Pick out two trends or issues that particularly surprised you and/or hit home and explain why.
On page 210, in the section which stated the difference between piecemeal and systemic change, there was a line that captured my attention: "...if a significant change is made in one part of a system, that part will usually become incompatible with other parts of the system, and the system will work to change that part back to what it was before." In my observation, this statement identifies a major problem of when change is initiated without "buy-in." If a change is instituted, and the staff is not on board with that change, oftentimes people will look for loop holes that will enable things to operate as before, or there will be so much resistance, the change will ultimately fail.
In reading about the various teams, networks, and leadership roles that combine to make the Step-Up-To-Excellence model effective, I found that I was impressed by its overall structure. The description of each element led me to conclude that if followed correctly, it would be difficult for an organization to fail at systemic change efforts. In the school district where I work, we are currently experiencing the beginnings of some major changes. One change is the intent of our technology department to implement a one-to-one learning initiative, in which each student will be supplied with a laptop, or portable electronic learning device. The other is the intent of our school board to pursue major facility upgrades, changes, and/or additions in order to accommodate projected growth, and 21st century learning trends. As I was reading about the SUTE method of whole-district improvement, I was also reflecting on these changes taking place in my own district, and found myself wondering if our district has employed a specific systemic change model, and if so (or if not) what impact it might have on the realized success of these changes. I suppose that time will tell.
I to noticed that statement in the book. It is very hard to get everyone on the same page. Especially if this order of change comes from the top! I am lucky in that a lot of what we do is bottom up and administration is very supportive. Our staff is really ambitious about changing and transforming issues in our school.
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool that your school is looking at a school wide laptop program! Lots of issues to overcome. You make a good point about if your school is making a systemic change. Was the process similar to SUTE or is it a piecemeal change to try and meet 21st learning needs? Great points and really does make you think!
The piecemeal vs. systemic change issue covered in the book was a pretty enlightening part, especially because we have probably all seen the failure in true change take place because of it being piecemeal.
ReplyDeleteReading about the SUTE system of systemic change would make you wonder if your district is being led by a similar model or not. It would be very unfortunate to see all of the efforts taking place within your district fail because of not having a systemic plan in place, but rather having piecemeal plans in place.
The two parts of SUTE that stuck out for me were "senior leaders who act on the basis of personal courgae, passion, and vision; not on the basis of fear or self-survival" and "senior leaders who conceive of their districts as whole systems; not as a collection of individual schools and programs."
ReplyDeleteTo me, these two sentences put the emphasis on what's best for the students & the district. It sounds like your school district has tried to take this same approach by making changes that are absolutely in the students' best interest. It seems like teachers would have to be willing to give up some funds in other areas to pay for the technology. I'm glad that they are able to give up this for their buildings & programs to provide the laptops for all of the students.