----

##  Creating a Learning Organization. ERIC Digest, Number 121.                   

School leaders in a whimsical mood sometimes play a parlor game                 called 'Spot That Jargon,' in which the goal is to name as many past            educational fads as possible. The list is usually impressive: dozens            of would-be reforms that were introduced with great fanfare and then            quickly faded away. 
The game is played with tongue in cheek, but              it often stirs some sad reflections. Why are schools so susceptible             to enthusiastic but short-lived fads? What makes it so difficult to             turn a promising idea into a lasting contribution? 
Such questions             have recently sparked interest in yet another new idea: 'the                    learning organization.' According to some theorists, schools that               dedicate themselves to systematic, collaborative problem-solving                can "continually" develop and implement new ideas, thereby not just             improving but transforming themselves. Does research support this               optimistic view? Or will the learning organization, five years from             now, be just another entry on the jargon list? CAN SCHOOLS BE                 LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS?Kenneth Leithwood and colleagues (1995)              define a learning organization as: 
a group of people pursuing                 common purposes (individual purposes as well) 
with a collective               commitment to regularly weighing the value of those 
purposes,                 modifying them when that makes sense, and continuously 
developing             more effective and efficient ways of accomplishing                              those 
purposes. 
Although this is an inspiring vision, schools               may be far from achieving it. Teacher isolation, lack of time, and              the complexity of teaching present significant barriers to sustained            organizational learning (Larry Lashway 1997). 
Not surprisingly,               researchers have often found that substantive changes in teaching               practices are elusive. Richard Elmore and colleagues (1996)                     discovered that even when teachers were willing to learn new                    methods, they often applied them in a superficial or inconsistent               way, offering the appearance but not the substance of real                      change. 
Moreover, while rhetoric on learning organizations is                 plentiful, thoughtful research is harder to find. Summing up their              study of the literature, Leithwood and colleagues noted that 'we                have almost no systematic evidence describing the conditions which              foster and inhibit such learning.' 
Despite this vein of pessimism,            other researchers have begun to identify schools in which entire                faculties have become proficient in new forms of instruction,                   resulting in immediate impact on student learning and behavior. The             remainder of this Digest highlights several key findings from this              work. HOW CAN STAFF LEARNING BE FOCUSED?Educational reforms               are often undertaken in a rushed atmosphere, with a dozen different             initiatives going on simultaneously. Training may consist of a                  one-day workshop, with little provision for practice and                        feedback. 
Beverly Showers, Carlene Murphy, and Bruce Joyce (1996)             studied three schools that undertook a systematic, sustained reform             that focused on several models of teaching with a strong research               base, including cooperative learning, concept-attainment, and                   synectics. These models were designed to supplement teachers'                   existing strategies, not replace them. 
The models were taught in              three steps to all teachers. The first phase was designed to give               teachers a theoretical understanding of the new concepts. This was              followed by multiple demonstrations (mainly videotapes of classroom             instruction) and opportunities to practice the new skills in the                workshop setting. 
Showers and colleagues note that this intensive             workshop model is sufficient for teachers to introduce new                      strategies in their classrooms, but without additional support fewer            than 10 percent will persist long enough to integrate the new skills            into their repertoire. They maintain that proficiency requires                  twenty to thirty trials under classroom conditions. Thus they                   encouraged teachers to use the new methods immediately and                      frequently, and to organize themselves into study teams for sharing,            observation, and peer coaching. 
The results were notable. At the              end of the first year, 88 percent of the teachers were using the new            strategies regularly and effectively. In one middle school,                     promotion rates soared, while the average achievement test score                jumped from the twenty-fifth to the forty-second percentile. In                 addition, disciplinary referrals dropped to about one-fifth the                 previous level. HOW IS LEARNING DRIVEN BY DATA?Bruce Joyce and            Emily Calhoun (1996) note that schools are 'both information-rich               and information- impoverished.' School personnel collect a                      prodigious amount of information, from test scores to attendance                figures, yet rarely link this wealth of data to school-improvement              efforts. 
Joyce and Calhoun cite the case of a middle school in                which only 30 percent of the students earned promotion at the end of            each year. Although these figures were known for years to everyone              in the school, the faculty had never met to reflect on the failure              rate or study the causes. When a staff development program finally              focused attention on the figures, the situation began to change.                Within two years, 95 percent of the students were being                         promoted. 
Focusing on data confronts staff with hard evidence that            may challenge existing perceptions of success; discrepancies raise              sharp questions about what is happening and why. In addition,                   monitoring data provides a good way of tracking the effects of                  change efforts. Joyce and Calhoun point out that this is especially             important in convincing faculty that students can achieve more than             they thought possible. Finally, study of data often leads to a                  desire for more information. As reform efforts proceed, the school              generates increasingly sophisticated data and uses it in a                      meaningful way. WHAT CHANGES IN THE WORKPLACE SUPPORT                         ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING?Some studies point to changes in the                workplace as a key to successful organizational learning. 
First,              schedules and assignments should allow time for collective inquiry.             Joyce and Calhoun argue that significant reform is "nearly                      impossible" in a typical school workplace; at best, people will move            forward as individual 'points of light,' but they will be unable to             form a learning community. 
