Running head: INDIVIDUAL TEACHER TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT NARRATIVE 1

Individual Teacher Technology Assessment Narrative

Larrece Y. Groover

PL & Technology Innovation (ITEC 7460)

Kennesaw State University

Ed.S. Instructional Technology, Spring 2018

INDIVIDUAL TEACHER TECHNOLOGY NARRATIVE 2

Mrs. B is a 4th and 5th grade advanced English Language Arts (ELA) and Social Studies

teacher at Lula Elementary School. She taught several years prior to leaving public education to

stay home with her children and teach at a private school. She returned to public education last

year in November. Our principal identified her as a candidate for coaching due to her recent

return to the classroom as well as her eagerness to learn new concepts and technology. Mrs. B

has 25 students in 4th grade and 25 students in 5th grade. Each of the grade levels are

departmentalized and include students who are advanced and identified gifted. Mrs. B’s daily

schedule includes teaching a 4th grade ELA followed by a 4th grade Social Studies. She then

teaches 5th grade ELA and 5th grade Social Studies in the second half of the day. The students in

the classes are served Speech, ESOL, and Gifted pull out segments along with a co-teach

segment of advanced Social Studies and ELA three times a week. The digital tools in the

classroom are one to one Chromebook access, 3 iPads, teacher laptop, and interactive projector

for the the whiteboards provided through grants and the district. The students are also allowed to

bring their own devices to class.

Mrs. B completed two questionnaires to assess her Level of Technology Integration

(LoTi) and her willingness to adopt new technology in her classroom. The first survey was

created by the coach based on the Level of Technology Integration Framework. Mrs. B’s survey

results indicated she is a LoTi level 4 – Integration. The responses by the teacher revealed her

classroom is more student centered than teacher centered. She uses digital resources to

differentiate the content, process, and product in her classroom on a daily basis. Mrs. B

explained she promotes digital communication and collaboration through “assignments on

Canvas and Google on a regular basis and uses Google doc during the writing process, so that

peer and teacher edits are easy to make.” Based on the survey, Mrs. B feels her students always
INDIVIDUAL TEACHER TECHNOLOGY NARRATIVE 3

use technology for higher level thinking skills and her students use digital resources to engage in

projects applying their learning to real-world situations at least twice a week. The students have

the opportunity to explore technology with self directed learning while they are completing

assignments on a daily basis. Obstacles sometimes occur in her classroom when incorporating

technology but she feels as if she is able to replace printed materials with the use of technology

in the classroom. The classroom instruction incorporates technology occasionally with the

greatest obstacle of implementing more technology is the amount of time it takes to learn,

practice and plan as well as the priority she has to place on the required instruction from the

district and state. After placing the results of Mrs. B’s survey results on The Levels of

Technology Implementation Checklist developed by Dr. Jo Williamson at Kennesaw State

University, Mrs. B is at LoTi level 4 because the students use technology, the classroom uses

technology for instruction, higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy are addressed, assignments are

student-directed and have real-world applications, and students can determine their own

activities (Levels of Technology Implementation Checklist).

Mrs. B also completed a survey addressing her willingness to adopt technology. Based

on the results of the survey, Mrs. B is an early adopter. She prefers to try new technology if it is

a proven method or after she talks with her colleagues about their experience with a new

technology program. Mrs. B prefers to see if someone else like an innovator likes a program

before using it in her own classroom. The teacher hesitates from experimenting with new tools

because there is not a lot of time to experiment with new technology and she prefers to see

proven success prior to starting something new. As Orr (2003) stated in his review of Diffusions

of Innovations by Everett Rogers, “early adopters use the data provided by the innovator’s

implementation and confirmation of the innovation to make their own adoption decisions” (pg.
INDIVIDUAL TEACHER TECHNOLOGY NARRATIVE 4

She is encouraged to use new technology when she “sees students engaged in learning, and when

she is able to gather data from the the tool for progress monitoring.” Mrs. B feels like she is

able to keep up with technology sometimes while other times she feels like she is behind on the

newest tools. The teacher is always willing to learn about a new idea if it will impact the

classroom but makes her decision only after being well informed about the technology.

As I assessed the classroom and interviewed Mrs. B, I found the instruction to be both a

LoTi level 3 – Infusion and LoTi level 4 – Integration. The instruction provides students with

opportunities to have some input in their own activities but there is not a strong focus on real

world experiences. The interview also revealed the teacher is not sure about her level of

technology instruction which was different from the survey results that indicated a strong

confidence and presence of technology. The teacher revealed the desire to learn how to use the

school Learning Management System to develop lessons, activities, and projects to address

higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. The teacher expressed her willingness to learn new

technology and stressed how little she feels she knows about technology.

Based on Mrs. B’s LoTi level of Infusion and Integration, she needs to provide

opportunities for her students to engage in collaboration outside of her classroom as well as

impact others outside of the classroom in order to move to a Level of 5 or 6. The coaching for

Mrs. B will incorporate the partnership philosophy through peer coaching. As Knight (2007)

stated “the partnership approach is based on principles of equality, choice, voice, dialogue,

reflection, praxis, and reciprocity” (pg. 37). This approach will allow us to focus on Mrs. B’s

content knowledge and experience to further integrate technology into the classroom. Mrs. B has

a desire to learn more about how to incorporate the Learning Management System, Canvas, into

her classroom instruction and how to develop lessons for students to expand on real world
INDIVIDUAL TEACHER TECHNOLOGY NARRATIVE 5

experiences and higher order thinking skills. Based on the Instructional Coaching Scale, Mrs.

