Project Two Interviewing a Decision Maker

Lauren Gurley

February 28, 2018

Introduction

Rogers (2003) defines and innovation as, “an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by
an individual or other unit of adoption” (p, 12). When innovations are put into place the intention is to
enhance something that is currently in that place. When new innovations arise there is much to consider
prior to the actual implementation. Much must be considered prior to even deciding if the innovation is
worth the time of actually implementing. There is a process that is necessary in order for innovations to
be more successful. Although the process before the implementation may vary from innovation to
innovation, research has stated some very important aspects to consider prior. I had the opportunity to
interview a stakeholder at my current school for this assignment. She gave me a lot of insight on what
role she played in innovations that she has experienced.

Summary of Interviewer Responses

I had the pleasure of interviewing Jennifer Martin, who is currently an assistant principal at my
school. She is working on completing her second year as an assistant principal at Bethesda Elementary.
Prior this this she was a Local School Technology Coordinator at Norton Elementary school for between
seventeen and eighteen years. Bethesda Elementary consists of 160 staff members, the majority of the
members being teachers. At our school we have about 1,100 students enrolled. Jennifer feels that what is
unique about her context is that she works at a school with the Dual Language Immersion Program. We
have a high English learner population and having this program in our school is extremely beneficial.

She chose to purse this path of being an administrator due to the urging of former colleagues and
leaders at her previous school. During being a Local School Technology Coordinator people noticed that
she possessed the qualities needed to lead an institution. She is primarily in charge of kindergarten and
autism spectrum teachers and students and testing coordinator. She assists with the other grade levels
as needed. She feels that she is successful on this job due to the Aspiring Leadership Cohort in Gwinnett
County. Also she benefited a lot from the experience as a Local School Technology Coordinator because
she had a whole school perspective rather than just one classroom. She said there is no typical day on
the job. Her job can vary depending on the need of the school at the time.

Jennifer feels that an educational innovation is something new and different that helps transform
the way teachers teach or the way students learn. She feels that the educational innovation that she has
had the most impact on is the e-class innovation. E-class was introduced while she was a Local School
Technology Coordinator. When she was in the role as LSTC she had to teach teachers how to use the
tool and how to promote teaching. E-class is a wonderful innovation that provides students with 24/7
access to resources provided by their teachers.

Our school had its first trial of digital learning days during inclement weather days and Jennifer
had a part in the success of that. Jennifer worked alongside our LSTC as well as the other administrators
to ensure the teachers’ pages were set up correctly as well as that students were able to access
everything. The digital learning days were technically an expectation so it was successful. From my
perspective I know that she did a great job because overall the digital learning day at our school was a
great success. Administrators provided teachers and students with support as needed.

She feels that the factors to be considered in planning, designing and implementing an
educational innovation is to begin with the end in mind. She feels that asking a lot of questions and

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considering the outcome goal is important. She also thinks it’s important to consider those people who
may be involved and how will this help the educational process. In order to know that the innovation is a
success she feels that data is necessary, whether it be antidotal notes or actual numbers. What contrives
to the success is constant feedback from stakeholders to decide if it’s working. Challenging parts of
innovations are figuring out the time needed to implement an innovation and the time the staff needs to
actually be on board.

She feels out of all of her educational innovations that e-class was the most successful. The part
that made e-class so successful is knowing it was not going away. Our students need to understand how
to use e-class tools not just for elementary school but in every level. Technology is a direction the world is
going and in order to adequately prepare our students we must implement it at the highest level. The
innovations that were not as successful were those that were required from the county level. She feels if
she had the opportunity again she would pose more questions to truly understand the reasoning behind
the innovation and it may be more successful if she had a better understanding. Also she would
understand the motivation and why it’s being selected.

Jennifer’s advices those people pursuing an innovation to get input from as many stakeholders as
possible. Any innovation should not just come from you but rather be reasoned with a group of people.
Having a team together to implement an innovation will help it be more successful. If she could implement
an educational innovation differently she said she would consider all parties. She use the e-class
innovation as an example and explained that they did not think much about educating the parents on this
innovation. She feels that getting parents’ perspective could have helped them avoid any issues. An
educational innovation she would like to see now or next year is more access to technology for our
students. She would like to see a vertical alignment from institution to institution. She wants to be able to
provide our students with experiences they may not get at their own home.

