Intel® Teach to the Future
Leadership Unit
Program Leadership Unit
Tal Kaufman
Introduction
Teachers who train through the Intel program are expected to
be leaders in the world of computers in the schools in which they teach, but
while their professionalism increases considerably and they acquire much
knowledge, leading the topic and instructing a team are not self-evident. The
proposed unit is intended to help master teachers to lay the primary
foundations regarding their perception and development of the role as leaders
of the subject in their schools, and impart basic awareness of the processes
that will help them succeed in this. It involves creating trusting work relations
between the master teacher and the school principal, and developing other
aspects associated with change as the basis for guiding the school staff.
The purpose of the unit
§
To stimulate awareness of the various aspects
associated with the perception of the role of the master teacher and its
presentation to the school principal and other functionaries
§
To arouse awareness of the importance of the
connection between the master teacher and the school principal and provide a
basis for its development
§
To discover other aspects of leading the process of
change while working with the school staff
The
duration of the unit
A total of five hours - three
units each of 1½ hours and two recesses each of ¼ hour.
Materials and Aids
§
Colored A4 size sheets of paper, writing
instruments and materials for creative work such as colorful journals, paints
§
Written materials for distribution: a timetable,
instructions for creating a contract, characteristics of the process of change,
difficulties and coping, opposition and methods of handling it and a section to
be read in conclusion (the train story)
§
Pages of instructions for both simulations and for
further tasks (according to the material detailed in the program)
§
Transparencies according to the details included in
the program
§
Slide projector and chart
(Timetable
to be distributed to the participants)
The Intel program – leadership unit
“You cannot teach anyone
anything. You can only help him find it within himself”
Galileo Galilei
Aims
§
To arouse awareness of the different aspects of the
perception of the role of master teacher and its presentation to the school
principal and other functionaries
§
To arouse awareness of the importance of the
connection between the master teacher and school principal and provide a basis
for its structuring
§
To reveal various aspects of leading the process of
change while working with the teachers
Timetable
12:15 – 12:30 Recess
Review
– Activities
Activity no. 1
Opening and acquaintanceship (20
minutes)
Present: The
story of the map
Discuss: The
goals of the leadership unit as part of the Intel program
Present: The
name of the participant and why he/she was given this name
Activity no. 2
To be master teacher – my
“visiting card” (65 minutes)
Prepare: Your
“visiting card” as a graduate of the Intel course
Discuss: Questions
you asked yourself while preparing your “visiting card”
Develop: A
list of questions pertaining to the essence of the role of master teacher
Present: Your
“visiting card”
Discuss: Different
perceptions of the role reflected in the “visiting card” and their implications
Activity no. 3
The master teacher and the school principal (90
minutes)
Plan: The
conversation as a master teacher with the school principal, and as the school
principal with a master teacher, graduate of the Intel program
Hold: A
simulation of the conversation held between the school principal and the master
teacher
Discuss: Difficulties,
fears and questions arising from the master teacher – school principal
simulation
Add: Additional
questions regarding the role of the master teacher to the list of questions
Read
and discuss:
Instructions for creating a work contract between the master teacher and the
school principal
Activity no. 4
The master teacher as leading
change (75 minutes)
Observe and listen: To the summary of the
definition of the process of change, its characteristics and difficulties
List: Ten obvious
changes in a partner
Discuss: Feelings
that arose during the experiment
Observe and listen: To a brief lecture on
opposition to change
Hold: A
simulation of the meeting between the master teacher and members of the school
staff
Discuss: Helpful
reactions and blocking reactions in the conversation between the master teacher
leading the change and the school staff
Activity
no. 5
Summary of the unit (15 minutes)
Discuss: One
central observation as food for thought
Listen: To a section read
Activities
Opening and acquaintanceship (20
minutes)
Story of the map: Carl Wick (1995): Sense-making
in organizations
The event is related to a
Hungarian nobleman named Albert Saint Georty and was written as a poem by Hulov
in 1970. It occurred during military exercises in
A young lieutenant of a small
Hungarian unit sent a reconnaissance unit to the mountainous ice desert. It
began to snow immediately and continued for two days. The unit did not return.
