Thoughts on Faculty Innovation

Posted on April 1, 2019 by admin

This afternoon I read a blog post on InsideHigherEd by Steve Mintz titled “Faculty as Drivers of Innovation.” Steve’s blog post delves into the role of faculty and ways in which faculty are valued on campus. He recommends three ways in which faculty can be empowered to drive innovation including considering new ways for faculty and support units to collaborate, creating low risk zones for faculty experimentation, and incentivizing innovative work. I appreciate ongoing dialogue around innovation in higher ed and focus a large portion of each day trying to build processes and structures to support innovation at my institution. I work at American College of Education (ACE). We are a nontraditional, primarily graduate, entirely online college. We have a faculty recognition and promotion system, but we do not have tenure. We highly value our faculty. Not only are faculty central to achieving fundamental aims of our mission, but they bring a wealth of diverse knowledge that can stimulate innovation in teaching and learning, student support, and college operations.

In January 2019, we implemented a system similar to what Steve described by creating intentional space for innovation. We employ a PROPEL model, structured as reflective action learning groups, that connects faculty and staff to collaborate across departments to develop innovations. Incentive for participation primarily hinges on the understanding that most of us, faculty and staff alike, crave connection and enjoy the act of creating something new. While we pay a small stipend to adjunct faculty for their work in PROPEL, this is an add on for others. Again, I recognize we have a nontraditional model, but there is plenty to be said for drawing on one’s internal desire to develop something innovative while being part of a team. This approach was built on research we conducted including interviews, focus groups, and surveys to capture what motivates our faculty and staff. PROPEL is in an early stage, but we’ve had over 30 volunteers, including faculty, department chairs, and front line staff. It’s exciting to see what people will do when given the opportunity and a little support.

I believe PROPEL provides a systematic model for organizations of all sizes to continually innovate, and I will share more about PROPEL here in future posts.

Posted in Organizational Learning, PROPEL | Comments Off on Thoughts on Faculty Innovation

Finding and Sharing Meaning: Developing a Community of Practice

Posted on March 27, 2019 by admin

I lead a mindfulness group at my institution. I’ve led this group since April 2017. I can’t believe it has been two years!!! As I reflect on what this group is and could be, I wonder, is this group a Community of Practice? I believe this comes down to engagement by group members.

When I launched the group, I was lucky to have the support of my HR department and executive leadership. I kicked off a series of mindfulness virtual meet-ups including office yoga and meditation. Although no one from HR or executive leadership has attended my mindfulness meet-ups, they at least support the concept in theory. Contemplating who attends group meet-ups and who does not has left me wondering what it would take for skeptics of mindfulness to give it a shot. I used to be a skeptic. (I even rolled my eyes at the word “mindfulness”). That is until I began experiencing chronic tension headaches and migraines daily. I saw a variety of doctors, but none could provide a resolution aside from medication to manage the pain. During this time, a friend suggested I try physical therapy. The physical therapy helped me significantly reduce the frequency of migraines and helped me stop them when they started. Why hadn’t even one out of the six doctors I had seen suggested physical therapy? What other treatments might I benefit from that I hadn’t considered?

This lead me to research mindfulness and meditation. I started meditating daily and began feeling fewer symptoms of stress. I became a convert. Mindfulness has merit! I was shocked at my own evolution. But I was also thankful because it opened by eyes to an additional way of considering the world and another way of being. I started the mindfulness group for three reasons. First, I wanted to encourage others to consider new approaches including meditation and help them find relief. Second, I could see that my colleagues needed time to pause and reflect. Their work was hurried, and I felt they missed opportunities to draw meaningful insights from important processes. Finally, I wanted support. I wanted to be part of a team that would support the further development of my new found practice.

Over the past two years my mindfulness group has gathered online to meditate together more than 100 times. We’ve written monthly newsletter  content, shared research, and discussed ways to improve our practice. I believe we are a Community of Practice. Not everyone participates every week. We have a core group and many other members who come and go. We support each other in our practice. I will occasionally share information from this group here, and you can decide for yourself if our engagement meets the mark. I can at least say that I have met my original goals when starting this group, and I could not have done it without my community.

Posted in Leadership, Mindfulness | Comments Off on Finding and Sharing Meaning: Developing a Community of Practice