Education Change

&
Stress at Mountain View Union

BY:
Katie Bouchard
&
Marc Gilbertson
Marc Gilbertson – The
Veteran Teacher
Katie Bouchard – The Novice Teacher
SIGNIFICANCE
Teachers face constant pressure
to change, which can lead to
stress and burnout
 A PROBLEM
Mountain View Union purchased 15 sets of
Clickers at $1200.00 each – Only three
sets are being used
What the heck are Clickers?
 Clickers are a
Classroom
Response System
 They are remote
devices that use
radio frequency
to collect data on
student
performance
 Our Research Questions:

1. What do we know about education

change and stress at Mountain
View Union?
2. Can we implement these Clickers
without causing unnecessary
stress?

Moun
Literature Review
 Davidson, K. (2009). Challenges contributing to teacher stress and burnout. Southeastern Teacher Education Journal, 2(2), 47-56. Retrieved
from Education Research Complete database.
 Eklund, N. (2009). Sustainable workplaces, retainable teachers. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(2), 25-27. Retrieved from Education Research
Complete database.
 Ertmer, P., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. (2010). Teacher technology change: How knowledge, confidence, beliefs, and culture intersect. Journal
of Research on Technology in Education, 42(3), 255-284. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.
 Glazer, E., Hannafin, M., & Song, L. (2005). Promoting technology integration through collaborative apprenticeship. Educational Technology
Research & Development, 53(4), 57-67. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.
 Koenig, K. (2010). Building Acceptance for Pedagogical Reform Through Wide-Scale Implementation of Clickers. Journal of College Science
Teaching, 39(3), 46-50. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.
 Kolikant, Yifat Ben-David, Denise Drane, and Susanna Calkins. 2010. "'Clickers' as Catalysts for Transformation of Teachers." College
Teaching 58, no. 4: 127-135. Education Research Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed October 31, 2010).
 Klassen, R. (2010). Teacher Stress: The mediating role of collective efficacy beliefs. Journal of Educational Research, 103(5), 342-350.
Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.
 Lucas, A. (2009). Using peer instruction and I-Clickers to enhance student participation in
 calculus. Primus: Problems, Resources & Issues in Mathematics Undergraduat
 Studies, 19(3), 219-231. doi:10.1080/10511970701643970.
 Lukacs, K. (2009). Quantifying "The Ripple in the Pond": The development and initial validation of the teacher change agent scale.
International Journal of Educational & Psychological Assessment, 325-37. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.
 Tomil, D.R. (2010). Action research for educators. New York. Rowan & Littlefield.
 Troman, G., & Woods, P. (2000). Careers under stress: Teacher adaptations at a time of intensive Reform. Journal of Educational Change,
1(3), 253-275. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.
 Zhang, Y., & Yu, Y. (2007). Causes for burnout among secondary and elementary school teachers and preventive strategies. Chinese Education
& Society, 40(5), 78-85. doi:10.2753/CED 1061-1932400508.
 Zwart, R., Wubbels, T., Bergen, T., & Bolhuis, S. (2007). Experienced teacher learning within the context of reciprocal peer coaching.
Teachers & Teaching, 13(2), 165-187. doi:10.1080/13540600601152520

 GROUNDED! BAM!
THIS IS OUR
ACTION
RESEARCH
PROJECT
 THE ACTION --
Collaborative Sessions
 Four training sessions: Marc
tutored Katie on the use of
Clickers.
 Katie then implemented the
Clickers in her classroom.
DATA COLLECTION
OVERVIEW
1. Double Journal Entries - from
the Collaborative Sessions
2. Stress Level Continuum- rated
after each session
3. Interviews- with novice and
veteran teachers
DATA COLLECTION #1:
DOUBLE JOURNAL ENTRIES
 Reflection on progress made and
what caused stress
 Observation of each other’s
stress during the session
REFLECTION AND OBSERVATION
DATA COLLECTION #2:
Stress Level Continuum
Rated stress levels using the Stress Level
Continuum after each training session
 Stress Level Continuum
Likert scale 1-5
 1) No stress;
 2) Slightly less stress than normal;
 3) Neutral – normal school stress;
 4) Slightly more stress;
 5) Extreme stress.
 Training Session Stress Levels
 Marc had higher stress 3-4
 Katie had moderate stress 3
DATA COLLECTION #3:
INTERVIEWS
Five interviews about STRESS
and CHANGE at Mountain View
 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1. How long have you been teaching?
2. What is an example of a successful educational change?
What made it successful?
3. What stops change from happening in education?
4. Who is involved in changes in an educational setting?
5. Do you find change in schools stressful? If so, how can
this stress be reduced?
6. How do you feel about new technology in the classroom?
7. What has prevented you from using the CRS in your
classroom?
FIRST INTERVIEWEE
GWENYTH – 9 YEARS EXPERIENCE
SECOND INTERVIEWEE
CONAN –
FIVE YEARS EXPERIENCE
THIRD INTERVIEWEE
JENNIFER – 20 YEARS EXPERIENCE
FOURTH INTERVIEWEE
KATE – FIRST YEAR TEACHER
FIFTH INTERVIEWEE
SEAN – 40 YEARS EXPERIENCE
 INTERVIEWS
 These gave us general insight into stress and
change at Mountain View Union
IMPLEMENTATION
With 4 training sessions
completed…it was time for Katie to
implement the Clickers in her
classroom…
Here is what happened…
 Implementation
 Marc- Low Stress- 2
 Katie- High Stress- 4+
Handing out the clickers – started the funny business
Ms. Bouchard – Do I stick this up
my nose?
Is this a cell phone?
It’s like a remote!
What are the point of these?
Students did not take these
seriously
Katie felt very stressed!
Analysis

Stressors found in Interviews , Reflections, and

Observations

Lack of Time
Lack of Clear
Process
Other
 Interview Analysis
 Gwenyth - “Time stops change from happening
because you have five million other things to
do.”
 Interview Analysis
Jennifer - “it takes time to set the Clickers up…it’s
not second nature, so it is time consuming.”
 Interview Analysis
Kate -“Change is just time
consuming!”
 Interview Analysis
Conan - “You need to make sure there is enough
time to put the plan in place”
 Interview Analysis
Sean - “I need plenty of time to learn and
implement.”
 Analysis - Double Journals
Marc-“The big cause of stress was lack of time.”
 Analysis - Double Journals
Katie- “Marc seemed very rushed during this
session and was a little bummed out that we were
not able to progress as far as we had hoped.”
Discussion
Lack of Time emerged as the
dominant cause of stress.
Time

Katie stated that “implementing technology just

added more to my plate.”

Marc was worried that Katie needed more time

before going in front of the class with the new
technology
 Discussion

Katie agrees that if the change was worthwhile and helped her
teaching, she would have taken it more seriously.

Marc agrees that change can occur, but there needs to be time,
a clear process, and a purpose for it to be implemented.
Discussion
Marc and Katie both agreed that working
collaboratively made the change process less
stressful
Conclusion
When implementing change at Mountain
View Union, Lack of Time was the
dominant stressor!
 Recommendations
 When implementing change, give yourself
enough time to do it properly or you might…

Just Beat It…