Running Head: What do you consider are the three most important catalysts in facilitating

change?
1

Assignment #2
What do you consider are the three most important catalysts in facilitating change?
Jossette E. Taveras Igaravdez
Ana G. Mndez University Systems

Innovations and Educational Strategies EDUC512

Professor: Luis J. Pentn Herrera
April 3, 2015

What do you consider are the three most important catalysts in facilitating change?

Change involves compromise, this makes it a difficult task to endeavor at once. Thus,
even if there has to be self-motivation towards change there are some external forces that could
either reinforce that change or undermine it.

If I wanted to implement a new conversational

English program for children from kindergarten through the third grade where I actually work, I
would need to introduce the program within the English Department and the school director. Let
me clarify, I am not an English teacher at my school and there is no conversational English
course, with the exception of a single class given to one group in third grade. With this being
said, I would become a change agent within my school even though I do not hold a leadership
position at school.
What would I do? First of all, I would have a very thorough written proposal that I
would present my superiors and coworkers where I could show how this course would improve
the acquisition of the English language within the aforementioned groups, making it a course
where students would interact verbally with their peers and the teacher in a flexible environment
in which they could relate to everyday situations. This could make me a leader, which is not
necessarily my goal since what I want is to engage my peers to accept and get this program to
run. Therefore, as a change agent I have to make certain I have the correct arguments, credibility
and support documentation to help me encourage the team of peers to take part in this project
with me. So here we have our first catalyst, being a change agent, not just a leader but someone
with a vision who also recognizes the strengths the other team members possess in order to have
them involved in this change.
On the other hand, we have a second catalyst that I understand is needed, persistence.
Maybe during this process some peers do not see the purpose or do not understand why I would
increment their workload. Even some would work at a slower pace or just not seem to know any

What do you consider are the three most important catalysts in facilitating change?

strategies to teach spoken language, but if I made certain that I would be of support during the
whole process, they would participate and move forward in order to be able to implement the
program. Being persistent does not mean I will push or impose on others, it means I will work
hand in hand, setting an example, collaborating, sharing ideas with others in order to facilitate
the process.
A third catalyst would be trust, I understand that trusting others and having them trust me
throughout this process makes me a reliable change agent. Hence, I would make myself
approachable and trustworthy but also it would help my peers grow since the levels of
confidence within the group make the environment accessible to communication. So, maybe
other leaders could emerge during the process.
In essence, three important catalysts that facilitate change are being a change agent,
persistence and trust. This does not mean that there are no other catalysts that could and would
facilitate transformation, but I consider that if change is going to be proposed this could be very
important in order to succeed. We have to always keep in mind that we will encounter many
obstacles during innovation but with good leadership, persistence and trust many of them can be
overturned. So I hope to really get a conversational English program implemented at the K-3
level soon!

What do you consider are the three most important catalysts in facilitating change?

References
Couros, George. "The principal of change.". N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2015.
Physical activity evaluation handbook. Atlanta, Ga: Dept. of Health and Human Services,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2002. Web.