James Chase-Wegner

ITEC 7460
Summer 2016
Professor Cameron
Coaching Journal

Session 1: Focusing On Teacher Needs

Strategies
The first coaching strategies I used were Choice. After completing the LoTi survey, Adopter
level survey, and Face to Face Interview I thought of some ideas that I could present as items that my
collaborative partner would find useful to add to her instructional practices. I started our first coaching
session off by asking her how she would like to see technology used in her classroom. To increase her
current LoTi level I felt that integrating technology into one of her curriculum areas would be beneficial.
She was unsure of which types of technology initiatives would be wise to add and gave many valid
points as to why technology can be difficult to use at the Kindergarten level. Even though she scored as
an early majority adopter on the Adopter survey she had taken, she seemed a little hesitant to new
ideas. Early majority adopters tend to desire to see the benefits and effectiveness of new technologies
before implementing themselves. I shared with her the ISTE Standards for Teachers and Students and
we talked about how these standards may look in a Kindergarten classroom. I also shared how
integrating technology initiatives into her lessons would positively impact her TKES scores.
Next, I shared my ideas for improved technology integration in her classroom and asked her to
think about them. One of the ideas I shared was using Padlet to create a collaborative environment that
she could share with her students and parents. This collaborative environment would grow with the
students as the year progressed allowing them to share meaning work with each other at varying levels.
She was interested in seeing this idea in action. She shared reservations regarding online collaboration
and any negative issues it could present. I discussed with her that Padlet had options for limiting access
to only those that were given a password or made collaborators. I showed her the website and asked
her if she felt comfortable setting up an account on her own. I told her that during the next coaching
session I would have an example set up on my Padlet account to share with her and help her begin to
see how it can be used in her classroom.
Skill and Affective Changes
I believe that seeing the ISTE Standards and our discussion concerning the positive impact on
TKES were both beneficial in building interest in future coaching sessions. I believe she was able to see
the value in such initiatives and how their implementation would be beneficial for her students. I think
allowing her to share her concerns throughout the coaching session was important and gave me
important items to consider as I move forward with future coaching sessions.
Reflection on Challenges and Solution
I feel that this coaching session went well and I did not face many challenges. I think it was very
important to take time to listen, ask for options, and give choices. I definitely think that by listening to
her concerns I was able to see what items I would have to address before I could make these coaching
sessions successful. I also think that giving her the option of choosing something that she was already
interested in or choosing from a few options that I had considered was helpful. Ric Palma states, The
more choices we can give them, the more variety and choices they can give their students (Knight,
2007, p. 41).

James Chase-Wegner
ITEC 7460
Summer 2016
Professor Cameron
Coaching Journal

Session 2: Padlet in Kindergarten

Strategies
In coaching session two I utilized the Authentic Listening and Modeling strategies while sharing
the example Padlet I had set up. First, we opened up my Padlet account and took some time to
understand what Padlet is capable of and how I envisioned her using it in her class. She had many
questions about the application so I stopped
moving forward with the Padlet
demonstration and took time to allow for
her to finish her questions before answering.
I asked if my answers made sense and if she
had other questions. I was sure to show her
all of the options of Padlet slowly. I took
extra care in coaching her in the area of how
the Padlets are shared and what privacy
options are available. To show her how this
would look on both ends (Teacher +
Student/Home) I sent her an invite to my Padlet ahead of time so she could visit the Padlet with an
outsiders perspective. She felt more comfortable with the password and moderate posts options
selected. With the privacy concerns addressed we moved into talking about how Padlet could be used
in her classroom.
She liked my ideas and also discussed how she could possibly use Padlet to hold all of her videos
for a unit. This idea that she had made the coaching experience even better because she began to see
even greater uses for the application. She liked how she could create a place where all of her videos she
used were stored in one location; however, she was apprehensive about students being able to see all of
the videos ahead of time. We discussed it and agreed that even though she had not given students
access to all of the content she uses in her class ahead of time before, that it would be a great way for
her to give students opportunities to preview the material or remediate students that could benefit
from seeing it in the future. She also felt that by using the Padlet daily in her classroom that students
would be even more likely to push their parents to complete it with them over the weekend, increasing
participation outside of school. The remainder of the coaching session was dedicated to allowing her to
set up her own Padlet with me there so she could ask questions and get instant feedback. She wanted
to begin with the letter L as this is the first letter that students are introduced to in her curriculum. This
went very well. Some good conversations occurred regarding how her students/parents would know
how to use the Padlet to post pictures and/or words. We collaborated on figuring out some simple stepby-step methods for parents to assist their child with participating in the Padlet collaboration. I asked
her to try to set up a new Padlet without my help for our next coaching session so she could ask any
questions that might materialize.