The lieutenant suffered, feared he had sent his men to their death. But on the
third day the unit returned. Where had they been? How did they find their way
back? “Yes”, they said, “We were sure we
were lost, and waited for our
end. Then one of us found a map in his pocket. We set up camp, waited until the
storm abated, and then, using the map, identified our position, and here we
are.”
The lieutenant borrowed the map
and examined it only to discover to his amazement that it was not a map of the
I told you this story at the beginning of the
leadership unit to illustrate one idea concerning the role of the master (and there are of course many
more).
The group of soldiers in the
story went from a given reality of feeling lost in the ice desert, to another
reality having discovered a map with which to find their way. The reality did
not change, since under these circumstances the map was of no more use than the
paper on which it was printed, but the vision of
the reality and its
interpretation altered. And in this case the difference between the two
perceptions was the difference between life and death.
One may thus claim the events
around us have no reason to exist alone, but only subject to the interpretation
or significance that we afford them. The significance afforded them determines
our actions.
And this is your place. The important role of leaders,
of master teachers, is to interpret reality and afford it significance that can
awaken hope in us, motivate us to act and make things happen.
The goals of the unit, as they appear on the back of
the timetable, are to arouse primary awareness of various aspects, associated,
by definition, to master teachers. There is no single answer as to what is a master
teacher and how the workshop will provoke questions and reveal aspects of the
role. Each will provide the answers correct for him/herself, or, in other
words, according to his/her perception of reality and the interpretation he/she
affords it. In this context, repeat Galileo Galilei’s motto, “You cannot teach
anyone anything, you can only help him to find it within himself”.
Part of the significance related to the role is also the
name given to you.
Let us return to the more
personal aspect, and have a round of “getting to know you”.
Every participant will say
his/her name and why his parents chose it for him/her.
Activity no. 2
To be
a master teacher – my “visiting card” (65 minutes)
Description:
During the next hour we will
discuss your “visiting cards” as master teachers. Each of your “visiting cards”
a metaphor for the way in which you perceive
your role nowadays, how you
present yourselves to the school principal and the school staff, and how you
would like to be perceived.
Step
no. 1: Preparing a visiting card (20 minutes)
Instructions:
You have about 20 minutes to plan
and design your “visiting cards” as master teachers, graduates of the Intel
program. You have sheets of paper on which you can prepare the card as well as
other creative materials. Pay attention to the size so that all the
participants can see the card and its details.
Remember,
the “visiting card is intended to present the substance of the role clearly and
attractively.
Step no. 2: Identifying personal questions that arose
while preparing the card
Write down all the questions you asked yourself while
preparing the visiting card, starting with receiving the instructions.
Is there anything characteristic
of your questions?
Step no. 3: Developing
a group question list
Present the members of the group
with some of the questions you asked yourself while preparing the visiting
card. The questions will be written on the
Examples of questions asked during the
workshop for master teachers ·
How will the school principal
and staff accept me? ·
What is my job? To teach? To
guide and instruct the teachers? To coordinate the subject? ·
What special thing do I bring
to the school as a graduate of the Intel program? ·
In what way am I
different from the school coordinator for computer studies? ·
How do I want myself and the
subject of computers to be perceived in school?
Blackboard
as raw material for thought while you are experimenting with shaping your role
as master teachers.
Look at the shared list of questions. Are their
attributes common to them? Surprising questions?
Step no. 4: Presenting the visiting cards
All the participants will place
the visiting cards they prepared at their feet. A colleague will volunteer to
present his/her visiting card at the end of the presentation. Another colleague
will be asked to present his/her visiting card. During the presentation the
participants are invited to ask the presenter questions of clarification referring
to his/her perception of the role as reflected in the card.
Definitions of the role will be
written on the blackboard together with the names by which the participants
defined them.
Step no. 5: The master teacher – a variety of names
and perceptions of the role
Look at the list of names and definitions of your role. The
number of different names for the role is as different as the number of
participants. It is interesting to hear how people who have participated in the
same training process now
Interpret the same reality differently, resulting in
different perceptions of the role and different types of work.
