Needs Assessment and Change Management Project: Determining Strategies for District Technology Plan

Needs Assessment Plan

Needs Assessment Report

Report Appendix

Gannt Chart

Annotation

Context and Conditions

This project was completed in Spring 2007, my final semester in the MIT program under the guidance of Dr. Sue-Jen Chen. For this project, my group utilized needs assessment techniques to determine interventions that would be translated into measurable strategies for inclusion in a district 5-year professional development initiative outlined in their Technology Plan. The project included the writing of a needs assessment plan in which we outlined the purpose, timeline, instruments and strategies that would be used in data collection and intervention determination. Scope

The North Carolina State Board of Education developed a new strategic plan in 2006 and has initiated the change process. Within the process of changing directions, districts must understand the state initiative and revise all current plans (aligned to old strategic goals) to align with the new plan. This re-alignment includes the district 5-year Technology Plan. For this project, our group focused on the professional development piece of the plan and constructed a needs assessment based on developing strategies to include in it. We conducted an extensive extant analysis to determine the current situation and gain a better understanding of the changes that are expected. We then interviewed the Superintendent to determine the optimal situation and vision for the district. After our interview, we were able to develop a list of optimals aligned to the State goals and objectives related to professional development. The optimals guided the development of a teacher survey, interview questions and a focus group agenda. The teacher survey provided data about the current state of teacher feelings and skills related to the optimals that were determined. Interviews were conducted with principals and district instructional leaders to determine the current state of teacher professional development and identify needs in this area. We also set out to collect information from a focus group of school-based technology leaders in the district to determine their view of how technology is used in the classrooms. The analysis of this data revealed that a number of interventions and innovations were needed in the district to align to the state plan. These interventions are outlined in the Needs Assessment Report and are described in the Change Management Plan as an actual project. The change management plan utilizes the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) to guide the process. CBAM is a systemic change model that is specifically designed for K-12 change initiatives and is based on Rogers’ (1962) Theory of the Diffusion of Innovation. The project is described in a five-phase, three-year implementation plan that identifies timelines, resources, constraints and risks. It also includes a Gannt chart that displays the work flow.

Role

For this project, I served as one member of a four-person team. I designed and developed the needs assessment plan, participated in the design of the collection instruments and assisted in data collection and analysis. I utilized the collected data and drafted the report. I worked alone on the Change Management plan. I analyzed the interventions and developed a usable initiative and project plan. I designed the plan according to the CBAM, developed descriptions of the project phases, identified key resources, constraints and risks and determined a timeline for implementation.

Reflection

This project helped tie much of the work that I had previously done in the MIT program together. The program described in the Change Management plan aligns to much of my other work including the online course (MIT 515), assessment project (MIT 531), and the web-enhanced unit (MIT 512). Although it seems that the projects were done out of order, the needs assessment plan provided structure to my professional process of assessing district needs in my position as Instructional Technology Coordinator. In some respects, the data that came from conducting the needs analysis solidified some of my thoughts about the state of the district in relation to the State Board of Education’s initiative. Having conducted this needs assessment and change management plan, my previous work was provided an overreaching structure to guide future initiative planning and justify other projects that I developed.