Strategic Change Profile and CBAM Analysis Person Profiled: Gender: Age: Race: Teaching Experience: Sean Kass

Male 27 Years Old Caucasian 6 Years

Subject Matter Expertise: History, Social Studies, English Language Educational Background: B.A. History/English Calvin College Current Position: High school social studies teacher in a small, rural, private, Christian school near the Navajo Native American reservation. Teaching four different social studies courses, including U.S. History, AP European History, Current Events, and U.S. Government.

Current Workload:

Technology Experience: Growing up in the era in which our present concept of technology came of age, Sean is very experienced in using technology in many different areas of life. Technology is one of the first avenues through which he attempts to solve problems that arise in his work and personal life. From an educational standpoint, technological experience is a bit more limited because he came from a very classical style of education that emphasized the basics. He did not see a great deal of technology use modeled in his classroom experiences before becoming an educator himself. In general, his attitude toward technology is hopeful. He believes that it is an excellent tool when used properly, and he desires to see an increase in effective technology use in his teaching practices. Workplace Technology: Being in a rural area poses some challenges for technology use at Seans current school. One of the largest barriers is cost. The makeup of the school being private and catering to a predominantly low-income community means that the budget for everything at the school is as bare-bones as possible. Technology has been made a priority by the administration, but the reality exists that new technology is slowly implemented in order to maximize the available funds. Recently, each classroom received an LCD projector, iPad carts were added throughout the school, and one computer lab is available for student use. Internet access has always been a challenge but is consistently improving. Speeds are now acceptable for the

number of students using the bandwidth, and interruptions to service are minimal. WiFi is available throughout the entire building, and students have access to this on personal as well as school-owned devices. Overall, the school could be described as slightly behind the curve, not wanting to adapt anything new too quickly in order to spend money in a conservative fashion. The schools attitude toward technology is not a barrier to any teacher who wants to stretch himself or herself into the realm of technology use in education. There are some technological limitations, but these have been mitigated over the last several years. CBAM Analysis Currently Sean sits at the fourth level of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model regarding technology implementation in his classroom. He is comfortable using many different types of technology personally in his classroom as well as having his students use various technological tools to accomplish tasks. He is currently at a point in his teaching where he needs to solidify exactly how to use these various tools in order to have the greatest impact on his students. There is a great deal of balance to be achieved as a teacher with a great deal of autonomy, and Sean is at a critical point of discovering exactly what this balance looks like in his classroom. Having grown up around many different types of technology, Sean quickly moved through the first phases of the CBAM model. The first step relates to understanding different types of educational technology, and this was never something Sean had to consciously focus on. He has always been very tech-savvy and in the know about the latest in technology trends. This continues even as new technologies become available, Sean keeps up with the latest and greatest in educational technology trends through various blogs, websites, and periodicals. The second level of the CBAM model was something Sean considered early on in teaching career, discovering what various technologies could do for him as a teacher and examining exactly how they worked in the classroom. Again, this was a very natural process for Sean as he was curious about different technologies and how they could be implemented in the learning process. Sean remained in this phase for quite a while (probably three to four years), experimenting with different methods, testing which ones worked well and which ones fell flat for his students. This was an enjoyable experience for Sean because it gave him an opportunity to combine two of his passions, but he felt as though this use of technology was a bit of a gimmick used to engage students rather than teach in the most effective way. Sean moved into the third level when he decided to begin taking classes in educational technology in order to gain a deeper understanding of educational technology, develop a plan for his own effective implementation, and help those around him do the same. This third level was a key step because it took Seans technology integration in a much more organized direction. Rather than implement technology haphazardly, Sean began to create a plan for his use of technology that would benefit both him and his students in the most effective way. This involves planning out technology use along side content planning. Through this process, various technologies can be leveraged for the greatest benefit of the students in his classroom.

Currently, Sean is at the fourth tier of the CBAM model, exploring the best ways to use technologies for his own purposes. He is systematically examining why some technologies work better than others, allowing to elevate some in his teaching while cutting others out completely. He is also examining the processes by which he implements new technologies with students in order to maximize the use of time and the understanding of the students in his class. Time is definitely at a premium in schools, and Sean is discovering how important efficiency is when teaching students how to use new tools placed before them. Consistency has also become an important part of Seans teaching with technology so that students know what to expect on a daily basis. This makes technology use less of a gimmick and more of a systematic part of the learning process for the students. In order to move to the next level of the CBAM model, Sean will need to begin to assess the long-term effectiveness of technology integration. This level is focused on how worthwhile the integration is and whether or not there is a better way to go about teaching in the classroom. At a simplistic level, this is done every day on a class-by-class basis. Sean assesses whether or not a particular lesson worked, including his use of technology in it. This fifth level of the CBAM, however, appears to be more concerned with the big picture. Are there better pieces of technology that could achieve better results? Is the effort of using technology worth it? Is student time being maximized through this use of technology? Sean will likely answer these questions at the end of this school year when he looks back at his unit plans and student results. He will definitely need to use some data gathered from his students. Some of this will likely be through student grade data, but it will also be important to get direct feedback from students on what they felt was effective and ineffective for their learning. A formal survey will likely be necessary in order to gain this type of information. Sean should not stay on this level long because, while important, the examining of these questions without moving forward would certainly stunt student growth. Sean should use time off during the summer to assess his viewpoint toward technology use and then move on to the next level of exploring ways in which other experts have answered the same questions he is exploring.