Personal Mastery of Systems Thinking
Personal Mastery and Systems Thinking in Education
Nickelette L. Parrish
Brandman University College
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for OLCU 602
Dr. Kandy Simmons
December 9th, 2012
Introduction
There is a great deal for any organization to learn, and it all must happen among the individuals of that organization. As Peter Senge points out in, The Fifth Discipline, (2006), organizations learn only through individuals who learn. Individual learning does not necessarily equal organizational learning, but without individual learning then there is a definite that organizational learning will not occur (Senge, 2006). In this paper I will discuss the disciplines of organizational learning according to Peter Senge. Moreover, my company of choice in this discussion is education practices in the school system.
There seems to be a wide range of learning opportunities in which most people desire for students. These opportunities engage students in experiencing, creating, and solving real problems, using their own experiences, and working with others - is for some reason denied to teachers when they are the learners. Personal mastery is a way teachers can influence these opportunities. Personal mastery can be described as a way for one to approach their own life as a creative work, and living from a creative viewpoint rather than a reactive viewpoint (Senge, 2006). Although the restructuring of schools and the problems of changing school cultures is a never ending cycle, it is still widely accepted that staff learning takes place primarily at a series of workshops, at a conference, or with the help of a long-term consultant. One way of inhibiting personal mastery is through staff learning.
The conventional view of staff development as a transferable package of knowledge to be distributed to teachers in bite-sized pieces needs radical rethinking. It implies a limited conception of teacher learning that is out of step with current research and
Nickelette L. Parrish
Brandman University College
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for OLCU 602
Dr. Kandy Simmons
December 9th, 2012
Introduction
There is a great deal for any organization to learn, and it all must happen among the individuals of that organization. As Peter Senge points out in, The Fifth Discipline, (2006), organizations learn only through individuals who learn. Individual learning does not necessarily equal organizational learning, but without individual learning then there is a definite that organizational learning will not occur (Senge, 2006). In this paper I will discuss the disciplines of organizational learning according to Peter Senge. Moreover, my company of choice in this discussion is education practices in the school system.
There seems to be a wide range of learning opportunities in which most people desire for students. These opportunities engage students in experiencing, creating, and solving real problems, using their own experiences, and working with others - is for some reason denied to teachers when they are the learners. Personal mastery is a way teachers can influence these opportunities. Personal mastery can be described as a way for one to approach their own life as a creative work, and living from a creative viewpoint rather than a reactive viewpoint (Senge, 2006). Although the restructuring of schools and the problems of changing school cultures is a never ending cycle, it is still widely accepted that staff learning takes place primarily at a series of workshops, at a conference, or with the help of a long-term consultant. One way of inhibiting personal mastery is through staff learning.
The conventional view of staff development as a transferable package of knowledge to be distributed to teachers in bite-sized pieces needs radical rethinking. It implies a limited conception of teacher learning that is out of step with current research and
References: Katz, D., and R. L. Kahn. (1996). “Common Characteristics of Open Systems.” In Systems Thinking, edited by F. E. Emery. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books Ltd. Khoo, A. (2010). What is personal mastery. Retrieved December 8th, 2012, from http://www.empoweringyouth.com.sg/educators/life-skills-communications/personal- mastery-school-workshop Senge, P. (2006). Fifth discipline the art and practice of the learning organization. New York, NY: Doubleday/Currency.