Sadie Thompson

Teaching is a profession in which the employees are constantly learning. Every year, there are new challenges that force us to learn new strategies, tools and processes. What may work well for a group of students one year, can also fail with another group the next year. I have personally experienced this many times in my career and have learned from these experience. These learning experiences are defined as andragogy.

Malcom Knowles shares six assumptions about andragogy:

1. An adult accumulates a growing reservoir of experience, which is a rich resource for learning.

I know this statement to be true because I have personally experienced it. I have had the opportunity of starting my career with teaching grade 4 and I have continued in this same grade. I am now in my fifth year. Every year, I feel like I vastly improve. I am a higher quality grade 4 teacher now than I was in my first year. I can only imagine that this would continue each year in my teaching career.  

1. The readiness of an adult to learn is closely related to the developmental tasks of his or her social role.

As a new teacher starting out, I focused on the skills and lessons required to teach my students and achieve positive results. In my first year, my focus was very narrow. It was about my classroom, the students and when I was teaching specifics of the curriculum. As the years have passed, I am more comfortable in my role. I have become a much more confident teacher. Last year and this year, I have spent more time volunteering at church and in the community. I feel as though my focus has moved from a broader view.  As I learned more about my strengths and my weaknesses as a teacher, I identified some professional goals that would help me improve my skills and took specific professional development courses to target my areas of need. Now, I also take professional development based on things that are interesting to me, even though they aren’t specifically related to my teaching career.

 

1. There is a change in time perspective as people mature – from future application of knowledge to immediacy of application. Thus, an adult is more problem centered than subject centered in learning.

As children, we are taught certain things in school because we have to learn them. This is subject based learning. As an adult, learning tends to be more problem focused. For example, if a person decides to start their own business, they need to take courses to learn how to manage a business. In my profession, I discover areas that are weaknesses for me and I take professional development activities based on those weaknesses. Developing skills around weaknesses, helps us improve so that we can be more effective teachers.

 

1. Adults are mostly driven by internal motivation, rather than external motivators.

I believe that teachers are intrinsically motivated. Knowles suggests this as the fourth principle of andragogy. Naturally, there is external motivation in teaching which includes evaluations, testing results and praise from staff who are higher in the division. Although rewarding, these are not the motivators that drive teachers to be good teachers and to learn. Teachers want to be good learners so that they can provide students with the highest quality of education to their abilities.

1. Adults need to know the reason for learning something. (Merriam & Bierma, 2014, p. 47)”

Adults need to have a purpose for what they are learning. An example of a time that I have experienced this in my own career was two  years ago. My boss wanted to send me to a conference on Down Syndrome. At the time, I did not have any students in my class with Down’s Syndrome. She informed me that there was a student in Kindergarten with Down’s Syndrome. It was decided that this student would start in grade 4 half way through the year. Once I knew that there was a reason for me to become more knowledgeable and skillful in this area, I was more motivated and interested in developing those skills.

This unit in particular has really made me reflect on my learning experience as an adult. It is a very different situation for me compared to when I attended university full time shortly after graduating high school, I realize now that I was not as focused as I could’ve been as I was not sure what I wanted to do in my future and as a result, I  took the process of education and learning for granted.  Now that I work full time and have experience in my profession, I value my education much more. I am more focused, more serious, and I want to achieve specific goals. Time is at a premium when you work full time, so I view my education as a gift to myself.  I am much more driven. My current studies are very relevant to my profession.

I am also inspired by this opportunity to learn as an adult because I have realized that the term ‘adult’ is extremely broad and can mean so much. Every adult in this course is so unique and comes from a unique background of experiences and knowledge. We have different interests, careers and are different age groupings. It is interesting to read how each person is experiencing adult learning in this course.

Reference:

Malcolm Shepherd Knowles- Theory of Andragogy

On Wednesday evening, I had the pleasure of interviewing Riggi Solinap. Riggi lives with his wife and son in Langley, BC. Riggi’s family is from the Philippines. He began his journey to Canada about 10 years ago. He worked in California where he aided in building a church. Riggi remembers his childhood years to be happy and carefree.

 

Currently, Riggi is working for the TWU and taking this course in preparation for his future. Riggi shared that he sees himself moving towards doing work that is more true to heart. He wants to focus more on his interests and doing what feels right in hopes of making an impact on his community.  

 

Riggi shared with me that a time when he felt at his best was during an important presentation that he gave to a group of people. He felt as though he had made an imprint in these people’s lives. Riggi felt that through his effective presentation skills, people learned that there are greater things in life than just the day-to-day routine of work. He felt like people realized that there are greater things they can do in life beyond what they are doing. Riggi knows that his presentation made an impact as his presentation is still being talked about many months later.

