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Book/Simulation ReflectionThe Fifth Discipline:The Art & Practice of the Learning OrganizationBy Peter M. SengeSystems Thinking/Systems ChangingPresented by Kelly MuzzeyIn Partial Fulfillment of EDL-762Maryville UniversitySpring 2012 Right away, as my team started on the simulation activity it was quite obvious that we were not making connections and applying what we had been reading and discussing from The Fifth Discipline. We were applying ideas and experiences that we had within our own careers when we had tried to implement change. This led us off track fairly quickly. I believe we started out very excited and wanted to just jump right in. This is often how initiatives in schools start and why they are not successful; because System Thinking is not incorporated. People get excited, want to achieve a goal, jump in feet first and then do not get the anticipated results. We were going against Systems Thinking-putting in a lot of effort and not seeing the results.I was pleased that the simulation actually took place after we had time to spend discussing The Fifth Discipline. I do not believe I would have gotten as much out of the simulation if we had completed it first. I believe our group would have continued on the wrong track and we would have continued to practice what we have experienced on the job, as opposed to what we have learned in our doctoral program. When we started we did not spend enough time on discovering our current reality or a true mental model of our situation. I think one of our most significant discoveries occurred when we realized the “feedback loop”. Identifying significant players in the process who had the influence to bring others along was a huge “ah-ha” moment for us. Once we were able to identify which individuals were key in building capacity, we were much more successful and it got us over the hump. It was at that point that our team began to see the team learning and metanoia begin taking place with the characters on our game board. Unfortunately, because of our inability to immediately implement Systems Thinking, we were not successful in meeting the established time frames. Had we had more time, we were confident that we would have been able to advance all characters. When we had finished we had moved all but 3 individuals to Shared Vision, Team Learning, or beyond. A concern that we identified, towards the end of the simulation was that the superintendent was not leading the change, nor was he one of the individuals that was advancing quickly across the board. Aside from starting out doing what we know as opposed to what we had learned, I think there were other items that influenced our poor decision making. One of which were the Bens. In the beginning we were acting as if we were afraid to use too many fearing we would be out quickly. Once we were on track it seemed that we did not need to use as many Bens to make progress. This also boosted our confidence in our effectiveness.I feel that this activity was one of the most beneficial experiences I have had in this program. There was a lot of important information in The Fifth Discipline, but seeing that information come to life was extremely significant in my understanding. Much like many of the children we serve, I learn best from hands on (meaningful) activities. Senge establishes the need for leaders of organizations to have a new view on leadership as opposed to a traditional view. This view is focused on “subtler and more important tasks”. It was quite obvious that when our team started we were still hung up on traditional leadership as opposed to a Systems Thinking mind set. ................
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