2 Education Questions

Rhett Hudson/Chris Weaver rhett&chris at main.nc.us
Thu Jul 27 06:52:20 PDT 2000


Many thanks Sheila for your stories from Cardinal Stritch U.  I gleaned
several points relevant to my situation.

I am not a university-level educator but would love to participate in the
collaborative development of courses using OST.  Perhaps the Meta Network
would be a good place to do the work?

One more issue, for Sheila or others.  One of the programs we are developing
here in NC is a new 24-hour training program for mentors of new teachers,
spaced throughout a whole academic year.  Last week we looked at the
curriculum of successful mentor trainings in the state and separated the
topics into two categories: one being information that needs to be conveyed
directly to all mentors, and the other being practices and issues that could
be beautifully explored in Open Space.

So what is emerging are two types of meetings.  What I am imagining is to
alternate between, say, a two-hour informational training one month,
followed by a four-hour Open Space the next month.  To me this seems better
than to try to include both processes in a single meeting.  How does this
sound?  And to you, Sheila: when you held your "mini-OS" with a single round
of conversations, how long did it take?  What would you recommend as a
minimum number of hours for the Open Space meetings?

Thanks!!

Chris

----------
>From: "Sheila T. Isakson" <isakson at JUNO.COM>
>To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>Subject: Re: 2 Education Questions
>Date: Thu, Jul 27, 2000, 4:14 PM
>

> Dear Chris and Rhett,
>         I offer the following in response to your questions about working with
> educators in Open Space:
>
> 1.  Required attendance.
>         In February, 2000 I facilitated a four hour Open Space for the Adjunct
> Faculty in the College of Business and Management at Cardinal Stritch
> University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  The College of Business and
> Management (CBM) provides opportunities for faculty development in two
> ways:  1) a requirement that Adjunct Faculty attend 50 % of the Saturday
> morning faculty meetings-there are usually four per calendar year or 2)
> an individual development plan that is approved by the Deans.  I have
> been an adjunct faculty member for 16 years prior to being hired full
> time in 1999 and found these required meetings to be boring.  The main
> thing I got from attending was meeting others who teach the same subjects
> that I teach.  If I got one new idea to improve my teaching, the faculty
> meeting was worth it.  The cost in time was not.  I observed that no one
> really knew what adjunct faculty wanted to do in order to develop and
> then suggested Open Space.
>         I proposed a theme: What are the issues and opportunities for
achieving
> academic excellence now and in the future?  It did not take long to
> convince the "powers" that this approach would work and the result would
> be identification of some of the priorities that could be addressed in
> other ways.  I agreed to facilitate the four hour Open Space with the
> understanding that there would be follow-up "dinner dialogs."  All CBM
> Adjunct Faculty and administrators were invited to attend.   The faculty
> took to Open Space like ducks to water.  The result was predictable.
> Most enjoyed it and lots of helpful ideas surfaced and were recorded.  We
> sent the proceedings to all atttendees and then posted them on the
> College of Business and Management Web Page.  The major themes that
> emerged were 3 T's: Teaching, Technology, and Trends.  The "dinner
> dialogs" essentially surfaced concerns and suggestions that resulted in
> the same 3 T's.
>         I share all of that to suggest to you that there often is context that
> is related to requirements.  It all depends on how you look at what is
> required.  Then, send an open invitation!  Who comes is the right people!
>  Was the Dean
> worried about controlling the message.  Yes!  He asked: "How will this
> information that I need to communicate to the faculty get to them."  I
> suggested: In two ways 1) You can post a session in the marketplace and
> see who chooses that information or 2) You can send everyone an e-mail
> that includes your PowerPoint slides.  Bold of me wasn't it!!!  Was there
> fear of what would happen.  Not really.  I think that the administrators
> trusted me.  I used that trust to prepare them for doing something
> different.  I did share that once we do a faculty meeting in Open Space
> there was no going back to the old ways of "Command and Control."  The
> May Adjunct Faculty Meeting included a mini-Open Space.  Which means that
> I opened the space and we had one round of conversations in Open Space.
> So ...required meetings now still exist, but are certainly more
> productive.  I notice that there is less grumbling.  People do use the
> law of two feet.  This is healthy!
>         2.  In June, 1999 I was asked to convene and Open Space for 83
doctoral
> students in the College of Education at Cardinal Stritch University.  The
> purpose of this day was to identify potential dissertation topics.   This
> was part of the annual two weeks "in residence" requirement rather than
> being credits for a course.  One of the conversations is still continuing
> to this day.   If you want to know more about this Open Space, let me
> know and I will share what I know.  Again, context is part of the answer
> to your question.  This was not a course per se.  But...part of two
> requirements: 10 residency for face-to-face learning and 2) the
> dissertation.
>
>         Obviously I am an educator.  I teach Organization Studies-  Org.
> Behavior, Org. Communications, Org. Leadership, etc. I wear two hats-
> Full-time teaching in a 12 month curriculum for working adults and, in my
> spare time :-), some projects as an organization effectiveness
> consultant.
>
>         I am interested in learning about  what you and others are doing in
> academic environments.  Is anyone interested in developing some courses
> using OST?
>
>
> Best regards,
>
> Sheila T. Isakson
> Isakson Associates LLP
> PO Box 370256
> Milwaukee, WI 53237-0256
>
> (414) 482-1996
> Fax (414) 482-1896
> Isakson at Juno.com
>
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