For several years, K-12 education has been attempting to integrate technology into the classroom effectively. British Columbia’s education system has also been working hard at centering curriculum around Core Competencies and trialling new assessment measures, which focused on several aspects, including flexible communication with parents and increasing transparency (British Columbia Ministry of Education, n.d.-a) (British Columbia Ministry of Education, n.d.-b).
One recent project I was involved in was implementing e-portfolios that would allow parents to see what students were working on in classrooms and allow students to choose, reflect, and share what they deemed their best or most significant work. Not only did this address the transparency concern, but it also allowed students to practice identifying and reflecting on Core Competencies.
As far as communication goes, the objectives were clear and well articulated. As Watt (2014) states in his book regarding project management, it is critical to have the project manager (in this case, our administration team) lay out clear goals. Watt (2014) also states that project managers should choose people with expertise as part of their plan. Although this was more informal, my administration team had two or three people on staff as contacts for support if teachers had any questions.
As a teacher, I was not privy to any project plan, but I knew there were clear objectives and a timeline to follow. There were several training sessions in the form of staff meetings and professional development days to allow teachers to practice using the tool and ask questions.
One of the main barriers to change was organizational readiness. Rafferty et al. (2003, as cited in Al-Haddad & Kotnour, 2015) suggest that an optimistic attitude and commitment to change can enable effective and successful change plans. Some staff members were hesitant to use e-portfolios or were lacking or unsure of their skills regarding the technology. Furthermore, staff illustrated some confusion around the purpose of e-portfolios, mainly in their use of them as assessment tools.
To address these barriers, the use of data could be helpful. Issuing surveys for staff regarding abilities and comfort level could help provide targeted interventions and extra support; data could be used to make decisions based on tangible evidence rather than assumptions or anecdotes (KelloggInsight, 2015). To further support organizational readiness, Weiner (2009) states that cultivating and supporting confidence among staff leads to higher change efficacy. To help boost confidence, the administration could provide additional training sessions through video tutorials, lunchtime, or after-school sessions for those that need them.
As for the challenges around the usage of e-portfolios, increased clarity and communication would have been beneficial. Watt (2014) comments on the importance of continual communication. I found communication was strong to start but soon dwindled once the tool was implemented. Regular meetings or check-ins regarding the tool throughout the year could have identified and addressed concerns such as the questions surrounding assessment.
Being a part of this change has allowed me to reflect on what aspects of change and project management I value most. If I were to implement change in my school, I would first examine if a change was needed (using data to substantiate this) and assess and promote organizational readiness. As for project management, I would create clear objectives, communicate them continuously with my team, and focus on time and resources (Watt, 2014).
References
Al-Haddad, S., & Kotnour, T. (2015). Integrating the organizational change literature: a model for successful change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(2), 234-262. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-11-2013-0215
British Columbia Ministry of Education, (n.d.-a). Core competencies. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies.
British Columbia Ministry of Education, (n.d.-b). Student reporting policy pilot. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/classroom-assessment/student-reporting-policy-pilot
KelloggInsight. (2015, May 1). A Leader’s Guide to Data Analysis: A working knowledge of data science can help you lead with confidence. KelloggInsight. https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/a-leaders-guide-to-data-analytics/
Watt, A. (2014). Project Management (2nd ed.). BCcampus. https://opentextbc.ca/projectmanagement/
Weiner, B. J. (2009). A theory of organizational readiness for change. Implementation Science, 4(67), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-4-67