In my school, there have been several situations in which I have encountered where resistance and disappointing results were experienced. Our district has recently adopted a new program call Accelerated Reader. This program demands that students read grade level material and are tested on them via computer. With the goal of increasing reading levels, motivation to read, and comprehension skills, this program has proven to be successful. Training was offered for all teachers. However, the “seasoned” teachers did not want to use the program. Stating reasons such as I have no time, I have no computers, I don’t know how to use it, frustration began to build.
The resistance from these teachers, in my opinion, are not voluntary. It is my opinion that these teachers are a bit afraid to step out of their comfort zone. They are afraid of implementing change. In order to assist these teachers, extensive training has to be done. These teachers can not have one training and then are expected to implement and use the new technology. They must have modeling, demonstrations, and one on one sessions. It is then that teachers will fill a bit more comfortable and more willing to change, This is when resistance will soon fade away.
We have AR at our school. The media specialist sets it up and students use it at their own pace. One thing I noticed in your post was that students read books on their grade level. At my school they can read whatever they prefer. Most of our teachers use AR as a state testing preperation. It checks the ability to comprehend the story. I know how frustrating it can be to use a new tool!
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