Running head: TEACHER TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT NARRATIVE 1

Teacher Technology Assessment Narrative

Sandra S. Bennett

Kennesaw State University

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This technology assessment has been completed in conjunction

with a coaching initiative begun between the technology coach and

a first-year 6th grade science teacher, using the pseudonym Tom.

Coming from private industry and business ownership, Tom was hired

to replace a teacher at Haynes Bridge Middle School who was

recently promoted. He teaches four science classes and one math

class, and has a total of 104 students. I have found Tom eager to

do well, to apply what he has learned, and he seems appreciative

of the coaching partnership that has been established.

Once rapport had been attained between the coach and teacher,

two survey instruments were administered to assess Tom’s use of

technology and his opinions related to its use. The tools used

were the LoTi Questionnaire and the Adopter Level Survey, both

developed collaboratively by the ITEC 7460 Middle School Group.

The surveys provided valuable insights that will assist the coach

in addressing areas of need. A next strategy was to interview Tom

for clarification in his survey results and to determine any

additional affective perceptions of technology. The coach

additionally toured the teacher’s classroom to determine levels of

technology present. The results of the surveys, interview and

classroom tour will be synthesized in this narrative, providing an

overall assessment of the teacher’s technology usage.

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The survey results and interview indicted that Tom’s adopter

level is likely in the “late majority” adopter group as described

in Change Theory (Orr, 2003). His level of technology integration

using the LoTi Framework (2011) has been accessed as between a

Level 1, Awareness, and Level 2, Exploration. The teacher stated

that he uses technology at least monthly in the classroom and that

he is rarely or never one of the first to adopt a new technology.

He shared that he typically is not the last to use it, however. He

admits that he is inclined to see technology working for some

others with evidence of its effectiveness before adopting it

himself, and that he feels compelled to find a good fit in his

instruction for it first. While Tom appears to be comfortable

having lessons include the use of technology, he is limited to the

three desktops in his classroom, a rolling laptop cart and

stationary lab on a check-out basis that are in high demand, and

one iPad for his personal or classroom use.

The surveys have shown and the interview clarified that so

far Tom and his students have used technology mainly for

productivity tools in creating documents, presentations and

spreadsheets. The technology appears to augment and enhance his

instruction, but there was no indication at this point that it

redefines his instruction or supports complex thinking skill

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development, problem-based learning, or real-world applied

leaning, which are seen in the higher LoTi levels. Technology,

rather, is used by his students to acquire basic skills and the

products created are conventional or traditional in nature. The

survey question that assessed the teacher’s strengths using the

Roblyer and Doering (2013) Tech-PACK model indicated that Tom’s

greatest strength is his content knowledge. The teacher further

articulated in the interview that there are opportunities for

development in the areas of technological and pedagogical

knowledge, which will likely come with professional development

and experience. Additionally, the condition to most influence the

teacher’s adoption of new technology is sufficient knowledge and

skill developed through training.

Considering that Tom is new to the job, additional specific

instructional technologies and software have yet to be introduced.

Therefore, it would likely not be correct to assume he is an early

adopter. As pointed out by Peter de Jager (2005), to say that one

is an “Early Adopter" has no meaning unless it is associated with

a specific change or innovation. Based on what Tom has been

exposed to, and what he currently uses, he is further along in his

technology adoption than one might assume at a first glance. He

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has used technology in his own business and private industry, so

is transitioning its use to an educational setting.

The coaching plan includes the following: modeling and co-

teaching and observing a technology lesson with feedback using

science probing devices; a minimum of five weekly coaching

sessions through mid-April to include the introductions of web

tools, higher-level problem-solving skill development; and,

suggestions on additional science labs ideas to support such skill

development, as well as student focused independent research and

collaboration opportunities. A Coaching Planning Log and

Reflection instrument was developed to document our sessions and

thoughts about them. Throughout this process each week, the

teacher will provide input on his needs and wants, and we will

collaborate with a high degree of flexibility to meet his needs as

articulated in this narrative. This is important to maintain the

partnership the coach and teacher have established and defined by

Knight (2007). So, our overall, primary goal is to partner in

enhancing Tom’s level of technology integration for the purpose of

developing higher-level thinking and problem solving skills.

Finally, the teacher will be given opportunities along the

way to return the favor of coaching back to the coach. The tools

TEACHER TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT NARRATIVE 6

the teacher has found useful as a business owner and in private

industry may have unique application opportunities in instruction,

and such tools may be new to the coach. Also, in his application

and implementation of technology, he may determine better

approaches to incorporate it into a lesson or student learning.

The coach may not have considered such approaches and would

appreciate knowing and incorporating them into her own

instruction. This sharing back and forth underscores the benefit

of a partnership relationship in the coaching experience.

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References

De Jager, P. (2005). The Danger of the "Early Adopter" Myth. Retrieved March 5, 2014, from

http://www.technobility.com/docs/article032.htm

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

Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

LoTi® Framework. (2011). Retrieved March 3, 2014, from

http://loticonnection.cachefly.net/global_documents/LoTi_Framework_Sniff_Test.pdf

Orr, G. (2008, March 8). Diffusion of Innovations, by Everett Rogers (1995). Retrieved March 4,

2014, from

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

Roblyer, M., & Doering, A. H. (2013). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (6th

ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

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Appendix

LoTi Questionnaire:

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