Summary
Contents
Subject index
This innovative book about organizational learning in K–12 settings reshapes the way teachers and administrators think about people, practices, and policies while providing a compelling roadmap for transformation from within today’s school systems.
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Front Matter
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Chapters
Part I: What is Organizational Learning?
- Chapter 1: New Ways of Thinking: New Ways of Learning
- Moving from an Industrial to a Knowledge Society
- The Need for Systemic Thinking
- Theory and Practice
- A Working Definition of Organizational Learning
- Deliberate Use
- Learning
- Embedding
- Renewal
- Case Study
- Changing Schools: An Opportunity for Growth
- Looking Ahead
- Reflective Journal
- Chapter 2: Organizational Learning: Original Sources and Perspectives
- Why Start with Theory?
- How Will Understanding Theory Help an Organization Learn?
- Origins of Perspectives on Organizational Learning
- Argyris and Schön
- Example of Single-Loop Learning
- Example of Double-Loop Learning
- Daft and Weick
- Example of a Discovering Organization
- Fiol and Lyles
- Comparison of Organizational Adaptation and Organizational Learning
- Levitt and March
- Example of Superstitious Learning
- An Application of Organizational Learning Concepts
- Example of Organizational Learning by Math Teachers
- Reflective Journal
- Chapter 3: Core Assumptions of Organizational Learning Perspectives
- Core Assumptions
- Multilevel Learning
- Example of Multilevel Learning
- Inquiry
- Shared Understandings
- Example of Building Shared Understandings
- Behavioral and Cognitive Change
- Embedding New Knowledge
- Example of Embedding Knowledge
- A Framework for Understanding and Practicing Organizational Learning
- Sensemaking
- An Example of the Unbelievable
- Act-Then-Think
- Interpretation
- Example of How Language Frames Issues
- Reflective Journal
Part II: Why is Organizational Learning Important for Schools and School Systems?
- Chapter 4: Ensuring a Cycle of Continuous Learning
- From Individual to Organizational Learning
- From Insights to Institutionalized Learning
- The Apple Story: Illustrating Four Learning Processes
- Example of Learning Processes in a Middle School
- Feed Forward and Feedback
- Example of Learning Processes: Change in Routines
- A Cyclical Process of Learning
- Example of Error Detection as a Source of Learning
- Reflective Journal
- Chapter 5: Organizational Learning as Renewal
- Renewal for Sustainability
- Challenges in Balancing Continuity and Change
- Deutero Learning
- Example of an Organizational Defensive Routine
- Defensive Routines in School Contexts
- An Analysis of Defensive Routines in Context
- Defensive Routines in Context
- From Theory to Practice
- Conditions for Learning
- Reflective Journal
Part III: How Do Schools and School Systems Foster Organizational Learning?
- Chapter 6: Prioritizing Learning for all Members: The Primary Condition
- Why is Prioritizing Learning Important?
- Learning Case Study
- Learning: A Way of Thinking
- Changing Thinking, Changing Vocabulary
- Learning: The Primary Condition
- Tapping Two Kinds of Knowledge
- The Individual, the Organization, and the Environment
- Learning Environments in School Systems
- Resistance to Change
- The Importance of Language for Learning
- Learning as Error Detection and Correction
- Noticing Errors
- Openness to Error Detection
- Example of Openness to Error Detection
- Errors as Opportunities for Learning
- Essential Questions
- Getting Started Activities and Ideas
- Activity 1–Getting Started: Creating an Inventory
- Activity 2–Getting Started: Brainstorming Strengths and Suggestions
- Activity 3–What Does Learning Really Mean?
- Activity 4–Linking Learning and Practice
- Further Reading
- Reflective Journal
- Chapter 7: Fostering Inquiry and its Collateral Learning
- Why is Inquiry Important for Organizational Learning?
- Inquiry: A Specific Kind of Learning
- Inquiry Case Study
- Inquiry: A Way of Thinking
- Inquiry and Attitudes
- Inquiry and Attitudes: A Reciprocal Process
- Direct Inquiry
- The Importance of Questions
- Inquiry and Change
- The Importance of Collective Inquiry
- Example of Collective Inquiry and Openness to New Ideas
- Inquiry and Renewal/Continuous Improvement
- Example of Inquiry as Continuous Improvement
- Indirect Inquiry
- Inquiry and Sensemaking
- “D” is for Discovery and Direct Inquiry
- “I” is for Invention and Indirect Inquiry
- Essential Questions
- Getting Started Activities and Ideas
- Activity 1–What's Working? What isn't Working?
- Activity 2–Force-Field Analysis
- Idea 3–Institutionalizing School Inquiry
- Further Reading
- Reflective Journal
- Chapter 8: Facilitating the Dissemination of Learning
- Why is Dissemination Important for Organizational Learning?
