I will address this question based on the following scenario:
An elementary school which located in a low social economic status neighbor received a 4-year grant recently. The principal decided to use the money to implement a one-to-one laptop initiative. Wireless will also be installed in the building so that the laptops are connected to each other, internet as well.
The change model I will use is CREATER model:
An Overview of CREATER Model (Havelock & Zlotolow, 1995)
The CREATER model contains 7 states:
Care
According Havelock and Zlotolow believed that a change agent may encounter the following postures toward the change:
1. everything seems to be fine
2. have different concerns
3. expressed concerns are symptoms of another unstated concern
4. concerns are extremely intense
A change agent should minimize the risk of harm and obtain informed consent from stakeholders of the system before proceeding.
Relate
In this stage, there are two things a change agent needs to take care of:
1. Build relationship among members of the change system and facilitate collaboration among those stakeholders.
2. Build relationship between the stakeholders and the change agent himself/herself. If a good relationship is established, the change agent will have a support network and the resistance from stakeholders can be minimized.
Examine:
Havelock and Zlotolow use a doctoral diagnose a patient metaphor to explain this stage. A change wants to find out the following things in this stage:
1. Identify the problem
2. What is right
3. Examine these strengths, weaknesses, obstacles, and opportunities within the context.
Then they suggested some inventory for examine stage:
¨ What are the system's goals?
¨ Is there adequate structure for achieving these goals?
¨ Is there sufficient openness in communication?
¨ Does the system possess the necessary capacities?
¨ Do rewards exist for members who work toward system goals?
Acquire:
The process of acquire concerns about resources: what resources are needed? What are those resources? The resources including: electronic or print materials, people, and products.
Try
Havelock & Zlotolow stated this stage as “from knowledge to action”. A change should have adequate information for the change process and in this stage the change agent should put the change into test. The core of this stage is a six-step process that is largely sequential.
1. Assemble and sort the relevant findings from the acquire stage.
2. Derive implications from the knowledge base that affect the client system and its objectives or circumstance.
3. Generate a range of solution ideas based on the possible solutions identified in pervious stages and the unique needs, strengths, and limitations of this change error in these circumstances.
4. Test feasibilities.
5. Adapt the remaining solution(s) to the unique characteristics and needs of the client system.
6. Act. (Choose one-or, in some cases, more than one-solution. Pilot test it, and evaluate the results to arrive at a decision)
Extend
Havelock and Zlotolow defined this stage as “gain deeper and wider acceptance”.
1. How individuals accept innovations
2. How groups accept innovations
3. Strategies for solidifying adoption
4. Strategies for diffusion to a wide audience
5. Strategies for flexibility during implementation
Renew
This is not the last phase of a change process. It is placed in the center of the circle in recognition that it is an ongoing function. Havelock and Zlotolow suggested answering 5 questions for each stage:
1. What resources (time, effort, money, people, etc) were devoted to this stage?
2. Were these resources adequate? Were they too much?
3. Was this stage successful in meeting its stated objective?
4. What could we have done to make it (more) successful?
5. Would a better plan or process have improved the outcome?
The goal of this stage is to bring self-renewal to this system.
Employ CREATER in this diffusion of innovation
The following section will discuss the procedure of how to use CREATER model in the scenario of one-to-one laptop initiative. All responsibilities and processes are explained from the perspective of a change agent.
In the discussion, I define stakeholders as: teachers, students, school staff, school district administrators, community members.
Care
Before implement the change, a change agent will do the following:
1. Create a survey for teacher, student, parents, and school district administrator about how they perceive one-to-one laptop in a classroom.
2. Host small focus group discussion and discuss about their ideal classroom with regard to one-to-one laptop classroom.
Relate
A change agent will use the following strategies to build relationship to and among the stakeholders.
1. Visit the school and classroom frequently and attend their faculty meeting and assembly…etc.
2. Host information session of using computer and educational program in a classroom and invite stakeholders.
3. Schedule visits to other schools which have been using one-to-one laptop in the classrooms.
Examine
1. Schedule classroom observations to understand currently what is working and what can be improved.
2. Interview stakeholders and ask their opinion with regard to what they like and what can be improved about the school and classroom.
3. Speak to stakeholders of other elementary schools which implemented one-to-one laptop about strengths, weaknesses, obstacles, and resources they used.
4. Search literatures and news paper reports about success and failure of one-to-one laptop classroom.
5. Interview principal and board members and obtain vision, mission, and goal statement of this school.
Acquire
1. Identify all required resources, including current curriculum, money available from both the received grant and current school system, adequate technology staff to support this initiative, teacher training program … etc
2. Examine those resources to determine whether there is a gap between currently owned by the school and what is required.
3. Determine if the school and stakeholders can provide adequate resources to meet the resource deficit.
4. Seek alternative if resource requirement does not meet.
Try
1. Give all school teachers laptop computers and provide them training with regard to design lessons to integrate laptops.
2. Rent laptop computers and pilot one-to-one laptop in after school or summer programs.
3. Establish a small teacher curriculum committee and revise current curricula and select appropriate material for all grade levels.
4. Document all technical difficulties and seek for short and long term solutions.
5. Implement the initiative.
Extend
1. Observe the classrooms to gain deeper understand on how teachers and students are using it.
2. Interview stakeholders for their perception and opinions.
3. Host small group discussion among stakeholders about their opinions about the change.
4. Create an anonymous survey for stakeholders and ask about their perception on using one-to-one laptop in classroom.
5. Implement an incentive program for teachers and students.
Renew
1. Select stakeholder members and establish an after-action-review team and provide the team with enough information to exam each steps based on 5 questions suggested in the overview CREATER section.
2. Proposed solutions for questions rose after first semester of implementation.
3. Bring new members into the change team.