Arena of Change

What?

The 'Arena of Change' model was designed by Davis (2008), and is a multilevel ecological framework. The model was presented to show the "interconnectedness of schools with multiple organisations and their impact on the change process" (Zaka, 2012, p 15). These organisations include commercial, political, bureaucratic and professional (Davis, 2008). The arena was designed to show the range of stakeholders involved in the change process, and highlights the complex nature of educational change (Zaka, 2012). It also brings attention to the combination of internal and external factors that can help or hinder when implementing change. Examples of the different internal and external organisations in the ecological model include the Virtual Learning Network (VLN), New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA), parents, teachers and students. These organisations can occur on a school, district, regional, national or global level (Davis, 2008).

Niki Davis, Arena of Change, 2008

So what? 
The 'Arena of Change' model is valuable as it recognises that "a variety of ecosystems interact in the global biosphere and that a micro ecosystem, such as a classroom, is nested within another ecosystem, the school, which is part of the nation;s macro educational ecosystem" (Davis, 2008, p. 508). The model is valuable in the sense that it allows for the bigger picture to be seen, and forces educators and leaders to consider the wider impact of their choices and decisions. It is interesting to note that although schools often feel autonomous, there are so many internal and external factors that influence their decisions. It is important to note that teachers are considered the "keystone species" (Davis, 2008), and are essential partners in change. The teachers are responsible for the 'frontline' change as they design the classroom learning opportunities (Davis, 2013).

Now what?

After reading Restructuring of educational systems in the digital age from a co-evolutionary perspective (Davis, Eickelmann, & Zaka, 2013) and looking at Niki Davis's 'Arena of Change' mind map, the task for EDEM630 was to make our own mind map for our own research context. This requires me to think about how my research topic interacts with personal, institutional (local), regional/national and international ecosystems. I will need to identify the professional, bureaucratic, political and commercial/IT services aspects related to my specific area of research.

My research area is "Preparing for a BYOD environment".

The context of change in my school is that BYOD will be implemented at junior levels from 2016. Although many senior students bring laptops to school already, there will be a specific BYOD focus at junior levels next year. At the moment senior students are encouraged to bring devices to use in class, and are important with some subject specific assessments (e.g. research in Classical Studies). There are already COWs (computers on wheels) available for teachers and/or students to hire and use in the classroom.

My arena of change mind map for my specific context is below.
Please note: I tried using the online tool 'Mind Meister' but found this too difficult. I am no artist but hopefully you get the idea!

At the centre of this arena of change is the classroom. Within the classroom sit the teachers and students of the school, and the aim of the change is based on the successful implementation of BYOD. Successful implementation of BYOD will need and result in effective pedagogy, value added, engagement, professional development and student achievement.

Outside of the classroom sits the school. Within the school the BYOD implementation will be affected by parents, senior management, board of trustees and New Era IT (the IT provider of the school). All of these people play an important role in the infrastructure, mindset, management and professional development of the staff and school.

Looking outside the school and regional and national issues come into play. My school has chosen to use Microsoft OneDrive which incorporates OneNote, Outlook etc and has added bonuses such as free Word, PowerPoint and Excel. We use Kamar as our student management system and are members of the Pond and VLN. The school has a good relationship with Core Education and are currently using them to up skill a few teachers in regards to ICT in the classroom. In regards to restrictions we face, we always have to remember that the Ministry of Education, ERO and NZQA have specific targets, rules and expectations for us as a school.

From a global perspective there are many opportunities for professional development on BYOD. There are many videos, tutorials and articles on BYOD that can be found on YouTube, Twitter, TED Talks etc.

There is a huge push and expectation that schools should be preparing students to be active 21st century learners. The New Zealand government and MoE are encouraging "future-focused teaching and learning" and things like SNUP upgrades at schools help with the infrastructure. Although some say that students at high school today are "digital natives" I tend to disagree and argue that although students may be technology-saavy, their ICT skills don't necessarily correspond to school learning or knowledge. For example, many teenage boys are skilled at gaming, but these skills won't necessarily get them a job when they leave school.

Now what? Assignment 3: 

I plan to research and go into more depth on the leadership aspect of the 'Arena of Change' model. I will focus on how school leaders can use the model to implement positive change (BYOD implementation).
I also plan to look at priority learners using the 'Arena of Change' model, specifically Maori and Pasifika students. I will look at the community and organisations associated with these learners and how they can be consulted and included in the change process. I will also try to find research looking at BYOD/technology in the classroom and how this can be used to benefit Maori and Pasifika learners.

Literature suggests we need to be future-oriented and adaptable, adopting a more complex view of knowledge, that incorporates knowing, doing, and being. Alongside this we need to rethink our ideas about how our learning systems are organised, resourced, and supported. Educators need to consider:

• Personalising learning – how can you use technologies to build the school curriculum around the learner and more flexibly to meet learners’ needs?
• Building an inclusive learning environment – how you use technologies to:
  • enage learners, family/whānau, and communities in co-shaping education to address students’ needs, strengths, interests and aspirations?
  • provide access to anywhere, anytime learning?
  • support assessment and evaluation processes so that these are dynamic and responsive to information about students?
• Developing a school curriculum that uses knowledge to develop learning capacity – how can you use technologies to enable students to create and use new knowledge to solve problems and find solutions to challenges as they arise on a “just-in-time” basis?
• Rethinking learners’ and teachers’ roles – how can you use technologies to create a “knowledge-building” learning environment where learners and teachers work together?
• Building a culture of continuous learning for teachers and school leaders – what opportunities to participate in and build professional learning are afforded by technologies?
• New kinds of partnerships and relationships - how can technologies be used to facilitate this?

Bolstad, R & Gilbert J, et al. (2012)

References:

Davis, N. E. (2008). How may teacher learning be promoted for educational renewal in IT? Models and theories of IT diffusion. In J. Voogt & G. Knezek (Eds.), International handbook of information technology in primary and secondary education (pp. 507-519). New York, NY: Springer. 

Davis, N. E., Eickelmann, B. & Zaka, P. A. (2013). Restructuring of educational systems in the digital age from a co-evolutionary perspective. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29(5), 438-450.

Ministry of Education. (n.d.). Future focused learning and teaching. Retrieved from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Teaching/Pedagogy/Future-focused-learning-and-teaching#bolstad2012

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Zaka, P. A. (2012). Blended teaching and learning in a New Zealand rural secondary school: Using an ecological framework. (Master's thesis, University of Canterbury, Canterbury, New Zealand).