Jennifer Dove: Writing a Reflection Paper July 18, 2007
Posted by Janine Lim in Competencies.add a comment
Jennifer Dove: Writing a Reflection Paper
What is reflection? Putting knowledge in context. Internal dialogue. Reflection in the program is putting what we are learning and who we are into context, the bigger picture.
When you start the program you are probably unconsciously competent, and the program helps you become consciously competent. You can know what you’re doing and what it’s grounded in and can share it with people you work with.
Reflection is making meaning and putting the new information into context. Connecting it to what we already know, why we’re doing what we’re doing, and thinking about how it’s grounded in theory and philosophy and present day authorities in the field. Yesterday we did some searching to find out how the Glasers’ work is grounded in theory and other people’s work.
Reflection started in the program with our application. Next it’s the vision statement in our IDP. Then your portfolio will have reflection papers for each competency. You will take what you are currently doing. Who are current authorities in that field that support your work? What are other people doing and how does your work connect to other work. Then in your dissertation, it’s grounded in philosophy and theory. You have a conceptual theoretical framework for your work. How is your work connected to the world? It’s not good enough that you think it. Who else supports it?
Jennifer will share the handout with us via thumbdrive if we’re interested.
One way is: Your competency is in the middle and then you add philosophy, theorists, my beliefs, and my practices. In Jennifer’s regional group they discussed these philosophies and theories that support the competency. Philosophy is the foundation. Then theory is built on that and it’s something you can test.
Talk with your advisor to get really clear on what your advisor’s requirements are for your IDP and for reflection papers. Your knowledge base and how your artifacts are connected to the theory is more important than the artifacts themselves.
The knowledge base should show up in your reflection paper. Reflection is a thread that is woven throughout the entire program. How do you know that? Who says that? Who is connected to that? Says who? Based on what? How do you know?
You can ask the different professors, who do you need to know in each competency. Ask an expert in the area of “x” and ask them who do I need to know in these areas. Who are these people quoting? You’ll get to recognize names in each area, especially in the areas that support what you believe and how you work.
Henning mentioned the bibliography that matches the competencies (the old ones).
The synthesis paper at the very end of the program is where you pull all the pieces of the competencies together. It has who I have become in these competencies and how have I learned and how will I continue learning?
Less is more. Make it dense and succinct. It will help you in your dissertation defense. Only 15 minutes in the defense to be able to present your work. The more you say, the more you do it, you can be more succinct and precise.
Vinita Sauder – Higher Education Marketing Collaboration July 18, 2007
Posted by David Jeffrey in Research.add a comment
Vinita looked at the collaboration involving the 15 colleges in NAD
First step was to do research, funded by NAD
- looked at why we’re losing our young people to public colleges
- the SDA population is declining
- used a mixed-methods
- input from enrolment managers
- 2005, 7 focus groups in 2 cities with professional moderators, scripts; parent group, student groups
- major themes that we learned were applied in a nationwide telephone survey (253 results)
- result: complete lack of awareness among those who do not attend academies
- we have no way of finding out where the students are or who they are – the church has no database of youth (challenge also affects academies and elementary schools)
- tested marketing messages to see what would resonate – three key ones:
- faith-based environment with Christian worldview
- vast network of friends, peer mentors, professors with Christian worldview
- connection (one-on-one) with professors vs. 200 in a class at public universities
did joint website, mailing, etc.
- hoping to be pre-defending in the fall, hooding by Christmas
- finances? students who don’t attend have an income of about 20,000 less than those who are planning to attend -especially on the West coast
- enrolment managers meet twice a year, trying to meet away from academies
- working with local pastors and e-Adventist (NAD database), buying lists
- academies need to learn to work together as well.
