The Teacher in Oz Defining the Reluctant Teacher Within the School Culture July, 2004 Elizabeth Sky-McIlvain Click to advance slides.

The Teacher in Oz

Defining the Reluctant TeacherWithin the School Culture

July, 2004

Elizabeth Sky-McIlvainClick to advance slides.

The Reluctant Teacher is Not

• Overwhelmed by Techno-Negatives• Frozen by Anxiety• Afraid of Change• On a Classroom Power Trip• Victimized and Helpless• Technologically Inept

So what Is the Reluctant Teacher?

One answer lies in Oz.

Why Oz

• The Tornado and the Chasm - 2 books by Geoffrey A. Moore

• Jamie McKenzie - The Reluctant Teacher and Wonder

ReluctantsEnthusiasts

Oz is

• Magical

• Varied

• Multi-generational

• Full of reversals and surprises

• Challenging

• Frightening

It is the opposite of Kansas.

It is the world of Technology.

Looking for Dorothy

The Reluctant Teacher generally

• has a good affinity for her students

• is organized - writes thorough reports and comments

• supports and encourages creativity & creative thinking

• needs little or no guidance to teach: a confident model for other teachers, often a leader

• varies curriculum little from year to year

• uses only "proven" materials in class

• has a proven track record in the classroom

• comes "alive" in classrooms & extra-curriculars

However, she also

• does not self-promote

• will not identify herself as a FITness leader

• is not self-critical

• does not display most of her strengths when in Oz

[What is FITness?]

Traditional development

Transports the Reluctant Teacher to Oz via cyclone• Without pre-planning• Without anticipated follow-through• With minimal or no reward of importance to

the teacher• With no tangible "support tie" to Home

It is

• Individual• Self-contained• Outside of "Teaching Life Cycle Time"• In "Tornado Time"• Supported only for the duration of the journey

itself• Lacking in accountability and assessment

When in Oz

The Reluctant Teacher• relies upon interpersonal strengths• relies upon Enthusiasts• is concerned with pragmatic issues• adapts but does not change• succeeds at short term projects

Traditional professional development journeys will not work for these teachers.

Redefining the Journey

• The professional development experience

• The professional development team

• The Home front (Kansas - School Culture)

The New Journey

• The situation is assessed: What do I know? What do I need to know?

• Goals & objectives are set - a path is located - a team is gathered - new objectives are defined

• Challenges are tackled by observing, questioning, gathering responses, acting, redirecting

• Information is used• Outcomes are presented• Reflections and Evaluations are shared

The New Journey

1. Task Definition

2. Information Seeking Strategies

3. Location and Access

4. Use of Information

5. Synthesis

6. Evaluation

There is no guarantee of success.It takes TIME.

A successful journey requires…

• Focus upon goals• Persistence• Teamwork• Adaptation• Help• Courage • Negotiation• Problem-Solving • Use of magical objects

The New Team

They areEnthusiasts• Native• Awed by magic• Imaginative• Optimistic• Attentive to situational

needs• Cooperative• Risk-takers• Eager for self-improvement

Reluctant Teacher• From Away• Nonplussed by magic• Pragmatic• Pessimistic• Attentive to personal

needs• Supportive• Cautious until aroused• Content with self

School Leadership• Telescopic eye• Magic-maker• Visionary• Optimistic• Attentive to school

needs• Expectant• A Decision-maker• Eager for school growth

Enthusiasts

• Are confident

• Use logic

• Lead by solving new problems

• Accept responsibility

• "If only "

• Find a new niche

• Value Oz

Reluctant Teacher

• Is anxious about outcomes

• Feels strongly

• Leads by empowering others

• Rationalizes

• "I want to go home "

• Leaves

• Values HOME

How they respond

School Leadership

• Expects success

• Organizes & directs

• Leads by directing & enabling others

• Provides assessment

• "I want to change home "

• Remains in both cultures

• Values both cultures

What about the Wizard?

"I am Oz the Great and Terrible"

The Wizard creates the illusion that he is…• All-Powerful• Mysterious• All-Knowing• A Leader

He is the Technology Guruand Technology itself.He creates confusion and promises reward.

Humbug

He really is• a talented manipulator of technology and citizens • good at bells & whistles• fearful of "real magic"• effective only when he is believed in• not a team player• guilty of underestimating Dorothy

He can not help Dorothy.She sees through the ruse.

