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The concept of traditional schooling began to develop in Europe in the early 16th century, but it wasn’t until the 17th century that it was adopted and was fully functional in many parts of the world. Since that time, the education and schooling system has seen little to no change. When one thinks of school, I’m very certain that the same image comes to mind: desks arranged in rows facing a teacher’s table and whiteboard, bells indicating the end of a period, and heavy bags on the shoulders of slouching children. The grading system, schedules, and curriculum have also been passed down year after year with little revisions.
However, all that changed when the coronavirus was discovered and monumentally altered the way that our world operated. Suddenly, classes had to shift online, so curriculums had to be redesigned, the staff had to figure out newer ways to coordinate with parents, and learning management systems were introduced. To say that most institutes were not prepared to deal with such a situation in the least would not be an understatement. However, now that the dust from the pandemic is settling and the world moves towards the new normal, educational institutes need to keep in mind certain strategies when adopting any change to the current architecture of the system because as New York Times best-selling author, John Maxwell, has famously said, “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.”
- Make subtle changes
When a major change is implemented, the natural human reaction is to panic as it might be a complete 360 from what one is used to. Most people take personal offense to it as they think that introducing any changes in their environment is actually an attempt to change them. Therefore, many educational leadership online master of science programs recommend introducing change in smaller incremental components to not overwhelm staff and faculty. Making subtle changes does not have to mean that the reform process will be slowed down or that the impact will not be as major. It just means that the subtle changes will be more digestible for people and will make the process smoother.
- Train employees
It is unwise to expect all teachers and staff members to be chameleons and adapt seamlessly to anything thrown their way without any difficulties. This is why, before going school-wide or district-wide with new curriculum changes or schedules, it is essential to train your faculty through workshops, reading materials, video training, and other resources. This way, you can ensure that your employees have been inculcated with the right skills and knowledge to implement these newfound changes. For example, if you are introducing a new Learning Management System in your institute, it is equally important for teachers to be fully aware of how it works as well as students so that they may be able to assign study material, homework, lessons, etc. to the best of their capabilities.
- Acknowledge the resistance
All change is subject to some type of skepticism and even resistance. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s a good idea to ask skeptics why they view the proposed change at hand as something negative. Reassuring them instead of dismissing them will help them adapt better. Moreover, if you cannot come up with a good explanation of why the change is needed, it is probably a good idea to lay off of it. Listening to complaints will also help you assess the new plan, and you will be able to locate any loopholes before they cause a serious disaster.
- Ask for feedback
To properly execute a plan, everyone needs to be on board. No one wants to feel as if they are being forced to take on commands from the higher-ups without considering their well-being. Therefore, getting feedback and input can help evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed reform and whether it is actually as good in action as it was in theory. It also helps employees feel as if their opinions matter which can boost employee productivity and accountability and lower turnover. Additionally, it is just as important for students to give their input about teachers. This does not mean that student feedback should be used as a basis to fire teachers or reflect badly on the school. However, at the end of the day, the goal is to help students learn as best as they can; therefore, their input can be valuable to assess whether change is helpful or not. For example, course and teacher evaluation forms can be introduced for students to be filled out at the end of each term so that the staff may know what to work on for the next term.
- Don’t stop changing
Change is the only constant in today’s day and age, so educational institutes should never stop trying to achieve more. There is knowledge that is being discovered daily, and it is important to come up with creative ways to encapsulate it in students’ curricula. Curriculum mapping is a slow and iterative process that needs to be reflected upon as well. The first time one does it, it might not be perfect, so then it must be revised and introduced again. Schools should keep updating their instruction methods, tools, and technology to cater to their vast clientele. The pursuit of providing students with the best quality of education should never come to a standstill.
Final Thoughts
In life, change allows us to experience new and exciting things. Once you stop implementing change, life becomes stagnant. In the same way, knowledge is evolving daily, and to keep up with it, educational institutes must be willing to not only adopt newer techniques, methods, and curriculums but also need to make sure that they adopt the best possible strategies to manage change. This way, the changes are more likely to succeed in a school environment and less likely to face any serious resistance or failures.
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