Change Management – Ron Herr July 18, 2007
Posted by David Jeffrey in Implementing Change.add a comment
Ron did a qualitative study – he was at AU as Associate VP – Finance and Controller
- had stagnant enrollment, maintained by bringing on more programs
- looked at successful organizations of similar size
- listened to people stories and looked to bring out themes
- sorted non-profits out (in appendix)
- chose the top institutions from a financial and academic indicator base: Charleston Southern University, Mount Saint Mary College, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
Checked with President to ensure change processes were in place
Success from:
- purpose of sampling
- passion for what he was doing
Open ended questions
- interviewed 4 at each institution
- had tapes transcribed, typed
- code for these – themes jumped out
- Enhancing Academic Delivery
- Challenging the Fundamental Role of Faculty
- Improving Student Life on Campus
- Implementing Planning and Other Financial Issues
John Kotter says 8 steps must take place in sequence in order for change to happen:
- establishing a sense of urgency
- creating a guiding coalition
- developing a vision and strategy
- communicating the change vision
- empowering broad-based action
- generating short-term wins
- consolidating gains and producing more change
- anchoring new approaches in the culture
Ron wishes he had tracked one change on each campus to see if they truly do happen in order.
Research happened in 30 days, Dissertation written in 90 days.
Dr. Freed slowed him down by finding more resources to add to the dissertation.
It is very difficult to change higher education. The President of the University is on the committee.
Some things “we can’t do that here” (e.g. intercollegiate sports, inclusive recruiting).
Faculty is the single constituency that will inhibit change the most on a campus – faculty must trust the process – must actively involve them; then it’s admin’s responsibility to take the faculty findings and make them happen
In writing a dissertation, there are major challenges in getting any software to format a dissertation appropriately. Word was a horrendous experience
herrr@andrews.edu – send thought processes
The Comforting Whirlwind (Paul Kaak) July 18, 2007
Posted by David Jeffrey in Inspiration.add a comment
If we allow the environmental destruction around us to continue it will lead to a crisis of faith?
Everything around us is centred on us. We worship at the shopping mall.
We need to ask the question: How does my spiritual life connect with my ecological life?
The story of Job is a compelling and enduring one – it seeks to implant a new perspective into the mind of those who hear or read it. The received story is: Peoplle who suffer do so because they’ve been bad. The new story is: When good people suffer, God remains good.
We are brought into the events of Job’s life with vivid language, interpersonal drama, compelling scenery… leading to the “Hmmmm!” effect (maybe you’ve heard something and you’ve never forgotten it)
Howard Gardner (multiple intelligences) – “Leading Minds: an Anatomy of Leadership”
- Leaders achieve their effectiveness chiefly through the stories they relate.
- In addition to the stories they tell, leaders embody those stories… without necessarily relating their stories in so many words, leaders convey their stories by the kinds of lives they themselves lead, and through example, seek to inspire in their followers.”
- Read MLK’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
- He lived within the cruelty of the competing story, learned its arguments, and loved those who embodied it
- He lived his alternative story: led the marches
The “Received” Ecological Story
- our planet is resilient – it’ll bounce back: take what you need
- don’t slow down progres
- environmentalists are way too paranoid – a little pollution is no big deal
- all the tree-huggers do is slow down the workforce
“Tell Me a Story… the Life-Shaping Power of Stories” (Daniel Taylor)
- people live by stories that cannot sustain them
- broken stories can be healed
- seeing ourselves as active characters in new and healthy stories carries the power to transform lives
An Alternative Story
- the work of the ecologically concerned leader is to develop an compelling alternative story, to embody it personally, and figure out the best ways to communicate it to the right people
Slideshow: art by Andy Goldsworthy
This is a challenge to us – to live differently and to communicate differently a better way, a better story, a better alternative
- creating this kind of art takes great difficulty and patience
- Homework: consider what aspect of your organization’s story is broken or diseased in regard to ecologicial concerns? What is the hope, challenge, inspiration, or paradigm shift that would be needed in an alternative story to make a compelling case for change?
- begin to live it out
The need for boundary cross storytellers: Sir Albert Howard, Rachel Carson, Annie Dillard, Barbara Kingslover, Aldo Leopold, Wes Jackson, Edward Abbey, Barry Lopez, Wendell Barry
Lady Bird Johnson: an unassuming revolutionary; the first conservation since Teddy Roosevelt in the White House
Get it done, everybody!