She needs a Witch

Witches provide• Protection• Direction• Oversight• Means• New strategies• "Magic"

Leadership must becomethe Witch.

Leadership must do what a Wizard can not

• Command time• Command money• Command schedules• Battle• Assess• Provide & communicate a vision for the future• Be powerful in Oz and in Kansas

These require that Leadership…

Maintain the Yellow Brick Road

• Complex construction project

• Road signs

• Twists and turns

• Rest stops

• Maintenance crews

• Highway Patrol

Get FIT

• Seek professional development

• Model use of new & old technologies

• Support and encourage techno-risks

• Ride out a Cyclone

• Secure ownership of the tools of magic

and Change Home

The Power of Home

• Predictable

• Personally rewarding

• Safe

• Memory-rich : "business as usual"

• Satisfying

• Easy to understand

It is the role of Leadership to change this.

A new Home has

• Unexpected communications

• New collaborations

• Improved concretes

• More Enthusiasts

• Golden Caps in the cupboards

• A lessening of chores

• A change in responsibility

Making it Happen(ongoing Development)

• Peer-group participation in guided curriculum development.

• Support for interdisciplinary courses, alternative schedules and other changes to "business as usual."

• Decision-making roles for Reluctant Teachers.

• A Leadership that actively models technology use.

• On-going discussion of and reviews of goals & progress.

The goal of professional development must be for the Reluctant Teacher to embrace a

change in HOME

and

for Leadership to make it happen.

The Oz Planfor Professional Development

• Must be process and concept-oriented, not skills-oriented

• Must include Enthusiasts • Must challenge• Must have a clearly defined path• Must include "rest time"• Must have a magical use of TIME• Must be rewarded • Is a long-term plan

Resources

• Four Models/Planners - linking to four professional development planning models, 2 traditional and 2 team-based

• FITness

• The Total Cost of Change Calculator - use this tool to budget for professional development

• Dis-Comfort Zone Detector - an interactive self-survey tool for identifying the elements of Fluency with Information Technology with which members of a professional development team are comfortable.

In Sum

• The most important change is NOT in the Reluctant Teacher.

• It is in the nature, planning and implementation of Professional Developmentand

• in the School Culture.• Change requires forming a New Team.

Further Reading

Those interested in further reading should consider:– David Warlick - My 2 Cents Worth:

http://landmark-project.com/e2cw/index.php?itemid=18– Jamie McKenzie - Reaching the Reluctant Teacher:

http://www.fno.org/sum99/reluctant.html and Wonder Boxes,Window Boxes and Window Shades: http://questioning.org/may04/wonderboxes.html

– Geoffrey A. Moore's Crossing the Chasm and Inside the Tornado are accessible when you read Paul Wiefels' The Chasm Companion, which puts Moore's concepts into plain language and further interprets them.

– Steve Hodas - Technology Refusal and the Organizational Culture of Schools: http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v1n10.html .

– Roy M. Bohlin - Avoiding Computer Avoidance: http://itech1.coe.uga.edu/itforum/paper35/paper35.html

– Wesley Fryer - Working with Reluctant Teachers. TechLearning, April 2004: http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=18401198 - this article applies more to Enthusiasts than to the Reluctant Teacher.

– National Academy of Sciences. Being Fluent With Technology: Chapter 2: The Intellectual Framework of Fluency with Technology: http://books.nap.edu/html/beingfluent/ch2.html

Find more resources on our companion website: The Teacher in Oz. This topic is further expanded in But not Least…The Teacher in Oz.

CreditsThe text for all quotations contained in this presentation and its notes comes from the Project Gutenberg e-text of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L.Frank Baum.

Illustrations are from the original 1900 edition and are by W.W. Denslow. They are available online at: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/BauWiza.html

The Big6 Skills are from http://www.big6.com/showarticle.php?id=16.

This presentation was prepared for Internet delivery on a Macintosh using the demo version of Impatica for OS X applications: http://www.impatica.com/imp4ppt/ - the purchased version would not have the black bar.

This presentation may contain copyrighted material that is used under the doctrine of Fair Use.

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FITness

• a scheme for identifying the elements of 21st Century Technology Fluency

• National Academy of Sciences Committee on Technology Literacy

• http://www.leasttern.com/workshops/Oz/fitness.html

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