 

Riggi hopes to continue this kind of work and leadership. He hopes to share words of encouragement, inspiration and motivation, to many groups of people. Something that Riggi said that resonated with me is this, “life is more meaningful when you work for something that will leave an imprint after you die.” I truly agree and believe in this statement and it is one that I try to live my life by. Riggi said this in regards to the leadership he would like to work towards. He wants to make a difference in people’s lives. Riggi wants to volunteer and be a part of instilling values in young people. He wants to be their inspiration. Riggi also wants to give back to his community.

I had a wonderful conversation with Riggi. I find it interesting how each person in this course is so different and comes from different stages of life. Riggi mentioned to me that he recalled being my age and thinking similarly to the way that I currently think. I thought it was interesting and it made me wonder how my thoughts will grow and change as I am influenced by people who are wise and knowledgeable and who inspire me. I also wonder what it will be like to look back and reflect on my 27-year-old self.

 

Riggi left me with the names of a few books that I will be sure to read. I thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to interact with a classmate.

When a leader makes the decision to intervene, they must then decide whether they should intervene internally or externally. (Northouse, 2017). First the leader must decide whether the problem is inside of the team or if it is external to the team. An effective leader must ask themselves, “Are the goals clear?” “What can I do to help team members focus on the goals?” (Northouse, 2017). When a leader knows the answers to these questions, they must “analyze the demands of the team and react appropriately.” (Barge, 1996), retrieved from (Northouse, 2017). “Leadership can help members effectively deal with conflict by encouraging discussion and rapport building within teams. (Gupta et al., 2010, P 338).

If a team is experiencing conflict, the leader must determine how to intervene to resolve the conflict to improve the functioning of the team. (Northouse, 2017). If a team is experiencing conflict between members, then an action must be taken internally or within the team itself. (Northouse, 2017).  A leader must assess the problem, and provide tactful means of improving relationships as well as the supports necessary for the team to effectively do their job. If the leader determines that the “organizational environment is not providing proper support to the team to do its job, then perhaps an external environmental intervention focusing on obtaining external support for the team might be the most appropriate intervention.” (Northouse, 2017, P 376).

In my personal experience, an external leadership action that has been taken was when my principal approached me and asked me what supports she could offer me in order to help me experience success with my students. She offered to assist me in meeting with parents, providing additional assistant support as well as extra literacy support for my lower students. Her action made me feel more of a part of the education team at my school.

 

Another example of an external leadership action, can be seen in the movie Invictus. The captain of the rugby team had the team teach rugby to young children. The children were so motivated and excited that they surrounded the team and started chanting songs and rhymes. This motivated the players of the rugby team and inspired a sense of pride and a sense of team spirit. Northouse, 2017, suggests that an external action is advocating and representing the team to environment. The players were together, working as a team and experienced success with teaching rugby to children.(Northouse, 2017, P 380).

Another example from this movie is when Mandela flew in to where they were about to play. In front of everyone, he shook the hand of each team member, called them by their first name and said, “good luck.” This is external action that motivated and inspired each player. According to Hill’s model for team leadership in Northouse, 2017, this is an example of networking. (Northouse, 2017, P 379).

In the last 4 years in my school division, they have implemented a new standardized test called Dibels. Each staff member initially struggled with this test, the information that it was providing us as educators and how we were to move forward with this information. The goals were unclear. Northouse, 2017, suggest that an internal leadership action is goal focusing, which involves clarifying the goals for the team members. Our principal took an internal leadership action to help clarify these goals for us. She created charts, brought in exemplars, encouraged collaboration and clearly defined the goal of the Dibels test so that we could more effectively do our job. (Northouse, 2017, P 377).

In this example, she also used the internal action of structuring for results. Once the interpretation of the test results were clear, she presented us with a vision for what the desired outcome would be. She came up with a plan to push the lower kids into the higher categories. She did this by delegating literacy support to some staff members and by clarifying our roles in this vision. (Northouse, 2017, P 378).

Another example of internal action that I have experienced relates to the student I had last year that had many learning and behavioural challenges. It quickly became clear that the situation we were dealing with was more challenging and difficult than we thought it would be. The principal took internal leadership action and sent the team of staff who was working with this student to receive more training. She realized that we, “did not have the skills necessary to make well-reasoned decisions.” (Northouse, 2017, P 378). Providing more education and training is part of Hill’s model for team leadership. (Northouse, 2017, P 378).