The purpose of the unit that dealt with visiting cards was to stimulate
you to thinking about the meaning of the role, to ask questions and to hear
different attitudes while listening to colleagues. As mentioned, only you can
work out the real answer for yourselves.
Example
of different perceptions of the role that arose in the master teacher Workshop: A t teacher in charge of
computers in school
·
Guides us on the subject of
computers
·
Alters the teachers’ attitudes
towards computers and their
·
Integration in teaching
·
Guides the school staff in
integrating computers in teaching
`
Activity no. 3
The master teacher and the school principal
(90 minutes)
Description: In this unit we will focus on the connection
between the master teacher and the school principal: How to create the primary
connection, how
to lay the foundations for developing relations of trust and arranging a
“work” contract that will enable you, as master teachers, to successfully
execute your job.
Step
no. 1: Preparation for the master teacher-school principal meeting
Description: The participants will divide
into four secondary groups (each with 5 participants)
Each group will represent a
functionary:
§
A master teacher, a graduate of the Intel program,
about to meet the principal of the school in which he/she teaches
§
A master teacher, graduate of the Intel program,
about to meet the principal of another school
§
A school principal, about to meet a teacher from
the school staff who participated in the Intel program
§
The school principal, about to meet a member of the
school staff of another school who is a graduate of the Intel program
Instructions: Before you is a page of
instructions. You have 15 minutes to prepare yourselves for a meeting with the
master teacher/school principal. Make a note of the questions you would like to
ask at this meeting and decide what is important for you to present.
Instruction sheets distributed
to secondary groups
- A
master teacher about to meet his principal for the school in which he
teachers
You have just completed the course for master teachers following the
Intel training program.
The principal of the school in which you teach knows you have
participated Intel program during the summer vacation and told you that when
you complete it you should set a meeting to hear what can be done…
You have fixed a meeting with the principal in order to explore how he
views your inclusion in the next school year.
You are excited and expect…
You have decided to prepare yourselves well for the meeting
Good luck!!!!
- A
master teacher about to meet the school principal
You have just completed the course for master teachers of the Intel
training courses.
You have arranged a meeting with the principal of the school into the
nearby town in order to suggest holding a course tote staff for his school.
You are not familiar with the school, but you have committed yourself to
recruiting two groups and so you have decided to try to approach him.
Intel eh preliminary telephone conversation the principal told you the
he is ready to meet but there is already a coordinator for computers on the
staff.
You are excited, anticipating and hoping.
Good luck
3. The school principal is about to meet a graduate of the Intel program
You are the school principal. A few days ago a girl phoned you telling
you that she had just completed the Intel training course and asked to fix a
meeting.
You agreed to meet although you were not sure what it was about, and you
even mentioned to her that the school as a coordinator for computers.
You do not have much time for the meeting and smut already start getting organized for the school year that
is soon to open.
For the meeting to be efficient and you have decided to prepare yourself
well for it.
- The
school principal about to meet a teacher form the staff who has graduated the Intel program
You are the school principal. You know that during the summer vacation
Hashuvit participate Intel training program
She approached you and asked to have a organized meeting in order to
explore how she could use her new skills at school.
You have fixed a meeting with her, you do not have much time for her
meeting and must already start getting organized for her school year that is
about to open…
For the meeting to be efficient and you have decided to prepare yourself
well for
it.
Step no. 2: Simulating a meeting between the school
principal and the master teacher
Instructions: Each two groups will simulate a
meeting between the master teacher and the principal. The remaining two groups
will watch. Should the observers be interested in adding something, on the
“empty chair” basis, a representative from the group will sit on another chair
that had remained empty in the circle of those participating in the simulation
and will say what he/she has to say. On completion, he/she will return to the
other group to which he/she belongs.
Step no. 3: Discussion
following the simulation
Description: The discussion will first focus
on reflection by the participants who played the role of master teachers,
graduates of the Intel course, and thereafter, on those who acted the role of
principal in the simulation.
