Wilkommen, Beinvunue, Welcome

Starting Module 2

My first blog for module 2 may be a tad overdue, and as I'm sure many of you will understand, life somewhat got in the way, moving house, working a full time job and doing two courses all at once has meant my commitment to all has not been what it should be. So I am a little behind others in my line of inquiry but I am hoping everyone is willing to get on board with me and discuss our idea together.

So Reader 4, after reading other peoples blogs, I was a little apprehensive as man had said they were a little confused after reading this section. I like most needed to re-read the document to really gin everything I wanted to get out of it. Having previously had a Skype conversation with Paula I had an idea of where my inquiry was going to but reader 4 helped me to consolidate that I was going down the right path. 

Links to Work Based Learning

Fisrtly I was struck by Peter Senge's idea of 'learning organisations', his original focus was on businesses and how professional inquiry is useful in the professional business world, but I believe his ideas can be applied to, my chosen career path, teaching. 

"…organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together." Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organization (1990).

Teaching is a very fast paced and ever changing work environment, no two years in teaching are ever the same, some would argue no two days are the same, so Serge's approach could help to navigate through this industry.

"While all people have the capacity to learn, the structures in which they have to function are often not conducive to reflection and engagement. Furthermore, people may lack the tools and guiding ideas to make sense of the situations they face. Organizations that are continually expanding their capacity to create their future require a fundamental shift of mind among their members." Mark Smith, http://infed.org/mobi/peter-senge-and-the-learning-organization (2001)

Smith suggests that for Senge's 'learning organisation' to work, everyone has to be on board and ready to make the changes necessary to work in a new way and to begin with I struggled to bring to mind any organisation that would have 100% readiness to consistently challenge their employees to learn and question how they can improve. Then I considered that all places of work try this method to some extent or another (with varying degrees of success) whether that be through assessments, catch up interviews or even through simple targets but I doubt that many organisations would be willing to change their entire ethos and attitude towards workplace learning. I have heard in the past that Google are pioneering the way forward for new ways of creating productive work and learning environments in their business and thought I'd see if I could find any information on their business model. 

Here is what I found:

"It’s really the people that make Google the kind of company it is. We hire people who are smart and determined, and we favor ability over experience. Although Googlers share common goals and visions for the company, we hail from all walks of life and speak dozens of languages, reflecting the global audience that we serve. And when not at work, Googlers pursue interests ranging from cycling to beekeeping, from frisbee to foxtrot.

We strive to maintain the open culture often associated with startups, in which everyone is a hands-on contributor and feels comfortable sharing ideas and opinions. In our weekly all-hands (“TGIF”) meetings—not to mention over email or in the cafe—Googlers ask questions directly to Larry, Sergey and other execs about any number of company issues. Our offices and cafes are designed to encourage interactions between Googlers within and across teams, and to spark conversation about work as well as play." Google Inc. https://www.google.com/about/company/facts/culture/  (2016)

"You can be serious without a suit.

Our founders built Google around the idea that work should be challenging, and the challenge should be fun. We believe that great, creative things are more likely to happen with the right company culture–and that doesn’t just mean lava lamps and rubber balls. There is an emphasis on team achievements and pride in individual accomplishments that contribute to our overall success. We put great stock in our employees–energetic, passionate people from diverse backgrounds with creative approaches to work, play and life. Our atmosphere may be casual, but as new ideas emerge in a café line, at a team meeting or at the gym, they are traded, tested and put into practice with dizzying speed–and they may be the launch pad for a new project destined for worldwide use." Google Inc. https://www.google.com/about/company/philosophy/ (2016)

This is a photograph from inside the Google headquarters in London, It has a 'bringing the outside, inside' theme. 

And this is a photo from the Mountain View site in California, there is a bowling alley in the workplace in line with Google's 'casual atmosphere'.

Now, I'm not suggesting we start putting bowling alleys in the staff room but I think there may be something we can apply from Serge's ideas and Google's ethos that could change how we approach learning and adapting in teaching. There is already a lot of planning, strategy and analysis in teaching, but is it done in the right way? Is it conducted in a healthy and constructive way?

These are two questions I could look at as part of my inquiry and I have only reached the first chapter of Reader 4!

I'd love to hear what other BAPP students, especially those also in teaching field, think about the ways in which work based learning and inquiry are used within teaching.