Monday, 5 November 2012
1. Peter Senge and the learning organisation
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/senge.htm
Learning organizations are where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together.
While all people have the capacity to learn, the structures in which they have to function are often not conducive to reflection and engagement. Furthermore, people may lack the tools and guiding ideas to make sense of the situations they face.
For a learning organization, “adaptive learning” must be joined by “generative learning”, learning that enhances our capacity to create’.
What is most striking about a great team is the meaningfulness of the experience. People talk about being part of something larger than themselves, of being connected, of being generative.
Peter Senge argues that learning organizations require a new view of leadership. He sees the traditional view of leaders (as special people who set the direction, make key decisions and energize the troops as deriving from a deeply individualistic and non-systemic worldview (1990: 340). At its centre the traditional view of leadership, ‘is based on assumptions of people’s powerlessness, their lack of personal vision and inability to master the forces of change, deficits which can be remedied only by a few great leaders’.
In a learning organization, leaders are designers, stewards and teachers. They are responsible for building organizations were people continually expand their capabilities to understand complexity, clarify vision, and improve shared mental models – that is they are responsible for learning….
Leader as teacher. Peter Senge starts here with Max de Pree’s (1990) injunction that the first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. While leaders may draw inspiration and spiritual reserves from their sense of stewardship, ‘much of the leverage leaders can actually exert lies in helping people achieve more accurate, more insightful and more empowering views of reality.
2. Society for organisational learning (SoL)
http://www.solonline.org/?page=FifthDiscipline
The five disciplines represent approaches (theories and methods) for developing three core learning capabilities - fostering aspiration, developing reflective conversation and understanding complexity.
Deming would often say that "we will never transform the prevailing system of management without transforming the prevailing system of education." By the age of 10, they know what it takes to get ahead in school and please the teacher, a lesson they carry forward in their careers and continue to please their bosses and failing to improve the system that serves customers.
The dysfunctions of traditional management system keep many organisations in perpetual fire-fighting mode, with little time and energy for innovation. This frenzy and chaos undermines the building of values-based management cultures.
3. Oceans of Innovation
http://www.ippr.org/images/media/files/publication/2012/09/oceans-of-innovation_Aug2012_9543.pdf
Preface by PM Lee Hsien Loong (points 1 & 2)
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/senge.htm
Learning organizations are where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together.
While all people have the capacity to learn, the structures in which they have to function are often not conducive to reflection and engagement. Furthermore, people may lack the tools and guiding ideas to make sense of the situations they face.
For a learning organization, “adaptive learning” must be joined by “generative learning”, learning that enhances our capacity to create’.
What is most striking about a great team is the meaningfulness of the experience. People talk about being part of something larger than themselves, of being connected, of being generative.
Peter Senge argues that learning organizations require a new view of leadership. He sees the traditional view of leaders (as special people who set the direction, make key decisions and energize the troops as deriving from a deeply individualistic and non-systemic worldview (1990: 340). At its centre the traditional view of leadership, ‘is based on assumptions of people’s powerlessness, their lack of personal vision and inability to master the forces of change, deficits which can be remedied only by a few great leaders’.
In a learning organization, leaders are designers, stewards and teachers. They are responsible for building organizations were people continually expand their capabilities to understand complexity, clarify vision, and improve shared mental models – that is they are responsible for learning….
Leader as teacher. Peter Senge starts here with Max de Pree’s (1990) injunction that the first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. While leaders may draw inspiration and spiritual reserves from their sense of stewardship, ‘much of the leverage leaders can actually exert lies in helping people achieve more accurate, more insightful and more empowering views of reality.
2. Society for organisational learning (SoL)
http://www.solonline.org/?page=FifthDiscipline
The five disciplines represent approaches (theories and methods) for developing three core learning capabilities - fostering aspiration, developing reflective conversation and understanding complexity.
