Establishing an organisational climate for successful professional development

Establishing an Organisational Climate for

Successful Professional Development

A summary of an article by Borthwick & Risberg (2008)

Presented by Maielle Chiongson

Why are technological innovations thriving in some school environments whereas it is met with resistance in others?

Possible barriers

O Lack of time, training, resources and technical support

O Requires the “acquisition of an entirely new set of skills and world outlook” (Hodas, 1993 p. 9)

O Change is view both as disruptive and a criticism

O Natural resistance to change in general

“It is possible for more people than ever to collaborate and compete in real time with more other people on more different kinds of world from more different corners of the planet on more equal footing than at any time ever in history of the world – using computers, email. Fibre-optic networks, teleconferencing and dynamic new software. We are not connecting all the knowledge centres on the planet together into a single global network which….could usher in an era of prosperity, innovation and collaboration by companies, communities and individuals”

(Friedman, 2006 p. 8)

Successful adoption and diffusion of new technology is determined by organisational climate.• Look beneath the

surface• Examine content,

culture, conditions and competences

• Considers the larger context

• Balance organisational change with individual change

• Develop shared values• Establish learning

communities as social networks for influencing change

• Develop a learning organisation and systems thinking

• Integrate the work of technology departments

• Examine how leadership is distributed

• Develop a shared vision

• Assess both classroom outcomes and organisational conditions

Examining context, culture, conditions, competencies

Context

• the “skill demands” all students must meet to succeed as providers, learners, and citizens and the particular aspirations, needs, and concerns of the families and community that the school or district serves

Culture

• the shared values, beliefs, assumptions, expectations, and behaviours related to students and learning, teachers and teaching,

Conditions

• the external architecture surrounding student learning, the tangible arrangements of time, space and resources

Competencies

• the repertoire of skills and knowledge that influences student learning

Balance organisational change with individual change

“While individual adopters make use of innovations in their own way, that use is shaped in part by the extent to which organisational attitudes and resources support individual efforts” (Adamy and Heinecke, 2005 p. 251)

Balance organisational change with individual change

Organisational factors O Availability and use of

technology resources, including technological support

O Faculty relationships with key technology players

O Organisational attitude or culture in terms of technology use

(Adamy & Heinecke, 2006)

Individual factorsO Tendency to react to

image demandsO Focus on external

complianceO Isolation

(Wagner et al. 2006)

Develop shared values

“Few teachers see themselves as inventive, adaptive professionals upon whom improvement primarily depends.”

(Schmoker, 2006 p. 117)

Leaders should Foster a climate of trust, collaboration

and professionalism Promote technology-related risk-taking

among teachers on behalf of students

Establishing learning communities as social networks for influencing change

“Teachers’ collaboration with colleagues around what and how they teach precedes observable changes in classroom practices and is a primary mechanism that drives the implementation of reforms” (Social Capital for Technology integration, 2003-2007, p.1)

Recommendation: • Involve all constituents by seeking out and

using their input• Provide on-going, on-demand differentiated

training, support and coaching for teachers.

Develop a learning organisation and systems thinking

It is vital to: • Value conversation

and discussion where people have different perspectives

• Listen to what is being said on the surface for underlying meanings

3 Core learning capabilitiesO AspirationO Reflective

conversationO Systems Thinking (Senge, 2006)

Integrate the work of technology departments

Robbins (2000) recommended an nalysis of organisational structure and related technology mission statements, along with distribution of resources necessary to support technology-related services.

Examine how leadership is distributed

Distributed leadership• leaders develop other leaders (Fullan, Hill,

Crévola, 2006)

• leaders act as talent scouts of in-house experts

• activities are ““designed by organisational members to influence the motivation, knowledge, effect or practices of other practices of other organisational members.” (Spillane, 2006)

Developing a shared vision

“A common, high-quality curriculum is just as important to the team itself. Without it, team members lack a shared focus; they can’t even work together effectively.” (Schmoker, 2006 p. 88)

“…systems build vision and ownership through the quality of their learning processes and corresponding results”

(Fullan, Hill and Crévola, 2006 p. 88)

Assess both classroom outcomes and organisational conditions

Leaders in the field indicate the importance of• establishing expectations and specific goals

for technology use• collecting assessment data to inform

decisions regarding use of technology as instructional tools and need for further teacher training

• articulating clear-cost benefits to stakeholders including teachers, students, administrative leaders and the local community.

Assess both classroom outcomes and organisational conditions

In replicating successful efforts in new setting Joyce (2004) advises leaders to• Assume that they “have imperfect

strategies to work with” (p.78)• Shift their roles from providers to

“working colleagues who will inquire with the teams of which they are a part” (p.81)

Discussion Activity

What is/are a possible barrier in implementing successful ICT in your work environment?Is it mostly related to

contextcultureconditions or competencies?

Based on the recommendations given by Borthwick & Risberg (2008), how can you address these issues?

ConclusionEstablishing optimal organisational climate is a requirement in order for technological innovations to thrive. Leaders and a small group of stakeholders should come together to form a picture of their existing organisation and contrast it with the projected picture of what the culture, conditions, and competencies would need to be in order to overcome a specific problem or goal. In the end, it is not just about the use of technology but how technology could benefit student learning.