- Dissemination Case Study
- Dissemination: A Way of Thinking
- Dissemination: Sharing Learning
- Dissemination for Shared Understandings
- The Necessity of Dialogue
- Dialogue: More than Storytelling
- Dialogue and New Understandings
- Examples of Dissemination as Dialogue
- Factors Enabling and Constraining Dissemination
- Example of a Mismatch Affecting Dissemination
- Time for Learning and Sharing
- School Norms and Teachers' Perspectives
- Knowing How to Share
- Teacher Suggestions for Enabling Dissemination
- Hopeful Signs of Systemic Dissemination
- Essential Questions
- Getting Started Activities and Ideas
- Idea 1–Easy Strategies That Principals Can Facilitate
- Idea 2–Additional Strategies That Principals Can Try
- Activity 3–Working toward Dialogue
- Idea 4–Group Cultural Norms
- Further Reading
- Reflective Journal
- Chapter 9: Practicing Democratic Principles
- Why are Democratic Principles Important for Organizational Learning?
- Democratic Principles Case Study
- Democratic Principles: A Way of Thinking
- Democratic Principles: A Way of Living
- Open Systems and Democratic Principles
- A Contradiction: Democratic Life and the Bureaucratic Model
- Free Flows of Communication
- Equality and Participation Instead of Control “Over”
- Checks and Balances: Protecting the Minority
- Example of a Minority as a Catalyst for Good
- Roles and Responsibilities in Democratic Organizations
- Example of Dependency and Low Responsibility
- Responsibilities of Leaders
- Summary: Leader as Model
- Responsibilities of Members
- Example of Linkages between Learning and Professional Control
- Democratic Principles and Organizational Learning
- Long-Term Threats to Democratic Principles in Organizations
- Summary of Threats to Democratic Principles
- Essential Questions
- Getting Started Activities and Ideas
- Activity 1–Examining overt Rules
- Activity 2–Working toward Consensus
- Further Reading
- Reflective Journal
- Chapter 10: Attending to Human Relationships
- Why are Human Relationships Important?
- Human Relationships Case Study
- Human Relationships: A Way of Thinking
- Human Relationships: A Social Infrastructure
- The Importance of Dialogue, Questioning, and Argument for Human Relationships
- Dialogue
- Questioning
- Argument
- Trust: The Cornerstone of Community Orientation
- Schools with Strong Relational Trust
- Collaboration: Seeking to Satisfy Community and Individual Interests
- Independence and Interdependence
- Potential Outcomes of Independence and Interdependence
- Avoiding Pitfalls of Collaborative Relationships
- Conflict: When Members' Interests Collide
- Conflict as a Source of Learning
- Example of Conflict as Learning
- Conflict Management
- Essential Questions
- Getting Started Activities and Ideas
- Activity 1–Getting to Know You
- Activity 2–Striking Gold
- Idea 3–Continuum of Interpersonal Skills
- Activity 4–Conflict Resolution and the Dialogue Process
- Idea 5–Faculty Meetings
- Further Reading
- Reflective Journal
- Chapter 11: Providing for Members' Self-Fulfillment
- Why is Providing for Members' Self-Fulfillment Important?
- Members' Self-Fulfillment Case Study
- Providing for Members' Self-Fulfillment: A Way of Thinking
- Historical Communities of Learners
- Nurturing Members' Quest for Meaningful Values and Goals
- Seeking Shared Values and Aims
- Values and Practices of High-Performing Teachers/Leaders
- Expectation: All Members Contribute Knowledge
- Ways to Solicit Knowledge from all Members
- Expectation: Learning is Rewarding
- Expectation: Innovation is a Responsibility of all Members
- Example of Government Influence on Innovation
- Nurturing Members' Commitment and Connections
- Commitment
- Connections
- Providing Opportunities to Communicate and Connect
- Nurturing Members' Aspirations for Growth
- Hiring and Promotion Practices: Balancing Renewal from within and without
- Hiring to Enhance Renewal
- Essential Questions
- Getting Started Activities and Ideas
- Idea 1–How Would You like to Contribute?
- Activity 2–Hiring Teams
- Activity 3–The Role of the System
- Further Reading
- Reflective Journal
Part IV: Looking Back, Looking Ahead
- Chapter 12: Organizational Learning: A Balancing Act
- Creating a Culture That Rewards Learning
- Values and Attitudes
- Responsibilities of Leaders and Members
- The Role of Feedback and Feed Forward for Learning
- Feedback as a Form of Error Correction
- Example of Influences Affecting Accuracy of Interpretations
- Ways to Encourage Argument and Feedback
- Organizational Memory: A Double-Edged Sword
- Organizational Learning: Improving Learning, Teaching, and Leading
- Organization Development: Building Schools' Capacity to Develop and Extend Organizational Learning
- Chapter 13: How Research Can Help Schools and Systems Move Forward
- Examining Assumptions
- Questions for Researchers and Practitioners
- Wanting to Learn
- Attending to all Members' Growth
- Pinehurst Revisited: Practitioners Modeling Research for and with Students
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Back Matter
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