Worldview: Poetry by Barb Spencer 2006 Cohort July 18, 2007
Posted by dlundgren in Uncategorized.add a comment
Namaste
Monet painted beyond the surface of the world,
splashed his canvas with sunlight
look beyond sight, hear my soul whisper to yours
you will not know me until you listen
the way to my heart is gently lit
be still and you will know the way
in the hushed silence we will strike a match
of connection
these earthbound shapes we hold shift endlessly
our cells are restless
we will not be the same tomorrow
as we were last night
our outlines blur into shadows
still we buy into the illusion of solidity,
trying to hide our essence
under the glare of sameness
see beyond my face
let it sift through you
dive beneath surface light refracted
reach for your soul reflected
a single glowing pearl in the depths
my words can be your lifeline
I will spin this thread of connection
and when you look for me
above the drifting sea
my glorious truth will dazzle
my layers of illusion will fall away
I will dissolve into pure light
Monet used silence to tempt the lilies
until they leapt onto his canvas
make the jump into my heart’s truth
and I will paint us in starlight
shine with me
Published with permission of the author, Barb Spencer, 2007.
Jousting: Innovation Configuration July 17, 2007
Posted by Janine Lim in Implementing Change.add a comment
by Michelle and Alice. They do professional development across Connecticut.
Book: Implementing Change by Gene E. Hall; Shirley M. Hord.
CBAM Stages of Concern in implementing change. Levels of Use.
They use these tools in their work finding out what their constituency needs.
Integrity and fidelity means that you need to know that in each classroom the change is being implementing in the same way. The teachers may implement the process in different ways.
Dialoguing about the innovation configuration is actually professional development. What are the important components of the practice?
In one particular school district they worked with teachers who had multiple days of training. They were considered facilitators in the building. Then they weren’t able to help their colleagues improve on their practice. The teachers then created a innovation configuration so that they could define if it was happening or not. Then they collected information on the level of implementation from 100 teachers.
Innovation Configuration Maps are NOT used for teacher evaluation. They are intended for program evaluation. It’s really about making a common language.
What materials aren’t there? What structures aren’t there? What professional development isn’t there?
We discussed how to build a swing. The definitions helped us realize how complex the innovation configuration could be. Something to sit on. Something to hang it by. Something to hang it off of. The components.
Steps to Develop an IC Map.
- Visualize and brainstorm parts of the new practice or change in therms of what the user would be doing.
- Identify components that constitute the major pieces of the new practice. Usually 8-15 components with 2-6 variations per component
- Actionalize the components by stating them in behaviors or actions/use verbs. Actions that can be observed.
- Consider the sequence of the components and reorder them to make the best sense.
- Generate variations for each component from ideal to unacceptable.
- Review, refine, edit the entire document.
- Draw fidelity lines to indicate ideal, acceptable, and unacceptable variations. i.e. these are unacceptable but we’ll accept it until next year.
When they sat down to do this with the teachers, depending on Stages of Concern and Levels of Use, there is a wide disparity on how they actually implemented the change.
This Innovation Configuration they created now helps the facilitators see how to help teachers move along the continuum just a little farther than the others. Stray thought. Has Innovation Configuration been done on Marzano’s Classroom Strategies that Work?
The professional development team created the Innovation Configuration. And then the facilitators at each building also created the Innovation Configuration to see how it matched. It validated the Innovation Configuration as well as the training.
Jousting: Developing Knowledge Base July 17, 2007
Posted by Janine Lim in Competencies.add a comment
Developing Knowledge Base by Erich Baumgartner
Handout – an article that you’ll get in LEAD 638. There’s nothing more practical than a good theory. What is the value of a knowledge base for you as a leader? You are good leaders already. This program is about making what you are doing already intuitively and to encourage you to develop a knowledge base for what you are doing – both for and against other theories.
The handout has an evaluation rubric for the competency and the synthesis reflection paper. These are in the 2007 handbook.
You need to have a “working knowledge” which is being able to use the theory in your practice.
A competency is a complex skill you are learning undergirded and/or linked to a knowledge base. Which means something you can talk about. It isn’t just unconscious like it was when you came in; now it’s conscious. Theories can cover one thing but not another. It may or may not apply to your profession.
It’s a theory that leads to new practice. It’s the Kolb Learning Cycle. We develop competencies using the Kolb Learning Cycle. Start anywhere you can start. With your practice or experience, or with the theory. You might start with the experience. “Last week I did a seminar on such & such. What went well? What didn’t go well? Why? Reflect on why it went well or why it didn’t go well. I wonder if anybody else has been thinking about this and has some answers. Why something goes well or not well in a certain type of situation.