§
How did you feel as master teachers during the
simulation of the meeting? To what extent did you feel you were properly
prepared? What did you find easy during the meeting with the principal? With
what was it more difficult to cope? What things did you feel were
§
helping the conversation and what blocked it? If
you were to attend a similar meeting tomorrow, what would you do differently?
§
What did the school principals feel/see in the
experiment (with respect to the above and other questions)?
§
What became clear to the participants regarding the
role of the master teacher following the simulation?
Step no. 4: Expanding the list of questions
Add to the preliminary list of
questions (see activity no. 2, step 3) regarding your role as master teacher
all the new questions that arose during or following the simulation.
Step no. 5: The contract between
the master teacher and the school principal.
Description: Till now we have dealt with the
first meeting between the master teacher and the school principal, which was
intended to afford a preliminary
Acquaintance and enable the
principal to decide whether he/she wished to allow the master teacher to work
in his/her school This meeting is, to a large, extent, a marketing session.
After the decision is taken to
allow the master teacher to work, a first working session should be fixed in
which framework the “contract” regarding the work of the master teacher, and
his/her work relations, with the principal are defined. This “contract” is not
a formal document that the parties sign,
although the discussion of the
various aspects and the agreement of the parties to the content create a type
of psychological contract.
Considerable importance should be
attached to anchoring the process and method of work in a contract both to
coordinate expectations prior to the process and to assure the guidelines in
the process, which. If these are not
Observed, reference can be made
to the contract to recollect the agreements preceding the process.
Instructions: Before you is a document that
suggests which questions are important to ask the school principal when
organizing the contract and what are the desired results of each stage of the
discussion. Study the document and mark the points that you are interested in
clarifying and honing. After reading it we will discuss all the issues needing
clarification.
Distribute: A work contract between the
master teacher and the school principal.
Work contract between
the master teacher and the school principal
Based on the “attitude that
change as a way of life in educational institutions”/
By Ina Fox
Targets, and
expectations, aspirations, criteria for assessment
Question: What change would you
like to see in your school?
Question: In what areas would you
like to change?
(During the discussion the principal can be guided to refer to the staff’s
knowledge, the learning achievements, the learning environment, teachers’
abilities, teamwork, special projects).
Question: How can we know that
the anticipated change has occurred? (The master teacher, together with the principal
set the criteria to explore the results in every domain).
Question: What are your
priorities? With what would you like to start? Let’s set targets.
Results: This discussion will end when the
principal’s expectations, criteria for success and implementation
targets are clear and offer a basic program for the forthcoming steps.
These can be arranged in a table.
The instructional framework
Question: What if I,
the master teacher, work?
The entire staff, subject coordinators and
functionaries, special groups characterized by…etc.
Note: The master teacher must emphasize to the principal the connection
between the instructional framework and the quality of the change and its
impact.
Results: This discussion will
end when it is clear to the principal and the master teacher who is to
receive instruction and what is the permanent time slot allocated to this
instruction
Division of roles and responsibility
Question: What are you, the principal, and
prepared to do to further the process?
(To organize the system, to hold
regular meetings (or according to need) with the master teacher for shared
updating and thought, to participate in planning, implementation, attend the
in-service training, observe lessons and provide the teachers with feedback,
etc).
Note: If this question does not
provide clear answers, the question, “How would you like to see the connection
between us during the process” should
be asked. (It is also important
to emphasize that there is no advantage to the principal appearing to offer a
free hand and not wanting to be involved.)
Question: How do you view my role
as a master teacher?
Question: Are there other
participants to leading the change (such as the coordinator for computer, the
pedagogic coordinator)
Question: How do you view their
involvement in the process?
Results: This discussion will
end with clarification by the master teacher as to how he/she can help
promote the use of computers in school, emphasizing that the principal is
responsible for the success of the project
Technical conditions:
Question: When will the meetings be held?
(Meetings with the principal, with those participating in the training, with
functionaries with whom it is relevant to meet, etc)
Question: Where will the session be held?
What conditions exist there?