In a group project organization, the leader must provide all members of the team with clear goals as well as a structured plan on how these goals will be achieved. A leader must ensure that a cohesive environment is established so that all team members can “work together to achieve desired outcomes.” (Gupta, et al., 2010, P(Chang & Bordia, 2001). An effective leader will empathize and listen to each member of the team in order to determine when internal or external actions are necessary. (Spears, 2010). The leader must encourage a collaborative community within the team by providing opportunity for networking, sharing information and forming alliances within the team environment. (Northouse, 2017). If a leader can effectively complete these tasks while monitoring the progress and dynamics of the team, the leader as well as the members of the team will experience success in achieving goals.

 

References

 

Spears, L., (2010). The Journal of Virtues & Leadership, Vol. 1 Iss. 1, 2010, 25-30.

Northouse, P. (2017). Leadership: Theory and Practice.

Eastwood, C., McCreary, L., (2009). Invictus [Warner Bros]. United States of America: Warner Bros.

“Team effectiveness, which focuses on team excellence or the desired outcomes of teamwork, has two critical functions. (Northouse, 2017, P 367). The first critical function of team effectiveness is, performance, which is task accomplishment. (Northouse, 2017, P 368). The second critical function relates to the cohesiveness of the team. It is development. (Northouse, 2017).

Hackman et. al, 2012, have created an assessment tool that can be used to determine the effectiveness of a team. (Northouse, 2017). If a leader feels that there are weak areas, or areas where their team has not been the most effective, then he or she needs to focus on goals to improve the team in that area. (Northouse, 2017).  “Hackman et. al 2012, suggest 6 enabling conditions of effective team functioning:

1. Is it a real team?
2. Does it have a compelling purpose?
3. Does it have the right people?
4. Are the norms of conduct clear?
5. Is there support from the organizational context?
6. Is there team-focused coaching?”

(Northouse, 2017, P 368).

Laran and LaFasto (1989) also studied patterns in team effectiveness and found 8 characteristics, that were similar to Hackman’s findings, that consistently stood out. (Northouse, 2017).

1. Clear Elevating Goal.
2. Results-Driven Structure.
3. Competent Team Members.
4. Unified Commitment.
5. Collaborative Climate.
6. Standards of Excellence.
7. External Support and recognition.
8. Principled Leadership.

Personally, I have experienced some of these conditions of team effectiveness. Unified commitment relates to having a sense of unity or identification as a team. (Northouse, 2017, P 370). Previously, the staff was very separated at our school. Our school did not have a team that would voluntarily collaborate or assist others in achieving goals. We were a separated staff. This doesn’t make for an effective team because people were unhappy at work, felt overworked and did not feel like a team. Our new principal is trying hard to lead us into having a unified commitment so that we can be a more effective team.

I am in my fifth year of teaching grade 4. The other staff member and I who teach grade 4 have become very close as colleagues. We work together at school during school hours, outside of school hours in the evenings and on weekends and we share things we have done on our own. This is an example of Larson and Lafasto’s characteristic of collaborative climate. (Larson and Lafasto, 1989). I also see this characteristic beginning to be achieved elsewhere in the school so that we can work more effectively as a team. Another example is our committee that guides the new staff. Each new staff member has a volunteer leader that guides them through challenges that arise throughout the year.

The seventh characteristic of team excellence as defined by Larson and Lafasto is “External Support and Recognition.” (Northouse, 2017, P 371). Northouse, 2017, according to Larson and Lafasto, states that “teams can achieve excellence if they are given the resources needed to do their jobs, are recognized for team accomplishments, and are rewarded for team performance rather than for individual performances.” (Northouse, 2017, P 371). This year, I am experiencing a classroom of students who are mostly average or above average learners. In previous years, I have experienced groups who are much lower and have more difficulties learning. As teachers, we always try our best to ensure that each student is getting the highest quality of education. If a teacher doesn’t have the proper resources and external support, our task of providing quality instruction to students who struggle, becomes even more difficult. This year, for the first time in my teaching career, our administrative staff approached each classroom teacher at the end of September and asked us what kind of support they could offer and provide. They asked if we felt like we needed more educational assistant time in our classrooms, more certified instructor assistance or more classroom resources. It was motivating to be asked and to have had these external resources offered to us. Personally, I felt like it enabled me to ensure that I am giving the absolute best education to my students.

