On the Importance of Vision

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On the Importance of Vision

• A personal and professional perspective
• Thomas Elbel

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What is Vision?

• A sailor without direction knows no favorable
  wind - Proverb

Neill stressed the innate goodness of
children http//www.wsws.org/articles/1999/jun19
99/summ-j03.shtml
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What is Vision?

• Vision determines the direction of change in an
  organization and in the individual.
• there is no more powerful engine driving an
  organization toward excellence and long range
  success than an attractive, worthwhile, and
  achievable vision of the future, widely shared.
  Nanus, 1992

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What is Vision?

• Components informing a Vision
• Mission - the purpose
• Goals - short and long term successes
• Values - internal motivators for ones
  purpose
• Strategies ways of achieving goals that are
  congruent with ones values,
  mission and vision

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Vision - Examples

• Royal Bank
• Management Conflicting Vision
• Discuss the vision with key managers. State the
  vision - together. Only managers who believe in
  the vision should participate in the inner
  circle.
• A single vision is crucial - you cannot drive
  with double, triple or quadruple vision.
• Limit the key management group to those who buy
  into the vision.
• Key managers must be capable of contributing to
  the accomplishment of the vision.
• Work together on the vision statement (see
  Section 2, Chapter 1 Planning for Growth) -
  agreement on the purpose of being in business is
  essential and revealing.

• Georgia Tech will be a leader among those few
  technological universities whose alumni, faculty,
  students, and staff define, expand, and
  communicate the frontiers of knowledge and
  innovation. Georgia Tech seeks to create an
  enriched, more prosperous, and sustainable
  society for the citizens of Georgia, the nation,
  and the world.

• Vision Statement
• The principal goal of the Calgary Fire
  Department is to improve the quality of life to
  our customers through the reduction and/or
  elimination of the negative effects of fires,
  environmental spills, accidents and disasters,
  from the actions of people or nature.

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Why is it important?

• Provides clarity and focus
• Empowers educators
• Link between school effectiveness and vision
  (Barth, 1990)
• Essential to teacher practice change (Kotter,
  1996)
• Protection from outside influence and visions
  (Barth, 1990)

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Vision in your life

• Please take two minutes and reflect upon a vision
  that you have encountered in your life or turn to
  a neighbour and tell them about it

"My vision for health care is to have the best
health-care system in Canada. How we achieve this
is up to Albertans. My plan is to ask the
people," said Klein. www.cbc.ca/story/canada/natio
nal/ 2004/11/08/alberta_debate041108.html
Paul Martin. He thinks .He has no vision and
worse, he shows no passion toward either this
country or its people. http//www.torontofreepres
s.com/2004/main062504a.htm
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Jean Jacques Rousseau A Historical Vision of
Education

• Rousseau
• Children are inherently good.
• Experience, real world connections are the best
  teacher.
• Classrooms not necessarily the best place for
  children.
• Physical and emotional coercion should be
  avoided.
• Beware of youthful sage.
• Beware of the academic historians perspective.

• Today
• Children are inherently good
• hands on activities, Philip Schlechty- WOW
• field trips and learner engagement, Open minds
  program in Calgary
• Stiggins Assesment for Learning
• van de Walle and mathematics.
• critical thinking theory.

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My personal vision

• Education is the tool that allows the learner to
  make sense of the world around him or her
  (Teacher and student alike). strive to explain
  in this way
• Education is the fertilizer of curiosity- always
  encourage questions.
• Responsibility for education is more widely
  shared by those who are partners in the learning
  process.
• Success and challenge are normal and expected
  parts of the learning process that are recognized
  and welcomed opportunities for growth.
• Be a model learner to my students.
• Practicing active collaboration and inquiry into
  my practice happen every day.

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Impact of vision on me as a teacher

• Ontario - I began teaching with a teacher who had
  vision as a result our practice was innovative
  and focused on outcomes.
• Alberta new program multiple courses
  isolated work environment lack of vision
  focus on survival and exams rather than learning.
• Renewed vision through further education,
  resulting in new energy, clear goals, new
  perspective of education.
• Internalization of current educational thought,
  viewing practice in a different light. I dont
  have all the answers and that is fine.

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The impact of vision on a school

• Crucial factor in the improvement effort (Dufour
  Eaker, 1998, Barth, 1990, Senge et al., 1994)
• Provides clarity, focus and ideally unity to a
  staff.
• Has the ability to empower a staff.
• Link between school effectiveness and vision
  (Barth, 1990) taking a vision from a great
  school can make a bad school mediocre. To become
  a good school vision from within is required.
• Essential to teacher practice change (Kotter,
  1996)
• Protection from outside influence and visions
  (Barth, 1990)

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The impact of vision on a school district

• Some district have vision statements, others have
  mission statements.
• Difficulty of establishing an all encompassing
  statement for many, often extremely varied,
  contexts and large numbers of employees.

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The impact of vision on a school district
continued

• Leithwood, Jantzi and Steinbach (1999) identify
  vision building behaviours that come primarily
  from the study of superintendents. They state
• developing a district mission statement and
  constantly using it with staff in communication
  and decision making.
• creating a shared vision for the district in
  which most district members believe.
• using research in decision making and planning.
• being sensitive to the views of the community,
  parents, board and staff about directions for the
  district.
• willingness to take risks in order to bring about
  change.
• incorporating considerations of the districts
  past and present in developing plans for the
  future. (Leithwood, Jantzi Steinbach, 1999,
  p.58)

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The impact of vision on a school district
continued

• Lambert and Gardner (2002) see the districts
  role as one of facilitating collaboration between
  schools and community to create compelling
  visions.
• They see the superintendent as a steward of the
  vision.
• The steward role must be shared if it is to have
  impact on the division.

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The impact of vision on pedagogy

• My vision has increasingly pointed me to two
  concepts
• a) Constructivist theory
• of learning
• b)
  Inquiry approach to teaching

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A vision of professional learning

• Guskey (2000) presents numerous models of
  professional learning that are available
• observation/assessment
• involvement in a development/improvement process
• study groups
• individually guided activities
• mentoring

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A vision of professional learning

• All models have strengths and weaknesses
• Personal experience
• Offer a menu approach that allows teachers to fit
  in according to their experience. (Ex Math, FSL,
  Assessment)

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What does this all mean?

• Sense of purpose Values Goals Strategies
• Research based data
• Sound and achievable vision

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Thank you!