Clarification of the
necessary resources
Results:
This discussion will conclude with an operative timetable and clear summary
regarding the place and resources necessary
Activity no. 4
The master teacher as leading
change (75 minutes)
Description: This unit will deal with the
primary exposure to the subject of introducing change in school. Even if the
change is not declared, the fact that you are master teachers coming to teach
the staff something new forecasts change. The process of introducing change is
a broad subject. Here, in the
framework of the brief time
available we will try to present definitions and basic characteristics and
stimulate awareness of the process that people participating in the process
experience, in your case, the school staff.
Step no. 1: Defining the process of change,
characteristics and
Difficulties.
Ask: When you say change, what do you
mean? (Collect several definitions that the participants propose)
Present: The subject of change has a wide
variety of definitions. To help focus I have chosen to present you with two
definitions, one from Even Shushan’s Hebrew dictionary and the other by the
researcher Sarason.
Now, with the definitions before
you, you can ask yourselves whether what you intend doing in school is actually
change. There are diverse theories that discuss the various processes of
change, attributes and so on. I will here present you with one approach that
offers the characteristics of the process, the difficulties and the proposed
methods of coping. Prior familiarity with issues is likely to prevent feelings
of discomfort during the process.
The characteristics of
the process of change
|
|
|
Characteristics associated with the process |
·
The process of change is dynamic, permanent and
cyclical ·
The process of change occurs in three areas: ·
Cognitive, emotional and behavioral ·
The process of change is complex and
multi-faceted |
|
Characteristics associated with the individual |
·
Change is a process achieved by individuals ·
The process of change is unclear and painful ·
In the process of change people also change ·
The process of change has an direct or indirect
impact on each of the participants |
|
Characteristics associated with the development
of change |
·
The paths of change develop along different
patterns ·
The path of the development of change includes
four stages: ·
Preparation, implementation, continued
implementation and institutionalizing the results |
Distribute: A page with the characteristics of the process of
change, difficulties and methods of coping.
Characteristics of the process of
change, difficulties and methods of coping
(According to the approach that
change as a way of life in educational, Ina Fox)
Characteristic
|
Difficulties |
Methods of coping |
|||
|
The process of change is dynamic,
permanent and cyclical |
Periods of fixation, frustration and
lack of activity characterized by feelings of pressure and despair |
· Accept
the times of difficulty with patience, knowing they will pass
· Enable
the teachers to express negative feelings
· Encourage
the teachers and support them
· Afford
slowdown legitimizing setting goals for the future
· Exploit
momentum and know how to enrich when necessary |
|||
|
Characteristic
|
Difficulties |
Methods of coping |
||
|
Change occurs in three areas:
cognitive, emotional and behavioral |
Over-emphasis of one area compared to
not handling another |
· Time
for the teachers, professional material and learning conditions in which they
will expand their knowledge and understanding of the subject
· Conversations
with the whole staff, in small groups and between the teachers to enable them
to handle their feelings and understand where they are
· Provide
the teachers with help in handling new situations and new behaviors in
teaching and learning |
||
|
The process of change is complicated
and multi-layered |
Exaggerated expectations for quick
achievement of goals. Inability to delay gratification of obvious needs |
· Be
patient
· Set
“modest” goals for the short term
· Allow
the process enough time
· Do
not expect immediate results |
||
|
The process of change is unclear and
painful |
Loss of professional confidence, anger
and opposition |
· Distinguish
between your professional ego and accept with understanding opposition
stemming from the loss of confidence and anxiety
· Afford
hard feelings and pain legitimacy; calm, support, encourage and reinforce.
· Try
to change your approach from perceiving change as an obstacle to seeing it as
a challenge
· Work
on success
· Remember
it is a passing but unavoidable stage
|
||
|
Attribute
|
Implication
|
Method of coping
|
||
|
In
every process of change people also change
|
Loss
of professional and self confidence, confusion
|
· Hold many open
conversations and discussion for clarification
· Support and encourage
individuals and teams
· Encourage
expressing feelings and thoughts to develop awareness of different situations
in which teachers find themselves |
||
|
The
process of change has a direct or indirect influence on each participant
|
|
· Involve everyone
associated with the process, according to the degree of impact on them, in
decision making regarding the different stages of the process
|
||
|
Change
can occur in a variety of ways
|
Not
every model is suitable for every institution, population and situation
|
· Evaluate all aspects of
the situation in school
· Plan the next
goals |
||
|
The
process of change includes four stages: preparation, implementation,
continued implementation and institutionalization, results
|
It
is not possible to skip a stage
|
· Plan in advance the
school activities pertinent to the various stages
|
||
Step no. 2: The experience of change
Instructions: Choose partners and each make five obvious changes in the
partner.