Thus, schools must provide time for                teachers to work and reflect together. Some schools, using early                dismissal one afternoon a week, have been able to clear out                     significant blocks of time. In addition, Sharon Kruse and Karen                 Louis (1993) point out the importance of well-developed                         communication structures such as email and regular faculty meetings,            as well as a common space for working. 
Collective inquiry may be              strengthened by more democratic forms of governance. Joyce and                  Calhoun advocate the formation of 'Responsible Parties' to lead the             school community in improvement efforts. These groups, composed of              administrators, teachers, parents, and community members, would not             be traditional parliamentary decision-making groups, but would act              as champions for extended inquiry. 
Guiding such diverse                       groups (whose members may have differing agendas and little                     experience working together) is especially challenging for leaders.             Laura Lipton and Robert Melamede (1997) suggest that the key to                 successful group dynamics is dialogue rather than debate, with the              emphasis on listening, suspending judgment, and seeking common                  understanding. In successful dialogue, participants learn not to                march directly toward the nearest solution but to examine                       assumptions and share multiple perspectives that open the way to new            types of collective learning. 
Finally, new strategies appear to be            best learned in small groups that provide motivation, support,                  sympathetic sounding boards, and technical assistance (Joyce and                Calhoun). WHAT IS THE LEADER'S ROLE?Creating a learning                   organization requires a deep rethinking of the leader's role.                   Principals and superintendents must see themselves as 'learning                 leaders' responsible for helping schools develop the capacity to                carry out their mission. A crucial part of this role is cultivating             and maintaining a shared vision (Lashway, Leithwood and colleagues,             Lipton and Melamede). The vision provides focus, generating                     questions that apply to everyone in the organization. Learning                  becomes a collaborative, goal-oriented task rather than a                       generalized desire to 'stay current.' 
At a more mundane level,                leaders must tend to the organizational structures that support                 continuous learning, squeezing time out of a busy schedule,                     collecting and disseminating information that accurately tracks the             school's performance, and creating forms of governance that support             collective inquiry. 
Perhaps most important, leaders must view                 their organizations as learning communities, for faculty as well as             students. This requires casting school improvement in terms of                  hypotheses to be tested rather than solutions to be handed out,                 attacking the barriers to collaboration, and making decisions                   democratically rather than bureaucratically (Joyce and Calhoun).                When the spirit of inquiry permeates the daily routine, schools are             on their way to becoming true learning                                          organizations. RESOURCESElmore, Richard F.; Penelope L.                   Peterson; and Sarah J. McCarthey. "Restructuring in the Classroom:              Teaching, Learning, and School Organization." San Francisco:                    Jossey-Bass, 1996. 
Joyce, Bruce, and Emily Calhoun. 'School                   Renewal: An Inquiry, Not a Prescription.' In "Learning Experiences              in School Renewal: An Exploration of Five Successful Programs,"                 edited by Bruce Joyce and Emily Calhoun. 175-90. Eugene, Oregon:                ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, 1996. 219 pages. ED               401 600. 
Kruse, Sharon D., and Karen Seashore Louis. "An Emerging             Framework for Analyzing School-Based Professional Community." Paper             presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research            Association, Atlanta Georgia, April 1993. 31 pages. ED 358                      537. 
Lashway, Larry. "Leading With Vision." Eugene, Oregon: ERIC              Clearinghouse on Educational Management, 1997. 148                              pages. 
Leithwood, Kenneth; Doris Jantzi; and Rosanne                          Steinbach. "An Organizational Learning Perspective on School                    Responses to Central Policy Initiatives." Paper presented at the                annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San            Francisco, 1995. 38 pages. ED 385 932. 
Lipton, Laura, and Robert              Melamede. 'Organizational Learning: The Essential Journey.' In "The             Process-Centered School: Sustaining a Renaissance Community," edited            by Arthur L. Costa and Rosemarie M. 
Liebmann. 30-53. Thousand                 Oaks, California: Corwin Press, 1997. 260 pages. ED 407                         721. 
Showers, Beverly; Carlene Murphy, and Bruce Joyce. 'The River            City Program: Staff Development Becomes School Improvement.'                    In "Learning Experiences in School Renewal: An Exploration of Five              Successful Programs," edited by Bruce Joyce and Emily Calhoun.                  13-51. Eugene, Oregon: ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management,            1996. 219 pages. ED 401 600. 
This publication was prepared with               funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement,                U.S. Department of Education, under contract No. OERI RR93002006.               The ideas and opinions expressed in this Digest do not necessarily              reflect the positions or policies of OERI, ED, or the Clearinghouse.            This Digest is in the public domain and may be freely reproduced.            **Title:** Creating a Learning Organization. ERIC Digest, Number 121.                   **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, 5207 University of                Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-5207.                                               **Descriptors:** Change Strategies, Educational Environment, Educational Innovation,             Elementary Secondary Education, Faculty Development,  Lifelong                  Learning, Organizational Objectives,  Professional Development,                  Teacher Education                                                           **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests,  Learning Communities,  Learning Organizations                 
###
[Return to ERIC Digest Search Page]