OVERVIEW
Kawatau Ākonga - Learner Story
As an MCE candidate I will be able to identify and document lists of specific, prioritised leadership and collaboration competencies that my MCE peers and I can focus on developing during Part 2 of the MCE.
Ngā Putanga Ako - Sprint Learning Outcomes
Once I have completed this chunk of learning, I will be able to:
Produce a list of specific, prioritised leadership and collaboration competencies that I would like to develop in Part 2 of the MCE
Ngā putanga ka hua - Outcomes I will produce
A list of specific, prioritised leadership and collaboration competencies that I would like to develop in Part 2 of the MCE.
Ngā Ngohe/Mahi Ako - Learning Activities/Tasks
Analyse the Learning Outcomes for both courses and identify the specific competencies you think are needed to achieve each outcome.
Then rank these competencies in order of priority, with the one you think you need to focus on or develop at the top.
Share these in Slack or add them to your leadership goals for your project scope. Keep these in mind for future learning as a focus to develop.
Ngā Pātai Whakakīkī - Critical Questions- Prompts
Does my experience of leading and collaborating in my work context differ from what I have read about leadership and collaboration in relevant literature? How?
How well am I able to reflect on my own leadership in order to identify areas for development?
To what extent does my own leadership reflect the leadership model endorsed by most of the leaders in my organisation?
How adept am I at assessing my own capacity for change and my organisation’s capacity for change?
Points of Departure
The Beginning:
Leadership in Part 1 of the MCE (the Postgraduate Certificate in Digital and Collaborative Learning (DCL)
During Part 1 of the MCE, candidates were introduced, amongst others, to the following key aspects of leadership:
Leadership in an organisation is not necessarily dependent on ‘being in a leadership role’. Many people lead aspects of organisational work without having an overt leadership role - such as teachers, who lead learning on a daily basis.
Leadership and followership: In any organisation, active, purposeful followership is at least as important as leadership because the quality of followership plays a very important role in determining the success of a leader. In addition, a person is very likely to fulfil the role of both follower and leader in any given role in a modern organisation.
Leadership theories (such as Transformational Leadership, Transactional Leadership, Distributed Leadership and Agile Leadership) present definitions of leadership and provide predictions of which leadership actions are likely to lead to successful leadership outcomes.
Leadership theories are, however, abstractions that attempt to explain the complexity of leadership in terms of a limited number of ‘ideal’ actions. So, ‘real-world leaders’ are likely to draw on a number of leadership aspects, drawn from a range of leadership theories, in confronting real-world leadership challenges.
In the process, leaders develop their own preferred leadership styles. However, since not all followers react to change (which is really an integral aspect of leadership) in the same way, it is necessary for leaders to adapt their leadership styles to suit the needs of different groups of followers.
Other than adapting their leadership style to suit different groups of followers, leaders can also adopt one - or both - of the following strategies. Firstly, by making use of a collaborative leadership approach, more people across an organisation can bring their complementary skill sets to bear on a range of different follower group needs and requirements - and this takes some pressure off the single leader. Secondly, adopting an agile leadership approach means that leadership outcomes are consistently evaluated and that leadership approaches are consistently adapted on the strength of these evaluations - essentially the ‘getting better all the time approach'.
So, in summary the leadership of a modern organisation is likely to involve a number of people who consistently evaluate the quality of their leadership outcomes in order to ensure that they adapt their leadership to better address the needs and requirements of followers.
So, now that you have been introduced to some of the basic concepts related to leadership - both in education and beyond - the question is really: How do you build upon these basic concepts in a way that will enable you to lead in a complex, adaptive real-world environment? According to Bob Anderson, the answer is that you need to evolve and, almost counter-intuitively, develop your own consciousness in such a way that you are able to acquire increasingly complex competencies in order to lead in increasingly complex environments:
By the time you get to the end of Part 3 of the MCE, you will be demonstrating these complex competencies on a daily basis.
The End:
In Part 3 of the MCE, you will lead the planning, implementation and evaluation of a significant change project in an educational environment
During your first orientation session, you will have the opportunity to attend the final presentations of a cohort of candidates who will have completed their Part 3 Practice-Based Change Project. During these presentations, you should get a fairly good idea of what will be expected of you at the end of your MCE journey. The leadership of - and collaboration surrounding - this change project incorporates the following key aspects - amongst others:
Leading and managing the selection and formulation of a research initiative that incorporates a change project
Leading and managing your own learning and collaboration across a range of collaborative groups
Leading and managing supervisor collaboration on your project
Leading and managing a Project Team of peer candidates, who will collaborate with you on your project.
Leading and managing the planning, implementation and evaluation of the project
Leading and managing the larger research initiative associated with the project.
Identifying, communicating with, leading and managing participants in the project.
Identifying, communicating with, leading and managing stakeholders in the project.
Leading and managing the gathering and analysis of data - and the dissemination of findings
You will notice that there is a fairly big gap between the things you learned about leadership and collaboration in the DCL and the leadership and collaboration expectations associated with the Practice-based Change Project in Part 3.
The Middle:
During Part 2 of the MCE, you will develop adaptive leadership and collaborative competencies
Although you enrol in two dedicated courses at the beginning of Part 2, namely “Leadership in Practice” and “Collaboration in Practice”, you will soon find that you apply what you learn in these dedicated courses across all courses included in the MCE.
A closer look at the Learning Outcomes for both of these ‘dedicated courses’ might give you a better idea of what the specific competencies are that you need to acquire during Part 2 of the MCE.
Below, we have suggested which specific competencies might be encompassed in meeting the first Learning Outcome for the course Leadership in Practice.
Leadership in Practice (MLED8203)
1. Through evidence-based inquiry, critically evaluate collaborative leadership approaches that support sustainable change to teaching practice, effective learning in contemporary education and wider social and cultural environments.
Critically evaluate collaborative leadership approaches: Compare and contrast a broad range of leadership approaches (including those you came across in the DCL) represented in relevant literature and indicate the strengths and weaknesses of each. Identify the strengths of collaborative leadership and describe the contexts in which collaborative leadership is most effective.
That support sustainable change to teaching practice: Compare and contrast a range of approaches to what constitutes sustainable change in teaching practice, as represented in relevant literature. Select an approach that is most relevant to your practice. Evaluate the role that collaborative leadership approaches play in supporting sustainable change to teaching practice.
Effective learning in contemporary education: Compare and contrast different approaches to what constitutes effective learning, as represented in relevant literature. Ascertain which of these approaches are more effective in contemporary education environments. Evaluate the role of collaborative leadership in supporting the chosen approaches to enhancing effective learning in contemporary education environments.
And wider social and cultural environments: Research and document key aspects of the social and cultural environment in New Zealand that might influence effective learning. Propose ways in which collaborative leadership might support effective learning in the context of the social and cultural influences you have identified.
2. Critically evaluate contemporary evidence and leadership models to support professional development in contemporary education.
3. Develop and communicate contemporary culturally responsive solutions to authentic problems of practice across interdisciplinary teams and wider education contexts through effective practice-based leadership.
4. Critically evaluate research and evidence regarding effective leadership and collaborative practice through the development of interpersonal skills and knowledge essential for effective coaching and mentoring in educational contexts
Collaboration in Practice (MLED8204)
1. Collaborate in a range of professional environments to critically evaluate evidence and practice and through inquiry improve teaching and learning in the context of contemporary education practice.
2. Critically evaluate and reflect on the implementation and impact of collaborative practice on teaching and learning including digital fluencies taking into account diverse learners and a range of learning environments.
3. Critically evaluate the importance of leadership to initiate, support and improve collaborative practice in the context of contemporary education practice.
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