Interview Protocols & Consent Form

Consent Forms

Interview Protocol for Superintendents  (non superintendent protocol is below)

Thank you for agreeing to participate in our study.

My name is ______________ and I am one of five Boston College doctoral students conducting a study of district leaders and how they gain acceptance for a large-scale technology initiative.

First, let me explain the project.

The purpose of this study is to study how district leaders and teams gain acceptance for large-scale technology initiatives in their school district communities.  We will also explore leadership distribution, strategic planning, communication modes, and the instructional and learning organization features of these districts to determine the relationship between leader actions and these constructs.

At the conclusion of this study we will prepare a report.  We are happy to send you a copy of that report if you are interested. Shall we send the report to your email at _________________________________________. YES               NO          

Now, a little about the interview.

As a team we are interviewing approximately five participants.

We have several questions that we are asking all participants; I will try to pace the interview so that we can conclude within one hour.  Please understand that your responses are completely confidential.  If we use a quote in our report, we will make sure it is not attributable to any particular interviewee.

All questions are optional – if there is any question you want to skip or if you want to stop the interview at any time, just let me know. I plan to take notes while we are talking; is it OK if I also record the interview for transcription?

Do you have any questions before we begin?

We are going to begin by asking you some questions regarding your views on instruction.  For the purpose of this study, instructional vision will be defined as the instructional and organizational practices, theories, philosophies and beliefs that lay the foundation to achieving educational goals. We will also be asking you questions on how these views relate to your views on technology.

1.   What is your vision for teaching and learning in your district?

a.            How was this instructional vision developed (what was the process, who was involved)?  IV

b.            What is your role in supporting the instructional vision?  IV

2.   What evidence is there of the instructional vision taking shape throughout your district (resources, programs, PD, etc)?  IV

3.   What role do you think technology ought to play in teaching and learning? IV/USE

 .              how is that communicated to all stakeholders (leadership team, teachers, students, parents)?  Please explain. IV

4.   Where did the idea of developing a 1:1 program come from? (policy window/strategic alignment)
4. A. IN WHAT AREAS WERE YOU HOPING THIS INITIATIVE WOULD HELP YOUR DISTRICT?

5.   Please describe the technology initiative in its current state.

 .              What initiatives were also being implemented at the time of the technology implementation (to determine co-implementation)? PLC

6.   Who did you need to convince to get buy-in and how did you go about this?

7.   Who helped you lead the district through this technology initiative?  DL

 .              Why did you choose to work with these people?

a.            How did you know who you wanted to work with?   

b.            Can you walk me through step by step what working with these people looked like?

8.            What did working with these different people look like? DL

    a.   How did you choose to work with them individually or in a group?  

9.            In what ways did these people work with each other to implement the plan?  DL

a.            Did you have a role in helping people work together?   

b.            How did you know what they were working on?  

10.       What factors did you consider when determining how to fund the technology initiative?  [possible responses: sustainability, SES of  families in the district, political pressure, school budget] IF

11.       How, if at all, did the funding design impact the acceptance of the 1:1 initiative? IF

12.       What were the main reasons that led you to choose this specific mobile device? (not applicable if BYOD) [Possible responses: cost, reliability/durability, brand reputation, included support from the vendor, free or packaged software applications, warranty, battery life, photo/video capabilities, ease of use, portability] IF

0.            How did the mobile device that was chosen (or BYOD program) impact the use of the device among teachers & students? IF

13.       Describe the reliability of your wireless network and how it has impacted the 1:1 initiative. IF

14.       How did the capacity of your existing technology staff to support the initiative figure into your decision-making? [possible responses: limited staff, adequate staff, could/could not hire more] IF

15.       Describe structures that exist in the district around educator collaboration--formal and informal related to teaching and learning.PLC

0.            What are your expectations around collaboration--collaborative culture--structured collaboration around teaching and learning and how is that embedded in the culture?

1.            How is educator collaboration related to technology implementation?

2.            Related to implementation of any educational innovation in general, are there expectations for educator collaboration?

16.       Does the collaboration of teachers play a role in the implementation of the technology initiative? Is there formal time set aside for teachers to collaborate?PLC

17.       What technologies are most important to your job? What do you actually spend the most time using? What about at home? USE

0.            Follow up with specifics about blogs and social media

18.       What are the benefits of these technologies that you mentioned? What complaints do you have?         USE

19.       How does your district support technology use? What’s your role?         USE        

0.            What training, activities, actions or documents helped to ease the implementation of this initiative in your system?

20.       How do you feel about the direction your district is taking in regard to technology? Are these views you have shared with others? USE

21.       In hindsight, would you have done anything differently with the implementation of the 1:1 initiative? IF (all of us?)