New people start with past experience. You cannot just stay there. Now you ask yourself how did it go? It was a real mess? It’s good data to put into your reflection. Why was it that way? What are some models? Some authors who address. Oh I see that we didn’t do one of the steps. You start with your experience which draws you into the models, theory, etc.
Now because of what you are learning, you start experimenting. What if I were to do it this way? Ideally it’s a project you do in your workplace that allows you to work from the knowledge base. Don’t just “do” stuff. Sandwich in some learning before you approach the new project. In your reflection paper, the most important tool for your learning, is crucial for your portfolio. For each of your competencies – the first thing Erich will look at is, what have you learned?
Don’t take the learning cycle as that you have to go once around the cycle. You will read something, write it down, try it, and eventually it will synthesize into your reflection paper.
Knowledge retrieval system. It could be electronic, i.e. EndNotes. Or note cards. Or blog/database of knowledge. It should have a Reference, a Subject, a Subhead, and any cross references. Where did you find it? (the cross reference). You might have those already.
Keep always in mind that when you work for coursework and competencies, be thinking in terms of your portfolio presentation. Every competency needs this knowledge base. When you present that competency, make sure that you reference some of your authors. For example the presentation on Sunday, he sometimes read the author. Be able to say “I used this model as my theoretical framework.”
Don’t be scared. Just go step by step and you will get there eventually.
The tendency for beginners is to read, summarize / describe what you read. Simple knowledge starts with developing the vocabulary and understanding concepts. Look at Bloom’s Taxonomy. At the higher levels, you can explain it, apply it, etc. You may break down a theory into it’s parts. Then as you look at it, you find that this theory doesn’t work in this situation. Then you take parts of this theory and parts of this theory. Then I prefer this model because…. and/or I am using these parts to make a new model.
Jousting Sessions: David Jeffrey July 17, 2007
Posted by David Jeffrey in Uncategorized.add a comment
Table 1: Organizational Development: Consensus Through Collaboration
- David works for a statewide professional development company (David Cormier, Kim Mearman, and Linda Grimm)
- job embedded program based around 6 competencies (effective teacher/mentor, dynamic change agent, effective organizer, collaborative, consultant, reflective researcher, competent scholar)
- it seems the competencies are weighted
- story begins in the early 1990s when an increased incidence in autism
- needed to meet the needs of children and families dealing with autism
- there are stakeholder groups that are characterized as the “autism community” with opposing viewpoints (sometimes not nice)
- task force came together and wrote it from different voices, very research based, not parent-friendly, and with no consensus building
- task for ended up not being used: process wasn’t great but there’s no consensus or acceptance even if the product was cutting edge
- large number of due process cases around supporting
- David pulled together a diverse set of 28 people and built consensus and produced a new document
- if you want someone to buy in, involve them from the beginning
- focus group was asked, “what would you like to see?” guidelines and consistency throughout the state
- sessions througout the state with a mixed group of people presenting from various viewpoints with the document
- everyone had the option of not having their name on the document
- true roll-out across the state, and buy-in
Throstur Thordarson
Change
- get every class into a competency; sign off at least one, or two or three of them
-audited a class at Purde university, got a good collection of article to fulfill the theoretical foundations
- attended a seminar in Hawaii
- Lilly endowment study group for clergy – paid to travel looking at change in society
- Dr. Laler – “all change is short term”, “transformational leadership is failing”
- for transformational education to work, you need transparent honesty *
- in South Africa, interviewing the assistants, discovered that power is hard to let go of – the church and the teens were the most influential, but their story is not told
- realized that change is messy, doesn’t happen in an organized manner, very little theory supports it
- multiple consultants, multiple environment
- if there’s no congruency between the theoretical framework and the organization, problem is going to happen
- often external issues like economic boycotts
- it’s good to have a working framework
- the Nadler and Tushmen framework is what the presenter uses, with the addition of the leader (being the right person in the right place at the right time making the most of the opportunity)
- again the key is to be transparent and honest and not manipulative
Often resistance happens when there’s a sense of unfairness: distributive, procedural, and interactional (Greenberg, Fricchione) (interactional hasn’t been deal with much – how supervisors and subordinate)
- the God factor is the external factor;
- there’s power in prayer
- love to God will always result in love to humanity
- you have to understand the message and mission in order to bring about change in a church organization (hospital, school, church)
Some books:
The Tipping Point
Leading Change
The McKinsey Way
Diagnosis for Organizational Change
Inspire! What Great Leaders Do
APA/SIOP (society of industrial/organizational psychologists)
Brad – Effecting Teaching
- Brad created binders for each competency
- Vision/Goal, followed by Accomplishments, Proposal, Portfolio Documentation (with rationale)
- One of the best signs of effective teaching is exemplary or proficient student work
- Awards
- things created
Wow! 3 of the 20 competencies used to come out of Teaching!