Deming would often say that "we will never transform the prevailing system of management without transforming the prevailing system of education." By the age of 10, they know what it takes to get ahead in school and please the teacher, a lesson they carry forward in their careers and continue to please their bosses and failing to improve the system that serves customers.
The dysfunctions of traditional management system keep many organisations in perpetual fire-fighting mode, with little time and energy for innovation. This frenzy and chaos undermines the building of values-based management cultures.
3. Oceans of Innovation
http://www.ippr.org/images/media/files/publication/2012/09/oceans-of-innovation_Aug2012_9543.pdf
Preface by PM Lee Hsien Loong (points 1 & 2)
1. Education is the most important investment one can make to prepare for the future. It unlocks human potential, equips people with the knowledge to thrive and enables them to achieve their aspirations. Education is therefore a top national imperative, and a key factor in our success.
2. Students must improve across a wider range of learning outcomes. They need to think for themselves, to practise working in teams, to develop their creativity, and to learn ethical behaviour, such as personal responsibility and valuing individuals regardless of their backgrounds.
3. The distinctive corporations that developed, especially in Japan and Korea, became adept at making use of the accumulated human capital of their workers through, for example, Toyota’s quality circles. These contrasted with the more individualistic attitude to skills in western companies that existed well into the 1990s. In all these ways, Pacific Asian societies were significantly different from those of the Atlantic. In the west people developed a ‘rights’ culture and asked what the state could offer them; in Pacific Asia they developed a ‘responsibilities’ culture and asked what they could offer the state. When Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister of Singapore, referred to ‘Asian Values’, this was what he had in mind. Combined with free-market incentives which allowed people to invest in the future of their families as well as their country, it helped drive the economic miracle.
4. To be an inspiring Leader in Education
Speech by MOE Minister Heng Swee Keat at the Principal's Appointment Ceremony 2012
http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2012/12/27/speech-by-mr-heng-swee-keat-at-36.php
4. To be an inspiring Leader in Education
Speech by MOE Minister Heng Swee Keat at the Principal's Appointment Ceremony 2012
http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2012/12/27/speech-by-mr-heng-swee-keat-at-36.php
What does it take to be an Inspiring Leader in Education? There are 5 roles and the values underpinning these that may serve as a useful guide in your daily work. These are:
- Leading Learning
- Leading People
- Leading Culture
- Leading Change
- Leading Nationally
Leading Learning
All Principals must have a deep conviction of the critical importance of education — to the student’s life, to the future of the nation. Our basic belief must be that every child is important and every child can learn. This learning goes beyond the cognitive, to holistic and character development of the child. It is necessary that we delve deeply into how different students learn, and constantly search for effective practices — whether it is differentiated teaching, inquiry-based learning, social-emotional learning or others. (There are) many innovative practices. Inquiry-driven, experiential and applied learning approaches make learning come alive for students. Students learn not only new concepts, but gain greater confidence and interest in learning.
Like a clinician, you need to have a core body of knowledge of evidence-based theories of curriculum design, pedagogy and assessment.But to be a good practitioner, you need to have a good appreciation of ground realities of the school, the needs of the students and the capacity of staff. You have to make the right diagnosis and choices, and translate ideas to realities.
Leading People
An inspiring principal shapes the quality of education by growing people. He develops every teacher. He helps them grow by helping them strengthen their professional values and deepening their pedagogical skills and knowledge. He helps them become skilful and caring educators, and creates an atmosphere that energises every one of his teachers to do his best work, day-in, day-out. An inspiring principal develops colleagues, cares for them and earns the trust and respect of the entire school team.
Leading Culture The principal of a school weaves together the strands of values and norms, building the school’s culture through inspiring the community towards shared vision and values, through his words and actions each day. While every principal is an architect of values in your school, you share those leadership responsibilities with all educators. Schools cannot teach the core values of respect, responsibility, resilience, integrity, care and harmony to the students unless these are evident in the way Principals and staff themselves interact and work together as a leadership team.
