Decision Making
To value the use of data as the starting point for professional work.
Artifacts
Project Description
This project was developing a job-aid. This was completed in my very first EDTEC class, EDTEC 540- Introduction to Performance Analysis, with the with the help of Peyri Hamada, my instructor. Madera Unified has installed an interactive whiteboard (Promethean board) in most k-6 classrooms. One of my responsibilities as a Technology Coach for the district is making sure that this piece of equipment works consistently. This project demonstrates my mastery of Data-based decision making. My collection and analysis of the data related to problems with the Promethean board led me to the creation of an appropriate job aid.
Outcomes
The creation of my first job-aid taught me to value the use of data as the starting point for professional work. I collected data from our technology help desk requests for two months. I also collected more concise data reviewing emails and using quick informal interviews with teachers with Promethean board problems. I was interested to see if teachers felt they had the resources necessary to identify the problem and a means to correct it. Through the analysis of this data, I discovered problems that could be resolved with tasks that teachers could complete prior to calling me for help. The first two tasks could be easily completed. My analysis led me to beleive that, given an appropriate job aid, a teacher with a computer to Promethean board connection issue should be able to identify if the whiteboard is powered, and follow the steps to try and resolve a power problem. Also, the analysis showed that the most serious problem with the Promethean board was a disconnection of the USB cable on the back of the board. The cable can be pulled loose from a module on the back of the board without the teachers seeing evidence of that. Again, I believed that with the appropriate job aid, a teacher with a computer to Promethean board connection issue should be able to identify if the whiteboard is connected correctly with the computer, and follow the steps to resolve a USB connection problem. The teacher, following predetermined steps, might find a resolution to the problem. This might empower these teachers to solve these technical issues without waiting for my help.
Challenges & Opportunities
My first attempt at a job aid was to give the teachers a flow chart that would guide them through the steps of identifying the problem, and then steps to solve the problem. However, I found that extra instruction was necessary in order to understand what the flowchart was asking them to do. The teachers involved could fix their problem without some extra coaching on my part. My unsuccessful pilot test led me to scrap my first job aid. The flaw in that job aid was that I was trying to describe parts and locations that teachers needed to “see”. I needed to combine formats for this complicated problem and find a job aid style that worked. My thought in making a new job aid was to incorporate aspects from different formats of job aids. I moved away from a process (flowchart) to coaching style of job aid. I chose to use pictures and diagrams in my new job aid because of the complicated components of the problem, and the fact that some of the problems could be hard to find unless you really knew where to look.
Lessons Learned
I believe the flaw in that job aid was that I was trying to describe parts and locations that teachers needed to see. The physical size of the cells in a flowchart does not allow enough space to effectively describe what the teacher should be looking for. Flowcharts are procedural by their nature, and decisions have to be made where there is a clear path to a solution. The mistake I made with my pilot job aid was that I failed to see just how complex a problem this could be to someone who is not a technician.
Having watched teachers empowered with an appropriate job aid, I can see the value of the collection and analysis of data to find gaps and create opportunities that lead to a desired overt performance. My job aid was successful due primarily to the correct analysis of the data presented which demonstrated the three major Promethean board problems. Without the data driving the opportunity and the extant data derived from emails and interviews there would be no proof of a need for a change.
