• Visit the changetoolkit website at ReinventingEducation.org
• View the Flash Introduction to the Change Toolkit
• Discuss how a tool like this could be used in your schools for assisting change - post your thoughts in the class dicussion area for Change ToolKit.

 

Please remember to list the names of all the people in your group with your posting.

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We thought that this could be an effective tool to support change, not just in technology but in all areas.  It appeared to be an organized plan that could be used to walk a staff through the change process.  We think having a clear cut plan would make facing the change process easier, which in turn would involve more staff in the process itself.  If more people are involved in the process, they may be more open to the change.  Getting more people involved in a succcessful change process will create a more positive attitude about change and it may give everyone more confidence to go through the change process. 

 

In Waukesha, the middle school math department could have benefitted from this tool when making the change in the math textbook adoption.  The change was going from a traditional math series to a reformed curriculum.  This was a very difficult change for some and we still have teachers that are not using the program the way it is meant to be used.  The tool may have helped to get more teachers on board with the adoption process itself.

 

The elementary school that some of us work at would definitely benefit from this tool.  Our leadership is lacking in confidence to make change and therefore change is a painful process.  The administration will not take on a leadership role and facilitate change. 

 

Rob, Lisa, Kim, Bob and Carl

 

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Kristin Haefke, Kristin Hubmann, Melissa Schuett, Janet Yunker

 

We could see this being used in any type of change in our buildings. The program breaks it down, step-by step, to help build towards a successful change. It will help build confidence in the leaders ability. The fact that it makes things happen more quickly, could help make people become more involved in the change process. Specific examples where we can see this assisting change in our school is with changing to a new grading/attendance program. Some people resist the change so much because it is different, nevermind the fact that in the end it will make their lives easier. At Waukesha North, where three of us teach, a new schedule was introduced and implemented three years ago. There are some teachers who aren't on board and probably never will be, because the change wasn't smooth for them. This seems like a program that could have helped us make a smoother transition into the new, controversial schedule. Even now we have to vote every year to keep the schedule, and we think having a program like this would get a more positive attitude in the building towards the schedule.

 

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Thunder - Jamie Beckman, Jim Nelson, Paul Pulvermacher, Dan Simonson

When we read/watched the flash intro, it seems that this program is something that is well thought out. The information and techniques are based on the research of a respected individual. Combine that with modern technology, and it sounds like a tool that could be very successful. Just looking at it, it looks like they have major funding and backing. That doesn't usually happen unless a lot of time and energy is spent creating something worthwhile. That being said, we believe that this is a quality program.

 

We agree with the above group, that this could be implemented in any building for most any reason. We too have had experiences with change. One experience was with a principal who came to a new school. He wanted change, change, change right away. He wanted so much change so quickly that he really turned off a lot of teachers. Perhaps if he had implemented a step by step process such as this, it would have gone more smoothly. Some things will always be hard. The above group mentioned the schedule. Well, that’s a hot topic in any school. There’s as much information about how bad block scheduling is are is information that supports it. We aren’t surprised at all that its controversial still.

 

We too, like how this is organized. It clearly lays out the steps and purposes of the program: Effective change management, diagnose change issues, track change progress and take effective action. This step by step process will bring a sense of reason to the process.

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Chris See, Heather Slosarek, Brian Yearling

 

This seems like a very interesting program/tool. If nothing else, it seems like it may help to get ideas rolling and to assist committees/schools as they attempt to organize their change initiatives. While it seems very organized, we wondered about how effective it is at allowing you to consider many of the independent variables and unique circumstances of each school. We got the sense that it was a great tool for starting the discussion of change, but that it could not be entirely depended upon to walk groups through the change process.

 

In our discussion, we felt that this could be used as a way to get more people "involved in the discussion," by informing them of the obstacles to change, without having too many people in on the actual planning for change, which only tends to muddy the waters (if you've sat in on a committe as they tried to write a mission statement or outline a process, you know what we are talking about). This type of tool introduces the ideas of change and relays the critical information about what is necessary to complete change without requiring every member of the school to be in the committee meetings having a say.

 

The fact that the tool allows for a place to hold discussions and share files could be useful in some districts. However, we felt there are reasonable alternatives to these features, including any number of free chat or online whiteboard packages for online discussions. Many districts also have a central location, such as a file server, to store and share files.

 

We collectively agreed that we would like to learn a little more about this program/toolkit. The flash intro is nice, but left us "wanting for more."

 

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Rosie Green, Amanda Simon, Penni Uribe

 

We all agreed that this toolkit is something that would greatly benefit our schools. Right now, all of our sites are going through some major changes such as possible block schedules, grading and using the results of the writing assessment, and how to deal with budget changes. We like that the resources are based off of sound educational research and it seemed fairly easy and quick to use. We felt this is a program that could help our sites to adapt to change. In fact, we wonder if we should introduce this site to our principals and have them consider using it with our staff.

 

We agree with the above group regarding the fact about liking the place for file storage and discussions. Our district has been promising each department will have a blackboard site for over three years and still we have none. Using this site would allow us to collaborate with other schools and start the change ourselves.

 

 

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APA- Angie Jurisch, Anna Lardinois and Peg Meddaugh

 

The Change ToolKit would be a way for our schools to use the experience and research of others to work towards change in our buildings and districts. With the step-by-step plan and collaborative access it provides, managing change would become an easier task. The Change ToolKit provides the framework for districts to use along with their own data and stakeholders to help the change process move along. The real life situations and examples that are provided would help institutions avoid mistakes in planning for change that others have made in the past.

 

 

The collaborative functions of the ToolKit were especially intriguing to our group, as we have learned how crucial evaluation and input are to a successful change process, so that modifications can be made if necessary. By allowing stakeholders to anonymously rate the process, we feel that everyone involved would feel safe to contribute, even if their ideas were different than the norm. As the other groups have pointed out, change is very difficult for some people, and the ability to give input as they are going through the process will possibly lead to the "buy in" that we all hope for in a successful change process.

 

 

Due to the fact that the ToolKit is free to those who register, contains years of combined research and is user friendly, there is no reason that districts should not try this program and the resources it has to offer in the process of school improvement.