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Organizational Learning
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Organizational Learning
Improving Learning, Teaching, and Leading in School Systems

October 2006 | 264 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
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Leadership Solutions

Reshapes the way teachers and administrators think about people, practices, and policies…

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.

Key Features:

  • Six interrelated conditions support organizational learning: prioritizing learning, fostering inquiry, facilitating the dissemination of knowledge, practicing democratic principles, attending to human relationships, and providing for members' self-fulfillment.
  • An on-going case study connects everyday practices in school systems to a holistic framework that helps practitioners understand how their thinking and behaviors influence learning, work environments, collegial interactions, decision making, and innovation.
  • Numerous practical examples bring complex theoretical concepts to life, while a series of essential questions, activities for getting started, and reflective journal prompts allow practitioners to apply content and ideas to their own settings

Meet the author!  http://home.comcast.net/~vcollinson

 

 
List of Tables, Figures and Illustrations
 
Foreword
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
Part I: What Is Organizational Learning?
 
Chapter 1: New Ways of Thinking: New Ways of Learning
Moving from an Industrial to a Knowledge Society

 
Theory and Practice

 
A Working Definition of Organizational Learning

 
Case Study

 
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

 
Example of Single-Loop Learning

 
Example of Double-Loop Learning

 
Example of a Discovering Organization

 
Comparison of Organizational Adaptation and Organizational Learning

 
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

 
Example of Multilevel Learning

 
Example of Building Shared Understandings

 
Example of Embedding Knowledge

 
A Framework for Understanding and Practicing Organizational Learning

 
An Example of the Unbelievable

 
Act-Then-Think

 
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

 
Deutero Learning

 
Example of an Organizational Defensive Routine

 
Defensive Routines in School Contexts

 
Defensive Routines in Context

 
From Theory to Practice

 
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

 
Example of Openness to Error Detection

 
Essential Questions

 
Getting Started Activities/Ideas

 
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

 
Example of Collective Inquiry and Openness to New Ideas

 
Example of Inquiry as Continuous Improvement

 
Indirect Inquiry

 
Essential Questions

 
Getting Started Activities and Ideas

 
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

 
Examples of Dissemination as Dialogue

 
Example of a Mismatch Affecting Dissemination

 
Essential Questions

 
Getting Started Activities and Ideas

 
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

 
Example of a Minority as a Catalyst for Good

 
Roles and Responsibilities in Democratic Organizations

 
Example of Dependency and Low Responsibility

 
Summary: Leader as Model

 
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

 
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

 
Schools With Strong Relational Trust

 
Potential Outcomes of Independence and Interdependence

 
Example of Conflict as Learning

 
Essential Questions

 
Getting Started Activities and Ideas

 
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

 
Values and Practices of High-Performing Teachers/Leaders

 
Ways to Solicit Knowledge From All Members

 
Example of Goverment Influence on Innovation

 
Nurturing Members? Commitment and Connections

 
Providing Opportunities to Communicate and Connect

 
Nurturing Members? Aspirations for Growth

 
Hiring to Enhance Renewal

 
Essential Questions

 
Getting Started Activities and Ideas

 
Further Reading

 
Reflective Journal

 
 
Part IV: Looking Back, Looking Ahead
 
Chapter 12: Organizational Learning: A Balancing Act
Creating a Culture That Rewards Learning

 
The Role of Feedback and Feed Forward for Learning

 
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

 
 
Glossary
 
References
 
Index
 
About the Authors

The content of the book is timely and relevant. It covers the theories and concepts that I believe are necessary for my students to adopt in order to become effective administrators of buildings.

Dr Deborah Copeland
Educational Admin Dept, Ashland Univ-Columbus Center
June 30, 2023
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Key features
  • in-depth explanation of six conditions necessary to support organizational learning
  • strong theory-to-practice connections
  • essential questions, getting started activities, and reflective journal questions to help readers connect concepts to their own school or school system
  • numerous practical illustrations and examples, including an on-going case study

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 1

Chapter 5

Chapter 7

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