James Chase-Wegner
ITEC 7460
Summer 2016
Professor Cameron
Coaching Journal

Skill and Affective Changes

I think she understands the platform and has a good sense of the options Padlet has to offer.
She has never been introduced to Padlet before so this was a completely new application for her. I think
our collaborative efforts and open dialogue solved a lot of problems that she might have encountered
had she tried to learn about this and implement it on her own. I think my attentiveness while
troubleshooting small problems and creating reasonable solutions for concerns made this new
technology seem reasonable for her. She will be the only one she knows using Padlet and especially in a
way that allows for student collaboration with technology. She is mildly concerned about being a
trailblazer and mentioned sharing her Padlet and plans to implement them with her Principal before
using them.
Reflection on Challenges and Solution
I did face some challenges during this coaching session. As I was listening to her concerns I did
want to share possible solutions before she finished sharing her concerns. She also sounded a bit
uncertain about the applications benefits versus the difficulty of use and student privacy. I always let her
finish sharing her concerns before discussing possible solutions. Knight (2007) states, ICs who listen
effectively do not paint the words of others with their biases; they simply focus on understanding fully
what the other person says (p. 63). I tried to learn as much from her as possible in regards to what she
felt would work and what she felt might be difficult for her or for her students/families. I want this new
technology to be implemented in her classroom next year because of the importance of linking
technology to real life applications and collaboration. Since I care about this coaching session and desire
for it to be impactful I believe my efforts were sincere and authentic (Knight, 2007, 63). This
authenticity comes across in the way an ITC listens and responds to their collaborative partner.

James Chase-Wegner
ITEC 7460
Summer 2016
Professor Cameron
Coaching Journal

Session 3: See it Through Teachers (and Students/Parents) Eyes

Strategies
My strategy for this coaching session focused around making this new technology work for my
collaborative partner and her students. Having a new technology work efficiently for all is very
important. First, I checked for her understanding of the platform and reviewed a Padlet that she made
on her own. She showed me how she had adjusted the privacy/share settings and had added multiple
videos and the directions for parents. She felt comfortable making the Padlets, but was ready to discuss
the fine details of such an implementation.

First, we played with the privacy settings for passwords and post moderation to see how they
looked and worked on student and teacher webpages to give her a better understanding of the software
and what students/parents would be seeing with the settings that she had chosen.
Much like in the last session when we collaborated on steps to assist students/parents in adding
to the Padlet, it was key for me to lead discussions that would help my collaborative partner feel
comfortable implementing this new technology. We discussed the possibility of creating a screencast in
a future coaching session showing students/parents the process of adding to the Padlet, if the written
directions were not enough. We considered digital equity during our dialogue. We discussed possible
solutions for allowing students with absolutely no access to technology or Wi-Fi at home to participate
in this collaborative effort. She felt like there would be time for students that did not participate from
home over the weekend to add to the Padlet as students arrived in the morning. We also talked about
an incentive structure to reward students for participating whether from home or in the morning upon
arrival. We discussed the possibility of sending home a short technology survey to parents gauging their
current comfort level and access to technology. This would give her a better idea of which
students/parents would need more support. We also discussed how some students families may only
have access to mobile technology and looked at how the link would open and allow for collaborative
posts on IPADs and Smartphones in case that was all that was available to some of her students.

James Chase-Wegner
ITEC 7460
Summer 2016
Professor Cameron
Coaching Journal
Skill and Affective Changes
I believe that my collaborative partner is ready to implement this technology because she has
demonstrated control over the applications many features and has orally discussed many of the possible
roadblocks that could derail successful implementation. I feel as though she is able to see the value it
will bring to her classroom community. She still has some concerns over implementation; however, her
concerns are similar to others concerns regarding online collaboration. Her use of the post moderation
option in Padlet should alleviate much of her concerns. I think that teachers also want to integrate
technology that can be infused seamlessly into their classroom. By projecting the Padlet screen in her
class each day and opening her videos directly off of her Padlet she will be saving time and allowing
students to see how their collaboration has added to the class each day/week.
Reflection
I think taking time to consider various scenarios that could play out when implementing new
technology is vital and should be done before implementation with the whole group. Failing to consider
the needs of teachers, students, and parents when implementing a new technology can ultimately lead
to early dismissal of the technology as a usable tool. Conversely, By considering exactly what an
intervention will look like in the classroom, ICs can increase the likelihood that teachers will implement
new teaching practices effectively (Knight, 2007, 105). Some themes have been constant during these
coaching experiences:

Share the importance of technology beyond videos and productivity (Real World Application and
Collaboration).
Provide choices and allow your collaborative teachers to use their voices.
Give collaborating teachers something they can use that doesnt require a manual.
Find specific age appropriate ways to use and implement technology.
Listen to your collaborating partners to learn what their direct needs and concerns are.
Collaboration is key and leads to important dialogue and usable resources.
Be sure to consider how students/parents will access technology in a reliable way.
Establish which students may need support.

While there are many more elements to being a successful technology coach I feel these
experiences have been helpful and will assist me in the future. I think the biggest change that I notice in
my thinking is listening to hear the direct concerns of collaborating partners. If those specific concerns
and needs are not addressed, then the collaborating partner may not be as interested in making the
commitment to you or the new technology. Building a professional and collegial relationship is
important when establishing rapport with a collaborative partner. Understanding and addressing the
needs of your collaborative partner through surveys and ongoing dialogue are probably the most
important components within the coaching process.

James Chase-Wegner
ITEC 7460
Summer 2016
Professor Cameron
Coaching Journal
References

Knight, J. (2007). Instructional coaching: A partnership approach to improving instruction. Thousand

Oaks, CA: NSDC.