The Importance of “Doability” In Times of Change
Bill Ferriter has always been one of the educators I look up to for his clear thinking, and use of graphics to make the complex really understandable. Last week, he did it again with a graphic that really hit home:
If you are a leader, it's important to look at this matrix for a few reasons:
We typically WANT to make things better with any new initiative. The goal is better learning, better outcomes, and better opportunities. Yet, if our staff doesn't have the bandwidth, it often falls into the bottom right quadrant - Important, but not doable right now.
We sometimes have to lead initiatives that fall in the bottom left quadrant. Maybe we don't believe in it ourselves, but the state (or other stakeholders) are making it a priority. We have to have empathy and talk about reality, even when we know it is not doable. If we have an opportunity to push back and share concern, we have to share where our staff is at.
It is tough to get to the Green, top-right part of the matrix. But, that is the goal. The only way we can get there is to focus on Doability as much as we do importance.
If you are a teacher, this matrix probably speaks to you on a lot of levels. We rarely have top-right moments, but when we do it is normally not 100 percent of staff that feel the same way.
Here are some questions we can ask:
Is this important for our learners? Or is it someone else? The real importance should be focused on the kids and students in our schools. Everything else is not as important.
Can we take something off the agenda and plates of our staff/colleagues to make this doable? Time is real. Burnout is real. Overload is real. What can we take away if this is SO important?
If the entire staff is not on the same page of importance, then how can we get there? If the entire staff is not on the same page of doability, then how can we get there? What needs to be shared in order to get there?
Why I Love Artificial Intelligence For Teachers Right Now
I just worked with an entire district of teachers who were a bit burned out and overwhelmed with the October reality of working in a school.
We were doing a session on Artificial Intelligence, and the focus was on helping teachers prep, plan, and create meaningful activities and assessments (in way less time than they normally do).
However, we started off the workshop session by looking at this graph. We had an honest conversation about where they were at, what was taking up a lot of their time, and what was really important.
My first question after our conversation was, "How would you like to get back 5-10 hours a week of your time?"
It was a resounding 'YES'.
My second question was, "How would you like to create engaging lessons and activities that your students not only enjoyed but also connected to your standards and curriculum?"
Another, "YES"!
Final question, "Would it be doable if I showed you how to do this with just two new Artificial Intelligence tools?"
Most, cautiously said, "Yes."
That is where we began. An hour or so later, I followed up with another question:
"Who got value so far?"
Lots of hands.
"Who thinks this is doable?"
Hands!
"Will this impact our classrooms and kids for the better?"
A veteran teacher raised there head and spoke softly:
"I'm not sure yet. But, I'm willing to give it a try. Rarely do we see a new tool or technology that saves us time, but this looks like it will, and I've only been using it for an hour.
If it saves me time, I'm going to have more in the tank when working with students. And if it helps plan better lessons, then I'm all for it."
Final Thoughts
This is where I'm at as well. There are plenty of bells and whistles and apps/tools/tech that don't necessarily save time or better the learning experience.
They should be put in the bottom left quadrant.
But, if you show me something that will save time, improve my planning and prep, and lead to meaningful and relevant activities with kids...well, I'm all for it.
And, so are most teachers!
It's up to us to use our Human Intelligence to sort out what's actually useful in Artificial Intelligence. Let's start there, and see how far we can get to top-right Green with this technology.
