Where Are We Now?

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past and the present are certain to miss the future.
~ John F. Kennedy

In order to improve or change an aspect of an organization, key shareholders must define their status as an organization and clearly define their current mission, vision, beliefs, and attitudes that are present at that time, taking into account the history, culture, and climate of the organization. Following this discussion and debate, it is necessary to find avenues to approach and discuss the themes that emerge from the participation of shareholders. Outcomes will emerge that should be included in the revised mission or vision and reflect the input of the participants that are taking their organization to meet the emerging goals the organization is aiming to achieve. There are many sources and strategies from leading theorists in the field of educational improvement; these authors keenly understand the current atmosphere of accountability that can cause polarization in the educational community, the sources within this text reflect positive solutions to the nonlinear change that occurs daily. In order to be helpful to the reader the text is divided into the stages of planning developed by Edie Holcomb (2003). The online sources and strategies for improving the outcome of planning meetings has been compiled at various resource locations throughout the literature in order to provide a timely resource for the active administrator. This resource list is not exhaustive in nature; this is merely an attempt to aid educational administrators in the planning process. Please visit the following Web site for more information http://www.topicsineducation.com, provide feedback, and suggest other resources to add to the list; it is our responsibility to contribute to the community of learning. Strategies that have been proposed to help facilitate meeting in this realm of discussion include:

  • Think, Pair, Share
  • Flowcharting
  • Focus Groups
  • Affinity Process
  • Brainstorming
  • Color Coding
  • Fishbone (Cause and Effect)
  • Force Field Analysis
  • Venn Diagrams
  • Talk Walk
  • Reflective Study Groups
  • Active Listening

 

 

Introduction | Where Are We Now? | Where Do We Want To Go? | Are We Getting There? | Maintaining Momentum!