the four-leaf clover

The last two weeks of class have been devoted to learning about the Future Search intervention strategy. The group did an excellent job with facilitating the concepts, ideas and activities that are Future Search. Tonight after the debrief I started thinking about using a Future Search intervention at my job, either within my department or more importantly, in the School of Dentistry. One of the main goals or missions for the school is being more patient care centered. I think using this idea for a Future Search intervention could be quite effective and really get the patients, staff, students and faculty on the same page. With all the different stakeholders involved in the SOD and the importance of patients to the school, focusing on the future 10 to 20 years down the road is crucial.

Now looking back over this change initiative, I really liked the use of the timeline and “prouds and sorries”. I think these aspects of Future Search make it effective and interesting, and really help stakeholders put a vested interest into the future/topic of their organization. Relating the School of Dentistry, the timeline would be very compelling as a starter to the strategy. Since the students are new every year and don’t know a lot about the future of the SOD, and the we also have some staff and faculty who have worked here for 30+ years, the time-lines would reveal a lot about the school. The timeline would help bring everyone together. I also think using the “prouds and sorries” are exactly how Dr. Carter stated, they make people accountable. Identifying these also brings forth what people hope to change for future initiatives.

I’m very glad I’ve had the experience of being apart of a Future Search initiative. Even though it wasn’t facilitated by Janoff and Weisbord, I think my classmates did a wonderful job! Thank you! This strategy will definitely be something I take and use, even if it’s in bits and pieces. The more and more I’m learning about facilitating change strategies, the bigger draw I have towards this as a career. Who knows, maybe in 10 years I’ll be the next Sandra Janoff!

I think this is the first year I’ve ever had a “hello I’m growing up” Spring break. The past three years I’ve been at the beach and if I was here I only worked part-time. I finally see why people say “Spring break, what’s that anymore?”

It has been quite relaxing though, not having to sit in class two nights this week. However, I feel like all I’ve done is think about school… which started last Saturday morning. I was at the gym working out and glanced up at one of the TVs in front of me showing CNN. They were doing a segment on “Making the best out of a bad economy.” Wow, what a thought! Making the best and thinking positively about a terrible situation. The wheels in my head started turning… this sounded a lot like Appreciative Inquiry!

• Being more conscious about money we do have
• Spending more time with family
• Coming together to help each other out
• Shifting priorities

These were just some of the positives that were mentioned out of the negative economy. It’s great to see something I’m learning about affecting everyone. It’s also funny how I hadn’t looked at the economy in a positive light yet and I’ve been digging so deeply into AI. I guess it’s fair to say that no matter how low an organization or economy may get, there are always positives to be found. The couple on CNN seemed so happy because through a bad time and struggling, they’ve grown closer and realized what is really important to their family. Appreciative Inquiry emphasizes using dialogue to find those things that are working and positive and using them to improve what is falling behind.

I’m excited for our group to do our facilitation and debrief, even more so now because we finally got a good grasp on our ideas. It’s a great change strategy that will make the class feel uplifted and look towards the positive. Get ready ladies and gentlemen for the power of Appreciative Inquiry!

It finally hit me today that we are halfway through the semester…crazy. Reflecting back over Instructional Strategies from January til now, I must say its unlike any class I’ve had in the program thus far. For one, the class is much larger and allows for lots of discussion and examples from classmates in the Adult Learning program as well as nurses from the medical side. I also really appreciate Wendy’s ways of facilitating, and the relaxed but encouraging atmosphere.

As far as our assignments go, I’m glad we also get the opportunity to do a teaching demonstration by ourselves. I think this will be a great learning experience and test my teaching abilities and confidence. I have always thought of myself as a good public speaker and enjoy engaging in conversation with others, but I also tend to blush very easily. If and when this happens my nervousness heightens and I get quite flustered. This is something I’m working on, not necessarily the blushing because that makes me, me, but I do want to work on how I handle myself after I feel it happening. I know the more and more comfortable I get with facilitating and teaching the easier it will be.

I’m also struggling with writing my Teaching Philosophy statement. I didn’t realize it would be such a challenging assignment for me and I think my mistake is making it too broad. I wish I had some real life teaching experience to back it up but as Wendy told me, I should think about professors and teachers I’ve enjoyed in the past and think about the skills, values and attitudes they portrayed.

I’ve said in my other classes throughout the program, I want to take little pieces of what I’m learning and apply it to my job as much as possible. This semester I hope to plan an effective instructional design for a “Staff Development Day” for those at the School of Dentistry. Since I think the one we have now needs some work, I thought this would be a challenging and fulfilling assignment. I also want to try to incorporate Vella’s techniques as much as possible because I like her way of teaching and relating to the learner.

Another half of the semester to go and I’m excited to see what it has to offer, and more importantly, what more I learn about myself.