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A Teacher's Guide to Change

Understanding, Navigating, and Leading the Process

By: Jan Stivers, Sharon F. Cramer

Energize your learning community by transforming change into opportunity!

Ideal for use both in professional development settings and as a personal resource, this book provides a step-by-step approach that engages K–12 teachers in learning to prepare for change, which enhances their career satisfaction and effectiveness as professionals. Offering a wealth of conceptual, reflective, interpersonal, and strategic tools, this guide also includes:

Survey results from more than 100 teachers who share their experiences with change
Reflective exercises to help teachers understand and approach change
A five-step process for initiating and implementing change
Systematic strategies for leading change in small and larger arenas

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Product Details

Grade Level: K-12
ISBN: 9781412964470
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2009
Page Count: 176
Publication date: September 11, 2009

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Description

"Coping with change is perhaps the most fundamental aspect of life and certainly critical for successful teaching. This book provides an essential guide to how teachers might successfully address the ongoing and expected change associated with effective teaching."
—Sharon Vaughn, H. E. Hartfelder/Southland Corp Regents Chair
University of Texas

"Perhaps no other job in our society today experiences as much change as classroom teaching. Stivers and Cramer are two experts with tremendous insight and experience in both the theoretical and practical dimensions of personal, organizational, and systemwide change. Heartwarming, insightful stories explore how dozens of teachers overcome the challenges of living and leading through change every day, blended with rock-solid theory and extensive research on how to live through change successfully."
—Chris Edgelow, Founder and President
Sundance Consulting Inc.

Energize your learning community by transforming change into opportunity!

Throughout their careers, teachers will face a myriad of inevitable changes, both inside and outside the classroom. Ideal for use both in professional development settings and as a personal resource, A Teacher's Guide to Change engages K–12 teachers in the process of anticipating and responding to change. Through a step-by-step approach, teachers can learn to prepare for change, which enhances their career satisfaction and effectiveness as professionals.

Emphasizing that change is something teachers can understand, manage, become invested in, and even champion, the authors provide practical skills for facing and adjusting to change, whether it is mandated or chosen. Offering a wealth of conceptual, reflective, interpersonal, and strategic tools, this guide also includes:

Survey results from more than 100 teachers who share not only their experiences with change but also advice and encouragement, inviting educators to learn from each other
Reflective exercises to help teachers understand and approach change
A five-step process for initiating and implementing plans for change
Systematic strategies for leading change, both in smaller and larger spheres of influence
Vivid school-based examples that can be directly applied to personal experience

This accessible resource is invaluable for all teachers. Whether or not change is voluntary, opportunities for professional growth are abundant, leading to improved student learning and greater teacher retention.

Key features

Vignettes featuring teachers who relate their anxiety and elation over changes and how they were able to adapt
A reflection feature interwoven throughout the guide enabling readers to critically think how educators can personally implement change
Reproducibles and charts to assist teachers in understanding and implementing change
Responses from teachers in the field about obstacles they have faced and the advice or strategies they would offer from their experiences

Author(s)

Jan Stivers

Janet L. Stivers is associate professor of special education at Marist College, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, member of the Board of Directors of the Northeastern Educational Research Association, and member of the Board of Directors of Literacy Volunteer of America, Dutchess Community Chapter. Stivers frequently present workshops for teams of middle and high school teachers who are collaborating to teach students with special needs in general education classes.

She has a PhD in educational psychology and statistics at the State University of New York at Albany and recieved her MA in psychology and counseling from Assumption College. Stivers has been teaching at Marist College since 1980 and has won the Social and Behavioral Sciences Faculty of the Year Award, 2002.

Sharon F. Cramer

Sharon F. Cramer is a distinguished service professor at Buffalo State College, where she has been a member of the faculty since 1985. Her leadership roles include serving as executive director of the SABRE Project (implementation of the Oracle Student Information System) (1999-2004), chairing the Exceptional Education Department (1995-1999), and leadership roles in state and national professional organizations (e.g., president of the Northeastern Educational Research Association, NY Federation of Chapters of the Council for Exceptional Children, publication chair of the Division on Developmental Disabilities).

