Good Grief! Be Supportive of Teachers When Implementing
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So your district has approved a 1: 1 initiative for your building. You’ve chosen the device, solved the financial part of the equation, and
are one week away from handing every student in
school a device that you hope will transform the
way they learn and that teachers teach.
Simple, right? Not so fast. Although you’ve made
a convincing argument for using technology in the
classroom, have you considered the reactions of
the very people who will be most instrumental in
making this transformation occur? How are you
going to support teachers dealing with the emotions
that will result from this type of implementation?
As we began our 1: 1 iPad implementation at Bettendorf High School in Bettendorf, Iowa, USA, in
September 2012, I noticed that staff members were
experiencing a variety of emotions and reactions
to the change. The more I learned about what they
were feeling, the more it reminded me of the five
stages of grief described in Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s
book On Death and Dying.
Kübler-Ross suggests that people who are grieving
generally go through five stages—denial, anger,
bargaining, depression, and acceptance—when
they lose someone close to them. Every person,
she writes, will deal with this grief in his or her
own way, but there will be some commonalities.
I’m not suggesting that the emotions and feelings
teachers experience when implementing a 1: 1
initiative are as deeply felt as the profound grief
of losing a loved one. And I wouldn’t say that
educators necessarily suffer this transformation
in stages. But there are parallels when administrators, teachers, and even students are asked to make
this type of shift. Recognizing these reactions and
knowing how to respond will go a long way toward minimizing the negative impact and creating
a positive progression to the common goal: the
transformation of learning and teaching.
DENIAL
What they might be feeling: There is nothing wrong with the
way I teach! This is only a phase, and it will eventually go
away. Adding a computer to my classroom isn’t going to
help my students as much as reducing class sizes would.
Why they might feel this way: Teachers are professionals
who take pride in the way they deliver information and
how they interact with students. Let’s face it, people
who choose education as a career have passion for the
subjects they teach and enjoy helping young minds discover the same excitement they felt when going through
school. To teachers, learning is a lifelong skill and something they enjoy.
How to support them: Celebrate success while pushing the
bar higher. Find those pockets of excellence in your
building and share them with others. Use a variety of
staff to present examples of innovative lessons at department or building meetings or include examples in regular newsletters and announcements to staff. The more
exposure to innovative examples of integration teachers
have, the more comfortable they will become, and the
easier it will be for them to take risks and try something
new. Successful innovation is contagious. It is crucial that
administrators and technology integrationists capitalize on the fact that teachers will do what is best for their
students. Given enough time and support, teachers will
blossom in this environment.
