Motivation of resistant employees

Many times people are resistant to change using new technology.  The resistance is not do to the change but rather the fear of failure of using the technology.  If people are encouraged through their failures as well as their successes then they will have the confidence to forge forward through the change.  According to Januszewski, 85% of employee failure is due to work environment rather than with the employee’s ability or desire to succeed (Januszewski, 2008). People are less likely to be successful when they doubt there skills to perform a new task or learn a new skill. Bandura proposed the idea of self efficacy, which states that if people are in doubt of their skills and they make judgments about their ability to succeed based upon their lack prior knowledge towards the new technology.  Employees lack motivation when they believe the task is too difficult (Driscoll, 2005 p. 316).

John Keller developed a model for motivating learners to apply effort and attention towards learning task (Driscoll, 2005).  The model acronym is ARCS and the description and example below has been incorporated in my school to motivate teachers to use the SmartRecorder to record lesson instructions.

Attention:  Must get teachers using the technology

Relevance: Teachers must see the benefit of using the technology

Confidence:The teachers must feel they are able to succeed at using the technology.

Satisfaction: Teachers will be amazed and encouraged when the technology is successfully implemented.

Many of the teachers at my school have been very frustrated when students come to class late or miss a day entirely.  When students miss valuable instruction the teacher cannot always take time away from the rest of the class to tutor the absent or tardy student..  I have suggested that teachers record instructions using SmartRecorder, which records voice and screen actions. The recording can be replayed as needed to students. Many of the teachers were reluctant to use the technology because they did not feel comfortable with technology, and they had never done anything like that before.

Getting their attention and getting them engaged involved setting them up with a microphone and walking them through the recording process.  They were instructed to record their introduction to a class-just a couple of minutes of instruction.  When the late-comers arrived the instructor was able to direct them to a computer to watch the instructional video, leaving the teacher free to continue the class. The teachers understood the relevance of using the technology, as they said, they wished they had used the technology a long time ago.  They also stated they were going to use it to record the mini lectures so students could view them at home or anytime they needed to go over the material again.   Teachers were amazed at the ease of recording and impressed with the usefulness of the recording.  They had developed a new skill by taking small steps towards success.  They know they can use the technology and that they have the skill to do so.  According to Keller, learners are motivated when they are guided through a task given just enough of a new task to succeed.   They become confident in their skills and are motivated by their success. And eventually they do not need guidance to succeed at learning the new skill because they have become confident in their abilities and can move forward on their own (Driscoll, 2005).

References:

Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.).Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Januszewski, A. & Molenda, M., (2008). Educational Technology:  A definition with commentary. New York, Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.



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