1.

4 Diffusion of Innovation & Change

Candidates research, recommend, and implement strategies for initiating and sustaining
technology innovations and for managing the change process in schools.
Reflection
The Individual Teacher Technology Assessment/Needs Assessment is a LoTi-based
assessment that as used to assess a colleague on affective perceptions of technology and
assess access in the colleague!s classroom to technology. LoTi is a school improvement
model that is a three-stage process" #$ %uilding Capacity& '$ Implementing Change& ($
)ustaining Independence *LoTi, '+#,$. This as an assignment that I completed ith a
third-year high school math teacher. -e assessed the technology available in her
classroom and ho she used it and hat needs there ere for her classroom. I initiated
the process for helping her get some much needed technology for her classroom.
)tandard #.,, .iffusion of Innovations / Change establishes the e0pectations for
research, recommendation, and implementation for initiating and sustaining
technology innovations for managing the change process in schools. This artifact
demonstrates my ability to assess technology in a colleague!s classroom and identify
needs that she may have to help enhance instruction in her classroom. 1ne of the first
steps in the diffusion of innovation and change is research. After determining that
classroom management as a problem for one of the 2ath classes, I loo3ed at research
to determine hat could be done in a 2ath class so the teacher ould not alays have
her bac3 to the students hile at the board. 1ne of the solutions found as using an
4L21 pro5ector in math classrooms so the teacher can or3 the problems for the
students! visibility ithout her bac3 to the students. I then recommended this product to
her and brought it to the principal!s attention also. After approval as given, the 4L21
as given to the teacher and she began the implementation process of using the 4L21
ith the class. This definitely helped ith classroom management and therefore the
teacher as able to carry out better instruction. This as noted by the principal hen he
observed the classroom and made inferences from his first observation ithout the
4L21 to the second observation ith it. The enhanced instruction as ell-noted and
the principal noted the initiation the teacher too3 to help solve her problem. )he
sustained and maintained her classroom throughout the rest of the year using the 4L21
and many improvements ere noted by administrators in and out of her classroom.
Completing the needs assessment for this teacher and her classroom as a valuable tool
for my technology degree. 6rom this assessment, I learned ho to effectively use
research to help meet a teacher!s needs. I further as able to ma3e a recommendation
based on research and then see it through to implementation. This as a onderful
learning e0perience for me in the fact that I as able to be a technology liaison for a
teacher and get the much needed technology to enhance classroom instruction. This is a
process that I ish I could have done earlier in the school year to help her& and I also
ish it as something that could be done at the beginning of each year ith each teacher
to further enhance teaching and learning.
Completing the needs assessment alloed this teacher to be open and share a need for her
classroom. -hen she opened up and shared that it as a classroom management problem
it opened up the research component for hat as available to help ith this particular
problem in a math classroom. This definitely made a huge improvement in this
classroom& so therefore the principal proceeded ith the initiative to purchase 4L21s for
all 2ath classrooms in our school. It is truly ama7ing ho one assignment for myself, has
turned into innovation for all of the 2ath classrooms at 8ohnson County 2iddle/9igh
)chool.
References
LoTi *'+#,$ LoTis Three Step Process. :etrieved from
http"//.loticonnection.com/inde0.php/school-improvement/loti-model-process/'((-
change-process