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Τo Lead, is To Teach
Many professionals tend to think of education and business as two separate entities. They aren’t. Simply put, “Leaders are Teachers.” Sustainability and success within organizations rely on the experts in leadership roles challenging and providing growth to novices. Forming the right kinds of teams to share thinking about initiatives leads to innovation. No leader has all of the answers, and must rely on newer leadership to fill the gaps and provide a solid foundation for future success.
In the book, Designing Effective Teaching and Significant Learning, leaders learn to design outcomes, change management, communication plans, accessibility media, technology integration, and assessment strategies to measure success of employees, programs, and organizations. They create plans to develop employee portfolios, reflection practices, and mentorship opportunities. If you swap out the terms students, faculty, and courses to employees / customers, leaders, and projects / departments the concepts remain much the same. By reading the article, Leaders are Teachers, two business leaders explain more. The book could really be called, Designing Effective Leadership through Significant Learning, Practice and Performance.
In the past, education was thought to be much theoretical than the real world of business. Today’s students are blending internships and partnerships combining workplace and classroom programs. The outcomes in higher education are designed to match the real world workplace experiences and skills students need to meet national or industry-based standards.
Teaching usually takes years as leaders learn mostly from their own experiences. The purpose of this book is to provide you with the understanding and know how to design learning and business experiences effectively and to blend it into the organization’s culture. The book is designed to read cover to cover or to start with what you need immediately as a just-in-time solution to help your employee’s work. Each chapter is written like a course unit with outcomes, points to ponder, faculty stories and experiences, bright ideas – practices that have been successful and an action plan outline to help you implement that content into your practice.
Business leaders who have read the book immediately understood the relevance in leadership and working with employees. They suggested that the book could be titled: Designing Effective Leadership through Significant Learning, Practice and Performance.
“I am a believer that building oneself as an educator goes beyond the academic environments. While reading Designing Effective Teaching and Significant Learning I could identify countless applicable connections with my leadership work as an engineering manager for a creative software company. This book comes at a pivotal moment in the evolution of learning: We have access to more information than ever, and technology is rapidly evolving. This means we need to be more strategic about what we learn and how transferable that is to the next task/job/industry. This book is an invitation to reflect on our methods as educators as well as a practical guide not only for faculty members but for industry leaders on how to successfully prepare individuals for a future where their contributions are rewarding and impactful.”
Designing Effective Teaching and Significant Learning – Zala Fashant
Several faculty, authors, and leaders of centers for teaching and learning have shared their reflections
“Want to take your capabilities as a teacher from ‘Good’ to ‘Great’? This book can help you do that. It focuses on just the right range of topics, and has a powerful blend of stories, examples of good course design, and substantive guidance.”
Dee Fink, former Founding Director – Instructional Development Program, University of Oklahoma
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