Leading culture” involves creating a shared vision and a shared leadership. It is about bringing everyone together to provide the educational experiences that will bring out the best in every student. The school culture must permeate the entire school. Only then will the school truly stand out and be known for its ethos and distinctiveness.
All Principals must have a deep conviction of the critical importance of education — to the student’s life, to the future of the nation. Our basic belief must be that every child is important and every child can learn. This learning goes beyond the cognitive, to holistic and character development of the child. It is necessary that we delve deeply into how different students learn, and constantly search for effective practices — whether it is differentiated teaching, inquiry-based learning, social-emotional learning or others. (There are) many innovative practices. Inquiry-driven, experiential and applied learning approaches make learning come alive for students. Students learn not only new concepts, but gain greater confidence and interest in learning.
Like a clinician, you need to have a core body of knowledge of evidence-based theories of curriculum design, pedagogy and assessment.But to be a good practitioner, you need to have a good appreciation of ground realities of the school, the needs of the students and the capacity of staff. You have to make the right diagnosis and choices, and translate ideas to realities.
Leading People
An inspiring principal shapes the quality of education by growing people. He develops every teacher. He helps them grow by helping them strengthen their professional values and deepening their pedagogical skills and knowledge. He helps them become skilful and caring educators, and creates an atmosphere that energises every one of his teachers to do his best work, day-in, day-out. An inspiring principal develops colleagues, cares for them and earns the trust and respect of the entire school team.
Leading Culture The principal of a school weaves together the strands of values and norms, building the school’s culture through inspiring the community towards shared vision and values, through his words and actions each day. While every principal is an architect of values in your school, you share those leadership responsibilities with all educators. Schools cannot teach the core values of respect, responsibility, resilience, integrity, care and harmony to the students unless these are evident in the way Principals and staff themselves interact and work together as a leadership team.
Leading culture” involves creating a shared vision and a shared leadership. It is about bringing everyone together to provide the educational experiences that will bring out the best in every student. The school culture must permeate the entire school. Only then will the school truly stand out and be known for its ethos and distinctiveness.
Leading Change
As a principal, you have to make two types of changes — school-specific and ministry-led.
School-specific changes are those within the current MOE framework that you can effect. This has to be done thoughtfully. Every school has a different student profile and is at a different stage of its school excellence journey. Like the clinician practitioner I mentioned earlier, a principal must assess which stage of the journey the school is at, where best to focus efforts, and to build on foundations. Changing for the sake of changing, or adopting the latest teaching approaches without an understanding of its context or the buy-in from his staff will not work. Real change takes place when there is strong conviction and consistent application of the new routines and practices.
At the Ministry, we think about changes all the time — not because we need to fix a broken system, but because we want to create a better future. As the interface between HQ and the frontline, our principals play a very critical role in leading change. You provide valuable inputs on how and where changes are needed. Once policies are decided, you need a clear understanding of policy intent.
Leading Nationally
John F. Kennedy once said, “The future of our nation can be no swifter than the progress of our education. What best practices — inspiring teaching approaches, well-designed lessons, good habits and strong values — enable our students to lay a strong foundation for their future?
Put another way, our principals’ key challenge is more than competing for the most talented students, or showing that our school is better than the next school. Leading nationally means understanding that we are an integral part of the larger school system and having the generosity of spirit to not just narrowly focus on the success of your own school, but to share and collaborate with others — to bring our entire education system forward. There is a saying in Africa that ‘if we want to walk fast, we walk alone. If we want to walk far, we walk together’.
Each school has a duty to share, and to learn from others. I hope to see our schools breaking new paths, so that we can inspire and help others level up. As school leaders, it is necessary for you to understand our national perspective and context; Singapore’s past, present and future in a globalised world. Our school leaders need to have a good understanding of these shifts if we are to prepare our students well for the future. In this regard, the National Perspectives for School Leaders and Our Singapore Conversation are important efforts to help us develop perspectives and envision a better future together.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)