Principled leadership is the eighth characteristic in Larson and Lafasto’s characteristics of team excellence. It is defined as “the central driver of team effectiveness” (Northouse, 2017, P 371). It is the principles that drive the leadership towards achieving goals, facing challenges and accomplishing tasks. There are 4 sets of processes that influence team effectiveness.(Northouse, 2017). The first is cognitive, in which the leader assists the team with understanding the problems. (Northouse, 2017). The second is motivational, where the leader guides the team into being able to work together by setting high performance standards and them helping the team work towards achieving these standards. (Northouse, 2017). The third process is affective. The leader assists the team in conquering stressful situations by providing clear goals, assignments, and providing them with strategies that will lead them to desired results. (Northouse, 2017). The fourth process is coordination. “Coordinately, the leader helps integrate the team’s activities by matching members’ skills to roles, providing clear performance strategies, monitoring feedback, and adapting to environmental changes.” (Northouse, 2017, P 371).

The third process, affective, is valuable to me in a team environment. Teaching, at times, is a highly stressful career. When I am stressed, I sometimes feel overwhelmed, discouraged or unsure what to do next. I value the affective process because during these high stress times, a leader can offer practical strategies towards achieving goals and accomplishing tasks. The affective process, can provide a team with the tools that they need to face any challenge. If each member of the team knows exactly which strategies to use in order to accomplish goals, the team will be more effective and efficient in achieving the goals. Without these strategies and clear goals, it is difficult for a team to effectively work together.

Northouse, P. (2017). Leadership: Theory and Practice.

“Servant leadership begins when leaders commit themselves to putting their followers first, being honest with them, and treating them fairly. Servant leaders make it a priority to listen to their followers and develop strong long-term relationships with them.” (Northouse, 2017, P 239). Northouse tells us that servant leaders center their values around the needs of others instead of their own needs. Servant leaders use their power to enable others. They do not use power for selfish reasons. “Rather than using their power to dominate others, leaders should make every attempt to share their power and enable others to grow and become autonomous.” (Northouse, 2017, P 239). A servant leader is someone who “develops and empowers others to reach their highest potential.” (Beck, 2014, P 300).

Emotional intelligence is the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s’ feelings, beliefs, and internal states and to use the information gained to guide the thinking and actions of both self and others (Barbuto et al. 2014, P 315) Emotional intelligence is an antecedent of servant leadership. (Beck, 2014). “Studies have found that emotional intelligence is an important leadership construct.” (Beck, 2014, P 301). Being trained in emotional intelligence, enables an individual to communicate and listen more effectively which are key components of servant leadership. (Northouse, 2017).

“The psychodynamic approach defends the idea that psychological, social and emotional processes between leaders and followers have a great influence and need to be taken into consideration.” (Northouse, 2017, P 305).

Both emotional intelligence and the psychodynamic approach provide insight into the control of our emotions and the motivational patterns that people exhibit. In servant leadership, the leader needs to be able to understand their own emotions, as well as the emotional patterns of others so that they can influence people. “In other words, to get people to do things that they would not otherwise do.” (Northouse, 2017, P 306). If a leader possesses emotional intelligence, as well as components of the psychodynamic approach, they will be more insightful and interested in why people do what they do and they will be more able to influence their followers. (Northouse, 2017).

John Maxwell suggests that in order for a leader to be in the higher levels of leadership, they will need a deep dedication to their followers. “You need to understand what people live for, strive for, and what excites them. You need to commit yourself to the people.” Better understanding our own emotions will enable us to be more effective in doing this.

“We define servant leadership as an altruistic-based form of leadership in which leaders emphasize the needs and development of others, primarily their followers. (Barbuto et al., 2014, P 316). An example of a servant leader would be Martin Luther King. Greenleaf proposed 5 attributes of a successful servant leader. These included listening, empathy, imagination, intuition and foresight. He noted that servant leaders begin leading with the deep desire to serve others. (Gordon, 2007, P 1). Martin Luther King was a leader who placed the needs of others above his own needs. Martin Luther King “put followers first, empowered them, and helped them develop their full potential.” (Northouse, 2017, P 225).

 

References

Barbuto, J.E., Gottfredson, R., Searle, T. (2014). An Examination of Emotional Intelligence as an Antecedent of Servant Leadership. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies

Derwing, T. M., Rossiter, M. J., & Munro, M. J. (2002). Teaching native speakers to listen to foreign-accented speech. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 23(4), 245-259. Vol 21, Issue 3, pp. 315 – 323

Gordon, Raymond Daniel. “Leadership, Servant.” International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies. Ed. . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2007. 786-89. SAGE Reference Online. Web. 30 Jan. 2012.

Maxwell, J. [JohnMaxwellCo]. (2013, September 10). John Maxwell The 5 Levels of Leadership [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPwXeg8ThWI

Northouse, P. (2017). Leadership: Theory and Practice.