Let’s talk about growing as a teacher. Some teachers get frustrated because they
are eager to try out some new technology in the classroom, but their colleagues and administration
aren’t so excited. Or, they’re frustrated because they are being pushed by the administration
into using some new technology, you know, like Smart Boards. They don’t really want
to do it; they don’t know how to do it. For myself, I find it helpful to honestly
assess where I am on the Innovation Adoption Curve. Everett Rogers is the one who made
the concept of an innovation adoption curve popular back in the 1960’s. According to
his research, there are basically five types of people when it comes to new ideas. The
Innovators are the people out front on the bleeding-edge pulling the change along. They
are pulling the rest of us to follow them. That’s only 2.5% of the population who are
Innovators. So if you’re an innovator, don’t expect everyone else to be an innovator because
they aren’t. Early Adopters are willing to try out new ideas, they’re just more
careful about it. Early Adopters are 13.5 % of the population. Early Majority are even
more careful about accepting change, but they are willing to accept change more quickly
than the average. Early Majority are 34% of the population. Late Majority are the skeptics
who try something new only after the majority are using it. Late Majority are 34% of the
population. So, about one-third of the population is willing to try something ONLY after almost
everyone else has tried it. Laggards, then there are Laggards. Laggards are people who
are always fighting new ideas and only accept something “new” AFTER it’s no longer
new, after it’s become common practice. Laggards are 16% of the population. I was
surprised that that number is so high. It doesn’t really matter where you fit on
the curve as long as you recognize yourself and understand that there are others like
you. You are not alone. The other advantage of these labels is that it can help you identify
allies at your school, and, on the other side, it can help you identify those who are going
to be less enthusiastic about any new technology you incorporate into your class. For example,
clearly, if you are an Early Adopter and your school administration are Laggards, then you
will experience real tension. So if there is conflict going on, maybe that’s why.
Maybe you’re the Early Adopter and your administrators are the Laggards. So recognizing
them as Laggards, helps you decide how to approach them better. Which, in this case,
I would suggest that you don’t try to approach them first. You try to recruit some of the
Early Majority at your school, and get them to try some of your new ideas or agree with
you. Right? Because Laggards are willing to accept things after they become more popular.
So if you can get it more popular, then the Laggards are going to accept it.
By the way, it appears that our age group sometimes determines which group we fit in
which means it is possible to move ourselves from one group to another. It’s possible
to move. It’s all about attitude. If you aren’t happy with where you fit on the Adoption
Curve, you can change it if you want to.
Let’s talk about some other ways to keep growing. How to get new ideas.
There are lots of ways to keep growing as a teacher. Professional conferences are great
places to get ideas. Also, when you join a professional organization, like TESOL, they
usually also make available newsletters, magazines, journals, and listservs that can provide interesting
information. By the way, listservs are electronic discussion lists. It’s very similar to sending
out group emails. If you are like me, you don’t have time
to read every article. But I try to read at least five minutes of an article occasionally.
You don’t have to read the whole article, even five minutes will give you a lot of information.
Many of my ideas also come from colleagues or teaching websites.
By taking this class, you are showing an interest in becoming a better instructor, so I hope
you continue on with your development throughout the years.