LOOKING AT CHANGE
OBJECTIVES
Probing the Depths of Educational Reform Michael Fullan
An A-Mazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life Spencer Johnson, M.D.
“Somehow our fears, both real and imagined, seem to weave their way back to some instinctive reality. To change the way I am (whether productive or not) is associated with loss, and losing threatens my survival.” William A. Guillory, Realizations, 1990
Lesson 1: You Can’t Mandate What Matters
You Can Effectively Mandate Things That:
All Educational Changes of Value Require
The Only Alternative That Works
The Acid Test of Productive Change
Productive change is the constant ‘search for understanding, knowing there is no ultimate answer’ R. Stacey, Managing the Unknowable, 1992
Lesson
Lesson 2: Change is a Journey Not a Blueprint
Change
Educational Reforms
Under Conditions of Uncertainty:
Lesson 3: Problems are Our Friends
Life isn’t a destination--it’s a journey. We all come upon unexpected curves and turning points, mountaintops and valleys. Everything that happens to us shapes who we are becoming. And in the adventure of each day, we discover the best in ourselves.
We Cannot Develop Effective Responses to Complex Situations Unless We Actively Seek and Confront the Real Problems Which Are in Fact Difficult to Solve
Success in School Change Efforts is Much More Likely When...
Lesson 4: Vision and Strategic Planning Come Later
You Don’t Know What is Going To Matter Until You Are into the Journey
Vision emerges from, more than it precedes, action. Shared vision must evolve through the dynamic interaction of organizational members and leaders
Critical Question
“Ready, Fire, Aim”!
Lesson 5: Individualism and Collectivism Must Have Equal Power
Productive educational change is also a process of overcoming isolation while not succumbing to groupthink.
Isolation is a problem because it imposes a ceiling affect on inquiry and learning and..the capacity to think and work independently is essential to educational reform
Lesson 6: Neither Centralization or Decentralization Works
Change Flourishes in a ‘Sandwich’
Control at the top as many reform-minded leaders have found, is an illusion. Similarly, it is a mistake for local units, even operating under decentralized process to ignore the Center.
Lesson 7: Connection With the Wider Environment is Critical for Success
Many organizations work hard on internal development but fail to keep a proactive learning stance toward the environment.
Teachers and Schools Must Do Two Things...
Teachers Need to...
Organizations Must...
Lesson 8: Every Person is a Change Agent
You Must Be The Change You See In The World Mahatma Gandhi
It is only by individuals taking action to alter their own environment that there is any chance for deep change.
Teacher I am that most fortunate of people for I am eternal Others merely live in the world of today, I live in the world of tomorrow… I span the generations, making the wisdom of the past live now, so that the future will have meaning I make wisdom live, for I am no mere bearer of knowledge I do not simply teach the mind I reach the heart I touch the soul… Zev Stanst
The Handwriting On The Wall
Bibliography
Bibliography (cont.)
Email: cherylh@provo.k12.ut.us
Home Page: http://www.ulrc.org
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