Approach+for+Managing+the+Change

My approach to managing change is based on John DeAnne Aguirre and Matthew Calderon’s 10 Principles of Change Management. When researching and reading about different theories in managing change, I felt Aguirre’s and Calderon’s principles best aligned with my project.
 * 1. ** **Address the “human side”.** My project will require a paradigm shift in teaching methodology which will require the development and expansion of existing skills. I plan to address this by holding faculty meetings that will allow me to continue to engage the “early adaptors”, provide support and encouragement for embracing the change, discuss and make tangible the purpose and goal of the change, and provide resources for assisting in faculty members gathering information and knowledge to implement the change (constructivism learning theory).
 * 2. ** **Start at the top.** Change and modeling of change will start with me, the program director. I have change my course curricula to incorporate the changes that I’m asking of other faculty therefore I will be modeling the desired behaviors. This will also allow me to share my success, frustrations and commitment to the implementation of constructivism learning theory.
 * 3. Involve every layer. ** All faculty members have been included in this change and all are being asked to take one class and incorporate Understanding by Design and constructivism approach to learning in the fall semester. We only have one layer but all individuals in that layer are involved.
 * 4. Make the formal case. ** The case has been made for change and it will continue to be emphasized when meeting with faculty as a way to keep them motivated. Our students are not meeting their potential with our former way of teaching and therefore we must try a new approach to meet our goal – graduating competent clinicians. All the faculty members have agreed on the need for the change. It will be my responsibility to keep this message out there and a priority.

The Huddle site where faculty are interacting and discussing the readings of Frank Smith and Wiggins and McTighe is reinforcing ownership as well.
 * 5.** **Create ownership.** All faculty members have the ability to control their class environments therefore they will have complete ownership of the success that can occur with the change. This will influence their ability to receive positive reinforcements from the effort that went into the change.
 * 6. Communicate the message. ** This is my biggest hurdle communicating the message consistently and effectively. It is going well now but we are in the development stages of the change. I plan to have regularly schedule faculty meetings to provide an avenue to reinforce the message of change, revisit why we are doing it, and hopefully share success stories from implementing the change.
 * 7. Assess the cultural landscape. ** I have attempted to access the behavior of the faculty prior to implementing this project and I will continue to do this on a monthly basis. There has been some discussion on the belief that constructivism will not result in students doing what is expected – meaning that without the rewards system from behaviorism learning theory students will not demonstrate the desired behavior. This will take some monitoring and consistent self-assessing to make sure we don’t slide back into this without realizing it.
 * 8. Address culture explicitly. ** The faculty members feel we do share values and beliefs on what we want our outcomes in teaching to be. This is a big step. We also believe we have common attitudes but not behaviors. The change we are going to try to implement will address the behaviors and we have all agreed to work on coming together on what behaviors we what to display while teaching. And, which behaviors will support constructivism-learning theory.
 * 9. Prepare for the unexpected. ** I have no way to know what will happen but I put into place faculty workshops and the Huddle site to allow for continual communication. With this I hope to reduce the unexpected but when it presents itself, we will work together to address it.
 * 10. Speak to the individual. ** I have taken the time to talk with each faculty member about her role in this change and how important they are to its success. I plan to continue to talk with faculty on a regular basis so they feel and understand they are pivotal in the success of this project. I think this interaction will allow each faculty member to feel empowered to make the changes necessary for the project to be successful.

It is my hope that this plan will allow for the project to remain a priority for faculty, allow them to feel supported during the change and to see the rewards from implementing the change. Of course, I will be doing formative evaluations throughout the process and making changes in the plan as needed.