She earned her PhD at New York University in 1984 in human relations and social policy, her master of arts in teaching (MAT) from Harvard University in 1972, and her bachelors of arts degree from Tufts University in 1971. She participated in the Management and Leadership Education (MLE) program at Harvard University in 2001.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Part I. Experiencing Change

1. Introducing the Challenges of Change for Teachers

2. What Changes? Experiencing Change at School and at Home

Changes at School

New Administration

New Teaching Positions

New Locations

New Colleagues

Professional Development

Professional Recognition

Changes in Life at Home

Illness

Loss

Changes in Relationships and Responsibilities

Parenting

Connecting Our Professional and Personal Changes to the Change That Matters Most

3. Defining the Dynamics of Change for Teachers

Voluntary or Mandated

Top-Down or Bottom-Up

Incremental or Fundamental

Part II. Understanding the Change Process

4. First Encounters With Change

Responding to Innovation

Innovations in Educational Practices

Categorizing Responsiveness to Innovation

Understanding Resistance to Change

Resistance We Should Resolve

Failure to Be Convinced

Habit

Fear of Loss

Fear of Failure

Negative Experiences

Resistance We Should Respect

Pragmatic Concerns

Philosophical Disagreements

Analyzing One Teacher's Resistance to Change

5. Charting the Stages of Change

Teachers' Concerns Evolve During the Change Process

Stages of Concern

Self Concerns

Task Concerns

Impact Concerns

Change Occurs in Phases

An Overview of the Change Process

Endings: Recognizing That a Change Is Needed

The Neutral Zone: Preparing to Change

New Beginnings: Moving Ahead With Change

Part III. Implementing Change

6. Using Personal Experiences to Prepare for Professional Changes

Drawing on Personal Experiences

Four Steps for Starting a Professional Change Initiative

Step One: Identify Aspirations

Step Two: Inventory Resources

Step Three: Link Aspirations and Resources

Step Four: Anticipate Obstacles

7. Teacher-Directed Change: Working Within the Classroom

Implementing, Evaluating, and Celebrating Self-Directed Change

Step One: Aim High But Start Small

Step Two: Build a Timeline

Step Three: Monitor Both Progress and Outlook

Step Four: Celebrate Small Victories

Step Five: Shift Strategies to Make Adjustments

Step Six: Sustain Commitment

Part IV. Leading Change

8. Teacher-Led Change: Expanding Beyond the Classroom

Characteristics of Change Leaders

Spheres of Influence

Curriculum Development

Cocurricular and Extracurricular Programming

Outreach to Families and the Community

Professional Development for Teachers

Education Policy

9. Using Classroom-Based Skills to Lead Change

Part V. Changing Throughout a Career in Teaching

Inspiring Others to Accomplish Change: Mind-Set and Skills

Making Use of Teaching Skills to Lead Change

Communicate Clearly and Regularly

Motivate People to Take Risks and Accept Challenges

Be Proactive in Problem Solving

Making Use of Teaching Skills to Sustain Change

Check on Progress

Provide Continuous Assistance

Remember What Matters Most

10. Sustaining Career Vitality Through Change

The Early Years: Gaining a Sense of Ourselves as Teachers

The Middle Years: Making the Transition From Mentee to Mentor

The Later Years: Expanding Our Roles

Looking to the Future

Appendix A. Survey Items and Responses

Appendix B. Interview Questions

Appendix C. Professional Organizations for Teachers

References

Index

Reviews

"A must-have book for teachers at every stage of their teaching career. Change in schools is inevitable. This book will help teachers deal with change and allow them to do what they do best: provide a great education for students."

Sharon Redfern, Principal
Highland Park Elementary School, Lewistown, MT

"Coping with change is perhaps the most fundamental aspect of life and certainly critical for successful teaching. Stivers and Cramer provide an essential guide to how teachers might successfully address the ongoing and expected change associated with effective teaching."

Sharon Vaughn, H.E.Hartfelder/Southland Corp Regents Chair
University of Texas

"Perhaps no other job in our society today experiences as much change as classroom teaching. Stivers and Cramer are two experts with tremendous insight and experience in both the theoretical and practical dimensions of personal, organizational, and systemwide change. Heartwarming, insightful stories explore how dozens of teachers overcome the challenges of living and leading through change every day, blended with rock-solid theory and extensive research on how to live through change successfully."

Chris Edgelow, Founder and President
Sundance Consulting Inc.

"Teachers must learn to cope with the myriad of changes they experience throughout their career or they will leave the profession. This book gives a step-by-step approach for teachers to think about, plan for, and implement changes in their personal lives, their schools, and in their communities."

Barbara Glaeser, Associate Professor of Special Education
California State University, Fullerton

"How we react to and enact change determines whether we are leaders of our own careers and professional development or merely workers. This book provides the research and information for teachers to embrace change individually or as teacher leaders and teacher mentors. Skip the apple and go for the book!"

Karen Kozy-Landress, Speech/Language Pathologist
Brevard County Schools, Merritt Island, FL

"This text is an outstanding analysis of change that all of us in the education profession face on a daily basis. It is a must-read for every thoughtful teacher concerned with change."

D. Allan Bruner, Science/Math Chair
Colton High School, OR

Other Titles in: Teacher Leadership | Teaching Methods & Learning Styles

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