Alignment with the Innovation-Decision Process Model

Throughout my interview with Jennifer she continually discussed the importance of understanding
the reasons for innovations. Rogers (2003) discusses that, “innovation-decision process is essentially an
information seeking and information-processing activity in which an individual is motivated to reduce
uncertainty about the advantages and disadvantages of an innovation” (p. 172). In our interview she talks
about how some county level innovations have not been as successful and she feels they could have
been had she asked better questions. It is important that people understand the reasons behind an
innovation. In Rogers (2003) chapter five he refers to this as the awareness-knowledge. It is confirming
that individuals must understand the innovation process.

The persuasion stage discussed by Rogers (2003) explains that people need to become more
involved. Jennifer talks about the benefits of involving more stakeholders. When involving more people
they are able to create either a favorable or unfavorable attitude about the innovation. Also in the
interview Jennifer talks about making sure the innovation is going to have an impact on teaching practice
as well as student learning. Rogers discusses that the decision stage is where people either adopt or
reject. In education it is important to reject innovations that will not have a positive impact on student
learning.

Jennifer talked many times about the implementation stage of her e-class innovation. During her
e-class innovation she worked alongside teachers in learning e-class and helping them figure out how to
use it to help their students. Rogers 2003 discusses that the implementation stage can be a lengthy time
period. It is interesting because although Jennifer began working with teachers years ago, e-class is still
evolving. It is interesting that this is the first year it was piloted for digital learning days. I believe this
innovation is still in the implementation stage but is going in the right direction because there is a need for
it. Fortunately our e-class is also known as Desire to Learn. This platform is not only used at the
elementary level but also the middle, high, and higher education. This tool will continue to flourish based
off of the continually need for students.

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Challenges

Conducting this interview was a wonderful experience. While conducting this interview I found
that it was difficult at times to elaborate on the discussion. It is evident in my transcript that I got more
comfortable elaborating as the interview progressed. Of course, also hearing about these innovations,
some being ones I never played a role in, were difficult to truly understand. I was not at her previous
elementary school when she taught teachers e-class so I do not know its true success. I did learn a lot
about her previous role that I enjoyed learning more about. It was interesting to hear about her endeavors
for innovations but I also wonder from the county level what their perspective is. It seems in our county
that the majority of innovations are delegated at the county level so I would be interested to discuss this
with someone higher up.

The reality is, is that all innovations do no follow a certain pattern. Although it is suggested for
people to go by the book, things never tend to actually go that way. Also it seems that innovations are at
times rushed and people forget to slow down and consider different important parts. Rogers (2003)
discusses the early versus late knowers. Unfortunately when innovations are implemented there is
typically a pilot group that knows about an innovation before others. I wonder how the county could go
about providing knowledge of new innovations to everyone at the same time without overwhelming
people. I feel that sometimes people are not even aware of what is to come so they are not able to
adequately prepare.

Lesson Learned and Surprises

During this interview I learned so much information that will help me when considering
implementation of a new innovation. I learned how important it is so get a perspective from multiple
parities when a new innovation comes about. I also realized the power that our county holds over us and
its innovation. Many of the innovation initiatives that we have conducted were required or suggested from
the county. I also realized the importance of planning and communication. Innovations should never be
thrown out to people but rather well thought and discussed with a group of innovators. Jennifer suggested
in her interview getting the hesitant people to be early adopters in the school and the effect that may
have.

Conclusion

Overall I feel that this interview gave me a lot to consider about innovations and the possible
barriers I may encounter along the way. I also learned that communication is an important piece for any
innovation. Collaborating with others can really help people avoid the difficulties that they may encounter
with innovations. Innovations should be well thought out and planned. Innovations also should always
have a benefit to the adopter as well as those that will be affected by the innovation. In order for
innovations to be successful they have to offer something new that is not already provided and have a
benefit for many areas of adopters’ lives.

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 References

Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th Ed.) New York, NY: Free Press