When we observe our daily life, the whirlwind always gets priority. We focus on the day job and ignore the most important long-term goals. As we look from the parent teacher’s perspective to this situation, (my audiences are mothers) being a mom has never been a simple job, today greater demands upon women have seemed to make it harder than ever.
My friends wish they could be homeschooling their children at home, but feel that they do not know how they get it all done. There are a lot of responsibilities that are waiting for them. Eventually, they never have time to important goals. I believe they could certainly do a better job if they had a model that prepares them better for the process. 4DX model taught me how to change people’s behavior in the whirlwind of daily life. I have internalized how I can effectively execute any plans with utilizing this model.
So, I want to be an agent of change and decided to influence my friends. One and a half year, my daughter has gained very valuable learning experiences in Homeschooling through my Blended-Learning initiative. To bring change in any organization, I’ve clearly understood that giving information is not enough itself. It should be supported with other important steps. Like modeling. Even tiny changes can take the time to filter through and be adopted. I will provide all possible information and practice in both the planning and implementation process. I will share my story and offer an opportunity for them to learn from my experiences. I believe experiences add much more value than an opinion. I believe if this training is taken seriously and done right, every parent-teacher would gain the necessary skills. They can learn very effective strategies and participate discussions and collaborate with other parents. They can be ready for the most challenging circumstances. I will be using Schoology as an LMS tool (Learning Management System) as it is free, safe and user-friendly learning network for instructors and learners. I will teach how to use Schoology for their own kids. With this technology tool, parent-teachers will be able to connect, share content, create & access homework, and participate in discussions.
This ten-week training will allow them to experience and explore the Blended learning environment. I will provide modeling and ongoing support throughout the implementation process, parent-teachers will gain more accountability and confidence. Each participating parent-teacher will observe and evaluate their own group lessons each week regularly.
Discipline 1-Focus on the Wildly Important Goal (WIG):
During this process, they will identify and incorporate what blended-learning is. They will acquire the knowledge how to create and implement blended learning to enhance their children learning. In order to get this point, parent-teachers will participate regularly in professional development sessions and actively engage in creating blended learning activities for their children and collaborate with their peers and team leaders in instructional design.
Discipline 2 -Act on the Lead measures:
Lead measures:
I have identified four lead measures and want to focus on them:
1– Provide better communication (Gain feedback & provide feedback).
2– Improve the knowledge (Teach scheduling and time management tips to help team members to integrate schooling into the natural flow of their home).
3– Share necessary documents (Online video presentations, downloadable audios, handouts and additional reading resources).
4– Reduce operational problems by developing necessary skills (Show how to use Schoology, digital apps, and other technology tools).
Lag measures:
Make sure the entire team member feels satisfied and motivated to begin blended-homeschool. Assure all of them acquired the proficiency use required digital tools.
Discipline 3: Keep a compelling scoreboard:
The visual scoreboard is exceptionally essential and every group will build up a straightforward and visual scoreboard. The board will incorporate lead and lag measures. Scoreboards will be in a noticeable place so everyone can check whether the group is winning or losing. Lead measures without a lag measures may make them feel good but it will not provide confirmation that the desired result has been totally achieved.
Discipline 4: Create a cadence of accountability:
The cadence of accountability incorporates with regular meetings. Each meeting will be 40+40 minutes long. Everyone will focus on WIG and assess the current progress.
We will look at the scoreboard will be able to see who is having success and who is struggling. Finally, I will collect in writing form each person a list of the things that they are committed to doing in the next week and have them sign it.
THE STAGES OF CHANGE
There are five stages of change. These are getting clear, launch, adoption, optimization, and habits.
Getting clear stage:
The first stage includes lead measures, scoreboard, and committing to the regular WIG sessions. It is very important because if team members know clearly, what are the wildly important goals and how they can accomplish, it would motivate them to implement the other steps of the execution. In order to get that point, we will make a meeting every week. Parent-teachers will identify what blended-learning is and what blended-learning provides to learner and learning coach. By integrating meeting, they will gain proficiency, advice, and reflections throughout the year. We will focus on two wildly important goals because too many goals, may cause losing the focus, consequently, they might accomplish none. I will explain our lead and lag measures to team members. If they have any concerns, I will try to eliminate them.
Launch:
At the meeting, I will show presentation about Blended- Homeschool project and WIG. After meeting, my first thing to do is to create teams and then guide them in every possible way. There will be five teams and every team will have their own team leader. Team leaders model using technology skills to create blended learning classroom. They will help the struggling parent-teachers and answer their questions. Each team will create their own scoreboard.
Adoption:
Team members will look at the scoreboard and see their own improvement by means of knowledge, experience, and skill. To understand the members’ connection, team leaders will check the scoreboard. Whoever is struggling they will provide support and who has a success they will motivate by giving incentives. Week by week, they will begin to feel more committed to the program. During the weekly meeting, parent-teachers will share out what progress they have made with their colleagues.
Optimization:
It is significant for all team members to collaborate regularly with each other. At every turn, I will create and encourage collaboration so team members can feel more ownership of the program. I will use surveys to obtain feedback. I will adapt my plans based on new information and try to improve members’ knowledge and skills. Parent-teachers will create their own self-blended lesson with a team leader. Each parent-teacher will observe and evaluate their peer’s lesson. They will make the necessary corrections and adjustments. Each parent-teacher will be able to use the Schoology and other digital tools proficiently after the ten-week period. They will discuss with their colleagues what went well, what areas that they struggled with.
Habits:
I believe by using 4DX strategy process, all team members will achieve our Wigs. Over time, they will build confidence and self-esteem. Members will begin creating their own goals and expectations. When needed, they will be able to implement the model individually and make necessary alignments. I hope this training creates knowledgeable parent-teachers and these parents can later work independently without constant help and supervision from others. With this training, parents will have the chance to see and reflect on what works or does not work for homeschool settings.
References
McChesney, C., Covey, S., Huling, J. (2012, April 24) The Four disciplines of execution: Achieving your wildly important goals. Free Press.
NEVER STOP LEARNING ,BECAUSE LIFE KEEPS TEACHING 