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.

Although this podcast is about how to be a good teacher, it features some interesting thoughts about reflection and supportive learning communities when trying to improve your professional skills, in this case education.

Although this podcast is about how to be a good teacher, it features some interesting thoughts about reflection and supportive learning communities when trying to improve your professional skills, in this case education.

This reminded me of discussions we had in the Research Practices class about how to use notebooks to capture ideas, and I thought it might be useful to folks. "Why I Keep an Idea Notebook October 26, 2010, 8:00 am By Natalie Houston The simple practice of keeping an idea notebook has been absolutely essential to my research and writing over the years, and it's something I often recommend to thesis students and others who are starting a large complex project. I designate a small spiral notebook as my idea catcher. It's not for writing notes from texts or critical sources that I'm using, or for writing formal drafts. Instead, it's for capturing my own ideas, which sometimes can seem elusive at certain stages of the writing process. I teach students several forms for distinguishing their own ideas from those of others in the note-taking process (such as writing a precis or using Cornell-style notes), and I use similar strategies myself. But the idea notebook is for those ideas that occur to you at odd moments of the day - usually when you're not at your desk. Of course, your cell phone, smartphone, netbook, tablet, or other mobile device undoubtedly has one or more notepad or notetaking functions. You could also use Evernote to create an always-with-you "notebook." But personally, I find that that the analog notebook works better for me for this purpose, both for quickly capturing my thoughts (I can scribble faster than I can Swype) and for skimming through old entries. Some specific ways I use my idea notebook include: * Jotting down questions, thoughts, and ideas that relate to my current research or possible future projects. I typically get better ideas while I'm cooking or exercising than I do when I sit down at my desk to think about something. * Noting problems, questions, and doubts I have during the research process. Often I find my way to a solution while writing about the problem in just a few minutes. It's also helpful

(access full PDF via Umass databases page to SAGE journals online) "In this article we delve into the potential learning capacity inherent in project-based organizations derived from conclusions drawn from action research as well as extensive field experience. We propose project-based learning as a means to deal with the challenge of sustainable growth of learning capacity, i.e. developing learning capabilities that enable reasoning beyond the short term; knowledge creation and sharing beyond the individual or team. Based on stories from the field, we explore the distinguishing features of project-based learning and ways in which project-based learning can be instrumental in building communities of reflective practitioners."

This is an interesting perspective on learning styles and options. I've experienced working in a Charter School with this philosophy, project based learning, which of course is appealing to some learners, but not all. It is an excellent option to pursue for particular students who may thrive in this learning environment, where they might otherwise flounder in a traditional setting. It would be nice to see this option incorporated more widely in regular public schools in addition to traditional tracks (business, college prep, vocational education). Mary Ann p.s. E.K. READ THIS ONE!

This is an awesome visual representation (that I fully intend on showing my boss) that shows the difference between collaborating through Wikis vs. collaborating through email. I feel as though this visual representation shows my entire point I am trying to make with my project, and will be a simple and concise way to show my idea to my boss, who seems to prefer visuals to discussion.

This article peeked my curiosity because I was unsure of how the Wiki worked in the beginning of this course. Now I really like using it. It is also a nice way to communicate important information.

We have used wiki collaboration for some projects at work, and the people that understand how to use it love it, whereas the people less familiar with it find it more confusing and prefer traditional ways like email collaboration. I think people just need to develop a comfort level with it, and then they can see that it is a very useful way of communicating ideas.

This video focuses on 53 useful things you can do with Wikis in your teaching. Although this focuses on higher education rather than special education, there is still a lot of ideas I could take from this and relate it to my own project.

This article discusses the use of large-scale randomized trials to evaluate social policy. For decades, policy makers have rolled out changes without taking the time to conduct research to determine if the idea would be effective. One reason policy makers shun trials is the reality that the trials and experiments do not always support the ideas or policies. Rather than taking the time to conduct trials, policy makers prefer to "act swiftly" and propose policy. The article references the efforts of abstinence education, Scared straight programs, drug testing in prison populations, and school driving programs as examples of policies that have not worked--the research and data suggest the programs are not effective, yet policy makers continue to support the efforts.

