Facilitator+-+Sholom+Eisenstat's+Group

What barriers or constraints are keeping change from happening in your school, region or organization? · Staff buy-in is a constraint · Barrier is caused from not understanding the value · Assessment strategies are a constraint – teachers are not confident on assessment strategies · FEAR · Time is a constraint – many system initiatives impact time availability to engage in professional learning · Resources are a constraint – allocation of funds to provide technology · Administrative support for risk taking in teaching and access to resources · Staff resistance – time is an issue, and availability of the technology. · Equitable distribution of technology across the school · Technology functions inconsistently · Cultural barriers – change presents a barrier · Structural barriers – system structural barriers prevent challenges for customized learning · Factory model of teaching and resistance to change · Agrees with points above · Too many priorities create time challenges – Board has responsibilities to articulate priorities · Buy-in from the Ministry (18-17th Century)– resources are required to motivate the change · Structure of schools is an 18th century model – produces industrial model workers and not knowledge workers · Political will is a barrier · Teacher unions – must engage teacher unions and convince them to move to a model where teachers are facilitators of learning · Fear of change · Teacher resistance – they are afraid of what they don’t know – fear of the unknown · Technical barriers · Support · Leadership is required – and there is some resistance from leadership · Thinking about technology first- technology is a barrier if it is seen as an add-on to the work we are currently doing · 20th century teaching model is being applied to a 21st century approach – and this is problematic · Professional Development model is a barrier – we need to change the professional learning model · Budget allocated to support decaying infrastructure and missing the opportunity to allocate to the emerging tools · System thinking that is motivated by an agricultural model · System structures create inertias calendars, timetables, curriculum · System plant structures create barriers – electricity, room design,
 * Focus Group – Round Robin** (Colin, Mark, Joel, Peter, Brad, Cynthia, Nadia)

· Students will motivate the push for change – engage parents and society (students will take over) · We are in transition to move to a 21st century model · Release time for professional learning – co-teaching opportunities · Laser-like focus on literacy has paid dividends – now we need to do something similar with technology · Shift in how we build literacy understanding · Assets · Tools, teachers, knowledge, hardware, software, backbone, access, · Best practice in boards and classrooms · OPSBA takes technology very seriously · Ministry is putting together a working table to investigate the role of technology in the classroom · People are the asset – we have lots of good people doing effective teaching in the classroom
 * How do we deal with the people/system issues?**