Summary
Contents
Subject index
“The authors are grounded educational leaders who have lived the approach to improvement and innovation that they write about. Filled with anecdotal examples, reflection exercises, and practical strategies, this is a very useful and timely resource for educators seeking to understand and influence educational innovation and transformation in the 21st century.”
—Michael H. Dickmann, Professor
Cardinal Stritch University
“This book stimulates leaders as they stretch their organization's culture to reveal mental models, consider external trends, and seek creative and energizing strategies that will prepare students for a future we cannot yet define.”
—Edie Holcomb, Consultant
Marzano Research Laboratory
Prepare students to succeed in a changing world!
Because the world is constantly evolving, school improvement alone is not enough to prepare students for success in the 21st century. Educators also need to be innovators who nurture a culture of both improvement and innovation.
Based on complexity theory, systems thinking, innovation theory, and years of practical expertise, Beyond School Improvement prepares school leaders to connect with the new science on change and provides skills, practices, and tools for creating and leading dynamic educational systems. The authors discuss four elements of change—dissonance, identity, information, and order—and define five essential practices for leaders:
Holding courageous conversations; Embracing dissonance; Creating context; Changing your field of vision; Letting ideas collide
Self-assessment activities, team conversation starters, stories, and examples support leaders as they balance improvement and innovation within themselves, their classrooms, and their organizations.
Let Ideas Collide
Let Ideas Collide
Innovation events occur when new ideas are tried; innovative culture occurs when new ideas become ingrained in the way work is done.
Order emerges at the edge of chaos. … The order that arises is not imposed by central design; it derives from distributed influence through the interactions of the system's agents.
In This Chapter
This chapter will develop the background for understanding the fourth essential leadership practice necessary for evolving organizations that balance improvement and innovation: let ideas collide. This practice is derived from the change element of order and the innovative attribute of engagement. To start the presentation, a brief background for the concept of order and the role it ...
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