all honesty, the only thing I would change about this experience is that
I wish I would have been able to spend more time coaching him and others in my
department. It was one of the most meaningful experiences I had through the entire
Educational Specialist program.
This artifact is just a journal of the experience, but the actual coaching of a colleague
had a tremendous impact on his confidence as an educator and on the learning of the
students in his classroom. I saw him transition from a quiet teacher who was
comfortable showing a PowerPoint daily to a teacher who challenged me to keep trying
new things. We saw our students think critically, solve problems, and create projects
using technology. As far as assessing the impact of the experience, it is one that is hard
to put on paper. Each student who comes through the doors of my colleagues class
moving forward will come through those doors with the expectation of thinking critically
and knowing they will be challenged daily. The impact of the building of those
relationships will be seen for years to come.
References
Knight, J. (2007). Instructional coaching: A partnership approach to improving
instruction. Corwin Press: Thousand Oaks.

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