Learning from the Profession
X|E is a learning organization. As such, we continually solicit and process feedback from future and existing clients. To do so is the hallmark of responsive and iterative programming.
Organizational learning is important only only for agencies like X|E, but also for any entity that desires to maintain its competive edge in the global marketplace. This is true for educational organizations as well. While the focus may not be on profits, enrollment management, quality of service, positive outcomes and impact, and brand recognition are a few of the core pressures informing competitive edge. Even still, factors shaping these pressures are continually in flux. Institutions must remain vigilant in their ability to respond accordingly.
Systems Thinking is one tool for managing organizational learning. Arnold and Wade (2015) define Systems Thinking as a set of synergistic analytic skills to improve the capability of identifying and understanding systems, predicting their behaviors, and devising modifications to them in order to produce desired results. These skills work together as a system, within interconnected, cause-effect feedback loops for continuous improvement.
As X|E continues to work with deans and directors of Colleges and Schools of Education, we seek to learn more about their unique needs for continuous improvement. We invite you to engage in a short Education Deans' Survey of Needs to advance our aims for learning and responsiveness.
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References
Arnold, R. D., & Wade, J. P. (2015). A definition of systems thinking: A systems approach. Procedia Computer Sciences, 44, 609-678. doi: 10.1016/j.procs.2015.03.050