Strength-based Leadership July 17, 2007
Posted by Bill in Competencies, Leadership & the Self, Organizational Behavior, Development, and Culture.add a comment
Strength-based Leadership
“living your best life” choosing the best for our lives
Cheryl shared some from her own story
Objectives:
understand the difference between themes/strengths
identify at least three strengths
formulate strategies to plan for a “strong week”
Articulate primary strategies to manage the “shadow side of strengths”
develop a template for creating a “strengths based” organization
Primary references
Clifton Strengths finder
Now, discover Your Strengths (Buckingham and Clifton 2001)
Go Put your Strengths to work (Buckingham 2007)
Strengths finder 2.0
Clarification: More than just another tool
Definitions: Themes vs strengths
Goal of strengths initiative:
build a workplace/role where strengths are utilized to advance accomplishment of mission through the collaborative efforts of leaders/tem members.
Theme as applied to, mature itself into a strength in a flawless way
Themes become strengths with effort and practice.
Step one: Reflection
identify the themes
Strengths engagement track
Practical application
Step two:
Conversion of theme to strength/review of strength components
Essential question: How will I ensure that I put my strengths into play just a little more this week than I did last week? (objective is to build your job around the best of you).
Clarification of strengths
Those specific activities at which I do well for which I retain a powerful appetite
Three components:
Talents (innate)
skills (learned – consistent/near perfect performance
Knowledge
S = Success (you feel effective)
I = Instinct (I can’t help but…)
G = Growth (it feels easy)
N = Needs ( a feeling of fulfillment/ being “in the zone”)
Your strengths are those activities that make you feel strong. Note: feelings reveal strengths
Evidenced through our speech:
It thrills me when…
I love it when…
I get so excited by…
I can’t wait to…
Practice this conversation with participant/employees, bosses. this will provide them the freedom to use “strength speech”
Long term objective
How can I play to my strengths a little more this week than I did last week?
- identify exactly how and where each strength helps you in your current role
- find the missed opportunities to leverage each strength in current role
- learn new skills and techniques to sharpen each strength
- build your job toward each strength
consider:
Implication for :
- dissertation topic
- strategies for completion of doctoral studies
- enhanced understanding of how to work more effectively with committee members
What is the “Strengths” of your advisor(s)?
The “shadow side” of strengths
Harm others; excuse behavior; insights to manipulate; to put others down
What to do with weaknesses?
I feel drained when…
Warren Buffett gave Bill and Melinda Gates money to give away because he doesn’t like doing that…
4 strategies to stop your weaknesses
1 – stop doing the activity and see if anyone notices/cares
2 – team up with someone who is strengthened by what weakens you
3 – Offer up one of your strengths and gradually steer your job toward this strength and away from your weakness
4 – Perceive your weakness from a different perspective
Recommended three part proactive strategy
Part 1: strengths chat with boss
Part 2: how can I help you?
Part 3: How you can help me
Strengthen the team
What are you passionate about?
where can I expect to see the best from you?
What kinds of situations should I actively steer you away from?
Note: there will be critics:
expect it
Identify “champions”
stay the course – make a plan
Strength based Organization
Mission Statement
core values
hiring process
evaluation process
Team building
Succession planning
Strategic long term plan
Conclusion:
Moses was a strengths based leaders…
Ex 15.2
Deut 6:4-10
Ex 15:3
Multivariate Analysis July 17, 2007
Posted by Janine Lim in Research.add a comment
Session by Vinjar Fønnebø, a medical doctor in Norway who teaches statistics
Definition: Looking at data that has more than one variable. Single out one variable and see what influence it has on the outcome you’re looking at. It helps you reduce the “noise” from the other variables. It can also be used to explore data – hypothesis generating analysis. If you want results though, you will use a different approach.
