Picking your battles
September 24th, 2005 | by Tim Wilson |Miguel Guhlin responds to Tami’s comment on my post about online testing in Minnesota and concludes that teachers must be the ones to transform teaching and learning. He says:
I’m tired of technology fads—and blogs, podcasts, wikis as tools to revolutionize teaching and learning are included in that—that claim they will change everything. In truth, I see that systematic change will be accomplished by sharing, not pushing, disruptive technology at the classroom level with one teacher and doing so over an extended period of time.
I’m starting my third year as a “technology integrator” and I, too, am more convinced than ever that I will be more effective as a one-on-one “coach” rather than a “trainer” who conducts large-group sessions. I’ve done too many training sessions and workshops with almost no discernible impact over the past two years. Casting a wide net just doesn’t work.
So I’m going to stop wondering how I can get every teacher in the district blogging. I’m not going to worry if everyone doesn’t understand the implications of the read/write Web for our students’ futures. I’m going to work one teacher at a time; one project, one classroom, one blog, one wiki, one disruptive technology at a time. Miguel’s right; it takes courage for a teacher to “swim against the stream.” I’m going to focus on the ones who are willing to jump in and fight the current.
Tags: wiki
4 Responses to “Picking your battles”
By Clarence Fisher on Sep 25, 2005 | Reply
I think this is exactly right. When I worked as a curriculum consultant, I spent a lot of time with people 1 on 1, in thier classrooms, teaching lessons, on their prep periods making plans and trying to help them see things a little differently in their classrooms. Now that I’m working in a junior high room, it takes a lot of courage and a lot of strength to face kids, administrators, and parents each day and convince them of the value of doing things in new ways.
By Aaron Nelson on Sep 27, 2005 | Reply
Wow. I really enjoyed reading this post. It really rings true for me, as I find myself in a very similar situation as you….seeing the futility of trying to convert the masses. I think you are absolutely right: It’s all about one-to-one. Relationship driven. Conversations. Getting close enough to your people to be in “influencing range.”
A different paradigm: It’s not how many you share your message with that counts, but how many actually adapt and live it. (Quality vs. Quantity.)
I like what you had to say here. I think you’ve just helped me realize something important on how I work with our school’s teachers…and students.
Thank you.
By Tom on Oct 8, 2005 | Reply
You see the exact same thing with students in classrooms. You can’t reach everyone. Imagine how much teaching and learning would improve with the ability to focus on much smaller groups or even one on one (even if for just a short time). It’d be nice if that were possible.
I’ve been doing technology integration in 4 different elementary schools and it is amazing how much the different school cultures affects the teachers and their acceptance/rejection of technology. I’m moving to one school which will allow me to focus better and maybe I can change some minds. I figure if you focus on the willing and build them up they can act as “evangelists” and go forth spreading the word. It seems like this would begin to impact the school culture and maybe draw more computer savvy teachers.