Julie's point about not taking the time is a good one. This article was somewhat shocking in that it highlighted just how poor the research is behind many of our public policies and programs. Policy makers and politicians rush to gain political capital by moving decisively when they have only a kernel of research in support of their claims, without taking the time or making an effort to test the findings or dig deeper. After a policy or program is in place, it is not in their best interests to support research which may disprove the efficacy of what they have put in place. This could all tie back to our educational system, to whether or not we teach solid critical thinking and research skills.

I found this article to be very interesting. My favorite part was the study done in schools that polled the most influential peers, informed them on dangers of smoking, and attempted to decrease smoking by reverse peer pressure. I think this was a great idea!!!

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.

This article looks at using Wiki's for educational purposes, and the issues and benefits surrounding this.

This is actually a chapter out the book Social Work with Groups that I found eventually through EBSCO. I'm hoping some of the overall concepts will be beneficial or relatable for some of the group dynamics and communications people are addressing. The article discusses how co-facilitation can be effective if it is well planned and characterized by close communication among co-workers of equal status. The authors of this article describe their experience co-teaching a group work course. They examine the potential of co-facilitation in a classroom setting for role modeling an effective group co-leadership relationship to students and for contributing to the professional development of teachers.

Greenwald presents 3 key features that must be present in a TRUE problem-based learning lesson: initiating learning with a problem, exclusively using ill-defined problems, and teachers acting as thinking coaches. She gives and example of an ill-defined problem scenario, and also 10 Steps to PBL approach. This article is a great read and gives applicable tools, which seem like they would be great for teachers or facilitators to probe students to dig deeper in their hand-on investigations. In regards to my own project, I am always interested in problem solving approaches in graphic design, and a lot of the 10 steps in this article could easily be translated to a design problem/problem and the research that is required for it.

This blog focuses on the art of using Wiki pages to teach. On this blog teachers can ask questions and share experiences that surround using Wikis within classroom settings.

This article focuses on the many aspects of educational change. From history, to meaning, to processes, this seems to have it all and is really easy to read.

This article functions as a Press Release of sorts, providing news about important alliances with science and "Rock Stars" for the purpose of informing and funding important science and research programs. This joining of forces with the entertainment industry's foundation provides Autism Speaks Chief Science Officer Geraldine Dawson, Ph.D. with a tremendous opportunity to addressw "critical concerns for those affected by ASD including, diagnosis, biology, risk factors, treatment, services and outcomes for the future". The foundation seeks to promote science: "We need to tap into the psyche of a younger generation that is turning away from careers in science," says RSOS™ Executive Producer, Meryl Comer. "If it takes music and rock stars to connect kids to the 'cool' in science, and make researchers the new 'heroes' to emulate.

This article looks at targeting staff behavior for change to better aid the treatment of the individuals with developmental disabilities who were receiving services.Decreases in resident self-stimulatory and disruptive/aggressive behaviors occurred when the rate of social interactions from staff persons increased.This article shows how staff training can affect change for the better.

This article looks at a staff training program in a school for children with multiple disabilitie. The staff training program was based on a personalized system of instruction, organizational behavior management procedures for supervisors, regular assessment of teacher behaviors, and teacher assessment of all instructional trials. The results showed that many of the teachers and the students behaviors improved as a result of this treatment package.

This article discusses how people with intellectual disabilities are still denied rights despite laws that are in place to prevent this. Staff and individuals with disabilities reported different restrictions and different effects restrictions had. The results of this study and the questionnaire used in this study has changed the system to better ensure that human rights are protected.

This year I decided to have commercials in my classroom during the students 15 minute break period. This was a great way for me to incorporate some humor into the curriculum without imposing on the student's class time. I found the students did not want to leave the class because they were laughing and having fun. Here is one very short example of a quick laugh. 30 seconds.

I laughed watching this brief clip. It is highly encouraged to incorporate humor in educational settings and workplaces to "lighten the load". Humor has many benefits and can also aide in memory recall, as well, which after all, is a desired outcome in any educational setting! Thanks for posting this one.

Through narrative and reflection, this paper explores how somatic awareness can add to professional development in areas that, historically, have been 'disembodied'. It addresses my subjective experience of a critical incident, a cycle accident, and how it interrupted my habitual sense of embodiment. It explores how the experience presented an opportunity to visit again my body as 'ground of my being' and 'my body as first home' (Halprin 2003), and to listen through silence to the layers that give way to somatic awareness. Reflection offers an opportunity to pause, and explore the space for deep engagement in what it means to be professional. This paper addresses itself to the theme of the embodied professional educator.