--- TIC-TECH message:
Mark--Please forward. The _Pacing Change_ piece is germane to the
issue of wired vs. wireless networks. Also note, Jamie's number one
priority is professional development. Without it, as Jamie observes,
". . . there is only the mere appearance of movement." --KS
Kurt Sahl
sahlk@u.washington.edu
Doctoral candidate
College of Education
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 22:48:33 -0500
From: Jamie McKenzie <fromnowon@earthlink.net>
To: Jamie McKenzie <fromnowon@earthlink.net>
Subject: FNO - Pacing Change
From Now On
The Educational Technology Journal
Vol 10|No 3|November/December|2000
The full version is available for free at
http://fno.org
Two articles this month:
1) First Things First: Networking for Student Learning
by Jamie McKenzie
2) Pacing Change (below)
by Jamie McKenzie
This article originally appeared in the
September, 2000 issue of Classroom
Connect. It will be Chapter 17 in Jamie
McKenzie's newest book, Planning Good
Change with Technology and Literacy, due
out in January of 2000.
----------------------------------------------------
Order Planning Good Change prior to January and
save 20%. http://fnopress.com
----------------------------------------------------
Pacing Change
by Jamie McKenzie
Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Simon & Garfunkle
When it comes to networking schools and classrooms, leaders tend
to rush things.
Just as folk wisdom argues that "Haste makes waste," research on
change in schools warns against riding change mobiles through
avalanche territory (Fullan, 1991).
Even though the shortest distance is usually a straight line,
most road and railway builders know better than to head straight
up a mountain without providing plenty of curves. They rely on
switchbacks to keep the angle of ascent reasonable. They know
engines have their limits.
Schools should follow this example. They should make the
strategic pacing of change a priority if they hope to see a real
(and beneficial) shift in classroom practice
---------------- Switchbacks -----------------------
Schools should provide switchbacks, rest stops and plateaus as
they network. They should also allow for different starting
times.
unwired ----> wired ----> wireless
In the past few years we have asked teachers and students to
leave behind the security of unwired classrooms in order to enjoy
wired classrooms and global networks. And now we are asking them
to adjust once again - this time to wireless classrooms! All the
while, new state standards and tests provide a constant backdrop
of storm clouds and thunder that make it hard for teachers to
take risks or to embrace new strategies (Becker, 1999).
A frenzied pace of change can prove disheartening and disabling.
It may create the appearance of change without any value being
added. It might even stall growth as members of the community
cling to the familiar in the face of threats and chaos.
A single coyote kicks up a cloud of dust digging for a long lost
soup bone. From far away, the cloud creates the appearance of a
speeding roadrunner as the wind sweeps dust along the highway.
Sometimes schools create the mere appearance of movement. But
careful planning can provide the calm, the shelter, the resources
and the time so teachers will make substantial, lasting progress.
Virtual change is a publicity stunt. Real change is harder to
realize but infinitely more valuable.
--------------- Traits of Managed Change ---------------------
1. Professional development precedes or accompanies
installation
Sprinkling computers across classrooms is easy. Fostering
daily, routine and robust use tied to curriculum standards
is quite another matter. Districts should provide
standards-based professional development that showing
teachers how to change student performance (McKenzie, 1999).
2. Program development precedes or accompanies installation
Networked computers are great for exploration and
investigations, for problem-solving and engaged learning -
activities that could pay off handsomely on demanding state
tests and standards if the teachers are shown the connection
between research, inferential reasoning and the state
standards (McKenzie, 2000).
3. Resources are moved about strategically where they are most
welcome
Wireless computers allow rapid movement of computers where
they are most welcome and will do the most good. Teachers
require "critical mass" to make profitable, intense, daily
use of networked computers. In most cases, they are better
off with 15 computers for one week every two months than 2-3
computers all year.
4. No classroom or program before its time
Premature installation creates few converts and fails to
promote robust use. First we design learning experiences
worth doing. Then we provide the equipment. No carts before
the horses!
5. Different schedules and pathways for different folks
We make it clear that all will take the journey, but we
provide latitude and choice when it comes to the timing and
the nature of each professional journey of change. A sense
of choice is directly associated with buy in and full
participation. When teachers can match learning to their
individual styles and preferences, they are more apt to
travel from the tried and true.
6. Recruitment and courtship precede assignment
We will not see robust use unless we have taken the time to
demonstrate the worth of the new tools and have convinced
teachers that new technologies can make a real contribution.
Announcing change without courtship often results in
resistance rather than progress.
7. Escape is eliminated
We set a reasonable time limit, provide generous support to
learn new strategies, build clear expectations into
curriculum guides and hold all teachers accountable to offer
what the guides prescribe. We remove barriers, eliminate
excuses and make the new opportunities enticing.
8. Leaders question and listen
Those in charge of the implementation ask lots of questions
and take the time to listen to those who must make the
program work. "How is it going? How can I help? What needs
changing?"
9. Retreat, regrouping and rethinking are honored
Not everything will go as planned. Smart schools learn as
they go, adjusting the plan and modifying strategies to
optimize results.
References
Becker, Henry. 1999. "Internet Use by Teachers" Web site at
University of California Irvine
http://www.crito.uci.edu/TLC/FINDINGS/internet-use/startpage.htm)
Fullan, Michael. 1991. The New Meaning of Educational Change.
Teachers College Press.
McKenzie, Jamie. 1999. How Teachers Learn Technology Best. FNO
Press. http://fnopress.com/books.html
McKenzie, Jamie. 2000. Beyond Technology: Questioning, Research
and the Information Literate School. FNO Press.
http://fnopress.com/books.html
Copyright Policy: Materials published in From Now On may be
duplicated in hard copy format if unchanged in format and
content for educational, nonprofit school district and
university use only and may also be sent from person to
person by e-mail. This copyright statement must be included.
All other uses, transmissions and duplications are prohibited
unless permission is granted expressly. Showing these pages
remotely through frames is not permitted.
-- Jamie McKenzie Editor "From Now On - The Educational Technology Journal" mckenzie@fno.org http://fno.org 500 Fifteenth Street http://staffdevelop.org Bellingham, WA 98225 http://questioning.org Voice (360) 647-8759 http://newlibrary.org Fax (360) 738-9083 http://fnopress.com"The question is the answer."
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