What inspired this project? In the late 1990’s computers were being used in many classrooms or computer/media labs across the United States. In 1999, research on how technology, mainly desktop computers, was used in the high school classroom setting provided insights into educators’ comfort levels with technology and how it was used to create content-rich and engaging lessons (Cuban et al., 2001). In 2016, researchers Zhao & Bryant revealed that there was a direct link between educators’ technology integration training and high levels of technology use in the classroom. For those in the study who had been in the classroom longer, positive results were more evident than for those who had not been in the profession as long.
Twenty-one years after Cuban et al.’s (2001) research from 1999, there was still a need for all teachers to receive professional development about the technology they used and had access to. By adding professional development for technology, pedagogy, cross-curricular lesson design, and The Seven Habits of Happy Kids (Covey, 2008) in the district of study, students benefited. Students were more engaged in their learning, had better access to the latest technologies, and increased their leadership skills. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, many teachers incorporated social-emotional learning for students into their curriculum as there was a need to incorporate collaborative opportunities for their students during instructional time. As a Xennial, I know the importance of keeping up with the technological times. Students today only know the world with fast technology and knowledge in an instant. They are used to fast-paced images and videos to learn new skills. While teaching in a pandemic, it was important to me that I coach my colleagues on using technology to enhance their lessons while integrating The Seven Habits of Happy Kids by Sean Covey. I wanted to know how coaching the teachers would assist in student agency. For more information, you can read about my research journey on my blog, and read my research paper. |