These are the slides for the presentation by Dickson and Biermeier-Hanson on "Different messages for different folks".

1. Different messages for different folks:
Persuading faculty members to adopt EdTech
Marcus W. Dickson
Benjamin Biermeier-Hanson
Wayne State University

2. A Tale of Two Presentations
• Developed a presentation on Classroom Response Systems
• Pedagogy behind usage
• Best practices
• Targeted those who were not yet using clickers
• Gave the talk twice
• A hit – enthusiasm – rave reviews
• A miss – skepticism – polite applause
• Why?

3. Different Folks
• Two different audiences
• Faculty and graduate students at the Office of Teaching and
Learning who were there because they were actively
considering adopting clickers in their classrooms
• Faculty within our department “encouraged” to attend by the
department chair
• Two very different responses
• Difference in “readiness to change”

4. Assumptions
• When referring to EdTech, we mean Educational Technologies
that have demonstrated efficacy within the discipline, and for
which necessary resources are available or attainable
• Not early adoption, not “next big thing,” etc.
• Those of us in this room probably will have easier success with
EdTech implementation than will many of our colleagues

5. Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change
• Initially focused on health-related behavior
• Can be applied to EdTech
• Stages of change
• Stages individuals go through as they consider behavior
change, how they begin to make change, and how changes are
maintained
• Provides guidance on encouraging and engaging individuals in
each stage

6. Stages of Change Model
Maintenance
Action
Preparation
Contemplation
Pre-Contemplation

7. Stages of Change: Pre-contemplation (Not ready)
Characteristics Communication strategy
• No plans to initiate • Encourage mindfulness
change; may not be aware about how evaluations of
of the need to change innovations are made
• Underestimate the pros of • Help to see benefits of
changing, overestimate acting differently
the cons
• Focus on the pros of
changing, not the cons of not
changing

8. Stages of Change Model
Contemplation
Pre-Contemplation

9. Stages of Change: Contemplation (Getting Ready)
Characteristics Communication strategy
• Intention to change • Focus on reducing the
behavior, but no action yet cons related to the change
• May still be ambivalent, • E.g., Will it really take more
and thus may put off time every semester, or just
the first semester, and
initiating change
afterwards take less time?
• Learn from others what
the change might be like

10. Stages of Change Model
Preparation
Contemplation
Pre-Contemplation

11. Stages of Change: Preparation (Ready)
Characteristics Communication strategy
• Taking small steps • Encourage over-
(meeting with rep, getting preparedness to avoid
equipment, etc.) failure
• May tell colleagues of • Ensure support from tech
intentions support, others using the
specific EdTech, etc.
• Concerned about failure
• In short, build self-efficacy

12. Stages of Change Model
Action
Preparation
Contemplation
Pre-Contemplation

13. Stages of Change: Action
Characteristics Communication strategy
• Have begun to use the • Help to learn the “tips and
EdTech tricks” that experienced
users know
• May be uncertain of cost-
benefit analysis • (Help to feel a level of
growing expertise)
• New behaviors may seem
burdensome, and so may • Highlight data showing
seem easier to drop it “just success of the EdTech
this next semester, while I overall, even if not yet
am really busy”
shown in this course

14. Stages of Change Model
Maintenance
Action
Preparation
Contemplation
Pre-Contemplation

15. Stages of Change: Maintenance (the “new normal”)
Characteristics Communication strategy
• Established users of • Encourage mindfulness
EdTech about how evaluations of
innovations are made
• Help to see benefits of
acting differently

16. Different stages, different messages
• Messages must be tailored for the stage an audience is in
• OTL audience
• Preparation (some contemplation, some action)
• Promote confidence and discuss practical approaches to
utilizing EdTech
• Home department audience
• Pre-contemplation (some contemplation)
• Approached the same way – was thus doomed to failure

17. Best practices for moving folks along the path
• Need to be cognizant of the stage an audience – or a colleague –
is likely to be in
• Target communications to colleagues based on where they are in
the process
• Your knowledgeable enthusiasm may
not be what your colleague needs to
hear – it may not address his/her
concerns, and it may just feel like
criticism.

18. Audience experiences
• What have your experiences been?
• Are there messages that have you have seen as particularly
persuasive for you? For your colleagues?