March 6th 2010 - 4 months to go!!!

Quote for the week:
Great article on virtual teams and management, with many useful quotes, this is one I liked: Chris Argyris and Don Schone describe organizational learning as questioning and rebuilding existing perspectives, interpretation frameworks and decision premises." Effective managers of virtual teams can catalyze discussions around questions, challenge members to question perspectives, and continue to push the discussion deeper. The nature of the manager role in this context would be that of a facilitator."

Bit out of order and a rant

Three months in and what has been learned from my perspective

Okay.. so I am normally or have been in the past... a consistent blogger because I have wanted my students to do this... and as every good teacher knows demonstrating by modelling the desired behaviour is good professional practice.

If you don't believe me check out these 2 examples.. My xanga blog and this one I am using for this PALM project at blogger.com
So here goes... I am thinking that I need to get some clarity around what is occurring in this PALM project by going back to the initial plan (presentation) and model of PD that we proposed and checking what has been done and what issues have arisen that are providing us all with some learning in this pilot PD program. The model of PD being used in this project is an amalgamation of sorts that has been formed by my experience and research in both state based Framework projects, a TAFE Qld innovation project and formal study completed as part of the masters of learning innovation at QUT sponsored by DETA in 2007-2008)

Key research and reports I have used to inform the PD model are below:

• Innovate and integrate Framework research
• Reframing the Future publications re staff PD approaches, including this Peter Skippington report on workbased learning with relevant case studies
• Breuleux. A. (2001). Imagining the present, interpreting the possible, cultivating the possible: Technology and the renewal pf teaching and learning. Education Canada , Vol 41 (3)

• Other references and things that I have read and viewed can be found in my del.icio.us account under professionaldevelopment or workplace learning tag and or the networks that I have in my del.icio.us account.  You can access my bookmarks on the top right hand corner of this blog site

So this model was about PD renewal. Doing things in new ways but with a new spirit confirming and reiterating an established practice but with a focus on renovation and the development of a rich learning culture for all. Plus the brief was related to a problem based learning approach. Mmmmm... how to meld these together and meet the key performance indicators of the signed MOU's. Well like any focused project manager I parked that issue and got started assuming revisions to these would occur in the future. In hindsight probably not a good idea.

February 2010

So here I am in February 2010, a team of one trying to plan and develop the model to ensure it is implemented to meet the June 30th deadline. So as a visual learner I needed to draw the vision and the communication and connections that would need to be explored for this PALM project. I used a free tool called bubbl.us to help in this process. Link here to view all my planning bubbles under various headings

We were aiming to clarify needs, connect, communicate, collaborate and create an innovative professional development approach for TQR Institute teachers focused on three core areas of e-learning, assessment and instructional design. With a view to promoting reinvigoration of current teaching practice in what amounts to a 5 month timeline. This model of PD represents a consolidation of PD practices that have been occurring in an adhoc fashion across TAFE Institutes over the last 10 years and supported with a variety of external funding from Reframing the future, the Framework and the Department. However the sustainability and funding of these approaches has been quite piece meal and not necessarily aligned with strategic imperatives, new structures or the requirements of changing AQTF client and industry requirements and teaching professional development options.
In the following blog entries I will document the activities and issues that have arisen against the Phases of the initial project design. I will document from my perspective how we have been clarifying, connecting, communicating, collaborating and creating enhanced learning options for the participants in this PD model.

March reflections

In this March update I will share what we have done across the project team under the core headings below.
But before I do this... I need to review the proposed Phase 1 activities that were developed as part of my application for the project PALM management role.
These were:

• Draft a project management plan for the project - ( still in draft and a work in progress!)
• Develop project team, sponsor facilitators and stakeholders ( completed and visualised in the bubbl.us mindmap here) (done)
• Finalise TQR staff Capability Project Plan and publicise Project information sessions (see point 1 above)

So if I now look at the project methodology of the 5C's here is what we actually achieved in phase 1. A point to note is that the MOU's submitted to VET Futures for funding were developed around a delivery strategy of workshops but the actual implementation of these against the problem based learning strategy had not been determined, hence the reason the Project PALM model was developed and our actions against the project Methodology of the 5C's below came about.

Clarify:

• consolidated from the initial MOU's three core priority areas so instead of the MOU model of workshops aligned against the following: instructional design, delivery through e-learning, distance learning, holding videoconferences, assessment foundations, RPL processes and methods and designing RPL tools (for 105 staff) we combined these into the three core areas of e-learning, assessment and instructional design and determined that current workbased learning research and methodologies with teachers advises that exploration of action learning models and targeted support with a just in time focus might be more successful considering the timelines available. So this is what we designed....

Connect: through the facilitation teams and the identified networks and stakeholders we have developed:

• a Project PALM identity through a header template for all correspondence, email signature and web page template (thanks to John Burns for this development) that is used as part of all our communication activities. This branding has been useful to get the message out there as there are a number of other PD options available to staff this semester as part of VET Futures funding

Communicate:

• we developed project PALM website and a PALM communication strategy.  This means that the project Team have a my.tafe space where all things project can be located, shared and records of meetings and recordings can be located. when these pages are deemed ready to be shared with the wider TQR network they can be easily linked to the TAFE Queensland Regional website for everyone to view.

Collaborate/co-operate/create:

• created a communication strategy to involve and energise people in being involved in Project PALM and conducted information sessions in multiple modes, face to face and using iConnect webconferencing processes as well as presenting to some making content and sharing information flyers with all relevant T&L networks and other identified stakeholders.
• Created an action plan for all prospective project PALM participants and managers to sign that clearly articulated the project outcomes and learning against one or a combination of the three core priority areas.
• Collaboratively designed Project PALM team activities to ensure collaboration and networking across the TQR region could occur
• Set up an iConnect moderator CoP so that this technology could be used as part of the communication strategy for this project and created monthly information sessions on this technology so that people could explore its use in their work context and be part of any future PD sessions using this medium.

Capability: