Change Agent

The biggest challenge the Instructional Technology Coaches will face in the 2021-22 school year will be fighting the backslide of educators who are looking forward to “getting back to normal”. It is important that we not lose the momentum this year has provided, and that we continue to incorporate meaningful lessons that utilize technology, particularly with a focus on equipping educators to increase independence and student agency. Educators will need to scale to the next level of educational technology outlined in Learning Models like SAMR. It will be a critical time to model how educators can modify and redesign their existing content rather than resorting back to their comfort zone.

I am passionate about coaching educators on how to increase the rigor of their lessons by striving for the Modification and Redefinition levels of the SAMR model in their assignments. In a keynote address in 2014, Alan November said we need to “redesign the work to match the power of the internet”. In the same way that educators have been incorporating the cognitive processes and action words of Blooms Taxonomy for decades, we must aim for the Transitional levels of SAMR to make a deeper impact on student learning. In order to compete on a global scale, students need more opportunities to use technology daily and across content areas, in order to elevate the technological skillset of both the student and the teacher. As a SAMR proponent, I can effectively guide general education teachers in designing their content to reflect the modification of technology in their weekly lessons. For Special Education Teachers, this same goal can be differentiated to meet the needs of their student population.

The ISTE Standard for Coaches that most resonates with me is 5b: Build the capacity of educators […] by facilitating active learning. Educators want to provide meaningful opportunities for their scholars. But as a classroom teacher for 13 years, I know the struggle educators encounter when it comes to planning invigorating lessons that encourage out-of-the-box thinking. So often we’re just making it through the week instead of allowing class time for rigorous learning opportunities. I love the idea of implementing a Makerspace so students can be innovative and explore their passions through self-directed learning, especially since many STEM labs have been dismantled. The Makerspace supports much of ISTE Standard 6 for Educators, particularly 6c and 6d: challenging students to use a design process and computational thinking, and nurturing creative expression. As a coach, I will be able to support and encourage educators to inspire innovation in their scholars while accommodating their individual differences and needs by collaborating with the teachers, other coaches, and counselors.

The consistent use of age-appropriate platforms that provide everything from adaptive technologies to collaborative sharing will allow for more natural, ongoing conversations regarding digital citizenship within lessons, between colleagues, and amongst students. Establishing a culture where scholars and educators can all work online safely, respectfully, and intelligently will be a constant expectation that can be modeled and promoted by all stakeholders. These platforms also encourage a partnership with families to be able to collaborate and monitor the student’s learning.