Super interesting read here. It makes me curious about classroom management as well.
Wednesday, 19 October 2016
Monday, 17 October 2016
Subtle communication in the halls
Over the summer, faculty moved offices. This has a long, involved history that I'm uninterested in documenting, but suffice it to say, it was three years in the making, took many meetings, much discussion, and generally, resulted in a lot of grumpy faculty.
Until we moved.
Then it was interesting, invigorating, and fun. We have new neighbours, different conversations because of different composition, and new views. I lost my beautiful view of the Tantalus mountain range, but now look over smaller hills, with deeper colour and more wilderness. Students say my new office is cozy. I think it's because the closer hills make me feel held whereas the Tantalus range made me feel stretched. Whatever it is, I'm having different quality of conversation in this new office.
Our previous university president always had an office with the faculty, always had an open door, and was always available for a chat in the lounge, or by the Xerox machine. This is important to our faculty. The current president began speaking of moving to the Executive Suite in another building, with special key card access to the floor, within weeks of taking up his role. Regardless of all that signifies, in doing so he took with him the Director of Facilities, VP of Development, VP Exec, and the Admin Assistant who has been effectively keeping us going since the beginning. This move has severed easy contact with faculty and each of the individuals in these roles.
Here's why this is interesting, and not the "same-old-same-old-capital-A-administration" problem that every university on the planet faces.
Because we don't see each other through out the day, we don't communicate as well. I'm seeing -- in mistakes over meeting times, double booking residence rooms, problems with sign out of equipment, miscommunication with visitors -- just how much communication we do informally, and why that informal communication is so important for making an organization work. Where the role of personal contact, relationships, and social cognition used to be the way our university operated, this move has demonstrated the failures of our systems when the "people" piece is taken out. Our systems aren't very good; they've only lasted as long as they have because they are so well supported with informal communication. Remove that element, and we have a pretty broken system.
This leads me to wonder how many systems are facilitated by informal communication? My classes certainly are. I have main points laid out in the syllabus, but I supplement this regularly with email and Moodle News additions. I also see my students for at least three hours a day, am available for several hours outside of class, and they all have my cell phone number and email for other questions. I sent out a "How are you doing with the project" email this weekend, and received nine follow up emails (half of the class). This informal communication allows me to check in on them in a way that builds community, supports their learning, and allows me additional information that helps me develop the class to their learning needs.
I wonder then what we do? Do we accept that we have lost our informal communication -- and by extension, our community -- and figure out how to formalize communication in our systems? Perhaps the next step is forms filled out in triplicate, and sent to various departments around the university in interdepartmental mail.
We'd have to set up an interdepartmental mail system first.
Until we moved.
Then it was interesting, invigorating, and fun. We have new neighbours, different conversations because of different composition, and new views. I lost my beautiful view of the Tantalus mountain range, but now look over smaller hills, with deeper colour and more wilderness. Students say my new office is cozy. I think it's because the closer hills make me feel held whereas the Tantalus range made me feel stretched. Whatever it is, I'm having different quality of conversation in this new office.
Our previous university president always had an office with the faculty, always had an open door, and was always available for a chat in the lounge, or by the Xerox machine. This is important to our faculty. The current president began speaking of moving to the Executive Suite in another building, with special key card access to the floor, within weeks of taking up his role. Regardless of all that signifies, in doing so he took with him the Director of Facilities, VP of Development, VP Exec, and the Admin Assistant who has been effectively keeping us going since the beginning. This move has severed easy contact with faculty and each of the individuals in these roles.
Here's why this is interesting, and not the "same-old-same-old-capital-A-administration" problem that every university on the planet faces.
Because we don't see each other through out the day, we don't communicate as well. I'm seeing -- in mistakes over meeting times, double booking residence rooms, problems with sign out of equipment, miscommunication with visitors -- just how much communication we do informally, and why that informal communication is so important for making an organization work. Where the role of personal contact, relationships, and social cognition used to be the way our university operated, this move has demonstrated the failures of our systems when the "people" piece is taken out. Our systems aren't very good; they've only lasted as long as they have because they are so well supported with informal communication. Remove that element, and we have a pretty broken system.
This leads me to wonder how many systems are facilitated by informal communication? My classes certainly are. I have main points laid out in the syllabus, but I supplement this regularly with email and Moodle News additions. I also see my students for at least three hours a day, am available for several hours outside of class, and they all have my cell phone number and email for other questions. I sent out a "How are you doing with the project" email this weekend, and received nine follow up emails (half of the class). This informal communication allows me to check in on them in a way that builds community, supports their learning, and allows me additional information that helps me develop the class to their learning needs.
I wonder then what we do? Do we accept that we have lost our informal communication -- and by extension, our community -- and figure out how to formalize communication in our systems? Perhaps the next step is forms filled out in triplicate, and sent to various departments around the university in interdepartmental mail.
We'd have to set up an interdepartmental mail system first.
Thursday, 2 July 2015
Sunday, 14 June 2015
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