After
each has done this five more changes should be made in each partner.
Discuss: Feelings that arose during the experiment. What
was easy? What was difficult? How did you feel as an agent of change and as
experiencing change?
The main conclusion arising from the
discussion in which you participated in this process of change
is that it is not easy, that it involves anxiety, for which reason there is
often behavior that expresses opposition.
Step no. 3: Opposition to the process of change
Present: Opposition is a natural
reaction to accepting help accompanying the process of change and learning.
When discussing instruction, the
learning process is not limited to the intellectual aspect of adding knowledge
and acquiring technical tools alone, but often also refers to the need to
internalize and include attitudes and values, patterns of thought and new
behaviors in the spirit of the profession. At the same time the person
receiving instruction must forgo patterns, attitudes and values that he/she
developed and adopted during professional life. The necessary change is
perceived as dangerous and threatening. It arouses feelings of discomfort,
anxiety and fear of being hurt or losing control.
These feelings are brought indirectly and express
opposition.
Tell about: Examples of opposition reported and/or
observed during the paired experience.
Step
no. 4: Simulation of a meeting between master teacher and teachers on the
school staff.
Instructions:
Choose five volunteer teachers,
four of whom represent teachers on the school staff whom the master teacher,
Hashuvit, is supposed to guide and
instruct. The simulation
describes the second session. Each participant will receive written
instructions on how to behave in the staff meeting.
During the experiment, the other
participants will be observers, noting
1.
Who opposes and through what behaviors?
2.
How did Hashuvit choose to react and cope with the
expressions of opposition? Did the chosen method promote or block them?
Instructions those participating
in the simulation
Hashuvit
You are a master teacher. During the summer you participated
in the Intel training course and, to your great pleasure, the school principal
allowed you to instruct a group of teachers from the school staff in which you
teach.
Despite your fears, the first
session went smoothly… and now, in a moment, you are going into the second
session.
Dalia
You are a teacher at the school
and the principal has asked you to attend the computer in-service training.
During the first session you sat quietly but today that is not going to happen.
Hashuvit, who participated in some course run by Intel at the
Yossefa
You are a member of the school
staff and the principal has asked you to attend the computer training this
time. During the first session you sat quietly, but not today. What do you mean
by devoting so much time to computers when you believe there are so many
children in your school who have
difficulty with reading and
reading comprehension. You have decided that before going any further, you have
to arouse the other teachers to this issue.
Kocahavit
You are a member of the staff and
the principal has asked you to attend the computer-training course this time.
During the first session you sat quietly but not this time. There’s nothing new
here! You got the idea from what Hashuvit presented at the first session and
today you are sure. You have been working thus in the classroom for years…what
do they want of you? Your colleagues surely feel the same. ..Today you have
decided to put your cards the table…
Shula
You are a teacher at the school
and the principal has asked you to attend the computer training this time.
During the first session you sat quietly, but not today.
Nothing seems clear! Today you
have decided that you are going to ask all the questions bothering you even if
you bombard the instructor with questions, so what, the main thing is to
understand, isn’t it?
Discuss: Exhibitions of identified opposition and methods
of action that the participants tried to adopt when playing the role of the
master teacher. What other types of reaction could be used to minimize the
opposition?
Present:
On a transparency
Three stages of coping with opposition §
Identifying the type of opposition §
Relate to the opposition §
Silence and providing the teacher with the
opportunity to react and for statements regarding the opposition |
On a transparency
Reference to opposition
§
Indirect coping §
Direct coping: 1.
Reflection, clarification and focusing 2.
