Reflection #4

Chapter 14 discusses the concept and evolution of human performance improvement. Several sections of chapter 14 present a variety of non-instructional solutions to performance problems. Identify a performance problem in your area of work and identify non-instructional solutions that may help solve the problem. 

A performance problem that I see at work this year is low motivation and teacher dissatisfaction due to scheduling, which has affected the performance of teachers in the classroom and with completing the required paperwork (i.e. benchmarks, grading, lesson plans). It is a two part problem that has the motivation low, both deal with organizational leadership and design.  Part I:  This year most teachers teach seven out eight classes on a traditional schedule. Notice I said most, not all of the, there are two to three in each department that only teach six out of eight.  That does cause low motivation and a feeling of inequality.    Part II: Some teachers have an extremely high number of students.  For example one science teacher has over two hundred students, teaches seven out of eight and has multiple preps. Then down the hall the other science teacher has one hundred and fifty students and teaches six out of eight, and has only a single prep.  So there is a clear reason for the lack of motivation and dissatisfaction from a portion of the teachers on campus, when talking to the teachers they say it’s not fair everything should be distributed evenly.

Where does a problem like this stem from and how is it fixed so that the teachers are once again satisfied.  The problem comes from a lack of data from the campus to supply to the district for funding teacher positions, feedback from the teachers on what prep they want to teach, the lack of staff to support the student body, not using individual capacities (resources on campus), what are the motives behind certain teachers have double planning and others do not, and knowledge on designing a new master schedule to reflect the changing student body.  As seen in the graph below what I have described is the cause analysis: 

http://www.ispisouthflorida.org/Resources/Pictures/HPT%20Model%20Pic.jpg

The non-instructional solutions that I have seen to help solve these problems, has primarily come from the principal.  In previous years situations like these always comes about at the start of a new year.  I would say that this year there are solutions that are actually working.

• There is now documenting and collecting of trends for our campus, so that when teaching positions are designated each year he will be able to show the data to retain positions.
• The principal is putting in place a new organizational design that requires input from the department chairs. 
• The principal is also asking for feedback from the teachers on planning periods, and subjects taught.
• Attention has been given to the district about the need for more staff.
• A new system is being put into place for the designing the master schedule for next year.  

Chapter 15 presents performance support systems. Define performance support systems and explain how a performance support system might (or might not) help solve the problem you identified above.

Performance support systems are the integration of different tools to help the user perform a task.  EPSS (electronic performance support systems) is defined as any computer software program or component that improves user performance.    An EPSS can be used for creating a schedule for the teachers, and from that the class sizes can be addressed.  I know that there is a couple of EPSS systems that the district uses Gradespeed and Chancery however from my understanding there are flaws with each that at times makes it difficult to work with the scheduling. 

Chapter 16 explains knowledge management: the way we manage information, share that information, and use it to solve organization problems. Organizations, such as schools, accumulate a great deal information/data, which must be organized in a way that we can make sense of it in order to use for making decisions. What knowledge would help solve the problem you identified above and how would that knowledge need to be collected and managed to help facilitate problem solving? 

In my opinion the knowledge that would help solve the problem identified in the beginning would be tacit knowledge, common organizational knowledge, and undiscovered knowledge.

Tacit knowledge is the knowledge of experience and insight. On campus there are very experienced staff that have come from other campuses and districts, and can provide insight on possible solutions to the master scheduling.

Common organizational knowledge is explicit knowledge that everyone who needs to know actually does. This type of knowledge is seen specifically with groups of staff members for example: department chairs, instructional specialist, counselors, and administrators to name a few.  The only problem that I see with this knowledge is that at times it does not cross over into other groups, it may only remain linear.

Undiscovered knowledge, is knowledge that is not seen, but if it was recognized it could benefit the organization. There are times that staff members that you would never expect come up with a solution to a problem, and that staff member may be overlooked due to their position. 

To collect the knowledge that is needed a Knowledge Management (KM) system would have to be utilized to help facilitate the problem.  There are three components KM is built on: codification, collaboration, and access.  For the problem identified bringing together the data, the teams and the software will be needed to help facilitate the problem.

Chapter 17 describes types of informal learning. What informal learning experiences have you participated in at your organization? Could those informal learning experiences be shared with others? Could the knowledge gained in those settings be codified and managed? And should it be managed or should the informal experiences be replicated or broadened for others?

Informal learning experiences I believe are individual for each person.  Informal learning can occur anywhere, typically in the break room or copy room on campus.  I always find that teachers like to share their ideas and opinions so something new is always being processed.  As an art teacher I attend trainings at local museums and galleries quite often, and I find those experiences are the most exciting for me.  I usually meet other art teachers, see new ideas, learn about new works of art, and even old.  The dialogue that occurs there broadens my knowledge to share with others.  I do find it is difficult to replicate the experience; however I can share and hopefully inspire and spark interest.  The knowledge that occurs in those setting in my opinion can’t be codified and managed; I see it as a time for living life and being in the moment without any objectives.