Interview Protocol for NON-SUPERINTENDENTS

Thank you for agreeing to participate in our study.

My name is ______________ and I am one of five Boston College doctoral students conducting a study of district leaders and how they gain acceptance for a large-scale technology initiative.

First, let me explain the project.

The purpose of this study is to study how district leaders and teams gain acceptance for large-scale technology initiatives in their school district communities.  We will also explore leadership distribution, strategic planning, communication modes, and the instructional and learning organization features of these districts to determine relationship between leader actions and these constructs.

At the conclusion of this study we will prepare a report.  We are happy to send you a copy of that report if you are interested. Shall we send the report  to your email at ________________________________________. YES               NO          

Now, a little about the interview.

As a team we are interviewing approximately five districts.

We have several questions that we are asking all participants; I will try to pace the interview so that we can conclude within one hour.  Please understand that your responses are completely confidential.  If we use a quote in our report, we will make sure it is not attributable to any particular interviewee.

All questions are optional – if there is any question you want to skip or if you want to stop the interview at any time, just let me know. I plan to take notes while we are talking; is it OK if I also record the interview for transcription?

Do you have any questions before we begin?

We are going to begin by asking you some questions regarding your views on instruction.  For the purpose of this study, instructional vision will be defined as the instructional and organizational practices, theories, philosophies and beliefs that lay the foundation to achieving educational goals. We will also be asking you questions on how these views relate to your views on technology.

1.   What is the vision for teaching and learning in the district?

a.            How was this instructional vision developed (what was the process, who was involved)?  IV

b.            What is your role in supporting the instructional vision?  IV

                  What evidence is there of the instructional vision taking shape throughout the district (resources, programs, PD, etc)?  IV

                  What role do you think technology ought to play in teaching and learning? IV/USE

 .              how is that communicated to all stakeholders (leadership team, teachers, students, parents)?  Please explain. IV

                  Where did the idea of developing a 1:1 program come from? (policy window/strategic alignment)
IN WHAT AREAS WERE YOU HOPING THIS INITIATIVE WOULD HELP YOUR DISTRICT?

                  Please describe the technology initiative in its current state.

 .              What initiatives were also being implemented at the time of the technology implementation (to determine co-implementation)? PLC

                  Who needed to be convinced to get buy-in and how was that accomplished, or not accomplished?

                  Describe your role in the implementation of the 1:1 initiative?  DL

 .              What was it like to work with the superintendent on the 1:1 initiative?

8.            Who else was instrumental in implementing the 1:1 initiative? DL

a.            Did you work with them individually or in a group?

b.            What was it like to work with these people?  

c.            In what ways did these people work with each other to implement the plan?

d.            Did you have a role in helping people work together?   

e.            How did you know what they were working on?  

9.            What factors were considered when determining how to fund the technology initiative?  [possible responses: sustainability, SES of  families in the district, political pressure, school budget] IF

10.       How, if at all,  did the funding design impact the acceptance of the 1:1 initiative? IF

11.       What were the main reasons that the specific mobile device was chosen? (not applicable if BYOD) [Possible responses: cost, reliability/durability, brand reputation, included support from the vendor, free or packaged software applications, warranty, battery life, photo/video capabilities, ease of use, portability] IF

 .              How did the mobile device that was chosen (or BYOD program) impact the use of the device among teachers & students? IF

12.       Describe the reliability of the wireless network and how, it at all, it has impacted the 1:1 initiative. IF

13.       How did the capacity of the existing technology staff to support the initiative figure into the  decision-making about the 1:1 inititative? [possible responses: limited staff, adequate staff, could/could not hire more] IF

14.       Describe structures that exist in the district around educator collaboration--formal and informal related to teaching and learning.PLC

 .              What are the superintendent’s expectations around collaboration--collaborative culture--structured collaboration around teaching and learning and how is that embedded in the culture?

a.            How is educator collaboration related to technology implementation?

b.            Related to the implementation of any educational innovation in general, are there expectations for educator collaboration?

15.       Did the collaboration of teachers play a role in the implementation of the technology initiative? Is there formal time set aside for teachers to collaborate?PLC

16.       What technologies are most important to your job? What do you actually spend the most time using? What about at home? USE

1.   Follow up with specifics about blogs and social media

17.       What are the benefits of these technologies that you mentioned? What complaints do you have?         USE

18.       How does the district support technology use? What’s your role?         USE        

1.   What training, activities, actions or documents helped to ease the implementation of this initiative in your system?

19.       How do you feel about the direction the district is taking with regard to technology? Do you share these views with others in the district? USE

20.       In hindsight, should anything have been done differently with regards to the implementation of the 1:1 initiative? IF (all of us?)