B’s desire to learn relates to Stage 2 during our interview because she is “contemplating change

in what she is doing in the classroom and is beginning to think about engaging in the new

practice” (Woodruff, 2007, pg. 5). The coach will instruct Mrs. B on the use of Canvas, provide

instruction on creating assignments on Canvas, and help integrate additional technology tools

through Canvas for lessons. The coach and teacher will collaboratively teach lessons focusing

on the goal of providing student directed lessons integrating technology. The focus will center

on ways to expand real world situations and higher order thinking skills. The coaching sessions

will begin the last week of February and will continue through March and April with meetings

every other week. The coaching sessions and lessons will be addressed using a collaborative

assessment for effectiveness.

INDIVIDUAL TEACHER TECHNOLOGY NARRATIVE 6

Level of Technology Implementation Survey Results

How is your classroom setup to promote Each student has access to a Chromebook in
digital communication and collaboration? my classroom. Students collaborate on
projects and assignments through Canvas and
Google on a regular basis. We also use
Google doc during the writing process, so that
peer and teacher edits are easy to make.
Is the learning in your classroom more student Student Centered
centered or teacher centered? Teacher Centered
Both
I use digital resources to differentiate the Never
content, process, and or product of learning Once a month
experiences. More than twice a month
Once a week
More than twice a week
Daily
How often do you feel your students are using Never
technology for higher level thinking skills Sometimes
(creating, evaluating, analyzing, goal-setting, Occasionally
etc.)? Always
My students use digital resources Never
independently or in groups to engage in Once a month
projects that apply their learning to real-world More than twice a month
situations. Once a week
More than twice a week
Daily
How often are lessons geared for students to Never
have the opportunity to explore within Sometimes (Once a month)
technology and self-direct their learning and Occasionally (A few times a month)
completion of their assignments? Consistently (Once a week)
Always (Daily)
How often do you notice obstacles to Never
incorporating technology into your Sometimes
classroom? Occasionally
Always
Are you using technology to replace other Yes
elements in your classroom such as online No
worksheets instead of print materials? Sometimes
How often are students given opportunities to Never
explore technology and self-direct their Sometimes
learning and/or completion of assignments? Occasionally
Always
INDIVIDUAL TEACHER TECHNOLOGY NARRATIVE 7

How often is technology used as the basis for Never

classroom instruction? Sometimes
Occasionally
Always
What is your greatest obstacle to using digital None
resources in your classroom? Lack of access to digital resources
Time to learn, practice, and plan
Required instruction is priority
Lack of staff development on resources
Other:

Adopter Survey
I like to be one of the first people to try Always
something new relating to technology in my Sometimes
school especially if it is “cutting edge”. Ex. Never
Program or teaching method
I like to talk to people I work with that have Always
tried something new regarding technology Sometimes
before I decide that I want to use it. Never
I like to follow the majority. If a lot of my Always
colleagues are trying something new like a Sometimes
technological program or teaching method, I Never
will probably try it too.
I am not sure how to use it
What keeps you from experimenting with Don’t have time to experiment
new tools and technology in your classroom? Too expensive
Technology is limited at my school
Nothing
I enjoy experimenting with new technology
Other:
How do you learn about new technology for Wait to be trained
your classroom? Explore and try it on my own
See if someone else likes it before using it
Other:
Do you feel like you keep up with technology Keep Up
for the classroom or are left behind? Left Behind
A little of both
What encourages you to continue using a new When I see students engaged in learning, and
technology tool in your classroom? when I'm able to gather data from the tool for
progress monitoring.
What must you have prior to implementing a Simply hearing about the tool is enough
new tool in your classroom? Exploration of the tool
demonstration of the tool
proof of the tool’s success
Other:
INDIVIDUAL TEACHER TECHNOLOGY NARRATIVE 8

What is your attitude on new implementations I am open to trying new ideas anytime
in your classroom? I am willing to learn about an idea if it will
impact my classroom
I don’t like taking the time to implement a
new strategy but will if I see it’s worth it
I like the way I do things and don’t have time
for new strategies
How likely are you to implement a new tool Very likely
on your own-without a push from Somewhat likely
administration? Maybe
Never
I don’t really socialize with others in my Always
school so if there is something new to try out, Sometimes
I am not easily interested to start using it in Never
my classroom.
When new technology is presented I prefer to Always
continue using what works because why Sometimes
change? Never
INDIVIDUAL TEACHER TECHNOLOGY NARRATIVE 9

References

Knight, J. (2007). Instructional Coaching: A Partnership Approach to Improving Instruction.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Orr, G. (2003). Diffusions of Innovations, by Everett Rogers, (1995). Diffusions of Innovations,

by Everett Rogers reviewed by Greg Orr. Retrieved February 21, 2018, from

https://web.stanford.edu/class/symbsys205/Diffusion%20of%20Innovations.htm.

Williamson, J. (n.d.). Levels of Technology Implementation Checklist [Checklist based on Dr.

Christopher Moersch's Levels of Technology Implementation]. Kennesaw State

University, Marietta.

Woodruff, S. K. (2007). Instructional Coaching Scale: Measuring the Impact of Coaching

Interactions. Lawrence, KS: Instructional Coaching Group.