The New Learning Organization
Independent or self-directed learning can be defined as "a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others" (Knowles, 1975, p. 11), to diagnose their learning needs, formulate learning goals, identify resources for learning, select and implement learning strategies, and evaluate learning outcomes. Ideally, citizens of a learning community are such individuals.
Before we can fully examine this element of teachers as independent learners, some groundwork must be established about learning. In a 1995 interview, Peter Senge, director of the Center for Organization Learning at MIT's Sloan School of Management, was asked the following question: "Schools are considered to be institutions of learning, but are most of them learning organizations?" He answered, "Definitely not." He also expressed his concern that "there's very little sense of collective learning going on in most schools" (O'Neil, 1995, p. 20). (See "On Schools as Learning Organizations: A Conversation with Peter Senge".)
If the ideal is a school in which collective learning takes place, how do schools move toward this goal, and how does the individual teacher add to this community?
The classroom setting offers context. Teachers know that the classroom learning environment changes for better or worse depending on the group of students in any given year. Years when there are more challenging students and less motivated learners in a classroom make for greater frustration for the teacher. Years when a majority of the students are enthusiastic and responsible are remembered as good years. Teachers report getting more done in the curriculum, more hands-on activities occur, and more learning takes place during years with self-directed learners in a classroom. During these school years, a classroom learning community is created. Extend that dynamic to the outer walls of the building and beyond, into the community. Imagine teachers as enthusiastic, responsible, take-charge, and self-regulated members.
Creating a learning organization mirrors creating one in a classroom and it requires teachers reading professional material, attending classes, enrolling in online courses, reflecting on what they need to understand to become better teachers. Money for professional development is not always available, and mandates for professional development are not always sufficient motivators. Each teacher must become an independent learner and thinker. This is the vital first step toward growing a learning organization in every school.
Marsick and Watkins' (1999) Model of the Learning Organization outlines three levels of interrelated learning: individual learning, team learning, and organization learning. This Critical Issue supports the idea of individual learning as the first step toward building well-rounded learning organizations.
The authors constructed their model around the following seven action imperatives that are needed to implement learning organizations:
The first two of these action imperatives are crucial for individual learning to occur. There must be continuous learning opportunities, and inquiry and dialogue must be promoted (Watkins and Marsick, 1999, p.85).
Many teachers do indeed have continuous learning opportunities. For instance, they can take an online course. They can learn a new computer software program that will benefit their students or themselves. They can take a workshop, then practice and reflect upon results. Both Educational Service and Teacher Learning centers distribute comprehensive catalogs of educational choices.
Once teachers choose independent learning, they want to share the excitement
with others. Typically learners want to discuss what they have learned, give
opinions, and debate. Through discussion, they begin to promote inquiry and
dialogue—the authors' second imperative is crucial for individual learning.
As teachers assume responsibility for their own learning, they want to share
this knowledge with colleagues. The need for dialogue introduces the third imperative
of encouraging collaboration and team learning. The Team Level of learning sets
the stage for the Organizational Level of the Learning Organization. The connectivity
is clear: A powerful learning organization begins when a single teacher becomes
an independent learner. But the goal is not without challenges.
The Independent Learner Triple Challenge: Overcoming Learned Behavior, Fostering Motivation, and Aligning Pedagogy
Learned Behavior
A 1994 survey (Race, 1994) of adult students examined how they learned. When adults were asked about where and when they learn, results indicated they learn best as follows:
If this is true, teachers, like adults in the study, would learn best as independent learners. However, this may require overcoming some learned behaviors.
Not only do we teach the way we were taught but we usually learn the way we were taught to learn. Many current teachers didn't have the opportunity to learn in an independent environment during their preservice education. In kindergarten, they might have been encouraged to freely explore at the sand table and in graduate school they likely were encouraged to freely explore a potential thesis; but the majority of their education was teacher-directed. Many simply weren't taught the teaching and modeling skills needed for independent learning.
Herber and Nelson-Herber (1987) offer the following five teaching principles for creating students who are independent lifelong learners:
Perhaps the greatest challenge of independent learning for many teachers is overcoming their teacher-directed learning and replacing it with a dedication to self-learning.
It is especially challenging for adult learners who have not been give the responsibility and the expectations for their own transformation and professional development. It is especially challenging for adult learners who have been taught to rivet their focus squarely on student learning. Teachers require opportunities to examine their own learning experiences and reflect on them. They require support to model independent learning skills in order to incorporate such practice into their own learning as well as their teaching methods.
Motivation
Educators, like the rest of the population, are motivated to better themselves for various reasons. In common, however, educators are motivated to better their students. According to The National Foundation for the Improvement of Education (NFIE) report Teachers Take Charge of Their Learning: Transforming Professional Development for Student Success (Renyi, 1996), 73 percent of 800 teachers surveyed engaged in professional growth to improve student achievement. Improving teaching skills was a motive for 55 percent of teachers, and increasing their own knowledge was the motive fueling 34 percent of teachers' professional growth. Clearly, most teachers want to improve their practice to improve their students' lEl Zh Tw %E5%8F%AF%E7%A8%8B%E5%BC%8F%E9%82%8F%E8%BC%AF%E9%99%A3%E5%88%97 Critical Issue: Terms of Engagement--Rethinking Teachers' Independent Learning Traitsh System yEl Zh Tw %E5%8F%AF%E7%A8%8B%E5%BC%8F%E9%82%8F%E8%BC%AF%E9%99%A3%E5%88%97 Critical Issue: Terms of Engagement--Rethinking Teachers' Independent Learning Traitse p Advance d Advance Marketing