A Final Compilation
When I began the Applied Digital Learning program, I had to come up with an Innovation Plan. At the time, I was focusing on my big ideas and how I would actually implement them. After beginning this course for Creating Organizational Change, I realized that there were many details of implementing a new idea that I had not considered.
I began to think about “my why”. Connecting the Why is the first step in getting people to buy into what I am doing with my proposal. Simon Sinek says, “People don’t buy what you do, but why you do it” (Sinek, 2013).
Why—To give learners a lifelong desire for becoming independent learners who are well-equipped to embrace the digital age of information in the 21st century.
How —I will do this by giving learners the ability to learn through creating a blended learning environment that provides them with choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities.
What—To give learners the confidence to ask questions, find answers, and develop a lifelong love of learning in the digital world of their future.
Change is not easy. The truth is that most people do not like change. Influencing people to change requires sharing your “why” and changing their hearts before changing their minds (Sinek, 2018). To achieve this, I have created an Influencer Strategy using Vital Behaviors and the Six Sources of Influence.
The Vital Behaviors I will address are:
- Teachers will commit to professional development and helping each other learn how to use the Seesaw app.
- Teachers will commit to collaborating with their grade level team when creating choice boards and rubrics for a unit of study in social studies using the district’s pacing guide and curriculum.
- Teachers will meet weekly to discuss what is working with stations and what is not, as well a plan to improve.
Once the vital behaviors are found, the last thing is to help people adopt behaviors through mastering the six sources of influence.
Accepting change is hard. Being the person who is creating the change is like being thrown into a whirlwind (Huling, et. Al., 2012). People often get caught up in the day-to-day tasks, which is the whirlwind where they focus on a million things without getting any closer to the goal. The 4 Disciplines of Execution helps to focus on the WIG, or the wildly important goal. This is the first discipline. My WIG is that 90% of teachers will use blended learning with choice boards to teach social studies by the end of the 2023-2024 school year.
Discipline 2 is acting on the lead measures. My lead measures must be done to reach the goal. I have two for my WIG. Lead measure 1 is to use Google Drive to have a place where teachers can work collaboratively on grade level choice boards for each unit of study. Lead measure two is to invite the Technology Integration Specialists to help with technology integration within the social studies state standards. My Lag measure is that social studies common unit assessments, daily grades, and common formative assessments will determine if students are successful with their blended learning stations.
Discipline 3 is keeping a compelling scoreboard. Teachers will use Google to share files, and keep a spreadsheet to show growth with social studies assessments.
Discipline 4 is to create a cadence of accountability. This is where my execution will take place and where we have to hold each other accountable. We will do this with regular planning meetings once a week. I will also use the 5 stages of change to follow through with my execution.
Execution will rely on learning how to be a self-differentiated leader who knows how to have Crucial Conversations. This starts with the heart. Being a good leader and implementing change is not about the actual communication, it is about the results that come about from the conversations.
In conclusion, implementing change will not be easy or fast. It will take time, and it will take patience from all involved. Change has to be considered a “we” project rather than a “my” project. I hope that through all of the things I have learned in this course, I will be able to successfully implement change through my Innovation Plan.
References
Grenny, J., Patterson, K., McMillan, R., Switzler, A., & Gregory, E. (2021). Crucial conversations (2nd). McGraw-Hill Education.
McChesney, C., Covey, S., & Huling, J. (2016). The 4 disciplines of execution: Achieving your wildly important goals. New York: Free Press.
Sinek, S (2019) Star with why: How great leaders inspire action. TEDXPuget Sound. A. https://youtu.be/sioZd3AxmnE
Blended Elementary 