Open conflict: Open and direct discussion of the
opposition 3.
Open expression of the feelings of the master
teacher |
Distribute: Summary sheet on opposition and
how to handle it
Opposition and
how to handle it
What is opposition?
Opposition is a natural reaction
to receiving help accompanying learning and change
Instruction and guidance the learning process is not limited
to the intellectual realm of adding knowledge and acquiring technical tools
alone, but also often affects the need to internalize and the include attitudes
and values, new patterns of thought and behavior in the spirit of the
profession. At the same time, those receiving instruction must forgo the
patterns, attitudes and values they have developed and adopted during their
professional lives. The necessary change is perceived as dangerous and
threatening; it arouses discomfort, anxiety and the fear of being hurt or lose
control.
These feelings are expressed
indirectly and express opposition.
Direct expression of worry or
discomfort with the process is not opposition.
Opposition is an important and
essential stage in the process since this is the moment at which the change
begins to affect people personally.
Opposition has many
faces…ways of expressing opposition
§
Various attempts to delay, such as silence or
joking
§
To request more details: When you feel you are
impatient and ask for more details, one may assume that this is a type of
opposition
§
To swamp with details: When you get bored and start
to understand less and less, you encounter opposition
§
Time: Tardiness, frequent stops, the teacher has no
time for you
§
Counter attack: The teacher gives the feeling that
you are not professional
§
Confusion: Primary confusion is understandable, but
when things seem clear to you and the teacher repeats over and over that he
does not understand, he was apparently opposing
§
Silence: The teacher is passive and does not react.
One cannot assume that the session was good because the teacher expressed no
reservations
§
Intellectualization: Instead of taking action, the
teacher raises assumption after assumption
§
Blind agreement: Apparently agreeing with
everything said, but actually not applying anything
§
Over desire to patronize: can indicate that the
teacher is not capable of handling the problems directly
§
Imaginary health: The problems have apparently been
solved and there is no longer any need of the process
Coping with opposition
Three stages in handling opposition:
1.
Identifying the type of opposition
2.
Relating to the opposition
3.
Silence and providing the teacher with the
opportunity to react
and for statements regarding
the opposition
- Identifying the clues
- Pay attention to the teacher’s
non-verbal messages i.e., pay attention to every sign that the teacher
feels uncomfortable Listen to yourself and use your instincts as a
“thermometer”. If you are bored, angry, pressured,
these are feelings
that must be translated into words in order to identify the type of opposition
- A clear hint to opposition is when you
hear the same sentence or phrase question again and again.
2. Reference to opposition
Indirect coping
Its source is in the guide’s awareness and understanding of
the process of change and the sources of tension and anxiety accompanying it.
The guide tries to cope with the opposition through activities that ease the
process of change and are directed at reducing the fear, such as, support,
accompaniment, illustration and so on, without referring directly to the
opposition itself.
Direct coping
§
Reflection, clarification and focusing: a description
of the opposition to the teacher verbally, with neutrality and without
threatening
§
Open conflict: Open and direct discussion. This
technique expresses the principal’s refusal to accept the teacher’s behavior
and games, and calls for placing the cards on the table and discussing the
teacher’s difficulties openly. Legitimacy of the fear and the difficulty the
process arouses must be afforded.
§
Open expression of the feelings of the
principal/coordinator: an open description of how you feel (hurt, angry, bewildered,
sad)
This technique can lead to more
honest and more open discussion although it is more dangerous since the teacher
is liable to not care about the principal’s/coordinator’s feelings
- Silence
The tendency is to continue
talking after relating to the opposition in order to reduce the tension. This
is totally ineffective since it absolves the teacher of accepting
responsibility.
