As you know part of blogging is maintaining the momentum! I thought it might be useful to send to the entire group some ideas I had brewing from the ISE. My final World Cafe group and I discussed and refined these on day three of the conference. Please provide comments and ideas for the proposal in the comments section of the blog! Happy Blogging :)!
Working Proposal: Team Spirit Connection Methods
Rationale: Faculty and staff can develop connections, collaborations, partnerships, and programs if they simply find an intentional method for interaction. Below are three ideas for creating some intentionality behind faculty/staff interaction.
I. Network Weaver
a. One or two individuals in each region would be selected
b. Purpose: to connect faculty members (new and pre-existing) with other faculty/staff members who have similar interests or have resources available to provide insight to particular ideas/topics/educational content. They might connect faculty members to other faculty across the state as well. This will help to “silo bust.”
c. Serve as the “go-to” person for new faculty members to help get them connected to other faculty members as needed.
d. Make short presentations at regional faculty meetings “spotlighting” a faculty member’s program, personal strengths, teaching techniques, or other types of strategies or elements that could be shared with other faculty members.
II. Reciprocal Apprenticeship
a. Faculty and Staff self-select and make a commitment to reaching out on a monthly basis to one other faculty or staff member.
b. Method of Communication: Phone, office communicator, email, in-person, skype
c. Purpose: Retain new faculty/staff, share ideas between employees for response to problems, building programs, personal relationship development, sharing processes or content, or connecting to resources.
d. Roll-out plan: Article in Extension Insider with Team Spirit column
i. Explain that it is a self-selected process.
ii. Members should select someone that they either do not know very well and would like to share ideas, or someone who they respect well and want to find more time to connect.
iii. One time per month a communication connection should occur between the two individuals.
iv. Put some prompt questions in the article for ideas for communicating between the two.
v. Send out a surveymonkey at the end of month one and in subsequent months to measure if participants are interacting, and if so the impact that it had on them. Also generate ideas for structuring or adding any formality.
e. The idea is to start out with a loose arrangement to gauge the importance or value of such a venture. If it is effective and people would like to add some formality to the reciprocal apprenticeship it would be explored in the future.
III. The Research Connection
a. Purpose: to share the “latest and greatest” research, trade books, or best practices among faculty members.
b. Method: Small groups will form to read, share, reflect, and apply their learning to their practice.
i. Groups can either monthly read the same articles/books/best practices and then reflect on their meaning and apply to their work setting OR
ii. Groups may each read a piece of research, and then create a short annotated bibliography (a paragraph with: citation, what was the article about, what did it mean to the reader, what are the implications for practice) to submit to the group to stimulate discussion among the group.
c. Groups may be Cross-Categorical or within Categories
i. Cross-Categorical Groups Might Delve Into Research Areas such as:
1. Organizational behavior/management
2. Adult Education
3. Leadership
4. Organizational Change
5. Organizational Learning
ii. Categories Might Delve Into Research Areas Such As (for example):
1. Youth Leadership Development
2. Obesity and Early Childhood
3. Community Change Efforts
d. Sign-ups can occur using the ISE system
i. Can utilize the ISE system to report learning and change that has occurred so that it is a process for professional development.
e. Group Conveners
i. Each group needs a convener to get the group together on an on-going basis, choose the method that works best with your group.
f. Extension Insider
i. Groups should select one article/book/best practice to showcase in the insider under the “Check this Out” section. Include the citation and the elements of the annotated bibliography above with an emphasis on application to practice.
No comments:
Post a Comment