Systems
Understand that we live and work within systems of cause and effect in which actions may have multiple origins and consequences.
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Introduction/Context
For systems, I chose my project, Pace Yourself: A Job Aid and Report, which I completed in EDTEC 540, Introduction to Educational Technology. I designed a job aid that assists social studies teachers in pacing themselves so that they could finish their core curriculum according to Calfornia State Standards. The job aid also included a chart that shows the areas of emphasis for the CSTs (California Standards Tests) for social studies which motivated teachers to stick to their pacing guide. I wrote up a report that includes a solution system to go along with the job aid. My goal was to close the gap between the optimal behavior, that social studies teacher complete their curriculum, and the actual behavior, which resulted in most teachers skipping 2-3 units. This meant implementing systematic change at PBMS (Pacific Beach Middle School) in order to meet the state of California’s criteria.
Connection to Standard
By taking a systematic approach to address the problem, that social studies teachers weren’t pacing themselves well, PBMS social studies teachers increased their motivation to complete their content and ultimately, our test scores rose. In EDTEC 540, I learned a systematic approach by using the ADDIE model for instructional design. I began by conducting a performance analysis. When I started this program, I was intent on enhancing my instruction in social studies. EDTEC 540 required students to analyze a school site problem, and since my primary interests lay in social studies, I chose a problem related to my field. I identified a large gap between the desired performance of 8th grade students on the CSTs for social science and the reality of their performance. Upon analysis, I concluded there were too many possibilities for the gap. After reading Mager’s Analyzing Performance Problems, I concluded that while I could not identify a single factor that caused the performance gap of our students, we could not possibly expect our students to perform at the optimal level on their CSTs if we had not introduced them to all the content on the exam. I reflected on my own teaching and realized I had never completed the core curriculum of the 7th grade social studies course. After conducting a survey of all social studies teachers at our school site, I concluded that none of us were completing the core requirements. Now, I had a gap in performance that could be addressed. I conducted a performance analysis on the pacing of social studies teachers. I found that both instrisic motivation and external barriers, such as expectations for social studies teachers to offer instruction in art, played a huge factor in teachers not pacing themselves to complete the core curriculum for social studies for their grade level. Following the ADDIE model, I designed a job aid to attempt to overcome teacher barriers to pacing themselves. My project includes the job aid I designed and the report which contains a solution system.
Problems/Opportunities
Excited by all I had discovered, I shared my findings with my principal at PBMS. One aspect of my solution system, after all, stated that, “The principal will facilitate a meeting at the end of the school year to create a year at a glance sheet for the 2008-09 school year.” After I’d completed EDTEC 540, my principal gave me the opportunity to develop a workshop for social studies teachers at PBMS. She even paid for us to have substitute teachers so that the workshop could be conducted during school hours, thus breaking down one possible teacher barrier. I couldn’t believe how wonderful it was. Once teachers were presented with my job aids, they completely bought in to pacing themselves better. Social studies teachers had previously thought that passing the test would be impossible for our students and getting through the core curriculum was too stressful. Once they saw the job aids, they suddenly thought pacing was manageable and that passing the CST was doable. The teachers gained the motivation to pace themselves after being presented with the data. Pacing was now going to be a schoolwide priority in our social studies department–systematic change had been implemented. Our test scores improved by 18% that year.
Reflection on Growth
Prior to my studies in EDTEC, I had been trying to get 6th grade teachers to complete certain units in social studies to better prepare students for 7th grade. I kept meeting walls of resistance and getting hurt feelings as teachers were taking my suggestions personally. I didn’t understand this because I respected my colleagues, but I was obviously not putting that out to them. My first semester as a student of educational technology taught me to use the ADDIE model to take a systematic approach to change. I didn’t realize how effective this would be until I implemented what I’d learned. Once teachers got on board, I realized the value of the MA program I was in. Conducting an analysis and presenting folks with real data was far more convincing than any emotional plea I could ever make. I was seeing the instructional light!
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