Several tips on coping with opposition
§
Try not to get involved in an argument with the
opposition. Avoid “ping-pong” situations between you
§
Afford legitimacy to the difficulty of accepting
new ideas
§
You do not have to answer every question that is
raised. It can be left as a question. If there are team sessions it is even
worth while writing the questions on the blackboard in the intention of
relating to them later on
§
Questions that arise and need an answer: even if
they are not relevant try to rephrase them in a way that will suit the defined
goals/output
§
In-group situations, allow the group “to do the
work”. Sometimes the answers to the opposition will come from within the group
itself. Patience and restraint are therefore necessary
§
The defined goal/output affords an anchor. It is
permissible to stop a discussion when it deviates from the goal
§
If you identify opposition that expresses the fear
directly, remember that you have a curfew! This is the most useful type of
opposition since fear and difficulty are its source. In such a case, don’t
swallow the difficulty, but on the contrary, reflect it and relate to it with
empathy
Finally, and most important:
Remember that opposition is not towards you directly, even if outwardly it is
directed towards you. It is the result of fear of
the change and deviation of which
you are informing them at this moment. Thus there is no need to be angry with
those in opposition or be disappointed with them. On the contrary, identifying
opposition and handling it successfully promotes the learning process or the
process of change.
Step
no. 5: A conversation that furthers/blocks relations between the master teacher
and the school staff
Discuss: Helpful reactions and blocking
reactions in a conversation between the master teacher and the school staff.
Conclude: It should be remembered that
opposition is not towards you directly, even if outwardly it is directed
towards you. It is the result of fear of the change and deviation of which you
are informing them at this moment. Thus there is no need to be angry with those
in opposition or be disappointed with them. On the contrary, identifying opposition
and handling it successfully promotes the learning process or the process of
change.
Activity no. 5
Summary
f the unit (15 minutes)
Step
no. 1: “Provisions for the way”
One basic insight as
provisions for the way: every participant is asked to mention one basic insight
that was honed as the result of the workshop that he/she would like to take
with for use in the practical instruction.
Step no. 2: A section
to be read
Read the section and distribute it to all the
participants thereafter.
To one of the villages in
Poland came the rumor that the next day the first train would reach
the village. All the citizens of the village dressed in their finery and
went out to see the new wonder. Amongst them were the famous
religious leader and sage who lived there. Looking was not enough for
him. He went to stroke the train with his own hands - the carriages and
the engine. His disciples wondered at the meaning of the behavior of their
Rabbi and asked him about it. The sage relied: One can
learn from everything in the world. I see the train but the carriages are
as cold as ice. The engine is hot and burning, and I drew my conclusion.
If the leader is hot he gets excited and can, with his energies, drag
along many which they are as cold as ice!
Instruction sheets distributed to the
secondary groups 1. A master teacher is
about to meet the principal of the school in which he /she teaches You have just completed the Intel
training course for master teachers. The principal of the school in which you
teach knows you have participated in the program during the summer vacation
and told you that when you complete it you should arrange a meeting to
explain to him what can be done… You have arranged a meeting with the
principal in order to explore how he views your inclusion in the next
school year. You are excited and expect… You have decided to prepare yourselves
well for the meeting Good luck 2. A master teacher is
about to meet the school principal You have just completed the Intel
training course for master teachers You have arranged a meeting with the
principal of the school in the nearby town in order to suggest holding a
course for the staff of his school. You are not familiar with the school,
but you have committed yourself to
recruiting two groups and so you have decided to try to approach
him. In the preliminary telephone
conversation the principal told you that he is ready to meet but there is
already a coordinator for computers on the staff. You are excited, anticipating and
hoping.. Good luck 3. The school principal
is about to meet a graduate of the Intel program You are the school principal. A few days
ago a girl phoned you telling you that she had just completed the Intel
training course and asked to arrange a meeting. You agreed to meet although you were not
sure what it was about, and you even mentioned to her that the school has a
coordinator for computers You do not have much time for the
meeting and must already start
getting organized for the school year that is soon to open.. For the meeting to be efficient and
productive you have decided to prepare yourself well for it. 4. The school principal
is about to meet a staff member who has graduated the Intel progrm You are the school principal. You know
that during the summer vacation Hashuvit participated in the Intel training
program She approached you and asked to have a
organized meeting in order to see how she could use her new skills at
school. You have arranged a meeting with her,
for which you do not have much time, and must already start getting
organized for the school year that is about to open… For the meeting to be efficient and
productive you have decided to prepare yourself well for it.