"they" is the operative word

Jeff Utecht echoes the frustrations of many technology coordinators in a recent Thinking Stick blog post:

We go on teaching the same way we know how to teach....because we know how it goes, we know it works, we bury our fears and we march on doing the same things we've always done, teaching in the same way we've always taught and hope that nobody really forces us to take a deep look at our own practice.

...

But very few schools push teachers to look deeper at their own practice. Why? Because we don't want to upset them, we want the 1:1 program to work and because we don't give teachers the time make it a priority to have them go deep in their own understanding of the changed leanring landscape. 

One of my favorite definitions of leadership comes from the former Dallas Cowboy coach Tom Landry - "Leadership is getting someone to do what they don't want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve." Tech directors, including Jeff and me, certainly can relate to the first half of Landry's observation - the "getting someone to do what they don't want to do" bit.

But I often have to remind myself of the second half of the quote: "to achieve what they want to achieve" - with they being the operative word.

My question for those who want to create fundamental changes in education with technology is "Have we asked teachers what they want to achieve?" If we did, I doubt many would say that "I want to create a fundamental change in my teaching practices."

But, depending on the teacher, they might say:

• I want to reach the students who seem tuned out.
• I want students to feel more excited about their learning, to find what I am teaching more relevant.
• I want my students to be better problem-solvers, better communicators, better collaborators.
• I want a better organized, more productive classroom.
• I want to be better able to determine how my students are mastering material and skills.
• I want my kids to perform better on standardized tests.
• I want to teach in ways that I enjoy more, that cut down on non-productive work, that make me feel more effective.

I seriously doubt any teacher says, "I want to continue to teach the same way I've always taught because it's comfortable." Every teacher I know really is looking for ways to be a better teacher. 

Changing how teachers teach is the means, not the end. Are starting with "what they want to achieve" or are we just trying to force the use of a set of teaching practices for which we proselytize? in our one-to-one projects and other tech initiatives are we starting with methodologies when we should be starting with larger goals?

The risk here, of course, is that the goal of the teacher (or curriculum department or district leadership team) may not align with the goal of the technology director. Hmmmm. Then what does the ethical tech director do?

____________________________________

 "Back to school week" for teachers is done. Classes taught, meetings held, opening day celebrated, and lots and lots of little problems solved. 

I am feeling really good about the coming year...

• No gigantic tech implementations like new telephone systems, smartboard installations, or new student information systems. This will be a year to practice, to hone, to implement, to get good at stuff for a lot of teachers. This is the year GoogleDocs use will become standard practice for the majority of our staff.
• I have the best technology and library media staff I've ever worked with in my 20 years here. These are competent, diversely talented, pleasant, hard-working people who CAN move mountains.
• Excitement is building for things like BYOD, hybrid classes (Moodle use), and problem-based learning. And the excitement is coming from our departments and classrooms, not the tech department. Yeah!
• Our district leadership is stable, but progressive, open to new ideas and increasingly transparent. Our teaching staff is great and respected by the community - less subject to the rock-throwing by politicians and the national media.
• There is movement afoot to re-think the most moronic pieces of NCLB and voices are being raised (finally) in protest to its most harmful aspects. (Thanks to the Unquiet Librarian for the link.) 

So maybe I am just feeling a little Pollyanna-ish this morning with a 3-day weekend ahead of me, but I'll take the mood, even if it doesn't last past Tuesday.

Image from despair.com