Group items tagged

This article is actually an interview of Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline, and Margaret Wheatley, author of Leadership and the New Science; both are also organizational theorists. The two discuss how organizations can be more successful if they can work better with uncertainty, and incorporate meditation, derived from periods of silence in dialogue sessions, into their work. They claim that organizations need to accept that change should be accepted as the reality, and that life is a continuous state of change. The two also discuss the concept of "collective cultivation," wherein Buddhism teaches that cultivation is the practice of meditation, study, and service. Organizations not only need to accept change, but they need to collectively work hard and know how to accept this change. Unfortunately, most organizations don't have the tools or methods to support this idea. This interview allows the reader to think more about the concept of organizations and leaders in general, and how we understand them. We can't blame the hierarchy for the way things are, because we put the hierarchy in place. We are responsible for our own actions when we obey the demands of our leaders. If we can change our own views of organizations and the habits that we have adopted to work in them, then we can potentially change the way that they function from the inside out.

What struck me most about this article is their suggestion that we need to change our concept of what it means to be a leader in an organization. Particularly in the Western world, we look to our leaders, in fact expect our leaders, to have all the answers. As a leader, being comfortable sitting with uncertainty makes those you lead uncomfortable with you. The process of action research incorporates many of the same characteristics Senge and Wheatley identify: listening, being open, engaging in dialogue. Actively using action research in the workplace may help us reform our model of leadership.

I thought this article was very different but also very interesting. I like the combination of a business perspective and a religious one. I never really put too much thought into any similarities between the two. The suggestions on an effective leader and an effective organization are insightful. I agree there needs to be more dialogue as well as more reflection in order for things to work more efficiently.

"My own thinking is often unsettled by the dialogue process used in classroom discussions-issues get raised that I have not positioned in some framework that I would be able to convey to others."

"profiles ten dialogue methods in depth, and another fifteen more briefly. The methods covered conceptually and in case studies include Deep Democracy, Open Space Technology, Scenario Planning, World Café, the Israeli-Palestinian School for Peace and many more."

This is a good paper about how teachers can use art criticism as a critical thinking process in the elementary curriculum. Focus is on developing "meaningful dialogue."

The author presents examples of policies that are "bright ideas that have backfired in the real world." Specifically, examples such as random drug testing in prisons, giving juvenile delinquents tours of prisons to scare them straight, and randomised controlled medical treatment trials. She points out that what many of these policy makers are lacking is research on evidence of effectiveness, and that policy makers and researchers need to be in dialogue with each other. "Stubborn ideology," as she calls it, is costing us money.

Jenal Austin December 2010 "Science Rules OK: Running Societies the Rational Way" This article discusses the importance of basing public policy on evidence found through appropriately- conducted research studies rather than on assumptions or "feel good" ideology. Unfortunately, due to the fact that politicians want to come across as confident and decisive, they often prefer a simple evaluation of policies that research may have found to be unbeneficial for society. "Rigorous evaluations are seen as threatening rather than supportive of better policy" and many people view the task as "laborious, slow, and expensive." Social policies are also often seen as harmless when, in fact, there has been evidence showing that poorly researched policies have increased drug use in prisons as well as the number of teens involved in car accidents. Large randomized trails are necessary to evaluate whether or not a program might work on the national scale. It is also important that researchers and policy makers communicate with one another and that governments utilize proven facts rather than clinging to idealistic visions.

This article looks at several different approaches to Action Research.

Model of interest: Dialogical relation between individual performance & Social knowledge, provides an axis of knowledge as a process linking dialogue communication for trust building/community with thinking while doing; and dialogue of dissemination of information with individual performance and reflection on practice. Interesting model of action research processes with social context.

Are you Type "A" personality and you are having trouble unwinding, and need some type of tool to focus on relaxing? This video is effective very effective when having a day where through self dialogue and listening Here is a YouTube video on how to relax in a short period of time. It was effective for me.

This article talks about when it may or may not be appropriate to use action learning. Action learning is an approach you take on with a group to gain a better knowledge of a particular objective that can be achieved through shared reflection and action. Through this process individuals willingly participate to deal with a problem as a group and create innovative ideas that can be carried out and evaluated to continue revisionism. (Our action research class in a nutshell) The example chapters at the beginning outline a clear picture of a kind of problem that needs continued learning and revision to meet a better goal after reflection and reassessment occur.

The article is about a systematic approach and learning about "a problem" resolving them with a group of committed people through reflection and dialogue. This action learning approach may not be suitable for everyone due to the time constraints and the possible need for immediate problem- solving. There are tools that are utilized during the process of trying to learn about a problem that help to facilitate the learning process of that problem.

This article provides more resources to the Action Research Process. This involves identifing a problem and wanting to implement change to improve outcomes. Something each Action Research articles have in common are reflection and evaluation.