Blazing New Trails - Connexions

Superintendent Leadership as the Catalyst for Organizational Learning 69
conveyed to district members by the superintendent in District A the following way. As
teacher A described:
The superintendent goes around to every classroom and he says . . . . ‘Together we
can.’ Last year it was ‘Every child, every day, whatever it takes.’ That’s the way he
shared his vision and what his expectation was for all of us . . . . The vision lasts
longer than a year . . . . There’s continuity. It keeps building . . . . That purpose we’re
working towards is consistent. We’re not going different directions each year so that it
would be hard for somebody to figure out what’s really our purpose.
The metaphor or slogan supported the vision and reinforced the focus of the district
ensuring no discrepancies in meaning. Conversations with District A teachers and principals
suggested that these metaphors were effective in establishing commitment. Labeling
collaborative practices with the term “professional learning communities” was intended to
signify change throughout the district. “Assigning this label became the catalyst for driving
district wide change,” according to the superintendent.
Internalization. Through the socialization process and discussion, staff members
shared personal experiences that became new knowledge for other staff members. As staff
listened and participated in the discussion, they began the internalization of this new
knowledge. They used it to broaden their own knowledge, embedding this new knowledge
into everyday behaviors and routines. “Learning by doing” assisted the process of
internalization. The superintendent utilized a direct approach to incorporate and begin a
process of internalizing these social practices into the daily routines at the school sites.
Expanding the scope of actual experiences (i.e. “let’s give it a try” to encourage members)
was critical to internalization (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). The superintendent described this
process:
That first year we simply told them [administrative staff], ‘We are now a professional
learning community.’ And they were, ‘Oh, what’s that?’ Well, let’s talk about the
basic tenets of a professional learning community. And their question was, ‘Well, have
you got a binder or something that we can follow?’ And, ‘Well, no, here’s a book . . .
[It] is going to chart your journey, guys. We are going to learn by doing this. These are
the basic tenets. These are the things you are going to have to begin to focus on.’ And
admittedly, we put them out there. You know, we just kind of shoved them into the
pool and said ‘Swim,’ and we’ve got a good swim team. You know, it’s amazing.
The response from teacher C in the focus group indicated that learning both
professionally and personally was presently a continuous process among teachers:
You hear that, you know, ‘I’ll never go back to teaching the way I used to teach . . .
because that student that didn’t get it is now getting it, and I’m able to reach and
engage students in learning.’ When they get that, it’s powerful, and then they share
that at their PLC meetings, and that’s what we’re seeing, and it’s exciting to watch.
Combination. Combination is a process that makes use of various sources of
information such as documents, emails, data bases, informal meetings, and casual
conversations. Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) explained that information technology is most