This is used on experimental studies that ask “does it work?” “efficacy”. Does it work in real life is more about “effectiveness.”
Confounding variables. In any research situation a misrepresentation of a true causal association can arise when…
- individuals are not randomized with regard to exposure
- OR individuals and/or evaluators are not blinded as to the alotted exposure
Quantitative research is usually asking is this better than this or does this influence this in this way.
In the example shown, age was a confounding factor. The multivariate analysis helps to get to more accurate representation of the data. Population distribution is really important. Age was a confounding factor in the example data because it confused the association between ethnic group and incidence.
How do you deal with confounding variables? By using multivariate analysis.
A factor can only confound if it is:
- Associated with the exposure
- AND associated with the outcome (in this case disease)
A factor is only called a confounding factor if a different, similar, relative rate is found in every level of the confounding factor. This is really important. It has to be both different, but consistently similar within the strata of the confounding factor.
Most multivariate analyses have a purpose of controlling for confounding factors. Something to consider when reading research is that you should have thought through how if the confounding variables meet the criteria above. It’s not appropriate to use this “just for the fun of it” to see what it does in the data. You should choose the confounding factors BEFORE you analyze your data. Which variables do I think could be confounding based on my reading and research?
How do deal with confounding variables:
- Either avoid it in the planning phase of your research.
- Make the compared groups similar on possible confounding variables.
- Adjust for it in the analysis phase
- Stratified analysis
- Multivariate techniques
You have to get to know your data and justify why you need those techniques. Vinjar thinks these techniques are used too much in the literature. Some researchers tend to give their data to a statistician to make sense of it and then don’t really understand the results.
Do not be too impressed by fancy intricate statistical techniques to “control” confounding variables. They could be a “cover-up” of poor study planning. We shouldn’t be impressed because it isn’t good research. They have had some big challenges in their research.
If you do quantitative research in your dissertation you will be asked a lot of questions about this in your defense.
Interaction/Effect Modification
Even if individuals are randomized with regard to exposure AND the individuals and/or the evaluators are blinded as to the allotted exposure, you can still have a crude estimate of relative rate that can be completely misleading.
In one example, diet is probably an effect modifier in the connection between smoking and heart disease. We think that smoking causes heart disease, but in Japan there is hardly any heart disease and the people generally smoke. Why? Diet is probably the effect modifier.
Sometimes the “standardized” relative rate can be just as misleading as the crude rate. If you standardize the “confounding” variable and the rates are not similar, then the standardized rate is misleading. In the example the numbers were different across all the age groups. Then you can’t summarize it together. You have to present each age group separately.
A factor can only be interactive if: the association between exposure and outcome (disease) is different in the levels of the interaction factor.
How to deal with interaction:
Avoid it in the planning phase. Be aware of possible interaction factors and give your study sufficient power within every subgroup of the interaction factor. OR you can limit your study to one subgroup of the interaction factor.
Or adjust for it int he analysis phase. Present your data strata-specifically. Use only multivariate methods for “testing” of interactions. BUT be aware of your low power to detect interaction. I.e. the analysis may not look statistically significant but it may still be a really important factor. You need to tabulate your data and see what it looks like.
We should think through the data and the variables and not just do it mechanically (i.e. with software).
Interaction may be difficult to detect; therefore; always look closely at your data before shoving them into fancy statistical programs. Remember that the computer is extremely stupid!!! What comes out will make sense only if what you put in makes sense.
Think about these two concepts when thinking and planning your study. Then you will be able to reach the RIGHT summit. Confounding is “clean dirt” that you can do something about. Interaction is very difficult to deal with. Often you don’t see the interaction. It’s easy to overlook. Be aware of this when you read other scientific work. Can you think of any confounding variables or interaction that the author didn’t think of?
Recommended Books
- Statistical First Aid – buy used on Amazon.com. it gives an overview like: If you have this type of data, then this is the test you use.
- Statistics in Small Doses – only if you’ve taken a stats class. It is made up of questions and answers.
Software
- Microsoft Excel
- Epi-Info
- STATA
- SPSS
- SAS
